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Showing posts from October, 2015

The Nutcracker ~ Stories in Music {Crew Review}

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Until a few years ago, whenever I heard the word Nutcracker or heard the music, especially the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, I would think of a certain department store Christmas commercial. I had never seen the ballet performed or truly listened to the music. That changed when we were gifted tickets to a professional performance of the Nutcracker Ballet. It was beautiful and it the story and the music have become a favorite of Supergirl. Because she loves the Nutcracker I knew we would want to add The Nutcracker from the Stories in Music collection to our small collection of CDs from Maestro Classics . About the Story and the Music The Nutcracker ballet is based on a fairytale by E.T.A Hoffman. He was a German writer, composer, and painter. He was born in 1776 in a city in Prussia which is now a city a in Russia!  He died in 1822 in Berlin, Germany. The composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, wrote many famous ballets such as Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty in addition to the Christma

Four Reasons Why I Love the Crew

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I love the Homeschool Review Crew and since I am now a Crew Leader and we’re accepting applications I decided I wanted to share with you some of the reasons I love the crew.   1.  Curriculum!  Being a reviewer for the review crew means I get curriculum in exchange for my honest review. I've had the opportunity to review some amazing products such as Teaching Writing Structure and Style from IEW or the First Grade program with all the manipulatives from Touch Math. I love that I have been able to provide such a rich and varied course of study for my daughters. I’ve found treasures that I never would have thought I needed.    2.  Improving my writing ~ being a part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew gave me the opportunity to improve my writing and my blogging.  I've learning about Keywords and Evergreen posts and developing my own style.   3.  Making friends! ~ One of the requirements of the crew is belonging to the private forum. While we are not required to participat

Three Incredible IEW Resources for your Homeschool {Crew Review}

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It’s no secret that I love Institute for Excellence in Writing . Through IEW I have gained confidence in my own ability to write and in my ability to teach writing to my daughters. IEW put together a set of resources for members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew. They included Teaching with Games Set , Timeline of Classics , and A Word Write Now .  These items are not sold together but IEW gave me all three resources to use and review.   Teaching with Games Set Let’s talk about the DVD first. One of the things I love about IEW DVDs is the classical music that plays in the background when you view the menu. Is it wrong to confess that I left the DVD on menu mode for a while when I was home alone just to listen to the music? The DVD contains three discs: 2 DVDs and 1 CD_ROM.   Disc One covers Matching Card Games and “No-Prep” Games.  Disc Two includes Question Games, Math Facts Games, and “Make As You Teach” Games. The appendix is also available on Disc 2.  On Disc three you’ll find the

Random Five on Friday ~ October 23rd

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I feel like I haven’t done one of these in a really long time! I’ve been so crazy busy with the Crew and home schooling and well life really. 1. I’ve really been enjoying getting one book a month from the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library but I’ve been so crazy that I still haven’t finished the book I checked out in September. According to my Kindle Fire I am about 50% of the way through the book. I’m reading Immortal Plague by Aiden James.  It’s very interesting but even though I am half way through it I still haven’t decided how I feel about it. I think I might have to blog about it when I finish it. 2. Speaking of books I also started re-reading the Harry Potter series. Having read through them all once and seen the movies several times it is really different reading them again knowing how the whole thing turns out. I’m still on book one, The Sorcerer's Stone. I’m enjoying all the little things in the book that never made it into the movie. I think my reading goal for 2016 will

Three More All Natural Products from Koru Naturals {Crew Review}

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Earlier this year I had the opportunity to review Koru Naturals . We loved the Emu Oil and the shampoo and conditioner so the girls and I were excited to try Skin Clear Cream , Manuka Honey Propolis Soap , and Argan Oil and Sandalwood Hair Tonic . Everyone assigned to this review received the cream and the soap. We had a variety to choose from for a third product. It was so hard to decide!! About Koru Naturals The name, Koru, comes from the Maori word for loop. It is the shape of the new unfurling fern frond and symbolizes new life, growth, strength, and peace. Koru Naturals imports products from New Zealand. Koru asks that all of their suppliers to certify that the products are never tested on animals. For more information about the history of Koru Naturals or for more information on the brands they carry visit Koru Naturals. Argan Oil and Sandalwood Hair Tonic This hair tonic will nurture your dry hair, tame frizzy hair and add luster so hair isn’t so dull looking. It’s a ble

Ch Ch Changes!

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Does the title make you think of David Bowie? It should.  If it doesn’t then you need to go to YouTube and find out why it should make you think of David Bowie. I’ve been trying to find time to write a blog post but my time is in very high demand right now. What does that have to do with changes?  Everything actually. If you are a regular reader of my blog you know that I’ve been a part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew forever. Well, not forever but for a long time. I started in June 2010 with the start of the Year 3 Voyage. The Crew was still very young.  Still had lots of kinks to work out.  Still had lots of growing pains to experience and I was an inexperienced review writer. My blog was still fairly new and young and I didn’t know anything about blogging or writing reviews. I like to think that I’ve come a long way and that my writing, reviews, and blog have come a long way since then.  Here were are in October of 2015 and the crew is winding down its 8th Crew year.  Yes, one

Learn to Read with Reading Kingdom {Crew Review}

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Some programs are amazing and wonderful but you discover them at the wrong time. Sometimes you get a second a chance.  This is not the first time I’ve reviewed Reading Kingdom . I loved it then, and Supergirl adored it, but I simply did not continue our membership after it ended. Supergirl would ask for “the owl” and be disappointed when I told her that we did not have that program anymore.  When it came up for review through the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I didn’t plan to put high interest on it. That ship had sailed right?  Wrong.  Supergirl overheard me discussing it and she begged for the program. I re-read my past reviews and I knew I had to ask to review Reading Kingdom Online again.   Reading Kingdom is not just a learn to read program. Dr. Blank identified six essential skills for learning to read and integrated them into her program. The six skills are sequencing, writing, sounds, meaning, grammar, and comprehension. When I reviewed this program in 2012, I explained in my re

Random Five on Friday ~ October 2nd Edition

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Yes, it’s still Friday!  Let’s just jump in shall we! 1. I am so excited! It’s time to start thinking about the 2016 Schoolhouse Review Crew. Today, the Crew put out a teaser. If you’ve been reading my blog and wanted to know how you could get such fabulous stuff to review you’ll want to check out this post that tells you what you need to know about joining the Schoolhouse Review Crew . Look for an announcement next week about the application process! 2. I have a thing for minions. My favorite app game on my Kindle Fire is Despicable Me: Minion Rush. So my husband had to bring home these: 3. It was a beautiful clear night on Sunday so we were able to see the moon and the lunar eclipse. 4. We did actually get to harvest one small but very cute green bell pepper and one ugly and smaller pepper. We got one small spaghetti squash. A handful of tomatoes and some onions too.  Oh and carrots. The garden just wasn’t doing well this year and I blame the heat and drought. 5. We enjoyed h