Mommy Octopus

Through 8/24, you can score a Free 8×10 Print + Free Same-Day Pickup from CVS when you use code AWESOME at checkout!  These are my favorite type of freebies so we can freshen up our photos often.  Perfect to print your back to school pictures!

 

My almost 4 year old son is a HUGE fan of Monster Jam!  If your kids (or you) are as well, take note of this event!

On Wednesday, August 28, the community will have the opportunity to meet Monster Jam driver Krysten Anderson at Mall of Georgia. The first-ever female driver of Grave Digger will sign autographs, take photos and interact with fans from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the lower level Center Court in the Southeast’s largest shopping center. Anderson will return alongside her family of drivers for Monster Jam Triple Threat at Infinite Energy Arena from September 13-15!

This event is FREE and open to the public. For more information, visit bit.ly/MonsterJamMOG.

 

We really like the High Sierra brand backpacks.  My oldest daughter has had one for almost 5 years now and it’s still going strong!  Definitely a brand we recommend.  Right now, HighSierra.com has some clearance backpacks up to 70% off PLUS free shipping!  You can grab backpacks for as low as $14.99, down from $50!  Definitely a great deal for a well-made backpack!  This offer is for a limited time and while supplies last, so don’t hesitate long!

While supplies last, you can grab a YETI Hopper Flip Cooler on sale from Woot.com!  I fully expect these to sell out quickly, so please don’t wait if you’re wanting to score one!

The Hopper Flip is designed to hold its own outdoors. With its rugged exterior and extreme cold-holding insulation, you’ll find this soft cooler to be anything but.

There is also a sale on the YETI Tundra Cooler.  You can choose between the Tundra 35, 45, or 65

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone that is back to school is having a great year so far!  We haven’t started yet.  Maybe next week, but who knows.  We may just wait until September.  This teacher is not ready!  I want to spend more time at the pool and having fun with my kids.

This past weekend was a blast.  Our oldest turned 16 and we let her take 3 friends with her on an overnight outing to the mountains.  We rode horses, swam, had dinner at a fancy restaurant, built a bonfire, sang songs, had an impromptu dance party, and more.  Such a sweet time with a great group of kids!

Monday: Taco Salad

Tuesday: Grilled Cheese

Wednesday: Chicken Quesadillas

Thursday: Nephew’s Birthday Party

Friday: Meatloaf

Saturday: Egg Casserole

Sunday: Rotisserie Chicken, Sides

Woo hoo! Carter’s is having a $4+ Flash Sale today and FREE shipping on any size order TODAY!  Perfect time to grab up your back to school items or start planning for fall.  Choose from leggings, tees, and more! You can even grab Uniform Polos at this price!

Through Sunday at midnight, you can score FREE shipping on any order from Dayspring.com when you use code NEWSHIP at checkout.  Dayspring offers lovely gifts, journals, and more!  There are a lot of clearance items to browse through for gifts.  Here is one deal to check out!

Jumbo Mugs (perfect for soup/cereal/coffee) several styles – $5 shipped with code NEWSHIP!

Head on over to Dayspring.com  to see more deals!

 

 

Memoria Press has such quality homeschool materials, so I was thrilled for the chance to review the Seventh Grade Literature Guide Set which included The Hobbit Literature Guide Set.

With this set we received the following:

• The Hobbit Student Study Guide
• The Hobbit Teacher Guide
• The Trojan War Student Study Guide
• The Trojan War Teacher Guide
• The Bronze Bow Student Study Guide
• The Bronze Bow Teacher Guide
• Anne of Green Gables Student Study Guide
• Anne of Green Gables Teacher Guide

My 7th grade son loves to read, so I let him go ahead and get a jump start on his fall studies.  I showed him the selection and he decided to start to work on The Hobbit Literature Guide Set.  We loaded The Hobbit to his Fire Tablet and he got to work.

The only problem we have had is that my son likes to keep reading, but doesn’t necessarily wish to stop and do the study guide.  I have to often remind him to slow down and answer the study guide questions first.  I do allow him to work at his own pace as long as he’s trying to keep up with the study guide while he’s reading.  He’s getting a lot accomplished!

 

The Hobbit Literature Guide is pretty self explanatory and doesn’t need a lot of teacher direction.  A student is able to read a chapter in their assigned book and then work through the pages in the guide that coordinate.  The guide has “Reading Notes”, which are actually quite helpful in explaining what some of the words and characters in the book meant.  For example, in The Hobbit, some of the “Reading Notes” include defining the characters of Bilbo Baggins, The Books, Gandalf, Thorin, and Smaug.  There are also vocabulary works that the student has to define.  Comprehension questions, quotations, and discussion questions are also included.  These help make the student return to the book and think more about what they are reading.

My son wasn’t a huge fan of the poetry weeks that are in the study guide and having to figure out what The Dwarves’ Song meant, however we haven’t worked on poetry much before.  I appreciate that this guide helped us through taking apart and understanding poetry.

In the back, there are worksheets for creating notes about the characters in the book.  There is a sheet to create notes on creatures and describe places, adventures, and more.

The Teacher Guide includes answers to the workbook along with quizzes and exam questions.

Next up, I think my son plans to read Anne of Green Gables and then we will probably go with The Trojan War and then The Bronze Bow.  I’m happy to see him working through these classics and using the study guides to learn.

Overall, we really like this program and I’ll be considering it for my other children.  We have been very pleased with how deep some of the questions go in order to make the students think.

For More Information:

For more information, please visit the Memoria Press website. You can find this complete set plus the novels for only $129.00.  If you are interested in other grades, they offer sets from first through tenth grade.

You can also find out more on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, or Instagram.  Also be sure to click the banner below to read Crew reviews on this product and others from Memory Press.

 

I’m excited to tell you about the newest company we did a review for and that is Library and Educational Services LLC.  It’s a very valuable resource for homeschooling families and has been in business for 40 years!

For this review, we were provided with a Who Was? book of our choice, a CD from the Lifehouse Theater CDs series, and a gift card toward their Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction books.

With so many wonderful choices, it was hard to choose.  We ended up going with What Was the Gold Rush?  We love going to Dahlonega, GA, which was part of the Gold Rush, so this book was particularly interesting to our family.  It was neat to hear about all the history behind the Gold Rush.  Did you know the largest nugget weighed 195 pounds?  That would be an amazing find!  This book also has copies of scanned documents and pictures of real miners!  It puts forth history in a fun and interesting way, which really appealed to our kids.

The Who Was? series of books are normally $5.99, but are currently on sale for $2.89 each through Library and Educational Services LLC!  In fact, their books are all 30-70% off list price daily!

For our Lifehouse Theater CDs series choice, we chose Rikki Tikki Tavi because my son recently played Rikki Tikki in his homeschool co-op play.  As a family, we sat down and listened to the audio drama. Lifehouse Theater did a great job in bringing this to life with the sound effects and great story-telling.

To use our gift card, we needed to put it toward their Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction books.  The first set we chose was Animal Detectives: Police Dogs and Animal Detectives: Military Dolphins.  I honestly had no idea that Military Dolphins were a thing!  They can be used to help ships know if there are submarines or bombs under the water.

Since we are studying American History with our kids this year, I went with the book sets, The True History of the Wild West and Stories in American History.  These are going to be wonderful additions to our homeschool room.  With the wonderful library binding, I know they will last for many, many years.

One of my favorite books was Women in the West.  I had heard of women such as Calamity Jane and Annie Oakley, but I also was able to learn about Cattle Kate, Poker Alice, and brave teachers like Catharine Beecher.  Catharine Beecher started the Ladies’ Society for Promoting Education in the West, which encouraged the training of women to become teachers on the frontier!

The Amazing Underground Railroad was also super fascinating for us to read as a family.  The kids were impressed on how everything was able to function and keep people hidden.  It brought about great conversations during dinner time for our crew.

For more information:

For more information, please visit the Library and Educational Services LLC website.  They are willing to ship all over the world and to military bases as well, so everyone can order!

You can also find out  more by visiting Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.

To find out what other homeschooling families thought about this wonderful website, please click the banner below.

We have a Kid-O-Bunk and take it with us whenever we travel.  It’s been one of the best things we’ve ever owned for our large family!  Makes a small hotel room perfect for all of us or gives everyone a spot when spending the night at Grandma’s.  We even took it with us to Disney World a few years back to give us a little more room!  It can be a bunk bed or turn into a little couch.  We LOVE it!

Right now Woot.com has the Kid-O-Bunk on sale for $209.99, down from $299.99!  This is one purchase you won’t regret!

• Kid-friendly – quick and easy no-tool assembly
• Simply and quickly configures from a bunk, to a bench or two singles
• Patented lock-in disc system for an all-round robust and sturdy product
• Fully disassembles for easy transportation and storage
• All parts stored in a convenient, zippered storage bag
• No mattress or ladder required
• Waterproof and machine washable sleeping deck
• No center beam – for true contoured body comfort
• Adjusts to uneven ground
• Rounded end frame to avoid ground sinking & protect floor surfaces
• For indoor and outdoor use
• Tried and tested – Disc-O-Bed a proud supplier to the US Military