Tap. Tap. Tap. Is this thing on? {Catching up on Life since 2021}

Hello? Hello? Testing...1-2-3. Ahem. Hello. My name is Lisa and it's been awhile. Three years to be more exact. And what a three years it's been! When I posted last, we were still in the throws of the national Covid crisis which caused all sorts of crazy.

But here we are now in 2024. I'd like to say that time has been good to my family...but that would be a lie. We've had some dumpster fires since I last posted in 2021. So I just thought I'd take a time to resurrect my blog with a *brief* life update on what's happened here on the farm in the last three years. 

Absolute Zero: Making Math Mastery Fun! {Product Review}

We are a game family. We have game night every single week, and we use games in our homeschool (hello Gameschooling!). The one subject area in which I would like to have more games is math. I do not feel there are enough fun math games out there, especially for older children and adults. Because of this, I was thrilled to have the chance to review the card game Absolute Zero by Games by Absolute Zero. This game is a simple card game but

Boosting Vocabulary with Marie's Words

"It's so nice to hear the Queen's English in our small town. I can tell you read a lot and are not schooled in our system." 

This was the comment that my eye doctor shared at our last appointment as we were leaving. I really appreciated this assessment and encouragement about my boys. One of the things that I place as very high in our education is language and vocabulary. We live in a small rural town in Kentucky where the "hillbilly" is strong in action, accent, and words. Growing up outside of this area, everyone always acknowledged "you aren't from 'round here, are ya..." Speaking clearly, fluently, and using a variety of vocabulary is rare in our area. This is why we encourage reading books beyond reading level, read aloud regularly, and incorporate new vocabulary into our weekly studies. It can be hard to find an easy vocabulary curriculum, but I've found a routine using the vocabulary set Marie's Words to expand our word knowledge.

It is commonly recognized that the way you speak, especially the words used can really set someone apart. Think about all the stereotypes you know for a hillbilly and how they are portrayed language-wise.

My Top 8 Reads From 2020 {Fresh from the Bookshelf}

Some of you may remember my post from early last year of  My 10 Most Eagerly Anticipated Christian Fiction Releases for 2020. I'm sure some of you are wondering how that went and if I actually read any of them, right?! Well, today I'm sharing My Top 8 Reads from 2020 and I think you will be surprised to know that only three of the books from my first list, made it onto this list! So which ones made the cut? Which of the initial books are still on the "too read" list? And what made the eight books worth recommending?

Long Time No Post: A Review of 2020 For Our Family

Hello? Anyone listening? Anyone there? Wow. I can't believe it's been a whole year--well more actually--since I last posted! What a crazy psycho year 2020 ended up being, right?! But here we are in March-almost APRIL-of 2021 and it seems we are finally coming out up and starting to kick things back in gear. Right?! 

What was your 2020 like? 

How did Covid affect your family? 

Was it one of the rough ones? The loss of a job? The illness of friends and family? 

Was it severe? Did you lose anyone dear? 

Did everything drive you closer to family? To God? 

Did you make changes and new habits to do going forward?

My 10 Most Eagerly Anticipated Christian Fiction Book Releases for 2020

Okay, you know how I love to read, right? And how I adore Christian fiction? Well, I thought that you might like to read what are some of my most eagerly anticipated releases for this year in the Christian fiction genre--so join me today as I share what novels I'm dying to get my hands on this 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!

Here are ten(ish) of the novels I can't wait to read this year--but make no mistake--the list is going to be much longer once I learn of more. And some authors are releasing multiple novels this year--so it's gonna be a great year whatever way you look at it!

January 2020 Check In

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm still here. Still trying to get adjusted to something that will let me blog regularly. I think I might just go back to do a weekly "wordless Wednesday" until I can get a series of posts lined up. I've got several book reviews to share as well---and that promised Instant Pot series. So I hope you will bear with me! I promise to get some new material up here soon!

Ahem...tap...tap...tap...Hello?

Wow. It's been almost a month since my last blog post! I didn't mean for that to happen...but Thanksgiving arrived and I just sort of took an impromptu hiatus from blogging! But, now the year is wrapping up and I'm looking forward to getting a new schedule in place! 
Although my blog won't be focused on homeschool review products this year, I do hope to get back to other things like recipes, crocheting, homeschooling in general, book reviews, and just opening up about stuff! I also want to try to feature some guest posts this year in most of those areas too! 
Thanks for sticking with me this far!  Here's to a shockingly close arrival of the year 2020!

Taking Literature Further with LitWits Kits {Product Review}

I love teaching literature and I especially love teaching it in a unit study style. The challenge is finding a program that does all the "hard work" for providing hands-on projects as well as literature comprehension work. This is especially true for me when I took on the new role of teaching a literature class at my co-op to ages 12-16. It was a small group and I wanted to offer them more than the typical read and discuss literature experience. I had eyeballed several programs in the past, including a lesser-known resource called LitWits. Imagine my joy when I had to chance to review the LitWit Kits! I finally decided on My Side of the Mountain, The Phantom Tollbooth, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, and Around the World in Eighty Days. I really hoped it would be just what I was looking for to take our literature studies further and make them more meaningful and enjoyable for all!

About the Product

LitWits Kits are a product from LitWits. These are online literature kits that help you bring beloved classics and modern books to life. These kits help teach literature into kids "in hands-on, fun, and meaningful ways." A LitWits Kit is a web paged devoted to bringing a book to life with unique ideas and downloadable activities, as well

Change is In the Air...

It is so hard to believe that it has officially turned into November for 2019. I cannot believe that the year 2020 is actually on the horizon! November signals the end of all our busy summer activities here on the farm as we shift to preparing for Winter, including separating out the calves. It never really and truly slows down--activities simply change.
But for me, I've made a decision that will help me slow down a little. 

Adventures in Crochet ~ Temperature Blanket Update

I just wanted to give you a glimpse into the status of my year-long crochet project--my Temperature Blanket CAL (crochet-a-long) for 2019! If you remember, this is a project where there are twelve different patterns--one for each month of the year. Each pattern makes a stripe about 6" thick. You simply use the average hi and average lo and match those to a predetermined color graph to find your colors. Then the pattern will say "use your hi-color" or "use your low color" and you swap them back and forth.  By doing this, even if your temperatures work out to be in the same range for the low and hi colors your texture and pattern will be different for each month. 

Channie's One Page A Day: 2 Digit Multiplication Practice {Product Review}

I was first introduced to Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks back in 2017, when we reviewed one of their One Page a Day Math workbooks. My math-loving son enjoyed it so much, that I knew I wanted to try another one if I ever had a chance. Well, we recently were given the One Page A Day 2 Digit Multiplication Practice (Grades 3-5) to review and today I'm going to share why I think these visual math workbooks are a must-have for any student!

About Channie's Workbooks

Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks was first created as a way to help the owner teach her own son. He was struggling learning handwriting and nothing was working for him. So Channie created a visual handwriting system and it worked like a charm! Now she has over 15 products available and they are being carried in many major retailers like Walmart, Hobby Lobby, and retail stores across 25 states! Something cool about the product--it's MADE IN THE USA!

Exploring Immersion Spanish with Excelerate SPANISH {Curriculum Review}

For the last several weeks we have been reviewing an immersion online Spanish curriculum from Excelerate SPANISH. The Excelerate SPANISH Streaming program offers Spanish 1 and Spanish 2. We aren't currently including a foreign language in our studies, so we decided to give Spanish 1 a try. Join me today as I share our review of the program designed to be a multi-sensory experience of learning a new language.

About the Program

Excelerate SPANISH offers engaging video lessons using skits, action sequences, hand gestures, and more to teach students of all ages! Designed to create a program that increases

Smartick~ A Math Program They Will Ask to Do {Product Review}

Math is one subject that I NEVER have to cajole my youngest son to do. He will EAGERLY grab his books when it's time for math. Yeah, he's a bit weird. LOL. He loves combining his regular curriculum with online math resources. When we had the chance to review a subscription of Smartick, he was ready and willing to get started! Today I'm going to share how our review of the online math program went--and why we will continue to use it throughout the rest of our subscription period!

About the Product

Smartick is an online math resource that instructs and reinforces mathematic principles, logic, and reasoning through interactive and engaging games and activities. The program is designed to address your child's individual needs--looking beyond their age and grade. The program adapts to your child's learning style and they will improve their skills in just 15 minutes a

Sunrise and Sunset {Wordless Wednesday}

Beaches really do make some of the best sunrise and sunsets...

*****

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls Series~ Part 3 {Book Review}

You can imagine the joy when I was able to let my youngest son know we were going to be reviewing the next two installments in his favorite series Secret of the Hidden Scrolls from WorthyKids Books! He was soooo bummed when he finished book #4, and I didn't have the next book ready to go. As soon as Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Shepherd's Stone (Book 5) and Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Lion's Roar (Book 6) arrived, he eagerly grabbed book #5 and disappeared. Would the next two books in the series be just as loved as the previous four? Join me today for our review of these latest installments in the Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series by M. J. Thomas!

About The Product

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls book series is published by WorthyKids Books. This book series is geared for ages 6-9 and is biblical fiction. The series revolves

Family Time {Wordless Wednesday}

We have been absolutely loving the intense family time we've been able to have while attending the Feast of Tabernacles. We don't ever get this much intensive time with my husband, so we relish the chance to fill our love tanks! Here are some of my favorite shots from the week so far!

 And lest you think we are too normal....

I will have more photos to post later, but I just wanted to share my fave family posts thus far! We have a few more days left, so we are going to continue to soak up the Word of God, the sunshine, and the love!
*****

Brain Blox Wooden Building Planks~ Imagination in a Bag! {Product Review}

We are a hands-on family. We love anything that involves getting involved with a full sensory experience. We also love building blocks and anything the boys can manipulate into their imaginary world of construction and farming. We recently were given the Brain Blox Wooden Building Planks from Brain Blox to review—as soon as I saw the product, I had a feeling these were going to bring hours of enjoyment.

About the Product

Brain Blox Wooden Building Planks are 100% natural wooden building planks made from New Zealand pine wood. Because they are chemical-free, they are also non-toxic! This means that even the youngest and smallest in the family can safely enjoy these planks. The wooden planks are precision cut, thus making them the perfect building toy providing hours of endless enjoyment.

Brain Blox Fun Family Chess~ Making Chess "Easy Peasy" to Learn! {Product Review}

Chess. When we first got married, I didn’t realize that my husband had played in the chess club. We tried playing together, but I just didn’t have the critical thinking skills to play…but really it was more that I could NEVER remember which piece was able to move where or how! Chess is a game that I really have been wanting to introduce to my kids—especially my math and critical thinking game lover—but it’s not really my forte. Enter our review of the Brain Blox Fun Family Chess set from Brain Blox. Claiming to be the “easy-peasy way to learn chess”, I really wondered if this was the answer to my how-do-i-teach-them-chess dilemma!

About the Product

Brain Blox Fun Family Chess is a very fun learn-as-you-play game designed to teach anyone from age 5-105 how to play chess. Chess is a great game for the mind, as it increases skills in so many areas

Greetings from Jekyll Island

A warm greeting from the gorgeous Georgia Isles! Our family is worshipping the Feast of Tabernacles with 700(ish) other brothers and sisters in Christ! We are having a simply amazing time with friends and family. The weather is so balmy and warm--even when we get a random rainstorm. Even though I'm away, I still have several reviews that I will be sharing over the course of the next 10 days--starting with three just this week! So stay tuned because some of these products we're much beloved in our house!

Have a marvelous week!