FREE History Bundle from Write Bonnie Rose (just for my blog readers)

Hello, sweet ones!!!

I have a very special treat for you. You know how much I LOVE history. And you know how much I LOVE free stuff. Well...stay tuned because I have a treat for you. 

My friend (and wonderful editor), Bonnie Rose, creates beautiful and rich content for homeschoolers on her site, Write Bonnie Rose.  I reviewed a couple of science resources from her collection last year. Not only are her products affordable, but she also has a large number of downloads that are free. 

Bonnie Rose has a heart for the homeschool family and she is super talented. She has been doing some remodeling of her site and in celebration of the relaunch, she has a great coupon code available for all. 

She also has something special just for us  (all of you lovelies). She has gathered a bundle of history titles to share with the readers of my blog. There are four titles in all. 

They all come from Bonnie's wonderful collection of American History resources. There is a little something for every age group. And they are all FREE!!!!

All you need to do is click on any of the links in this blog (including the banner below) and enter the coupon code AmericanHistoryExclusive. 

This coupon code will be good until March 31. 

Poke around while you are at Write Bonnie Rose. There is some great stuff there. And sign up for her subscriber freebies. 

Enjoy!

Victus Study Skills System Review! And a Video!!!

Topic at hand: My Review for the Victus Study Skills System.

Victus Skills Study System: https://www.studyskillssystem.org/

Product Links: https://www.studyskillssystem.org/products/ (I used Level 3)

My review season is jumpin' now! Several products are now being passed around the house for review. The biggest change this year is that I am now recording videos for several of them.

Yes, I am! Guurrll. If you thought I was dangerous behind a computer screen....

Anyhoo...the very first video review I have ever, ever done is now in the books. It is for Victus Study Skills System (try and say that 5 times fast). 

Funny story. I actually filmed this video TWICE. The first time I filmed on a Saturday and had spent hours editing (in between church stuff and home life). The Muffin took one look at the screen and noticed I had a huge dark mark above my left eye. It looked like I had been knocked out. It was most likely eye make-up that had traveled via my eyebrows.

And how many hours had I been staring at myself on camera?  I can tell I hadn't even noticed. Then, of course, I couldn't stop staring at the huge dark mark. And figured that would be the first thing everyone would notice...not the great product I'm reviewing.

So....I filmed it again. And you are going to see the finished result below. Tell me what you think! I realize I am probably far too chatty for quick reviews. I need to tell almost everything I know.

Here are all the links you need in life. Or you can click through to Youtube and find them there.

Victus Skills Study System: https://www.studyskillssystem.org/

Product Links: https://www.studyskillssystem.org/products/ (I used Level 3)

Read MORE Reviews: http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/k-through-college-study-skills-victus-study-skills-system-reviews/

My previous review of Victus:  http://chargeforwhining.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-tos-review-victus-study-skills-system.html

Connect with Victus Study Skills System:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VictusStudySkillsSystem/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/victusstudy

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/victusstudy/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZQ_3UrSbjae4ooEJhJI4bA

Disclaimer

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.  All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Easy, Cozy Rice Pudding (and a video!)

I just posted a video for Rice Pudding on Youtube!

I "videoed" me making said rice pudding and then waited to film the finished product.

Then (of course) I was my usual "frippy" self and didn't take the video...of the finished product.

Instead, I found a free stock photo of rice pudding.

Sigh.

Oh well....I also forgot to add the vanilla in when I filmed. It's always something.

Here is the recipe. I hope you enjoy.

3 large eggs

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 cups milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg

3 cups cooked rice

1 cup raisins

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Beat the eggs and sugar together. Slowly pour in the milk and cream and mix well.  Add the vanilla and spices. Stir in the rice and raisins.

Pour the mixture into a prepared (greased) dish.  Bake for around 40-45 minutes until set.  Eat hot or cold. 

Watch the video! 

5 Beautiful Things (And a video!)

My people!

I just put up a video. Yaass, I did.

And I'm a hot mess. It's a good thing I can't go through life looking at myself in High Def. That's fo shu.

Anyhoo. You are going to see more videos from me. In fact, quite a few of my reviews this year are going to be "videotized."  That is mostly good. It's been a little bit of a learning curve for me. For one, my previously mastered video maker (windows movie maker) was phased out.

I'm also making my videos on my phone. So there might be a bit of a sound and quality issue from time to time.

For this video, I gave you 5 Beautiful Things that are bringing me joy right now. They range from the personal, practical to a couple of homeschool doo-dads.

Just a little note. I am not an affiliate from any location I am going to send in you in the links below. They are just things I grabbed from my own personal collection of awesomeness.

Check me out! And then check out the stuff.

#1 - Vanicream Lite Lotion 

#2 - Pioneer /Woman Stainless Steel Tumbler

#3 - Owl Baby Heating Pad (Not quite the same one, but close)

#4 - Gel Crayons 

#5 - Versed in Country Things

        Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening

Hope you enjoy!

IXL Learning and Spanish! (A Homeschool Crew Review Post)

I’ve reviewed for IXL Learning a couple of times. And I’ve always been impressed with what I’ve seen. They’ve also expanded the site to include more content over the past couple of years. I was so excited to see a whole Spanish section this time around. In fact, this is what we concentrated on when we were given an opportunity to review a full annual membership subscription to IXL Learning once again. 

For my review, I was given an annual membership to IXL. The four main subject areas include math, language arts, social studies and science. And, of course, there is Spanish! The math and language arts sections include content for K-12 grades. The social studies and science areas focus on 2-8 grades.

There are a few ways you can access the content. You can do so by grade level or you can find them by topic. We used the latter method quite a bit. I like Josiah to be able to review the most he can. He is dyslexic and those struggles extends into math. Having this kind of review helps him tremendously.

Keep in mind that IXL isn’t necessarily a curriculum. Instead, it a supplement. That being said…it is a very smart supplement. The program adjusts itself to the student’s progress. There are tests (diagnostic) that measure where the student should start with any program. 

And IXL Learning is great to keep track of the student's progress and keep the parent in the "know." 

I thought I would show a little bit of what Josiah has been doing in the Spanish section for the past couple of weeks. Josiah is working through a Spanish curriculum currently, but I have found that the constant review and multi-media approach is so beneficial for him.  

This is the page Josiah sees when he opens the program. IXL Spanish has a total of seven units and 120 skills. Josiah has started Unit 1 with the basic vocabulary.

 There are a variety of types of questions. The one below is matching, but Josiah also has found fill in the blanks, etc. You can see a timer, number of questions answered, and a score box.

On this day, I can see that during the past 30 days Josiah has answered 212 questions and spent 1 hr 26 minutes reviewing his Spanish. I'm fairly certain I assigned more...😉

But I will say that I don't ever have any trouble getting Josiah to review his Spanish using IXL. He tells me he has enjoyed himself.  

I took just a few seconds of video the other day before he noticed. He is pretty intense. 

We really love this new addition to IXL Learning. It is exactly what we were looking for.

One last thing (almost)...keep in mind that IXL Learning is an online program. You will need a good connection. We also used the sound option so Josiah could hear the pronunciation of the words. IXL does have a mobile app. However, I don't believe that the mobile app supports the Spanish program currently. It has to be accessed by a web browser.

You can read my past reviews of IXL here and here. 

You can connect with IXL Learning via the following social media outlets. Don't forget to click on the banner to read more reviews! See how other Crew members used their subscriptions. 

Read some of my recent stuff (beyond the blog)

Just stopping in to share some of the articles I've written beyond my blog in the past several weeks. 

You can probably see a theme 😀

I turned in one a few days ago that didn't stray too much away from the hum-drums. I'm really feeling it this winter. That particular one will come out in March. 

Anyhoo. 

Read and tell me what you think. I value input and a little human contact other than the usual blog bots. 

When You Need Motivation (The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Blog: Homeschooling with Heart)

10 Fun Ways to Survive Cabin Fever (Homeschool Review Crew)

For the Temple (A Homeschool Review Crew Post)

It’s my first Homeschool Review Crew of the year! And it’s coming from one of our very, very favorite vendors. It is always a pleasure to review an audio drama from Heirloom Audio. The newest production from Heirloom Audio is For The Temple.  It didn’t disappoint.

I can’t say give enough love to Heirloom Audio. They are a company that produces audio dramas based on the books written by G.A. Henty. Every one of them has been as exciting and well-produced as the other. If you haven’t heard of G.A. Henty, I recommend any of his stories for the homeschool family. He wrote with such conviction. Heirloom Audio brings out the best of his books.

For this review, we received a 2 CD set. The whole listening experience takes about 2 ½ hours….or at least how long the CD’s run. We get plenty of great listening in the car on the way to and from all of our activities. The quality of the production is first rate. The music! The actors! The message! 

So I need to tell you just a bit about the story itself.  We open with the narrator, voiced by the fabulous Brian Blessed, visiting with a young man in Vienna. After conversing about the beautiful architecture, the narrator begins the story of the destructing of the temple of Jerusalem.

And so begins the adventure. The time is AD 67 and we are introduced to a young man named John. His life plan is to take over his father’s vineyard one day and marry a family friend. But after a storm on the Sea of Galilee, he meets a man named Josephus. Josephus is a resistance fighter and encourages John to join the Jewish army.  You might know that Josephus was an actual Jewish historian AND resistance fighter. I love how these stories insert real-life figures.

While defending the city of Jotapata from the Romans, John meets his sidekick Jonas. By the way, Jotapata has a really cool pronunciation. Though I don’t remember naming any children Jotapata…no matter how it rolls off the tongue.

Anyhoo. Jotapata is soon lost to the Romans and John and his friend, Jonas escape the city. John forms a band of men and begins to hassle the Romans. As the story continues, John becomes determined to fight to save the temple of Jerusalem from Roman destruction.  It is all for not, but John meets followers of The Way during his adventures and comes to believe in Yeshua as the promised Messiah.

This story is filled with so many great themes. Integrity, loyalty, and courage…all important things I want to impart into my son. And as far as entertainment value…there is loads of that.  The battle scenes might be a bit scary for the younger crowd, but we appreciate all the battling. 

In addition to our CDs, we received a pdf download of the excellent Study Guide. It is 51 pages long and is filled with all kinds of goodies.

The Study Guide is divided into three different sections. The comprehension questions are located in the Listening Well section. You can find discussion and follow-up questions in Thinking Further and there is vocabulary in Defining Words. Of course, each section is found for every chapter.

In addition, you will find three Bible studies that accompany the story.  This study below talks about Proper Worship. It looks very timely. 

There is also quite a bit of historical information available (which I plan on incorporating into our lessons). 

Some is peppered throughout the guide.

Still, more is included in its own section.

You can see that the quality of the whole guide is just excellent. We have used Heirloom Audio guides for years and they are always thought provoking and extremely well-done. You can tell that great attention is paid to every detail. These Heirloom Audio folks are such talented folks. 

I can't say enough about Heirloom Audio. They have added such a richness to our homeschool experience. You can read more about our adventures with Heirloom Audio below. These are all my reviews for this great company!

Under Drake's Flag

In Freedom's Cause

The Dragon and the Raven

With Lee in Virginia

The Cat of Bubastes 

Beric the Briton

In the Reign of Terror

Captain Bayley's Heir

Wulf the Saxon

St. Bartholomew's Eve

You need For the Temple in your homeschool library! 

You can connect with Heirloom Audio via the following social media outlets. Don't forget to click on the banner below so you can read what other reviewers thought.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeirloomAudio
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeirloomStories  
Instagram: @HeirloomAudioOfficial

My Favorite Homeschool Podcasts and More

It's true. Sometimes I need a little bit of encouragement. Or ideas.

Lately, I've been into watching these young chickees on youtube cleaning their houses to cool, hipster music.

While I am going to be posting a few more videos to my blog in the near future, you will most likely never see a cleaning video from me.

Nobody wants to see that.

But isn't it ironic that I get some sort of sense of accomplishment out of watching someone clean her house?

I personally love listening to people talk about their experiences and their lives. Especially when there is a nugget I can connect to.

Let's be honest. As a homeschool parent, I need all the positive encouragement and love I can get. Sometimes the real world doesn't understand us. It is so important to have people in your life that are on your side and those who can mentor you through your journey. We always can't have them living next door to us, but the interwebs have made it possible for a whole host of lovely people to visit us every day.

I know that you are anxious to read down the list and see what little gems I have found for you.

Podcasts

Homeschool Sanity
I have been receiving Dr. Melanie Wilson's emails for years. She is not only a homeschool mom, but she is a Christian psychologist. Dr. Melanie knows some stuff. I really enjoyed this podcast about How To Be Consistent in Homeschooling.

Homeschool Solutions
Pam Barnhill is the creator of the Morning Basket (which was a brilliant addition to our homeschool). She has lots of content. This podcast called How You Are the Enemy of Your Best Morning (just over 8 minutes in length) kicked me in the hiney recently.

The Homeschool Sisters 
Cait and Kara are both homeschoolers and (obviously) sisters. Both gals are interesting in themselves and they chat about a variety of topics. I found this podcast on Gameschooling to be right up our alley. They speak my language.

Read Aloud Revival

You probably have heard of the Read Aloud Revival with Sarah Mackenzie. For one, she has awesome booklists. But her podcasts talk about books and she talks to the authors of those books. This podcast about what your kids can do while you are reading aloud and is AWESOME. I have used the read aloud as a primary tool in our homeschool from the beginning and love this list. One day I'll have to do a blog post about what I have used with Josiah over the years.

IEW
Did you know that IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing) has a podcast? YAASS!! If you have followed any of my homeschool blogs you might know that I ADORE Andrew Pudewa. I have heard him speak many times and have used IEW products all through our homeschool career. This is a great podcast about Beating Burnout.  It gave me some insight into pushing through a tough time.

Sally Clarkson
A few years ago I was one of many bloggers who promoted one of Sally's books. It was called The Lifegiving Home. Sally wrote it with her daughter Sarah. The Clarkson's homeschooled all of their children and give me hope. All of their kids are such interesting people. The family so warm and connected with their mission to show Jesus Christ. I love Sally's podcast. This encouraging podcast, called Waiting For Life to Bloom came right when I needed it too.

Flourish at Home
This is another author whose book I have reviewed. Mary Jo Tate is the author of Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms. She also has a podcast.

Did you know that there is a whole podcast station dedicated to homeschoolers? It is called the Ultimate Homeschool Radio Show. You really need to go take a look.

Youtubers and Videos

I haven't listed as many of these. There are many families who homeschool on youtube. These are just my favs and ones who offer a variety of content. We can't talk about homeschooling all the time.

The Daily Connoisseur 
Full disclosure. I have all of Jennifer L.Scott's books. I have had them for a long time. Initially, she wasn't a homeschooler. Even when I discovered she had a youtube channel. But she liked all the things. Classical music. Hot Tea. Mystery Books. She is just plain classy. Now Jennifer has joined us homeschoolers and while she doesn't have videos about homeschooling necessarily....she is still classy and has all kinds of great content. Right now she has a "Chic February Assignment." Which I'm all about.

Our Tribe of Many
This family is precious. And HUGE. But they are also pastors and aren't ashamed to share their love for Jesus. She is super organized and just terrific.

This Gathered Nest
Another big ole family. Their kiddos are adorbs. They also are big proponents of adoption and we all know I feel about that whole thing.

Jamerrill Stewart 
She is precious. And she has a bunch of kids. She also does a lot of big family cooking videos. Not that I need the big family cooking videos. But she is also pretty real. I like her.

Life In Grace
She isn't on youtube, but Dr. Edie Wadsworth is a treasure. I follow her on Facebook and she has wonderful live videos. She also has a book out that is m

Hopefully...I've given you a few looks and listens that you hadn't encountered before. Let me know if you have some others you love.

Click on the banner below to check out some more great homeschool content! 

Scripture Cards!

Hey friends! 

I thought I would share some Scripture Cards I've created. Posting Scripture in strategic spots in my house is one way I like to encourage myself and the other people who live in my house. 

You can go to the links below on Google Drive and print off these yourself. I printed mine on cardstock. They aren't exactly all the same size, but they will do. I eventually plan to run them through my laminator. 

Eventually. 

You know how it is.  

In the meantime, I have some big things going on right now and I need all the focus and comfort I can get. It is so important to put first things first. In my life, this means that my relationship with God needs to be first. 

I hope these will be helpful to someone. 

Scripture Card Page 1

Scripture Card Page 2

Mid-Week Update

Hello, sweet friends.

It's Tuesday evening here at the Parsonage. I'm wedged into my favorite spot on my comfy couch waiting for a pot of chili to finish the business of simmering. Today was an uneventful day....filled with our usual Tuesday happenings. We did have a visit from a sweet church lady. I think she had just gotten her hair done and was getting rid of some cabin fever while we have a few days before some more snow.

Yes! We have snow. It is the first significant snowfall of the winter. And from what these native Indianan's tell me (including The Studly Muffin) it's late. We have another weather event happening this weekend.

Yeah, buddy.

I thought perhaps I tell you a few things we are doing right now...perhaps provide someone out there with some mid-week/snow day inspiration.

Keep in mind that MOST homeschoolers would rather take their snow days in the spring. In our house, we have been known to mix it up with an impromptu winter nature study or a Tolkien binge-a-thon (which is happening very soon).

Anyhoo. It's how we roll.

Reading

We are reading Beowulf. I've taken the easy road and purchased Robert Nye's retelling of the epic poem.  It is nice and grisly. Listen to this.

"Out in the black fen something stirred. It was cruel and slimy and its eyes shone green. A part of the night it moved through, its wicked heart was darker than the darkest place in that night. Even the moon would not look at it."

Isn't that deliciously horrifying? We are going to watch The 13th Warrior later in the week and another movie adaptation next week. 

Listening

One of the best Audible purchases I've made in a while has been unexpected. On a whim I got Medical School For Everyone: Emergency Medicine from The Great Courses. If you aren't familiar with The Great Courses they feature university-lectures on many, many subjects. This one has been a huge hit with Josiah. It comes with a PDF that features all of the lectures in written form. I have been printing them out as we go and filling a notebook. Josiah simply reads along.

It's almost like watching Grey's Anatomy without all the icky relationship stuff.

Doing

Last year, I purchased a book called The Useful Book. It basically is a whole book of life skills everybody needs to know about. It is AWESOME! And the very first lesson? How to boil water. I kid you not. Josiah learned how to deep fry french fries last week using a lesson from the book. And that my friends is a dangerous thing. I'm not talking about the dangers of hot, boiling oil. I'm talking about plates of deep-fried french fries. I think this week we will focus on how to chop vegetables for salads. We need to counteract all of that french fried goodness with some green stuff.

Well, that's all I have for this evening. Sleep tight!

Random Thoughts: The New Year/Life Updates Version

I'm BAAACCK!

It's been a few days since I've posted anything on the ole blog here. A couple of reasons. I'm sure I'll get into them in what is sure to be a widely entertaining and often rambling post.

I'm sure you can't wait. Instead of boring you with my life's novel, I have decided to do all updating in an orderly fashion.

I love a good list.

1. The Big Black Dog

I have sad news. Solomon (the Big Black Dog aka the Rottweiler) died just after Thanksgiving. We knew he probably wasn't going to make it through the winter. He had lived an awfully long time for a Rottweiler.  His deep black coat had turned red and gray and he was painfully thin. He was still faithful to try and crawl into the car and sit on my lap when we first arrived for our Thanksgiving holiday. That was 169 pounds of Big Black Dog, by the way. I always had special feelings for Solomon. We were living with my parents when they brought him home as a puppy. It was a particularly painful and tough season in our lives. I was in active heart failure. We had resigned from our church and were basically homeless. Solomon would crawl into my lap and put his great puppy head on my shoulder. He was a welcomed playmate to a busy little Josiah. As he grew into that great massive dog, my little nieces would ride him around like a pony.  He was really the best dog. We're going to miss him.

2. 17! 

This baby turned 17! I can't even stand it. My mom took his usual birthday pictures. He spent most of his time trying to be cool about flinging his hair out of his eyes. That is a lot of hair to manage. I've mentioned his fascination with 80's rockers. He has dreams of glorious hair.

Me too, buddy.

The car belongs to my nephew. It used to belong to my brother and before that, it belonged to our great uncle. At least, I think that is the chain of ownership. At present, the car doesn't have an engine. But it is really great to lean up against when one is trying to look cool.

3. Surgery

When last we spoke, I had just had my surgery. I have really done well, but it has taken me a bit longer to recover than the average Joe (or Josephine).  This is one of the reasons I have tried to lay lower than usual. Let's be honest. 2018 wasn't a banner year for me as far as my health goes. I seemed to have hung on by the hairs of my chinny chin chin. By the time I had the surgery, I had about 3 functioning brain cells and even those were dodgy.  I wasn't even able to read a book....which left lots of time for Netflix binging watching. Which, I'm pleased to tell you, I am really good at.

Overall, the winter months are really tough on me. I am hoping that I can prevent some of the nastier effects by focusing on good habits.

4. 'Tis the Season

I always approach the end of the holiday season in two different minds. I am always a little sad it's all over. On the other hand, I am THRILLED it's all over. Thankfully, we had a great holiday season. Unfortunately, I have no photographic evidence.  You'll just have to take my word for it. We got to spend time with family. And I was able to rest when I needed to rest. And I got some really great stuff. One of my favorite things was a porch swing! I have been talking about wanting one for quite some time now. The Muffin and some of our sweet friends from church went in on one. It's red and hangs from the rafters of our porch.

I'm in love.

I do have one final confession about Christmas. I still have a small pile of Christmas cards that need to be mailed on my coffee table. And, yes,  you bet your bippee I'm going to mail them.

5. New Year's

I am always a big maker of resolutions. This year is no exception. I always think it's a good time to reflect on the direction of one's life and how one could live more beautifully and fully. For one, I need to focus on developing my routines and rituals. I have a tendency to fly by the seat of my stretchy pants. I have come to realize, however, that flying by the seat of my stretchy pants isn't necessarily the best plan for me or my "issues."

Plus, I want to do so much...I need a few routines in my life to accomplish what I want to accomplish. Our yearly Downton Abby "binge-a-thon" is quickly approaching. I need to be on my game!  One of our traditions for the past several years has been to binge-watch Downton Abby during the winter months.

It's the little things, my friends. 

I think I've said all I want to say for now. I've got a list of things I want to do today and time seems to be passing. I've got all of our sheets in the washer and a pot of coffee brewing on the counter.

Have a GREAT New Year!