A Pool Can Be Painful

So I know we are way late in getting a pool purchased and set up, but my husband was adamant he needed one, even if we only use it for like 4 weeks as the summer ends. Thankfully, a Kentucky summer can last into the end of September! So while others are closing theirs up Labor Day weekend, we will be praying for enough warm days to maximize our water bill for the 4500 gallons we filled it with! But with a pool can come some problems.

No.
Not a leak.
Not bugs.
Not algae.

Britfield & the Lost Crown ~ A New Adventure Series for the Middle Grades {Book Review}

My oldest son is a picky reader. He has discovered over the years that he has DEFINITE likes and dislikes for a book. More often than not, his dislikes tend to be in the fiction range. He's an avid reader of non-fiction and while he will read an occasional fiction, it HAS to be set in history. And it has to be exciting. So yeah--he's a picky reader. We were recently given a copy of the new adventure series Britfield & the Lost Crown by C.R Stewart. It is a middle school/young adult genre book, which meant it is ideal for my oldest son, who is presently thirteen. However, with his high demands for his books, would it pass the test? Join me today as I share HIS review of this book, and I'll let him tell you himself!

About the Book

Britfield & the Lost Crown is a new series from C.R. Stewart. Set in England, the book follows Tom and his best friend Sarah from behind the cruel walls of Weatherly Orphanage, to their daring

Scripture Word Art Revisited

Sometimes I like to doodle while I'm listening to a sermon on Friday evening or Saturday. I love creating scripture word art, especially if I haven't done it in awhile. I broke out the pens and my new botanical line art book I borrowed from the library and went to town. I think I'm going to have to buy myself a copy because I love it so much! You can see the little botanicals I added to these scriptures below. 

 Succulents are fun and simple to add to any word art.

This one is my favorite though. I love how the vines and flower worked with the scripture. I plan on working on some more of these. I love this book and want to try more of the botanicals in it.

(click to see it on Amazon)

Things are really picking up now as we gear up for our soft start for school with the beginning of homeschool co-op next week. I'm teaching THREE classes which is going to be hectic, but our numbers have jumped this year from 8 to 25 students! So that's very exciting and we are hoping for continued increasing of the numbers!

Have an awesome week! I'll be back next week with a book review. 

My School Year: An Online Homeschool Record Keeping Resource {Product Review}

For the last several weeks, I've been reviewing an Annual Membership Plan to My School Year Homeschool Record Keeping. Some of you may know from being readers of my blog for a while, that I am NOT a fan of digital planners, choosing to go with my handy-dandy paper planner and a pencil. BUT I will give new-to-me digital planners a try in hopes of maybe finding something that works the same way and with the same ease. Today I'm going to share with you the results of my review...did My School Year change my mind?

About the Product

My School Year Homeschool Record Keeping is designed for the busy homeschool parent. The program provides visual progress tracking with a "homeroom" (the whole term at a glance) as well as a

Exploring CTCMath with Elementary and Middle School {Product Review}

Math. That word can dredge up oh so many emotions in our children. One of my sons gets excited and will share his love for it. The other spits it out like it tastes bad when he says it. Over the years we have tried and discarded many math programs for my oldest son. One company, however, has made frequent stops along the way. Today I'm going to share our THIRD experience with 12-month Family Membership, from CTCMath and show you why this is one of the few math programs that my oldest son is willing to use.

About the Product

CTCMath is an online program designed to be used as an online math tutor. The program allows the student to work at their own pace, to stop and "rewind" the teacher during a lesson until they get what is

Botanical Beauty {Wordless Wednesday}

Just some pretty botanicals to brighten your day. 

Hydrangea

zinnia

hibiscus

smaller black-eyed susan variety

Hibiscus

*****

Exploring Classic Children's Literature with Memoria Press {Curriculum Review}

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!
We have been blessed to be able to review products from Memoria Press twice this year, and today I'm thrilled to be sharing our third review from this award-winning company. For the last several weeks, we've been using the Third Grade Literature Guide Set which includes the Farmer Boy Literature Guide that we worked through. Today I'd like to share our thoughts on this product and whether or not it worked with my youngest son. While we aren't usually fans of a classical method of curriculum, I'm going to tell you why we still love Memoria Press products.

About the Product

Memoria Press is an award-winning company featuring products for every grade and subject. One of the areas that they excel in is offering literature packages for all grade levels. These literature

Getting Crafty and a new scripture WordArt

We have our 3rd annual church enrichment weekend coming up and I'm in charge of the favors. I opted to go with ordering personalized pens (from PenXpress) but making notepads for everyone. I ordered blank 3x7 notepads from Amazon, and then designed the rest! 
Something not a whole lot of people know is that I am a published papercrafter. I worked for a magazine (not available now) and designed papercrafting items with rubber and digital stamps and other goodness. So I have a MASSIVE collection of papercrafting materials left--like cardstock and patterned paper. Needless to say, creating 100 notepads, hardly touched my supply. LOL.
I designed a WordArt using the scripture theme for the enrichment weekend. Do you like the graphic I designed? I do too. It turned out simply lovely!

Build Your Home Library with Library and Educational Services LLC {Product Review}

If you are like me, you are always looking for inexpensive books to add to your home library collection. The challenge is finding high-quality material that still fits the budget. Today I'd love to share with you a new resource for your consideration--Library and Educational Services LLC--a fantastic company that offers seriously deep discounted books and materials covering a wide range of subjects and topics. The perfect match for any homeschool or book-loving family! Join me as I share our experience with a selection from their super-popular Who Was... series, The Misadventures of Tom Sawyer audiodrama from the Lifehouse Theater CD series, and a collection of books from their Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction books. 

About the Company and Products

Library and Educational Services LLC offers a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books over a large range of topics. Not only are these books the highest quality visually, but their information is also in-depth and provides an excellent source for common subjects, especially history. Offering material for K-12, there are books for any level of reader. But there aren’t just books! There are also audio dramas and resource books like dictionaries and the like. 

Time Travelers U.S. History Studies: A Unit Study of the Industrial Revolution thru the Great Depression {Product Review}

I'm always on the lookout for things that make history come alive. One of the ways to do this is to incorporate unit studies into the subject and one of the top makers of history unit studies is Home School in the Woods. Their Time Travelers U.S. History Studies include many in-depth explorations of key moments and people in US History not usually expanded on in other history courses. For the last several weeks, we have been reviewing the Time Travelers U.S. History Studies: The Industrial Revolution through the Great Depression and today I'm going to share our thoughts on this material.

About Home School in the Woods

Home School in The Woods is a multi-award winning company that is dedicated to providing materials to make history come ALIVE in your classroom! Steering clear of the typical history textbook, Home School in The Woods chooses to help your child make living and real connections with the men, women, places, and events they experience through their history experience, with hands-on materials. One of the ways they do this is through their Time