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Homeschoolers! Time to Enroll in Book-It Program!

August 19, 2022 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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Homeschoolers, it’s time to enroll your children ages 4-12 in the Pizza Hut Book-It program for 2022-2023!  Head on over to their website and enter in your information to the program.  We’ve done this for several years and the kids always enjoy going to get their free pizza.  Yum!

Things are a little different this year as tracking is done online and then reward certificates are printed.  It looks to be a fairly easy program to use.

Students may redeem one Reading Award Certificate per month, and the certificate must be used to reward the student who earned it. When a child redeems their Reading Award Certificate with Pizza Hut, they are celebrated with a one-topping Personal Pan Pizza.

Participation Rules

Teachers at accredited public, private, and charter schools who teach English Language Arts curriculum for PreK* – 6th grade students (ages 4-12), are eligible for the BOOK IT! Program and may enroll individually for their classrooms. Parents homeschooling their own children may enroll in the BOOK IT! homeschool program.  Homeschool support and co-op groups, where the student does not attend full-time, are not eligible.  Programs at residential addresses are not eligible.

*PreK requirements: School must be accredited and have an approved PreK curriculum. Eligible students must be age 4 by September 1st.

Free Admission to Southeast Homeschool Expo!

May 18, 2022 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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Hooray!  For a limited time, score FREE admission tickets to the Southeast Homeschool Expo!  This will take place July 29-30, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Simply head on over to their website, and use code free2022 when you order your tickets! This code expires May 31, 2022.

 

If you haven’t been to a homeschool expo, this is a MUST in my mind!  We have gone to an expo thinking we wanted a particular curriculum and then ended up going with something else once we put our hands on it!  Definitely recommend it!

Starfall Education Foundation Review & Giveaway!

September 4, 2021 By MommyOctopus 5 Comments
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Starfall
We have been fans of Starfall Education Foundation for as long as we have been homeschoolers.  We have enjoyed their free program for years and have always debated on upgrading to the paid version.  My youngest has enjoyed learning the past few weeks while checking out The Starfall Home Membership from Starfall Education Foundation.

About the Product:

Starfall

In addition to many free games and activities, Starfall also offers The Starfall Home Membership for only $35 a year.  With The Starfall Home Membership, you will receive full access to the Starfall website for an individual family.  This also includes downloading the Starfall app to your Apple and Android devices.  There are even more games added recently, so if you haven’t checked it out in a while, I’d recommend visiting it again now!

With the Starfall Home Membership, there is a Starfall Education – Parent-Teacher Center.  This area of the site can be used to make printable worksheets via the worksheet generator.  Worksheets are available for up to 3rd-grade.  Math is available now, with ELA coming soon.  You can also find free lesson plans from our prek and kindergarten curricula.  These include Character Development, Snack Suggestions, and Outdoor Activity Supplements.

On Starfall, you will find activities for math skills, phonics, colors, and more geared from preschool up to the 3rd grade, with 4th and 5th grade coming soon!  There isn’t a release date on that yet, but I’m told that it will be soon!  Starfall is not a stand alone curriculum, but it is an excellent way to reinforce skills learned.

Also check out the Starfall Store.  There you can find the ‘Phonics and Sight Word Book Kit’, which currently ships for free.  You can also purchase math games for prek and kindergarten and find low-cost workbooks, journals, and readers.

 

Our Thoughts:

I have been using Starfall with my Kindergartener, although we cannot wait for the older grades to be added so my 5th grader can play, too. He has really enjoyed the programs and I like that he is learning.  The songs are all catchy so this helps to memorize concepts through listening.  With the Home Membership, the kids are able to use the program on the computer or on the iPads.

 

 

The Parent-Teacher center is a favorite of mine so I can make worksheets for the kids based on what I think they need.  I can find everything from flash cards to math and phonics worksheets and more!  I can even find Projectables in this area!  Starfall’s Projectables make it possible for you to project workbooks, big books, and posters from  Kindergarten ELA and Math curricula using a Smartboard or similar device.

We are so thankful to have been a part of this review so we could check out The Starfall Home Membership.  It’s definitely helped to bring a little more fun through learning into our homeschool.

For More Information:

For more information, you can visit the Starfall Education Foundation website.  You can also find out more on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

There are free 30-day trials available (no obligation or credit card needed) for anyone who would like to try the membership. At the end of the trial, if you choose to join, you will receive $5 off, making the membership only $30 a year!

Giveaway:

We have 2 year-long memberships to give away to lucky readers!  Simply fill out the rafflecopter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Timberdoodle Offers IQ Circuit from Smart Games

August 17, 2021 By MommyOctopus 1 Comment
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We received the IQ Circuit from Timberdoodle to review for you guys.  It’s a fun “Connect the Dots” style, one-player strategy game.  We’ve taken it on road trips and camping with us and everyone in the family has enjoyed it.  It’s a very portable game!  Although it’s geared toward ages eight to adult, my almost six year old son also had a ton of fun with it.

To start the game, simply decide which of the 120 challenges you’d like to do.  These range from “easy” to “expert” in difficulty.  Then you set up the dots as shown in the challenge.  You use the remainder of the pieces to try and finish the puzzle where the dots connect.  The pieces are all different shapes and the paths have curves, so it does take a lot of concentration, problem solving, and thinking skills.

 

We definitely recommend adding this game to your logic/thinking skills manipulatives and see this as something we will play many times over the years.  You can find this game for sale on Timberdoodle.  It’s is also part of the 9th Grade Curriculum Kit that Timberdoodle has put together.  

 

Homeschool Tip: Check Out Grammarly!

October 8, 2020 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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Instant Grammar Checker - Correct all grammar errors and enhance your writing.

Here’s another fun homeschool tip for you guys!  Have you heard of the website Grammarly?  If not, you’re going to love this!  Grammarly is the world’s leading automated proofreader. It checks for more than 250 types of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, enhances vocabulary usage, and suggests citations.

With Grammarly, you can:

  • Copy and paste any English text into Grammarly’s online text editor or install Grammarly’s free browser extension for Chrome and Safari.
  • Grammarly’s algorithms flag potential issues in the text and suggest context-specific corrections for grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. Grammarly explains the reasoning behind each correction, so you can make an informed decision about whether, and how, to correct an issue.

Even better, it’s FREE to use!  Head on over to check it out and create and account!

My Brother’s Keeper – Learning to Love Your Siblings God’s Way

April 17, 2020 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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The kids and I have been doing various Bible studies as part of our homeschool throughout the years.  This study by Not Consumed has been one of our favoirtes – My Brothers Keeper – Learning to Love Your Siblings God’s Way.  They’ve recently updated it so I’m eager to check out the changes.

As a mom, I was very encouraged watching my children pray for and with each other during the study.

Just wanted to share a little about what we have studied.

Do you have any great studies that you’ve tried?  I’d love to hear about them!  

Review: Reading Unlocked

April 14, 2020 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

We received 12 months of access to Reading Unlocked’s online learning to read program to review for all of you.  Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working on Reading Unlocked’s program with my 4.5 year old son.  Being the youngest in a family of 5 kids, he’s eager to catch up with his siblings and start reading.

When we first started Reading Unlocked, honestly I didn’t love the program.  I found many of the words didn’t match up to what we typically call items here in the United States.  My preschooler particularly struggled with the concept of a hat being called a cap.  He also struggled with a water faucet being referred to as a tap.

There were also times that I even had a particularly hard time understanding what word the program was trying to get us to use.  One that we struggled with was “ran” and “rang”.  The accent of the computer was hard to differentiate for us.

One part that I wish had a little more instruction is the letter writing practice.  It simply shows the letter and says “draw it in the air and then write a row of them on paper”.  I think having a little animation showing how to write the letter would be very appropriate rather than just showing the letter and asking a young child to write it.  This was definitely a program that I had to be right with my son the entire time he was working.

Once we got used to the accent and the way things were done, we both started enjoying the program.  It’s suggested to use the program several times during the week for about 10-15 minutes each session.  My son asks to do Reading Unlocked daily, but we typically do it about once or twice a week.  I felt that it was a little more advanced for him at the beginning, so we are taking it slower than most.  Taking it slower has helped build his confidence and get frustrated less.  We are spending the other days practicing the letters and words we learned.

I’m super pleased and surprised at how quickly he is picking up on the words at a young age!  Thanks to Reading Unlocked, he has been recognizing the word “cat” and others when we read books together.  He also is starting to try to write more words or asking me how to spell things.  The other day, he made his deputy dad chuckle when he was able to read and write the word “cop”!

 

My son’s favorite part was the “Say it with me” section.  A letter would flash on the screen and the child was to make the sound of that letter.  He loved being surprised with what letter would come up next.  Overall, we are thankful we had a chance to review this program and we plan to continue working on it at our slower pace over the next year.

For more information on Reading Unlocked, please visit their Facebook page.  You can also find out more on the Reading Unlocked website.

To read more reviews from other homeschooling families on this product, please click the banner below.

 

 

Reading Unlocked {Reading Unlocked Reviews}

2 Months of ABCMouse.com For Only $5!

March 14, 2020 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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ABCmouse.com

For a limited time, you can score 2 months of ABCmouse.com for only $5!  After this, then you can cancel or continue subscribing at their published rate.  At this price, it’s a wonderful start to see if it’s something your family will enjoy.

We have used ABCmouse.com for many months  and my children enjoyed it.  It now goes from 2 years of age through 2nd grade!  My 4 year old loves this program and it keeps him busy with his own “school” while my big kids work.

11 Things to Know When Visiting Atlanta Botanical Gardens in Gainesville

February 13, 2020 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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After seeing the great deal for admission to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens (free admission through 2/16/20), we decided to take a drive out to Gainesville yesterday and check out those gardens.  It made for a great dreary day walk and helped the younger 4 kids burn off some energy and break up our homeschool day a bit.

Since we visited and I posted on Instagram about our trip, I had a couple readers ask me about the park and what they needed to know about visiting.  These are our thoughts and from our experience.  Here’s what you need to know:

 

  1. No outside food is permitted.  We had brought a picnic with hopes of enjoying it there, but in order to keep the grounds clean and beautiful, they do not allow any outside food.  Instead, we enjoyed it on our way home.
  2. Once you get past the lobby, follow the paths to the left.  While following this route, you will weave through the different garden areas and then loop over to the children’s play area last.
  3. Stop and look at the different things along the way. There are a ton of different plants and flowers.  My kids enjoyed reading the names of them as there are some silly and strange names!  Our favorite was “Hot Lips”.  
  4. Walking through the gardens took us maybe 15-30 minutes, but it may be shorter or longer for your family depending on how long you take looking at the different varieties.  
  5. It’s important to stay on the paths so you don’t disturb the vegetation or mess up the displays.  It is clearly marked when you are allowed to walk off the path.
  6. Kids can unwind in the children’s garden.  Here you  can find a dragon to climb on and paths to follow.  
  7. The garden map shows a trolley near the gardens.  Since the map was printed, it has moved to the children’s area.  It looks fantastic in the midst of the play area.  You can press the button once and the trolley will come out and drive on it’s track.
  8. Watch for fairy houses and fun decorations.  There are a ton throughout the children’s area!
  9. The larger playground is best for children ages 5-12.  My kids had a fun time playing on it, but may be too high/challenging for younger children.
  10. Take time to paint the walls with water.  There is a bucket with paintbrushes that your kids can use.  My 4 year old really enjoyed this spot!                                           
  11. Take time to play with the balsa wood to build forts or whatever your children want to try.  This wood is light and isn’t too hard. This was probably our favorite part of the gardens.  I think my youngest would have stayed there all day building!

Although our trip to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens in Gainesville was a lot of fun, it was a little smaller than we expected and took less time to enjoy than we expected.  Nonetheless, we had a blast and enjoyed our day.  It’s definitely worth checking out and come springtime, it will be absolutely gorgeous!

LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Atlanta Homeschool Week 2019!

August 29, 2019 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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I love when public schoolers are back in session and places offer homeschool week!  Here’s the latest info I’ve received.  Be sure to read it carefully!

LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Atlanta invites homeschoolers to Homeschool Week on September 9 – 13! The week is complete with free LEGO® Education Workshops and activities that address curriculum standards. Students and their teachers will engage with subject matter through interactive and hands-on learning across science, mathematics, language arts, technology and more!

Local homeschools can book a fieldtrip by visiting http://bit.ly/ldcatlantahomeschool and completing the registration form. Homeschools must send the registration form and declaration of intent via email to LDCATL.Groupsales@LEGOLANDDiscoveryCenter.com or fax to 404.848.9591 prior to visiting.

Homeschool Week costs $10 per adult and $7 per student. For every five student tickets purchased, one adult ticket will be granted for free.For more information, visit facebook.com/LDCAtlanta or atlanta.legolanddiscoverycenter.com.

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