Schoolhouse Review Crew: Math Rider

For Maestro and Chef, the decision on which math program to use in their earliest years came easily. We used a program that fit in with how I wanted them to learn their facts. Bruiser has struggled a little bit more with the same program and I've been looking around for ways to help him reinforce the basics. 

It seems I am not the only parent out there who felt like her child needed a fun way to get the facts down cold - enter Math Rider, a computer-based math facts game that covers addition, subtraction, multiplication and division through a series of "Quests."

Schoolhouse Review Crew: Leadership Garden Legacy

When I first saw the notice go up about reviewing the Growing My Leadership Garden series, I was intrigued. In the course of homeschooling the kids, I have watched them as they tried their hands at leadership, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not so much, but always putting in the effort. They've made me proud to watch them, my kids have, but was I doing enough to help them learn skills that would help them be good and effective leaders? Maybe. But I'm always looking to learn something new to share with them, so I asked if I could be one of the Crew to try out Leadership Garden.

Recipe Day: Vegan Chocolate Crepes with Fruit Compote

These were vegan (egg- and milk-free), my own creation, and amazingly tasty. There really isn't much more to say - so on to the recipe!

How to Evaluate the Quality of an Essential Oil

Use this checklist to evaluate the quality of your essential oils...
Used with permission from Stacy McDonald of Common Scents Mom.

Most essential oils on the market are not "therapeutic grade," and most are not 100% pure, regardless of how they are labeled. The problem is that these terms are not regulated by anyone. So, all we can do is tell you what we mean when we use the term "therapeutic grade," and then invite you to compare that definition to other companies. In fact, as far as I know, Young Living is the only company that has its own farms and distilleries. That alone potentially disqualifies other companies.

The True Quiet Strength (of adulthood)

When I was younger... junior high age, roughly... I took to cussing. I remember vividly the first cuss word I ever intentionally said (after the initial, really-young, soap-in-the-mouth variety, that is). I remember where I was, why I said it, who I was with - and I have to tell you that it is a-maz-ing for me to remember all that detail, because my memory of such things is not always so hot. 

I'm the one on the front left in the oversized blue jacket - I was never one of the "in" crowd, but I had my friends.
Two of my four brothers are also in this shot
I won't identify any of them out of kindness.

5 Quick Takes Friday

Okay, I don't know that I'll do this every Friday, but I do have three other posts that I'm percolating on and I want to keep in the habit of posting so here I go joining another Internet Fad. Just for grins I'm going to throw in random pictures from our week too!

More brotherly love as Maestro shows Bruiser a new duet


1. This week has been the first in a long time in which I have not had to keep the car even once! (Well, I was going to keep it Thursday for a service at the Langley Chapel, but there were issues that kept that from happening.) But there were no classes or clubs for Maestro to go to, nothing pressing on my own plate from church. It has been a refreshing week!

2. 

   chocolate pancakes with fruit compote
   

   The White Knight (TWK) has been plowing ahead on getting the organization done on the garage this week. That means that his tools are now out of the extra space in my laundry room. I am beside-myself-happy that I finally get to put some order to that area. I suppose this means TWK's organization-bug is rubbing off on me!

3. 

   Brothers DO work together (sometimes!)
   

   I led my 2nd-ever Dave Ramsey class this week. As I listened to him talk on the video, I found my mind wandering to all of the OTHER places in life that his words also applied to. This class is going to be very, very good for me and our family!

4. 

   Unquestioned yumminess - homemade sopapillas
   

   The Dave Ramsey classes also showed me that I am a "Nerd" only when it comes to finances; otherwise, I'm a "Free Spirit" and TWK is evenly split down the center. Who knew?!

   

   I know she showed this in the last Review post, but she's
   just so proud of it! I'll miss these years later even as I'm
   enjoying the events to come!
   

5. And the kids - especially the younger kids - are going to have a rough time following DR and understanding why we're doing it. So this morning, as I told Buttercup we cannot go horseback riding, we came up with a plan: anytime we have something we want to do or buy, but can't until we're debt free, we'll draw a picture of it to put on the wall in the hallway. That will be our Dream Wall. At the end of our getting-out-of-debt journey, we'll pick some things to try out and go for it!

Schoolhouse Review Crew: A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks

I was given the chance to review the Lapbooks available at A Journey Through Learning  to review recently. Maestro and Chef did a lapbook with me about two years ago that we really enjoyed, so I was happy to see such a great opportunity open up for me to look at!

I had access to four of the books that Journey Through Learning offers:

• Letters, Number and Shapes (good for ages 3 - 5)
• The Earth (for grades 1 - 4)
• Knights and Castles (grades 2 - 7)
• Astronomy and Space (grades 2 - 7)

Maestro helped Buttercup work on Letters, Numbers and Shapes while Chef and Bruiser worked on Knights and Castles. I stayed on hand to provide direction, but for the most part, with the older kids involved, the need for me to be there was pretty minimal.