Times Tales Review

Like me, my oldest struggles with multiplication tables. She has been working on them for months now and cant seem to get past her 3's. I discovered Times Tales on accident I was surfing the internet looking for something that might help her. I came across it in a google search and though that's a new idea and started checking it out. I emailed and ask about doing a review and they said sure. I received the digital download version of Times Tales you can go here to the exact product http://www.timestales.com/TTDOWNLoadPage.html.  It is currently $19.95 and you can download it right away. I love downloads because well I'm just not good at waiting for things.


Times Tales uses simple fun stories to give your child a "memory peg" that allows them to quickly recall abstract facts. It comes in 5 parts. There are 2 Video files, and 3 PDF files that you download. The PDF files have test, crossword puzzles, flash cards and cube game. The video files are the lessons that your kids watch to help them learn their times tables. We see them more as stories than lessons. In this program times tables are taught in story format instead of the standard hear they are memorize them. They have given the numbers fun names and characters. Then they teach a little story to help you remember each times table. The program covers 3x6, 3x7, 3x8, 3x9, 4x6, 4x7, 4x8, 4x9, 6x6 6x7, 6x8, 6x9, 7x7, 7x8, 7x9, 8x8, 9x9. Basically all the really hard ones that I never got memorized when I was in school.

I had hotrod girl start with video 1 she really enjoyed the video I didn't hear one single complaint about having to watch it. When she was done she came in telling me all these silly stories. I ask her show me and explain each story. I have found that having her explain things back to me really helps her. She took me in and showed me the number characters and explained the story that went with each one. I gave her the practice test that came in the PDF file. I had her do each problem and tell me the story as she was doing it. She was able to point to the problems on the practice test and tell me the story that went with the problems. I was blown away after watching it just one time she was already starting to remember some of them. She got hung up on a couple but I am sure a another time or two watching the lesson and a little more practice with the games and flash cards and she will have them down.

I love the combination of visual and audio learning. The stories make them easy to remember. I couldn't believe that she is already remembering the stories after watching it one time. I keep thinking why didn't anyone think of this when I was a kid. It covers all the upper multiplication tables which are the hardest ones to learn. It has some flash cards to practice with and a practice test and then a Test. It also has a dice game that you get to put together your self and a set of instructions on how to play. Its fun and it really does help with remembering them. They recommend you take a week between part 1 and 2 of the video lessons. During this time you should use the flash cards and games to practice. The dice game was her favorite by far. I would like you to check out the sample video below that gives you a great idea of what the lesson are like.

Over all we love the program its fun and it really does help. We are still watching the lessons and practicing but its helped Hotrod girl a bunch she is now doing way better with those upper times tables.  I think its well worth the reasonable price tag and I hope you will give it a try too. 

Movie Night !

MOVIE NIGHT!

That is all. 

The 2015 Schoolhouse Review Crew Blue Ribbon Awards !

This is it the official end of the 2015 Review Crew. We have all voted for our favorites and if you click the banner above you can view all the amazing winners and you can read post from fellow crew members about how they voted. Me and the girls really struggled with who to vote for this year we loved so many of the products we reviewed. I think all of our favorites were winners this year. Though I don't think we really had anything that wasn't a favorite we even drew names out of a hat for two categories because we just couldn't decided.  Hear are the Winners, click the links to read my reviews and other crew members reviews!   Congratulation's to all of this years Blue Ribbon Award winners!  

Favorite Reading Curriculum: Reading Kingdom
Favorite Writing Curriculum: Institute for Excellence in Writing
Favorite Vocabulary Program: Dynamic Literacy
Favorite Spelling Program: Institute for Excellence in Writing: Phonetic Zoo
Favorite Grammar Program: Institute for Excellence in Writing: Fix-It! Grammar
Favorite Penmanship Program: CursiveLogic
Favorite Literature Curriculum: Progeny Press

Favorite History Curriculum: Home School in the Woods
Favorite History Supplement: Heirloom Audio Productions: In Freedom's Cause
Favorite Science Curriculum: Visual Learning Systems
Favorite Science Supplement: Ann McCallum Books: Eat Your Science Homework
Favorite Math Curriculum: CTC Math
Favorite Math Supplement: SimplyFun

Favorite Christian Education Curriculum: Grapevine Studies
Favorite Christian Education Supplement: Brinkman Adventures
Favorite Foreign Language Curriculum: Middlebury Interactive Language
Favorite Fine Arts Product: Maestro Classics
Favorite Elective Curriculum: Apologia Educational Ministries: Field Trip Journal
Favorite Audio Drama: Brinkman Adventures
Favorite Video: FishFlix.com

Favorite Preschool Product: La La Logic
Favorite Elementary Product: Star Toaster
Favorite Middle School Product: The Critical Thinking Co
Favorite High School Product: Writing with Sharon Watson
Favorite College or College-Prep Product: Freedom Project Education
Favorite Parent Product: Koru Naturals
Favorite Planning Product: Apologia Educational Ministries: The Ultimate Homeschool Planner

Best Resource I Didn't Know I Needed: Homeschool Planet
Best Online Resource: Super Teacher Worksheets
Best e-Product: Home School in the Woods
Just for Fun: USAopoly Kids' Choice: La La Logic
Teens' Choice: YWAM Publishing
All Around Crew Favorite: Institute for Excellence in Writing

Be sure to Follow my blog so you don't miss out on next years Crew Reviews we are going to review some great products and you wont want to miss them!

What do you do with two kids that hate shoes. I guess I might have been a little lax this summer about making them put on shoes when they went out side. The yard where they play is grassy and I really wasn't all that concerned about it. But now its and its now a bit to cold to be running a muck bare foot. I have now started requiring them to wear boots and socks before heading out doors. They were disgruntled by this but accepted that they must. But then we got some rain and I informed them they could not go out to play in it because it was too cold to be all wet.  I got called a meanie ! a meanie can you believe it my near to prefect little girls said I was a meanie.  What's a mom to do in this type of situation....... then I had the brilliant idea buy them Rain gear so they can play in the rain and not get wet that's what.  I am now Super Mom fixer of all problems! Gotta love it when it works out that way.

Winter Preparations

Its officially getting cold in our neck of the woods. We fired up the outdoor wood furnace this week. With winter comes the clearing of brush and the trimming of trees and bushes. The girls are getting excited about tapping the maple trees. This winter we will be building a bigger garden bed out of rock collected from the local landscape (aka the hill behind the house). Our current raised beds are made from recycled boards and there just is not enough room to grow everything that me and the girls want to grow. So this winter we will start expanding. Me and the girls will collect rock and build a stacked rock garden bed. It will most likely take all winter to get enough rock to make the bed. But once its done I think It will work quite well. This will be our first experience building a rock structure with out mortar. If you have any tips we would love to hear them.

GrapeVine Studies Old Testament 1 Level 1 Review

I am sad to say this is my final Crew Review for 2015. I am how ever proud to announce that its a great product from GrapeVine Studies  ~ https://GrapeVineStudies.com. Me and the girls have been working with the Old Testament 1: Level 1 Creation to Jacob. We received the digital download for this book. It comes with a teachers edition and a student work book. The student workbook is around 73 pages and it contains 12 lessons.  Its basically a chronological study of the characters and events of the Old Testament  from Creation to Jacob and get this you use stick figures to do it. Cool Right! Stick Figures are right up my alley. I cant draw a lick. By the end of the level your kids should be able to recite around 10 memory verses and draw the beginning of the Old Testament timeline. 

The teachers book is great it covers both level 1 and 2.  Its very easy to teach from and its well laid out.  It gives you some teachers goals and student goals to strive for. It even has little pictures so you can see what your kids should be drawing.  The teachers book does have some color what you read to the kids is in green. The stick people are also colored so that you can tell the kids which color to use when they are drawing. I don't have a colored printer so I emailed GrapeVine Studies and ask if it was OK for me to just save the file to my Ipad and use it from there. They said that was fine, and it has worked out really well for me. I printed out the girls work books and put them in a three ring binder. Its simple and works well for us and I can file it away when they are done. 
The Student work book starts out with a Timeline. We had so much fun doing the drawings. Although I think the girls figures were much better than mine. The girls were already a little familiar with this portion of the bible as they had covered it in Sunday school a few weeks ago.  How ever they said GVS (that's what the girls call it) was way way better, they actually ask if the Sunday school teacher could get it for class.  Each lesson has drawing pages for the student to do. Then it has lesson review questions, a student drawing page where they can draw their favorite part of the lesson and an area to write a verse. At the end of the lessons there is a timeline review and a memory verse review. 
The lessons have been taking us around 20 minutes or so. We do them about three days a week. The girls like to take their time drawing the pictures. You can see a sample of one of the girls timeline drawings on the left. As you can see they are fairly simple drawings to make. Which is perfect so that the younger kids can work in the same lessons as ones that are a few years older. This is a big time saver for me since I only need to teach bible study once that day and I don't have to plan a separate lesson for the other child.  Although we did not use it GrapeVine also offers a traceable version of this student book. Which would be perfect for kinder and pre-k kids.
I have really enjoyed the simplicity of teaching this Bible study. The teachers book makes teaching the lessons flow smoothly.  For the age range of this level 1 book I feel that it covers this part of the Old Testament nicely. Its not over their heads and yet it give a fair amount of information.  The girls are so excited to hear the lesson and do the drawings that it has been a real pleasure to use. If you take a look at the image below you can get an idea of the different levels and age groups they are designed for. I am looking forward to trying out the next level.

Social Media Check it out:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrapevineStudies
Twitter: https://twitter.com/grapevinestudy
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grapevinestudy/ 
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+Grapevinestudies/posts
Periscope: @Grapevine Studies

 I want to encourage everyone to click the Schoolhouse Review Crew Banner below. Other members reviewed different levels and I would love for you to see what they have to say about it. 

 

Eat Your Science Homework Review

We have been eating our science homework. Really we have! If you don't believe me check out Ann McCallum Books  at http://AnnMcCallumBooks.com/. Me and the girls have been having so much fun with the Eat Your Science Homework book. The book sells for about $16.95. Its basically a book packed with edible science projects that help you kids under stand science in a hole new way. With this book me and the girls turned out kitchen into a laboratory and our food became our science experiments. Cool Right! Well we though so. 





The girls have enjoyed all the experiments in the book and we have done most of them. The Sedimentary Pizza Lasagna was just there favorite so I decided to show it off for the review. The girls also happened to be learning about the earth when this book came in. We had just started a unit on rocks and how they are formed. To be honest the girls were a little board with my explanations and pictures. So I brought out the Eat your Science Homework book. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the Sedimentary Pizza Lasagna. I though what could be more perfect! I of course handed the book off to the girls. They did some reading discovered the recipe and we got to work. I set out the ingredients for them and let them go at it. While they were working I took the chance to go over the lesson that was in the book adding to it and explaining further where I thought I might need to. It was a huge hit and the girls made this wonderful pizza Lasagna to demonstrate how sediment is made. It was a blast and they made a huge mess but the lesson stuck. Its been well over a month since we made Sedimentary Pizza Lasagna and the girls still remember the lesson.


We have actually made it for dinner a few times since it was so yummy. Each time they make it they tell me how everything starts out as separate layers and then as heat and pressure are applied they begin to melt and mix together. We recently did some digging in the back yard and the girls found some sedimentary rock and came to PoP to explain how it was made. 

The book its self gives a lesson then an experiment made of food. Everything you make is edible. We had most of the ingredients already in the house. You can also download a teachers guide from the website. I found it to be a great bonus to the Eat your Science Homework book. Its got some great tips and bonus lessons the go with the Eat Your Science Homework book. The pictures in the Eat Your Science Homework book are great. I wish I could draw that good. The lessons in the book are wonderful. They had just the right amount of details for the girls age levels and they were fun at the same time. The girls understood exactly what it was telling them the first time. I probably could have done with out all the extra explaining because the lesson did such a good job. The book also has a great glossary in the back. The girls have been learning to use one so this was a great find. The book also includes a safety in the Lab section that has kitchen safety rules. A science review area and an index. The girls have had so much fun with Eat Your Science Homework they want all the other  Eat Your Homework books. Be sure to click the banner below and check out all the other Ann McCallum Books. 

 

The Brinkman Adventures: Season 3

Today I want to tell you about Brinkman Adventure~ http://www.BrinkmanAdventures.com. 
Me and the girls got our first experience with an audio adventure. We were sent The Brinkman Adventures: Season 3.  The girls were not sure what to expect with this one they had never even heard of an audio adventure. I how ever remember my parents talking about the old radio shows when they were kids. I have even heard a few of the old recordings so I knew what to expect. 

We dropped into The Brinkman Adventures: Season 3. Season 3 covers episodes 25-36. It contains 4 Cd's and 5 hours of audio adventures. In this season the Brikman family returns to tell more missionary stories and adventures. Everything from smuggling bibles into a country where they are illegal, to being threatened by wolves. They travel all over the world from Ecuador to Kashmir, Alaska even Africa.  The Brinkman Adventures are based on a real live family. The names have been changed but the actors and actresses play themselves. Many of the events are based on real events that have been embellished a smidgen. The Missionary stories that are told are based on real Missionaries from around the world and their experiences while doing their work.  

I was a little worried the program would be confusing since we were dropping into season 3. But it was very easy to follow and it was exciting. The first time we played it was in the car. It takes us an hour to get into town what better time to hear an audio adventure right. Basically the kids couldn't get away from me and they would have to give it a chance. At first the girls were like mom what is this. I made them be quiet and listen for a little bit, soon they were drawn in to the story. When we got home they kept asking what happened next. I made them wait for the next trip into town. Soon the girls were asking to go places just to hear what was happening next. We have been listen to the adventures a few times a week when we need to go some place.The car is proving to be the best place for us to listen and really take in the lessons and the stories. We often pause the Cd so that we can talk about things that happened to the Brikmans.

The quality of the audio recordings is very good. The voices are clear and easy to understand. They use such expression and feeling when telling the adventures that it pulls you in and makes you feel as though the wolves are really chasing you. In a world of overstimulated kids. The audio adventures are something unique to experience. It requires the listener to turn on there imagination. There are no pictures to look at there is no video. Just an exciting story told by an amazing family. By leaving out the visual aspect the girls turned to their imagination to create the image of what was happening in the story. I have taken the experience to the next level by asking the girls to listen to an episode and then draw what came to mind while they were listening.

We have really enjoyed Brinkman Adventures Season 3. I would love to get some of the earlier episodes so we can catch up on what happened before season 3. Everyone should click the link below and see what the other Crew members are saying about The Brinkman Adventures: Season 3.

Bible Love

I am a sucker for a cute Bible, I have a hole collection of Bibles actually. Now that the girls are getting older I have been looking at bibles for them. A few weeks a go I got the opportunity to check out a new bible designed for the tween aged girl. Its called Faithgirlz Bible its another great zondervan product. You can find it here http://www.zondervan.com/faithgirlz-bible-niv.  It sells for about $39.99 and it is a complete NIV bible.

The unique thing about this bible is the cool cover. Its shiny for one thing, it has that adorable owl on the cover and get this its got a magnetic closure. I love the magnetic flap it just sticks shut and they don't risk wrinkling up the pages. Because lets face it kids are not gentle and they have a tendency to toss there books into their backpacks. Its got some great features inside to help them understand themselves and the the scripture a bit better. The in-text features are written by Nancy Rue.

Some of my favorite Features are:
Book introductions: this tells you the who what and why of each book.
Bring it On!: are quizzes to help them with their understanding.
Words to live by: are verses that are perfect for memorizing.
Oh I Get it: is the feature that helps you answer all those questions you have always had.


Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this bible in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. no was I compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own or that of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Standard Deviants Accelerate

Hotrod Girl is trying out a new computer based learning program, The vendor is  Standard Deviants Accelerate  and we were given access to there Homeschool Courses for a year we will be using the arithmetic class. You can check it out at http://www.SDAccelerate.com/. I hadn't heard of this one tell it came up for review on the crew. It is a video rich online learning system. It has different classes for grades 3 to 11. Standard Deviants Accelerate or SDA as Hotrod girls is calling it. Is an accelerated learning program that uses accelerated learning techniques to help a child learn at a faster rate. I am going to recommend you visit the site and read about the accelerated learning technique as they explain how it works far better than I ever could.  

What I can tell you is how well it is working for Hotrod girl. She is only in third grade so most of the classes were above her level. But we got to try out one of the math classes. She struggles a bit with math and I am always eager to try something new. For us accelerated learning is a new concept and I though it might help her out.

I had a bit of trouble getting started with the program. I used my account to enrolled her in the arithmetic class, but I didn't realize that I had to give her a separate log in with her own email. Once I figured that out with some great help from customer service we were ready to go. (customer service is very fast)  I started her on the arithmetic class which is geared for grades 3+ or ages 6 and up. It is designed to teach children all the basics of math so that they have a solid foundation to move on to the next level.

She logs in on her own, I have the email and password she needs to use written down for her. One she logs in it shows the classes that she is enrolled in, for her it just shows arithmetic. She clicks on the class and down below it, it shows a list of the areas that she need to complete. I had her start with addition/subtraction and area she was already comfortable with. Since we are trying to build up her math confidence, I wanted her to start with something I knew she would do well with. So she would look to where is says addition/subtraction then it gives her lessons below it ending with a review/quiz. Once she clicks on a lesson it gives her a video lesson. Then it offers some other selections across the top. There is a vocabulary tab with all the vocab used and the definitions,  A diagram area which is like practice problems. There is a Quiz tab and an written answer tab. We have not used the written answers tab yet.  The vocabulary has been very handy for her to use as a reference point.

She says she likes the videos and that they are easier to understand. She also likes that they are short and to the point. I like that when she takes the quiz for that lesson if she gets one wrong a little arrow pops up that says see video. She can click this arrow and a video opens to show her how to do the problem correctly. It also gives her the option to re-take the quiz and print the quiz. I love that the program is showing her how to do it correctly and not leaving her to figure it out on her own. Its a big help when I am working with snoopy so that she doesn't have to completely stop working to wait for me to come help her. It gives her the opportunity to try listening to the explanation again then if she is still having trouble she gets me and we work through it together.

For teachers there is an administrative tool box where you can view grades, grade written assignments, edit the rubric, and see progress reports.  The progress reports were a little tricky to get at first. It showed me a a pie graph of sorts broken down into different areas: subject review, act it out, written responses and text/quizzes. You click one of these areas and it brings up the child's grading for each area.  We mostly just use the text/quiz area it shows the class the lesson weather it was quiz a pre-test or post-test and then the actual grade for the test/quiz. Of course everything is printable which is great for portfolios.

While SDA arithmetic is a good program and she likes the explanations and GETS them. We are having to supplement some because it just doesn't give her quite enough practice. I can see the other classes being great for middle to high school students.

Some of the other Crew members used different classes in SDA and I really want to encourage everyone to check out what they have to say about them. It will give you a great idea how the classes we were unable to try work. 

Mommy Breakfast surprise!

Look what Hotrod girl made me for breakfast. 

just had to shair how amazing and thoughtful my girls are becoming.

The Ultimate Homeschool Planner Review

Presenting the The Ultimate Homeschool Planner from Apologia Educational Ministries ~ http://www.Apologia.com/. I started home schooling about 4 years a go. Since that very first day I have been on the constant look out for the perfect homeschool planner. I have decided that there probably is not any one perfect planner. That is because every family needs get something different out of there planner, but thankfully there are options. For me the Ultimate Homeschool Planner is one of the best non computer based options that I have found. Right now it sells for $29.00 comes in different colors, Yellow, Orange, and Blue. I received the blue one for my review which just so happens to be my favorite color. 




The Ultimate Homeschool Planner is a 52 week planner that allows you to plan for up to 6 children in one neat spiral bound book. It includes a whole host of features so I am just going to list my favorites for you:

• Spiral bound construction with coated covers and pockets.
• Plans up to 6 children with 6 years of calendar planning.
• Resource List pages.
• Student Goal setter pages and character goals page for each child.
• Pages to Record grades for up to 6 children for 6 subjects.
• Reading list pages for up to 6 children
• Field trip and activity Grid 
• Wide margins for notes and prayers
• Ability to organize activities and lessons for up to 6 children by day or subject
• Scriptures for thinking on (I need these they help to remind me of the important things.)
• Directions on how to use the thing (yes I actually needed these directions I know I'm a dork)

I actually read the directions on using this planner. When it first came in it was so thick it felt a little overwhelming. So I just started with the directions on how to use it. Turns out the planner is rather simple to use. The directions how ever were easy to understand and got me going with it quickly. I like it when something comes with easy to understand directions. 


I will probably never get around to using all the features of this planner. But I am using a good portion of it to help me get started with planning the next school year.  Right now I am using the resources list. Its basically a place to list all the resources you will be using. I am using it to get together a list of our main curriculum's for the new year. This is a huge help I tend to write them down on little scraps of paper then loose them before the year is over. Now they are all in one place and I can add and change them as needed, I recommend writing in pencil. 

The weekly planning grid is where I will be keeping all of the girls daily assignments and how long they spend on each class. The grids are big enough for me to be able to write all there assignments in for the day. There is also a side area for notes supplies and appointments. I am using this note area to total the amount of time the girls spend on lessons each day. That way at the end of the week I can just add them up quickly and carry the total over to the next week. I also love the inspirational verse at the bottom of the pages. At the end of each week there is a memorable moments/achievements and a Evidence of Grace section. This is where you can make notes of the kids achievements or document things they have done for others etc. I like to write down little notes, like when Hotrod girl finally mastered her 2's in multiplication or when Snoopy made it to another reading level.

I am using the monthly planner for writing down things like Dr. appointments, Field trips and co-op days etc. It also has a little notes section along the side and bottom, and it has a bible verse at the bottom right. The months and dates are left blank so that you can fill them in with the months and years that you need. Since ever homeschooler starts there school year at a different time the blank calender's are a big bonus.  I don't have six blank months at the beginning of my planner. My planner starts with July 1 instead of January 1.  I don't usually have much to write down in this section but it is handy to have just as a calendar of your school year. It is also nice to have a place to mark down your scheduled holidays and or vacation days. 

The Records section is a big area for me. The one in this planner does several things that are useful to just about anyone. I am required to keep a record of how many hours they spend in school each year and I also need a way to show progress. I do this by keeping grades for each class the girls take and noting how much time we spend on each class. The records section has a place for grades so this is where I write down the actual grade they are getting in each class. The record keeping section also has a place for a reading list and field trips or outside activities. We do lots of field trips so I like to be able to keep track of where we went and when. I love a good reading list, we read lots of books from the library so this is super handy to document what books we have checked out and read for the year. Many planners leave out the Reading List and for us this is important and a huge plus. Hotrod girl now does more writing in the reading list area than I do. She has discovered that she like keeping track of how many books we have read for the year.

I have been trying to decide what my favorite feature of the planner is. Its been a tough decision but I think my favorite feature is that I can keep track of both girls in one book. Everything is together and I cant misplace anything. It also doesn't require internet or a computer so it can go with me where ever I need to go. Even camping!

I want to encourage everyone to click the link below and read what some of the other crew members are saying about The Ultimate Homeschool Planner. Each of us use it in different ways so come take a look!

Field Trip Day

We took a field trip to Elephant Rock State park. We go several times a year, usually we go with our homeschool group, but this time our schedule just didn't work out. So we ventured out on our own the girls love this trip. Elephant Rock State Park is located in the great state of Missouri in case you are wondering where its at. The park its self is around 7 acres. Originally it was a granite quarry the granite that was extracted from the earth there was used to pave streets and build buildings in Saint Louis Missouri back when it was first built.The Quarry opened in 1869 and ran tell some time in the 1900's. There is a trail there that lead you around the quarry with signs that tell you bits of history and what things are. There is an old train house where the trains that hauled the granite were worked on. You can see where they took drilling samples and remains of an old boom anchor that hauled granite up out of the quarry. You can run your hands over the names of the men who chiseled their names into the stone as they made master cutter back in the 19th century. Its quite an amazing place to see. No official census has ever been taken of the park so we don't know how many elephants are actually in it. But we learned that they believe the largest rock in the park is 27 feet tall 35 feet long and 17 feet wide her estimated weight is to be around 680 tons

This is the view from the highest point. We stop here every year and take a picture this year I did a Panorama. As you can see the leaves are just starting to change here in Mo. 

This is the Quarry it's 30ft to the top of the water and its 40ft deep. I have no idea who that guy is sitting on the right. He was just there when I took the picture and he knew I was taking it cues he waved. I guess we will have to photo shop him out before I print. 

 This is just a really big rock I though I would post it to give you a perspective of how big some of the rocks are. Those are my girls and Nana and Pop. 

I hope you enjoyed our adventure !

Koru Naturals Review

I love skin care products I have a hole closet full of them. Really I think I just like trying new things and anything that might make my skin look better is very appealing.  Another product from Koru Naturals came up for Crew review. I signed up and received several wonderful products from them to try out. I received  Manuka Honey and Manuka Oil Facial Cleanser and Manuka Honey, Tamarind and Manuka Oil Facial Toner, Skin Clear Cream, and Manuka Honey Propolis Soap. 

I was excited when the package arrived. The Manuka Honey and Mankua Oil Facial cleanser was the first item I pulled out of the box. It is labeled as a gentle cleanser that it free of parabens and artificial colors. The directions say to apply the cleanser using your hand or a cotton pad in an upward motion. Then allow it to sit for two minutes before rinsing.  The Manuka Honey and Manuka Oil Facial Cleanser sells for about $13.60. It comes in a metal bottle with a pump style top.  The smell is slightly lemony. There is very little foaming action which I like. It leaves my skin feeling clean but not overly dry.











Next I tried the Manuka Honey, Tamarind and Manuka Oil Facial Toner. It sells for about $13.20 4oz bottle. It too comes in a metal bottle with a pump style top. I don't use toners much mostly because I just forger I have it. This one is designed for acne, oily, combination and sensitive skin. I suffer from several of these thing and I really wanted to see if it would help. So I stuck it on the back of the sink so I would see it and remember to use it. The directions say to apply it using a cotton ball allow it to dry and then apply a moisturizer. With consistent use I am noticing less trouble with my combination skin. The areas that were over oily are evening out.



Skin Clear Cream this sells for $19.20 comes in a 4oz round container. It has an inner lid and a little scoop to get your cream out of the pot. This cream is designed for acne-prone skin, it is said to improve the appearance of blemished skin and promote elasticity. It says that continuous use will restore the skin's natural moisture barrier and protect against further damage. It has lots of yummy stuff in it like manuka honey, grape seed oil, Kawakawa, burdock root, thyme etc. It is not for use of pregnant woman and children under 12 years old. I have been using this twice a day like directed. I have noticed the redness left over from the acne is lightening. The break outs also seem to be less frequent.  It is a heaver facial cream so it feels a bit oily when I first put it on but it seems to soak in well. A small amount goes a long way. I use the little scoop that came in the jar so that I don't introduce any bacteria into the cream. It only takes about a 1/4 of the scoop to do my hole face and neck. It has a slight smell though I cant really explain what it smells like. The sent however fades quickly so it's a non an issue for me.

Manuka Honey Propolis Soap The sent however fades quickly so it's a non an issue for  I wasn't so sure about this soap when I first opened it. I though it smelled like furniture polish. How ever I ave grown to love it. This soap contains Manuka Honey and Propolis which protects and moisturizes skin. It comes in a 4.93oz bar, I am not typically a fan of bar soap but like I said It's growing on quickly. I suffer from super dry skin. The skin on my legs can get so dry in the winter that you can actually see the skin cells. The issue makes for something cool to look at under the microscope but still not the way I want my skin to look or feel. Since the temperature has started to change here and my skin is already starting to dry out I knew it was a good time to put it to the test. I quickly realized that this is protecting my skin so much better than other soaps I have tried. It seems to seal in the moisture that my skin always looses in the winter yet It doesn't leave me with an oily feel like lotions do. I have learned to like the smell, I really only smell it when I am using the soap. The smell does not linger on my skin after I have rinsed. I think this will be my new winter soap. 

Once again Koru Naturals provide me with some really great products and I am extremely happy with all of them. I would love for everyone to click the banner below because some of the Crew tried out different products that I am sure you would love to learn about.

FishFlix.com Review

It's movie night every one! Kick off your shoes, roll down the big screen and pop the the pop corn. Tonight's movie is Faith of Our Fathers (2015 edition) it comes from FishFlix.com ~ http://www.FishFlix.com. FishFlix is christian based movie company. That produces wholesome faith based movies. 

Faith of Our Fathers is a Vietnam War movie although it is rated PG. Run time is about 95 minutes. It sells for around $9.99 so its budget friendly and you can click the link above to go right to it. The story line goes a little like this, two young fathers have to report for duty to Vietnam. One man has loads of faith and the other does not. Through there journey together they become friends and so much more. Twenty-five years later their sons meet and using letters written by their fathers while on the battlefield, and they make an incredible journey to the The Wall in Washington D.C. 


I am the daughter of a Vietnam Vet, things that honor our veterans are very close to my heart. I love movies that tell a story me and my family can relate to. What made it even better is that it is faith based and it has some amazing lessons and messages in it that I want my kids to hear. This movie tells a touching story of two fathers and the love they have for their sons. More importantly it tells of one mans journey to help his friend to find faith in God. Then through their fathers letters the journey continues for their two sons. One son lives a life of faith and the other not so much. Together they take an epic journey to the The Wall in Washington D.C. along the way they discover what their fathers discovered out on that battle field.

This was not a high tech special effects, million dollar film. But it was realistic enough to be believable, the movie also offers clean language. You wont find even one f-bomb in the entire movie. We found some funny moments in the movie my oldest liked when Si Robertson from Duck Dynasty appeared. We also enjoyed the touching moments and the spiritual messages that were taught. A few battle field scenes are included in the movie. It wouldn't be a movie about Vietnam with out it. But I felt they were done in a way that was suitable for younger viewers. Its not a blood and guts type of movie. It does not show arms being blown off like some war movies show. I know some might think that mild battle field scenes make the movie seem less realistic but for us it made it suitable for my younger viewers. There is so much more to the movie than special effects and people getting blown to little pieces. If you are looking for a bloody action packed movie this is not going to be it. But if you are looking for good spiritual messages and some amazing life lessons that everyone needs to hear than look no farther.  Faith of Our Fathers is the movie for you and your family.


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Be sure to click the Banner below and read what Crew Members are saying about other FishFlix movies. 

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Have you Ever ?

Have you ever felt the need to spray paint an empty spiders web?  While hunting for maple trees me and the girls came upon an empty spider web. The girls were taking a look at it and we were discussing how and why spiders make webs. I had the crazy thought what would happen if we sprayed the web with spray paint? The results were so cool it sent us on a lesson about spiders. 

We now have several florescent colored spider webs around our yard. The light dusting of paint brings out all the fine details of the web. Allowing the girls to inspect the web better. Of course we were very careful to ensure there was no spider home at the time.  Check out out our cool Pink spider web. I held a piece of black fabric behind it so that the details would show up better in the pictures. Hope You enjoy our cool little Spider web progject

We found this frog too !