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I am switching to Bloglovin as Google Reader will be going away July 1st. I hope that if you follow me via GFC that you will check out Bloglovin and follow me there!
Thank you all!

Moments like this...

Why do we homeschool? It is for of moments like this:

We were doing a simple experiment to teach the little ones about the Scientific Method. The questions was: How many drops of water will fit on a Penny? Well, the children went through the steps and at the end they asked a new question...How many drops of water will fit on a nickel, dime, quarter, half-dollar, and Susan B. Anthony dollar coins? I love that they decided to extend this experiment ALL on their OWN! This is why we homeschool (and because we can wear our pj's all day and do our work out on the patio)! Have a great day!

Money Management Certification Program by FamilyMint ~ A Mosaic Review

I am very excited to share this next review with you! I have been looking for an affordable curriculum to help teach Unicorn about managing her money. She just turned 13 and has started receiving money for birthday and Christmas gifts. I will be honest, I am NOT a saver, and never have been. When I was young, I spent money faster than I received it. Of course, as I got older this began to become a problem. I do not want my children to make the same mistakes I did with money and so to find a money management program is a true blessing. So, without further adieu, let me introduce you to FamilyMint's Money Management Certification Program!

This little workbook is very cool! You can use it alone or you can use it in conjunction with their online software. The program walks your student through 4 chapters (Tracking your Money, Goal Setting, Budgeting and Interest - Growing $). Additionally, there are extra worksheets, an answer key, parent checklist, and a certificate of achievement.

In a Nutshell
~$29.99 (special introductory bundle that includes premium access to the online software - through Summer 2013)
~approx. 60 pages with 4 chapters (Tracking your Money, Goal Setting, Budgeting, Interest-Growing $)
~For grades 5+ (could be modified for younger children)
~2 month program
FamilyMint Founded in 2009 by two Dad's who saw a need for better money management for their own children
~Introduced the Money Management Certificate Program in November of 2012
~Website: FamilyMint.com
~Facebook: facebook.com/familymint
~Twitter: twitter.com/familymint
~Email: Bob

Our Thoughts
I used this program with Unicorn. She is 13 and just opened a Teen Checking account and had received a lot of money for her birthday and Christmas and even had some babysitting money. The first thing the program recommends is to have the student locate all their money and make a money jar.

Then, the parent acts as the banker. While we chose to use the online software along with the workbook you can use just the workbook. I had Unicorn log into the website and make her initial deposit. Then she started working her way through the workbook. She learned how to write checks and deposit slips, use a checkbook register, to set goals, budget and even learned about simple and compound interest.

She was so excited the day she reached her goal of being able to buy her own iPad Mini (and case)!

It was really neat to talk to her about looking for deals and sales to be able to buy her iPad sooner and to have money left over for her next goal! Instead of purchasing a "brand new" iPad mini she opted to save about $20 and buy one that was already open but still had the same warranty. I think her face says it all! We love the program and will be using it for Ladybug and Monkey too!

Click here to see what my teammates thought about this product!

Seed Starting (e-book) by Gary Emmett ~ A Mosaic Review

We are not gardeners! As much as we want to be, we haven't had much success when it comes to having a family garden. This is why I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review Seed Starting - The First Step to Gardening by Gary Emmett.

 In A Nutshell:
~Kindle edition e-book
~Title: Seed Starting - The First Step to Gardening
~Author: Gary Emmett (Major in Landscaping, managed a Garden Center, trained garden center owners about fertilizers and chemicals, currently is the local Parks Director)
~Price: $2.99 on Amazon
~approx. 34 pages
~7 chapters (Planning Your Garden, All About Seeds, Potting Soils, Growing Equipment, Do You Have Enough Light, Other Growing Needs, Ready to Transplant)


My Thoughts:
I love that this was a quick, easy read. Gary has a knack for explaining what is necessary without being overly wordy. After reading this book I was able to determine that most of our gardening failures are a direct result of not starting seed, using the wrong soil and using the wrong seeds! I especially like that Gary shares his favorite types of seeds and where to purchase them! We will definitely be using what we learned from Gary's book to help us plant our next garden!

Click here to read what my teammates thought of this book!