Terrific Tuesday ~ MyMemories Freebie and Tutorial

Here is this week's freebie and a bonus tutorial courtesy of MyMemories! Don't have their fabulous software (they just came out with Version 3)? Purchase it and save $10 using this code STMMMS80543. You will also receive a $10 coupon code for the MyMemories Store in your confirmation email after your purchase!

Click image (or here) to download!

and here is the Tutorial!

Brag Time Thursday ~ January 26 Linky

Come link up your Homeschool related posts to 'brag' about the great things you and your kids are doing! Browse around and see what others are up to as well!

(Please link up the direct URL of the post you are 'bragging' about!)

Please Follow your hosts and Grab our Brag Time Button 

to display in your post or on your blog so others can join in the fun as well!

(Failure to follow these specific guidelines will result in your link up being deleted, so PLEASE be sure to 1) link up the direct URL of your post and 2) post the hop button on your post or blog (where we can find it).  We also kindly ask that you follow us, we WILL follow you back!) Thank you!

Link-up is live from 11:00 PM Wednesdays  EST to 11:59 PM Saturdays EST each week!

Brag Time Thursday ~ Progress

You may be wondering what a picture of an almost 4 year old child eating spaghetti like a barbarian has to do with progress but, trust me...this is progress! You see, Monkey doesn't eat. Ok...he eats but not much. He pretty much lives on milk, hot dogs and toast. So, when we were at Pizza Hut last week and he agreed to eat spaghetti we were thrilled (but skeptical). At first, he took a noodle and ate it somewhat civilly (he used his fingers but ate only one noodle). Apparently that was taking too long because he ended up eating about 1/3 of the bowl of noodles by shoving them into his mouth (as you see in the photo)! Now that is process! We'll worry about manners some other time...for now we are just happy that he actually ate something!

Terrific Tuesday ~ MyMemories Freebie

Here is this week's freebie courtesy of MyMemories! Don't have their fabulous software (they just came out with Version 3)? Purchase it and save $10 using this code STMMMS80543. You will also receive a $10 coupon code for the MyMemories Store in your confirmation email after your purchase!

Click image or here to download.

Brag Time Thursday ~ January 19 Linky

Come link up your Homeschool related posts to 'brag' about the great things you and your kids are doing! Browse around and see what others are up to as well!

(Please link up the direct URL of the post you are 'bragging' about!)

Please Follow your hosts and Grab our Brag Time Button 

to display in your post or on your blog so others can join in the fun as well!

(Failure to follow these specific guidelines will result in your link up being deleted, so PLEASE be sure to 1) link up the direct URL of your post and 2) post the hop button on your post or blog (where we can find it).  We also kindly ask that you follow us, we WILL follow you back!) Thank you!

Link-up is live from 11:00 PM Wednesdays  EST to 11:59 PM Saturdays EST each week!

Workbox Wednesday ~ Last Linky

Since this linky is not doing well, I have decided to stop hosting it. 

Thank you SO much to those of you who have linked up, 

it has been fun to see what everyone is doing! 

I will still be co-hosting the Homeschool Brag Time Thursday hop 

so feel free to hop on over and link up there! 

Thanks again!

Terrific Tuesday ~ MyMemories Freebie

Here is this week's freebie courtesy of MyMemories! Don't have their fabulous software (they just came out with Version 3)? Purchase it and save $10 using this code STMMMS80543. You will also receive a $10 coupon code for the MyMemories Store in your confirmation email after your purchase!

Click image or here to download.

Brag Time Thursday ~ January 12 Linky

Come link up your Homeschool related posts to 'brag' about the great things you and your kids are doing! Browse around and see what others are up to as well!

(Please link up the direct URL of the post you are 'bragging' about!)

Please Follow your hosts and Grab our Brag Time Button 

to display in your post or on your blog so others can join in the fun as well!

(Failure to follow these specific guidelines will result in your link up being deleted, so PLEASE be sure to 1) link up the direct URL of your post and 2) post the hop button on your post or blog (where we can find it).  We also kindly ask that you follow us, we WILL follow you back!) Thank you!

Link-up is live from 11:00 PM Wednesdays  EST to 11:59 PM Saturdays EST each week!

Brag Time Thursday ~ Cooking

Ladybug is really getting into cooking! She loves to "help" in the kitchen. On Monday she helped me make Tater Tot Casserole. Then, that evening, all the kids helped daddy make Dutch Cinnamon Bars for Family Night Dessert.

TOS Review ~ Maestro Classics

Do you struggle teaching music history and composers? I know I do. Maestro Classics may be an answer! Today I am reviewing The Story of Swan Lake CD from Maestro Classics. This has been a fun product to review. My children love music. They love singing, dancing and just listening to music. In a Nutshell~7 track CD or MP3~24 page activity booklet~website full of homeschool lesson plans~ages 6-12 (my 3 year-old LOVED the music...I would say the music is for families with lessons geared for ages 6-12)~$16.98/CD and $9.98/MP3~Maestro Classics Website/Contact Info.~Maestro Classics on Facebook (currently running a sweepstakes on FB ends Jan. 22, 2012)~Kids Club~Many other TitlesOur ThoughtsWe really enjoyed the music and the activities. Monkey and Ladybug would dance around the house and Ladybug and Unicorn would "act" out the story! It was a lot of fun. I really like that so many subjects are covered in the lesson guides. 
Click here to read what my Crew Mates thought about The Story of Swan Lake.
{Disclaimer: I received The Story of Swan Lake in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.}

Workbox Wednesday ~ January 11 Linky

Today I am sharing what Monkey has had in his workboxes this week!He has been working through a Curious George Preschool Pack from Living Life Intentionally. Please excuse his lack of clothing he REFUSES to wear anything but under ware when we are home (please tell me this is just a phase! LOL!)

Terrific Tuesday ~ MyMemories Freebie

Here is this week's freebie courtesy of MyMemories! Don't have their fabulous software (they just came out with Version 3)? Purchase it and save $10 using this code STMMMS80543. You will also receive a $10 coupon code for the MyMemories Store in your confirmation email after your purchase!

Click the image (or here) to download!

TOS Review ~ Z-Guide to the Movies (ZeeZok Publishing)

I love history! I love movies! I love movies that portray different times in history! I love it even more when someone takes the time to create ways to learn from said movies! I don't have that kind of time in my life (do you?)! Well, guess what?!?!? The people at Zeezok Publishing have done just that! They have these cool movie guides called Z-Guide to the movies!Unicorn and I were given the opportunity to review the Z-Guide to Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.The Z-Guide is a downloadable "packet" that you print and complete (CD's are also available). Included is a Topic Overview (the topic for Kit Kittredge is the Depression), Movie Synopsis and various activities to complete during and after the movie.
Activities for Kit Kittredge~Movie Review Questions~Research the Great Depression (open ended questions about the time period to be researched using the Internet or books)~I Need a Sign...(interpreting hobo signs)~Vocabulary Can Be Depressing~Something New, Fresh and Real (writing a newspaper article like Kit did)~Fashion Runway: Great Depression-Style (learning about depression era fashion)~Who Am I? (identifying the characters from the movie)~Literary Devices: Ironic Foreshadowing or Foreshadowing Irony~Worldview: Pride and Prejudice in the 1930's~The Filmmaker's Art and Dramatic License

Other Important Information

~Download (PDF) or CD format

~$12.99 (single-license) or $49.99 (co-op or classroom license)

~Elementary/Middle School Level (other Z-Guides available for High School)

~Movie NOT included in price (available to purchase on website, borrow from Library, rent from Netflix, etc.)

PROS

~Print and Go (little to no teacher prep)

~Easy to use

~Fun Activities

~Reusable (with-in your own family)

~Answer Key included

~Unicorn enjoyed it

~Many other Z-Guides and products (e-books, audio books, etc.)

CONS

~Price (I have trouble paying more than $10 for a downloadable product....but that is just me)

~One thing that I didn't like was that with a couple of the activities the questions carried over onto a second page and only used a couple lines and since it is a PDF I couldn't edit it. I feel like it was a waste of paper.

Final Thoughts

Kit Kittredge is a really cute movie to show what life was like during the depression. The Z-Guide is a great resource to help focus student's attention on the depression and understand what life was like during that time in our history. I will definitely be getting more Z-Guides!

Click here to read what my Crew Mates are saying about this and other Z-Guides!

{Disclaimer: I received this product in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.}

TOS Review ~ Toydle

My kids LOVE to build forts! No really, they LOVE it. Ladybug is the queen of fort building in our house. Everyday she would take the covers off her bed and build a fort to play in and every night I would have to take the fort apart and make her bed...that is until we were blessed to review the Toydle fort!Toydle is an American Company (Boise, Idaho) that makes and sells quality forts (see photo).They have two forts: The Toydle Fort (shown above and also the one we reviewed) for $149 and The BIG Toydle Fort for $229.99 (click here to order).
From the Toydle website:

All Toydle Forts are constructed with:

• Hand made wooden blocks 3” sq. made with high quality, laminated poplar.
• High Quality PVC tubes 29” long & 1/2in wide.

All Toydle Forts include an industrial strength storage bag.

All Toydle Forts include clips to help secure your sheets and blankets.

Our Forts are the strongest, longest lasting, and highest quality forts you will find anywhere! And we’ll back that up with an Unlimited Warrantee! No one else even comes close to what we offer! 

PROS
~High quality
~Easy to use
~Fun for the ENTIRE family
~Don't have to take it down EVERY night
~Can be put together many different ways
~My kids LOVE it

CONS
~Price (but worth it)

This was the last present that we opened Christmas morning and immediately upon opening it the following occurred:

Final Thoughts
We had to take the fort down to bring it home but the very next day the girls built a fort again in Ladybug's room and it has been up ever since. It is the only "toy" from Christmas that has been used EVERY day since. They play dolls, games, everything in there. It truly is a hit!

Field Trip Friday ~ SNOW!

A couple weeks ago we took the kids to Flagstaff, Arizona to play in the snow for a couple days. While it hadn't snowed for a couple days and it was starting to warm up and melt the snow, the kids did have fun. Just as we were getting ready to leave a few flurries started to fall...this was the first time my 2 youngest have seen it snow. It was pretty exciting for Unicorn too, since the last time she saw it snow she was not even 2 years old! As you can see we had a good time!

MyMemories BONUS!!

A BONUS freebie courtesy of MyMemories! It matches the one from Tuesday! Don't have their fabulous software (they just came out with Version 3)? Purchase it and save $10 using this code STMMMS80543. You will also receive a $10 coupon code for the MyMemories Store in your confirmation email after your purchase!

To download click the image or here!

Brag Time Thursday ~ January 5 Linky

Come link up your Homeschool related posts to 'brag' about the great things you and your kids are doing! Browse around and see what others are up to as well!

(Please link up the direct URL of the post you are 'bragging' about!)

Please Follow your hosts and Grab our Brag Time Button 

to display in your post or on your blog so others can join in the fun as well!

(Failure to follow these specific guidelines will result in your link up being deleted, so PLEASE be sure to 1) link up the direct URL of your post and 2) post the hop button on your post or blog (where we can find it).  We also kindly ask that you follow us, we WILL follow you back!) Thank you!

Link-up is live from 11:00 PM Wednesdays  EST to 11:59 PM Saturdays EST each week!

Brag Time Thursday ~ Goals Met and Goals Set

I was having a hard time finding something for this post today so I am going to recap last years goals and share our goals for next year with you. I apologize for that lack of pictures!
Monkey's 2011 Goals Met~colors~shapes (except octagon, rectangle and oval)~count to and recognize numbers up to 10~all letters and their sounds
Monkey's 2012 Goals Set~count to and recognize numbers up to 25~understand one-to-one correspondence~writing~cutting skills~learn the Primary songs~participate in Family Home Evening~try new foods (this is a BIG one as he doesn't eat much)~wear clothing (not just under ware) at home (right now he only wears clothes if we leave the house)~be FULLY potty-trained (he still wears pull-ups at night)
Ladybug's 2011 Goals Met ~start learning to read (she knows all the letter sounds and is blending well, she also knows quite a few sight words) ~count to 100 (she gets hung up every once in a while but she mostly has it)~write a 1000 word novel for NaNoWriMo
Ladybug's 2012 Goals Set~reading fluency~count by 2's, 5's and 10's~memorize the Articles of Faith~participate in NaNoWriMo again~help with Family Home Evening~exercise~work on using words instead of screaming/crying when things don't go her way
Unicorn's 2011 Goals Met ~memorized her addition facts (mostly)~memorized the Articles of Faith~stopped complaining about having to do her school work (mostly)~wrote a 10,000 word novel for NaNoWriMo
Unicorn's 2012 Goals Set~multiplication facts~read the Book of Mormon~write a research report~participate in NaNoWriMo again~help with Family Home Evening~complete 1-2 Personal Progress goals a month~exercise~stay in bed after I say Good Night (she has had sleeping issues since she was 2)
Mommy's 2011 Goals Met~read 30 books~ read the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price~read all 12 Ensigns~100% Visiting Teaching~went to the Temple 3 times~built up our Emergency Fund~started cooking healthier meals
Mommy's 2012 Goals Set~read 30 books~read the Book of Mormon~read all 12 Ensigns~100% Visting Teaching~go to the Temple 4 times~continue cooking healthier meals~exercise~weekly Family Home Evening~digital scrap 3-5 pages/wk (see the MyMemories badge on the side)~less time on computer (Facebook, email)~more time on Family Blog
Daddy's 2011 Goals Met~went to the Temple 3 times~SEI class (required for his job)~built up Emergency fund~started cooking healthier meals~increased his Home Teaching percentage
Daddy's 2012 Goals Set~read the Book of Mormon~go to the Temple 4 times~increase his Home Teaching percentage~weekly Family Home Evening~read and RETURN borrowed books~continue cooking healthier meals~exercise

Workbox Wednesday ~ January 4 Linky

We're Back! ;)
Today Unicorn took the Chapter 6 Quiz in Teaching Textbooks 4, continued her adventure on Math Rider (review coming), is working through her ZeeZok Movie Guide for Kit Kittredge (review coming), did lesson 35 in The Mystery of History Vol.1,  studied Book of Mormon (with mom and The Redheaded Hostess) and worked on learning the last 2 Articles of Faith.

Terrific Tuesday ~ MyMemories

Here it is! Another freebie courtesy of MyMemories! This time it is an 8 1/2 by 11! Don't have their fabulous software (they just came out with Version 3)? Purchase it and save $10 using this code STMMMS80543. You will also receive a $10 coupon code for the MyMemories Store in your confirmation email after your purchase!

To download copy and paste the following into your browser:

http://rakscraps.com/ftp/events/STMFreebie2JanExtra.zip

http://rakscraps.com/ftp/events/STMFreebie2JanExtra.zip

http://rakscraps.com/ftp/events/STMFreebie2JanExtra.zip

http://rakscraps.com/ftp/events/STMFreebie2JanExtra.zip

http://rakscraps.com/ftp/events/STMFreebie2JanExtra.zip

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!