Circling Through This Life

Looking for a fun, family friendly trivia game that’s educational, too? You’ll want to check out Griddly Games’ Wise Alec: Civilize This! Travel and Expansion pack.  Everything you need to play this game is included in one compact box.  Instructions, trivia cards and one die.   Since we’re talking about the box, I’d like to mention that my husband was very impressed with the construction.  It is very sturdy.  My husband likes that it stays closed with a hidden magnet.  You don’t have to worry about the box popping open and spilling the contents. This game can stand alone or you can use it with the Wise Alec Family Trivia Game as an expansion pack.  The instructions for “Civilize This!” state 2-4 players, however we played with 5 players with no problems at all.  In fact having all of us together while all of us “big people” played made the game more fun. Here you can see Tailorbear reading a question to her Daddy. Let’s talk about those ...

Every week Debra over at Footprints in the Butter hosts a read aloud challenge.   She posts on Thursdays but I tend to put my posts off until Saturday.   I think it is because I think of the week as Monday through Friday for read alouds.  I’ve been reading aloud to my children for years and years.  I confess though that I did not read aloud as much to my oldest when she was a toddler as I did to my youngest when she was a toddler.  But I do remember getting serious about reading aloud to BooBear when she was 3.   BooBear still likes listening to read alouds even though she is now 16 and an avid independent reader. I did not post an update last week and this week seems a blur so maybe we read this this week and maybe we read it last week but in any case it is what we are reading aloud <grin> We are not officially starting school until September 8th but we did get a head start on many subjects.  Mostly we started our Sonlight Cor...

My family and I just finished watching Game Time: Tackling the Past an NBC Family Movie Night movie.  We were given a website link to watch a pre-screening of this movie.  I have to state upfront that I am NOT a fan of football.  I love sports but I avoid football.  When I told my husband that I was going to be reviewing this movie, he was a little concerned.  “It’s about football.”.  Yes, football is integral to the plot line, but I am pleased to report that I was able to get past my anti-football hang ups and enjoy the movie. Here’s a synopsis of the movie: Pro football star Jake Walker is living the dream… or so he thinks. The veteran tight end is a fan favorite and on pace to set the all-time receiving yards record that will guarantee him a spot in the Hall of Fame. While working out at training camp, Jake receives an unexpected call from his brother Dean – their father Frank has suffered a major heart attack. Jake immediately leaves practice and r...

I had forgotten how much I love the library.  It had been a very long time since I stepped foot inside a real branch of the library.  Yes we use the library on a regular basis but my library “trips” are mostly virtual.  I log into our county library system and search the catalog.  I put the books I want I hold.  When those books are ready for pick up, I send a teen or a husband to walk down to the book mobile and pick up the books. I am blessed to have a bookmobile.  I love that my daughters can walk or ride their bike to the “library”.  I have very fond memories of riding my bike to the library in the summer time.   The bookmobile is very convenient and for school purposes I prefer the check out policies of the bookmobile. But the bookmobile has one major flaw.  It’s a giant bus not a building.  Because it must be mobile, it carries a limited supply of books.   Because it is mobile, it smells of diesel fumes.  Beca...

I have a fondness for mystery novels, especially the series kind. You know the ones where it is the same character in every book who solves the mystery but each book is a different mystery.  When I read the information about The Corruptible by Mark Mynheir and I saw the words “a Ray Quinn Mystery” I knew I needed to know more.  After reading the information from the publisher, I eagerly requested this book for review. From the Publisher About This Book How m u ch money would it take for you to betray the truth? Ex-homicide detective Ray Quinn never had glamorous thoughts of the life of a private investigator—but being cornered in a bathroom stall by the enraged philandering husband of a client? That’s something he could live without. Retired from homicide and living with a painful disability, Ray’s options are limited. Stick to the job, keep impetuous sidekick Crevis alive, and spend quiet evenings with trusted pal Jim Beam, that’s about the best he can hope for. As a new...

This past Friday night I did something I didn’t think I would ever do.   Last night I told my mother about it: Me:  “I got a tattoo.” Mom: (shock in her voice) “You got a tattoo?” Me:  “It’s ok mom.. It’s a henna tattoo.  It’ll only last 2-3 weeks.” Mom: (relief in her voice) “Oh, ok.  so what does it look like.” I felt so YOUNG and so GIDDY.   I felt like a teenager again breaking the news to my mother about my hidden rebellious streak.  It felt good to feel like that.  (Hmm.. what does that say about me?) I’m enjoying my henna tattoo and my girls love it.  Tailorbear wants to get one.  I’m not sure that I’m ready for my 12 year old to experiment yet but I will say this falls into the “you know you’re a homeschooler when” category: You know you’re a homeschooler when your 12 year old describes the henna tattoo that she wants to get based on her studies of East Indian Culture and explains about how they use henna tattoos to...

Every Thursday, Debra over at Footprints in the Butter hosts a Read Aloud Challenge link up.   You can read about how it became a link up here    I’ve chosen to participate on Saturdays or whenever I can <grin>. Though we did not read aloud every day this past week, we did get some things started. . We did start reading Mara, Daughter of the Nile this week.  This is scheduled as a Reader (Read Alone or read by the student to himself) but we’ve decided to do it as a read aloud. (I posted about that in a previous Reading Challenge Post .).  Though targeted for Tailorbear, both BooBear and Turtlegirl are listening in as well.   They’ve both read the book on their own.  We do have to admonish Turtlegirl to not tell us any details.  I’ve not read the book before and this is Tailorbear’s first exposure as well.   Sometimes she or I would make a comment and we could clearly see Turtlegirl just dying to tell us key informatio...