July 31, 2019

Summer Camp Fun {Wordless Wendesday}

For the last week, we've been enjoying pre-teen camp with my youngest. I've been away and busy enjoying being one of the members of the Arts and Crafts staff, while he enjoyed being with 11 other boys and three counselors for B2. My mom enjoyed her stint working in the kitchen staff. Here are a few pictures from our time this week!





I love our bunch of Arts and Crafts staff!
He had a great dorm!


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July 24, 2019

Friendship Bracelets--a blast from the past {Wordless Wednesday}

As part of the Fibreshare swap for this summer, I'm participating in the theme of Friendship Bracelets. This means we have to send a bracelet representing friendship to our partner with the other things. I decided to take this into more depth and actually got in touch with my middle school self and did the old knotted friendship bracelets. 
It was NOT like riding a bike. There was no instant recall. LOL.
But thanks to YouTube videos from middle school girls (Bwahahahahahah), I was able to make my hands remember fairly quickly.
My mom commented, "Oh I remember you making those all the time!"
I loved buying up embroidery floss at the store and exploring designs on braceletbook.com and eventually made up three designs to send, and one to send later since it is taking me longer.
These were very fun and I think I'm going to incorporate them somehow into our co-op studies this year during art. Maybe as part of a weaving or handcraft study. I can't wait to finish that watermelon one and send it!
Did you ever make friendship bracelets when you were younger?


July 23, 2019

Apologia: Exploring Creation with General Science {Curriculum Review}

Apologia General Science 3rd Edition {Curriculum Review}
8th grade. The year of transition. When you are preparing your student for the demands of the high school work. To start preparing themselves to be more independent. To really hone in their work ethic. Yep, 8th grade scares me. LOL. Thankfully, there are a lot of companies out there helping with that in regards to curriculum, recognizing the transition that 7th/8th grade brings. In order to help transition from elementary science into the more rigorous high school science courses, Apologia has created the Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition course. I was very happy to be asked to review this curriculum and I hope you will read our review of this newest edition to the Apologia family.

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for full details and thank you for your support!

About the Product

Apologia is an award winning company for homeschool materials. One of the areas where they collect the most awards is through their fantastic science curriculum. Apologia’s newest curriculum,

July 17, 2019

Wordless Wednesday 7/17: Family Bonding

It's hard to believe that my sister-in-law's visit is already over. I'm going to miss my niece and nephew something fierce. But that's what happens when everyone lives in different places. So we cherish the time. We cherish the memories made.

My newest niece freshly born 💛
Uncle John reading bedtime stories to our niece and nephew
Quick photo of cousins
Cousin love

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Simply Music: Online Piano Lessons for All Ages {Product Review}

I have been playing the piano for 35 years. I taught piano for about 10 years. But in that time I haven't had "time" to teach my own children. I have one son who isn't interested at all, so I haven't pushed it. My youngest son, however, is more drawn to learning music. When we had the chance to review Simply Music and their Music & Creativity - Foundation Course, I decided it was the perfect time to get him started.

About the Program


Simply Music was created to offer students of all ages the ability to learn music and to love music without the traditional approach of music reading first. Designed to immediately immerse the

July 7, 2019

Upcoming Reviews for July and August 2019


Well, it is official that we are in the HEAT of summer here on the farm! Wowza are we having a "real" Kentucky summer this year. But when you have fields and fields of hay, that's an excellent thing. LOL. Summer is my husband's favorite season because he can get the most down on the farm. I don't really mind it myself since I have the blessed invention of an Air Conditioner to help me manage! LOL. Because it is summer, we are technically on a summer school break. But if you have been readers for awhile, you know that we review homeschooling product all year long--which means there are still a few school items in house for us to dabble in over the summer. Today I'm going to catch you up with what we've got in house for July and August. It really is a mix of things, including some we most likely will continue into the new school year.

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links
Please see my disclosure policy for full details and thank you for your support!

UPCOMING REVIEWS FOR JULY 2019


1. Music and Creativity-Foundation Course, Simply Music
This is a program I was very curious about as soon as I heard about it. It's a completely online piano lesson program! As a former

July 4, 2019

Happy 4th of July!!

From our farm to yours--
Happy 4th of July!
We'll be spending it at a state park for the afternoon, and then come home for dinner, movie, chasing fireflies, playing tag, and lighting sparklers. 
It's a wonderful day to be an American and able to celebrate our freedom!
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