Reading Eggs Review

I was recently offered the opportunity to review a reading site called Reading Eggs.  Some of you know that my youngest, Logan has a learning disability.  Although we aren't sure what it is, we did have him tested and he does in fact have one.  We are awaiting further testing now. 

But in the meantime, I am always on the search for things to use to help Logan along with his schooling.

I wasn’t sure how well Logan would take to Reading Eggs.  He’s easily frustrated, especially when he doesn’t understand something.  But this website was so awesome to explain each level and game. 

The levels are short enough that they keep his attention, but long enough to actually "teach" him.

 

I started Logan out on the beginners level to help boost his confidence.  But if you have a child that is already reading well they have Reading Eggspress for ages 7+.  

I loved how you can track the child's progress.  Logan loved that for every lesson he got right he won "Golden Eggs".  And then he could use his "Golden Eggs" to play in the arcade.  

If you head over to Reading Eggs you can SCORE a 14-day FREE Trail!

Pricing:

A Monthly Subscription is $9.95

6 Month Subscription is $49.95

Or you can do 12 months for $75.00 

In closing, I have to say....Reading Eggs is such a great site!  Whether you have a beginning reader or maybe you just want to strengthen their phonetic skills, it really is a wonderful resource!

Blessings,

*****I am participating in a sponsored campaign hosted by The Homeschool Lounge Review Team. I received a 5 week membership to ReadingEggs to facilitate this review. All opinions stated are my own.*****

Spring is in the air…

Here it is the first of March and we have trees and flowers blooming, 80 degree temperatures, and mosquito's....already!

What is up with that!? 

I thought we were getting 6 more weeks of winter!  Just goes to show, that groundhog knows NOTHING!

But Spring coming early is fine by me!  I’m ready to rock this garden thang!  ;) 

Are you ready for Spring??

Blessings,

Our 2012 Curriculum and Changes

Ok, typically I buy new curriculum around July or August (yes, last minute!) because that’s usually when the boys are done with what we’ve been using.  However, this year what we had been using just wasn’t working. 

Anyway, usually I have to buy a piece at a time.  But not this year!  We sat aside a portion of our tax return just for curriculum.  And this is what we got this year:

Dawson will continue to do his MUS (Math U See).   He’s gotten really bored with it, but we really need to finish the book he’s in.  I told him I’d find him a new Math curriculum if he wanted to try something new for awhile.  So I need to get busy searching. 

We switched from School of Tomorrow’s PACE’s to Christian Light Educations LightUnits for Language Arts.  And so far he loves it!   He says it’s much harder than what he was doing, but he likes the challenge!   And as a bonus, the CLE LightUnits include Spelling!  SCORE!
One less thing I have to try to research and find.  Still we may add to it more later. 

I also purchased Dawson the Reference Charts from CLE.

He can use them during regular school only.  I make him put them away during tests.  We have the older ones for 3^rd graders and found them to be very helpful!

I also added the Reading Program from CLE.  Usually I just use readers and allow him to pick various books to read on his own.  But I really felt he needed more consistency.  He’s also really struggling with comprehension.   The Reading Program came with a wonderful hardback book, full of stories that are perfect for him!  And 6 LightUnits.  The LightUnits force him to pay attention to his reading because he will be asked questions about the story.  He’s all smiles!  For the first time in a very long time he actually enjoys a curriculum!

With Logan, we are still struggling with Reading, but have seen much improvement.  (For those of you just tuning in, Logan has a severe Learning Disability, we just aren’t sure what type. But we are on an extremely long waiting list for further testing!) 

I was really not sure about what to use with him.  He is all boy.  Can’t be still!  And absolutely H.A.T.E.S. school and anything related to school.  So, I needed something that would keep his attention.

A dear friend suggested All About Reading.  You can get more info (Here).  But I must say, it was well worth the money!  He loves it!! And is flying through the books!  I’m pretty sure that we will be done and ready to move on to the next level by August!  Which will be great because he is on a 1^st grade level.  Not that we do levels or grades…it’s too much pressure.  But I would love to see him have some confidence in his skills.  Right now he is very self-conscious. 

Logan will also use the Christian Light Education curriculum, but only in Math.  He’s starting 2^nd grade Math.  He’s still struggling with some skills, but not enough to hold off.  So I think in the next month or so he will begin that. 

For both boys I’m using Studying God’s Word by Christian Liberty Press.  And I love it!  The lessons are perfect for the boys.  Just enough to keep them interested but not so much that they are bored after 10 minutes.  And they have opened up a huge door for more conversations about Jesus, which is what I wanted!  The lesson also have scripture memory verses. 
I had a hard time deciding which level to use because there is such a huge gap in the boys grades/levels/whatever you wanna call it.  But finally settled on Book D

For History I’m using a mix of two separate books from Christian Liberty Press; American Pioneers and Patriots and History Stories for Children.  The History Stories for Children will be more of a family reading book but I knew they would both enjoy it!

Science was a freebie…from a WONDERFUL friend.  It’s called A Reason For Science.  It’s VERY hands on!  I’m excited to get started with it.  Each lesson offers experiments.  Nothing to big or expensive.  Some, more simple than others.  But all in all it looks super cool!  And both boys will use it.

My WONDERFUL friend also sent me a really cool book of reproductable pages to use along side of the “A Reason for Science” curriculum.

So that’s what we are using this year…so far!  It is apt to change at any time!  But that’s the joy of home education, right! 

Tell me, what are you using this year? 


Blessings,

Laundry Room...Oh Glorious Laundry Room!

Ok, so when we built our house almost 13 years ago the laundry room was the last thing on my mind.  I didn't think I would be spending much time in there so frankly I didn't care how we did it.

What can I say!?  I was young...little did I know, I would be spending a great deal of time in the laundry room!

This is what I had to work with (and keep in mind, this is after we had done some "work" several years ago):

I had to turn sideways just to get in the door!  Now, granted when we built the house we bought one of those little stackable apartment type washer/dryer units.  So it actually fit, but after having another child that lil' thing wasn't cuttin' it.  So when it died we bought full size units.

Ugh, it just looked so junky!  All that mess crammed in to one tiny space.

Well, after me and the hunny talked it over and after changing our minds about a million times, we decided to just "redo" our current space versus building a whole new laundry room.  We are working really hard to get completely out of debt and just doing a redo would save a huge amount of money!!  So after much prayer, we had our decision!

And yes, we prayed about whether or not to build or redo :)

SO, with just a weekend worth of work we managed to totally redo our funky lil' laundry room!

Here is what we did:

{I got this cute lamp at the thrift store for $5.00 and repainted it.}

{I already had the linen valance.  I *HEART* linen!}

{This is one of my favorite pieces!  And I got it for $10!}

{A sweet friend of mine made me some vinyl letters with her new Cricut}

{I still want to hide the fuse box, but I still think everything looks awesome!}

{The box here was built with scraps!  The beadboard is from my bathroom reno! And the box is hiding all those ugly hoses, lines, etc}

{The one thing that I considered to be a big purchase and it was only $24.00}

{I love this!!  And it was free!  I already had the frame and I printed the Subway Art for FREE from here!}

{And I had to throw in a couple with just the lamp on!}

{OH!  And that really awesome, cute and super fantastic ceiling light fixture was F.R.E.E. from a super awesome friend!}

So, for approximately $150.00 we redid our WHOLE Laundry Room!!!  The biggest space saver was getting that big ole' ugly water heater OUT OF THERE!

Hunny moved it elsewhere!  Now the washer and dryer can sit against the back wall!

My list of purchased items:
Paint: $25.00
Sheetrock Mud: $ 14.00
Mop/Broom holder: $7.00

Small Wire Basket: $10.00
Lamp: $5.00
Birdy: $1.00
Laundry Sorter: $24.00
Wood for shelving:  $25.00
Apothecary Jar: $8.00
_______________________

Total:  $114.00

And that's with me rounding up all the figures!  So I actually spent less than $150!

The only thing we didn't do was the flooring, but the reason is......because I have some really awesome flooring coming for F.R.E.E.  So all we will have to do is pull the washer and dryer out and lay the flooring down!    Can't beat free! :)

I just love everything about it!  I wish I could pull a chair in there and have coffee...hmmm.... cozy!  

So, what do ya think???

Blessings,

Spring...where are you?

I thought after the weather we've had the last few weeks that Spring...glorious SPRING was here.  So much so that I broke down and had to put a little bit of color out.  I put my lil' dining room table centerpiece on the table.

Isn't it precious =)  

I usually L.O.V.E. winter, but lately I have had a hard time staying warm.   I have been freezing!!!  Then of course just when I thought winter was over, the cold, rainy weather returned....blah!

But at least my table is pretty =)

What's your favorite centerpiece?   

Blessings,

If it ain't one thing....

It's your mother!!

Naw, not really...it just sounded good!  HAHA!

Seriously though, things have been crazy to say the least!!  Just when I thought things had calmed down some, they got real crazy, real fast!

On the 4th of January my oldest son, Dawson (12) had a seizure while we were at church.  He had never had a seizure before.  It was a very, very scary experience.  Especially when it's your baby!

So the last month has been nonstop doctors appointments!!  We think we may have finally got a treatment plan going.

Please keep us in your prayers!

Ok, so I plan to go back to regular posts (again!) on Monday!

Until then...

Blessings,

I *Heart* CHICKENS!!!

Seriously!! I DO!

There is something so cool about them.  They aren't like any other critter.  They can fly.  They can flog!  They can poop an egg out and we will eat it! (HA betcha rather not think about that!)

But really, they are so neat!  Like I can go to my coop and hang with the girls and they actually greet you like a dog would, without all the licking and what not.

I love to sit and watch them scratch around looking for whatever!

I love them so much that I made them a sign for their coop~

PURE AWESOMENESS RIGHT!!!

I can't take credit for the name...my girl Bobbi came up with that one!  Now she's on a search for a new name cause I took hers! LOL  Not really.  I got permission first ;)

I can't wait to make some more signs for them and get their laying boxes set up a little better.  It's a work in progress.  I'm not able to spend much time working on the coop right now, but hopefully soon.

Here are two of my ladies:

{ This is Thelma!  She's my good layer and she was struttin her stuff here!!! }

{This is Betty Sue}

So, yep!  I'm strange...I  *HEART* chickens =)

Blessings,