Tag Archive for Education

Primrose School of Algonquin Mommy Mixer

Posted by Professor on September 1, 2012
in Community Issues, Education, Parenting, School

We were privileged to be invited to a “Mommy Mixer” at the Primrose School of Algonquin. The Primrose School opened their doors to area moms and gave us a day of engaging activities for the children and tours and information for the mommies!

Overall it was an enjoyable day. We began as a group and shared a music class, comparable to those the children experience every day at Primrose. My children we engaged and active during the class, it was a delight. The children then were broken up by age group and went to have fun with the teachers while the mommies were able to tour the building and learn more about the philosophy.

 

 

My children separated well, and there fore loved the activities that were planned for them…they did two crafts and played on their awesome playground facility.  While the children played I was able to view all of the play/educational rooms at Primrose. They were very clean and organized. They felt welcoming and ready for children!

 

 

 

 

My sister accompanied me to the event. She has 3 little children who do not normally separate well … but at this event they did pretty well. Her 1 year old twins were engaged and receptive to being separated from mom. Her 3 year old separated well because he was with my children and they feel comfortable together. (Primrose had children separated the children in two rooms one for 2 and under and one for 3 and over).

 

 

While touring we were enlightened about the Primrose philosophy by the owner Laura. Primrose believes that with the right foundation anything is possible. At Primrose they provide the right foundation to Build Active Minds, healthy bodies, and Happy Hearts. They are able to do this by creating the right balance… laughing and learning…playing and exploring…talking and listening. This is a great philosophy because it mirrors my own philosophy with my children.

Primrose has educational full day programs for children 6 weeks to Kindergarten. (They have a private kindergarten). For those looking for only educational programs rather than a care option included they have half-day programs for toddlers through kindergarten that run up to 5 hours per day. They also have programs for 5-12 year olds who need before and after care…they call this their explorer club.

Overall… if you are considering a care option or a preschool/kindergarten option for your child Primrose is an excellent choice. They provide excellent care in a state of the art facility close to home.

To find more out about the Primrose School and their philosophy please visit their website http://www.primroseschools.com/OurSchools/Illinois/Chicago/Algonquin/Algonquin

 


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Chungaboo Language Series For iPad Review

Posted by Brande on August 26, 2012
in Books, Downloads, Ebooks, Education, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Reviews, School, Shopping

I love my apps!  My daughter and I recently got this new app from Chungaboo Language Series (formally Lingo Slingo).  The first selection is “Words” – the app will say bear and then toss about 5 cards with different pictures and your child needs to select the correct picture.  If they select the wrong picture you get an “X” at the top of the screen.  This app has a choice of 6 different languages (Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish).  In addition, there are achievements – in this section there is “All-Time Scoring”, Beginner’s Badge by Language, and Maestro Badge by Language (50 card streak). From this app you can also purchase – Animals, Travel, and coming soon is Color Door. They have teasers to let you try before you spend the money.

This is a great app for your preschoolers!  My daughter will be 4 next month and really enjoys it.  The Chungaboo app not only helps her connect words to pictures, but it helps with her motor skills by the cards moving.  The music is not bad for parents either.  This is a wonderful learning game for road trips!  Check it out in your apps store!  Sorry, I didn’t see anything for you android users.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

 

 

 


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U by Kotex Tween Talkable Moments #KotexMom

Posted by html404 on August 24, 2012
in Education, Family Stuff, Girl Stuff, Parenting, Personal Care Products

Over the past few months I have been sharing my experience and thoughts about talkable moments with my daughters about their menstrual cycles, the facts of life and using U by Kotex Tween products and their website.

While I have always strived to discuss these all important topics naturally, inside I have struggled a little bit with knowing the right words to say. After all these are the facts of life we are talking about, not just random information and I want to be sure that I explain things in such a way that my girls “get it”, not to mention digest the correct information – from me, not anyone else.

Preparing for the Talkable Moments

Lots of talkable moments at our house seem to occur either when I have the girls one on one in the car or one, two or all of them sprawled all over my bed or in the living room late at night. These moments seem to happen naturally for us. It’s rare that I deliberately set a time aside, though I must say I probably should do more of that with my busy work schedule. I certainly want my girls to know that I am accessible.

Breaking the ice for “big talks” never has been an issue for us. For the most part my girls come to me and ask me any questions that come up while they are on their period and the one who has yet to start asks me some questions but tends to ask her “twin” (they are 14.5 months apart) and her “twin” directs her to me.

I gave the girls each a little sack recently for them to carry extra pads and personal items in. They really liked this little gift. I think this is one way to break the ice on talks. I did at one point give one daughter a starter kit of sorts and remember her asking what each thing was for, but I don’t think she completely understood until she started her cycle, which is understandable.

I think bonding moments can occur when we deliberately set aside time to talk about questions our girls might have or to share resources and tools they can read and explore with you. Take Kotex.com/Tween for example, just taking my girls to this site and showing them how to navigate different topics and discussions opened up the door for us to have a very open talk and for me to find out where they are at with their understanding of the different issues we have already covered in other conversations. See Hello Period for specific topics.

Bonding Moments

Bonding with my daughters has become more challenging the older they grow or at least that’s how I find it as I am working part-time to full-time hours. It takes more effort on my part to concentrate and be focused on them when my mind is going in a million different directions. As I said before those moments come in the car or on our bed when we are just shooting the breeze. It’s amazing what children can come out with once the realize they have your full attention.

Sensitive Topics and Comfort Level

Most of my girls will tell me like it is. If they think something is gross, they’ll say just that or if I’ve talked too much, I’ll be told, “Too much information, Mom.” Then I know to stop or let it be for another time when they are ready. I hate to come across as having a perfect relationship with my girls because we are far from perfect, but for the most part, depending on the day we do have really good relationships. I do worry sometimes and hope I am giving them the information they need to transition into womanhood successfully.

What are your talkable, bonding moments with your daughter(s)?

“I wrote this review while participating in a Brand Ambassador Campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of U by Kotex Tween and received products to facilitate my post and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”


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Back to School With Boys and Girls Club of America (BGCA)

Posted by Professor on August 10, 2012
in Community Issues, Education, Family Stuff, Giving Back/Charity, News Worthy

Back to school season is here! I know we are in full swing around our house! The children have gathered and packed their school supplies in anticipation of the first day of school…and today we finally got our teacher assignment!

What are some of the things you do to prepare your children to head back to school?

I know we are a fortunate family in being able to clothe and supply our children for the upcoming school year. But we also remember that there are those less fortunate than ourselves and as a family have always participated in programs that assist unfortunate families during the back to school season.

There are many local, national, and global organizations that you can pick from to help the less fortunate…but Boys and Girls Club of America (BGCA) is a great organization that assists children in need.

This year Boys and Girls Club of America (BGCA) and Disney have partnered to launch the Tools for Back to School initiative. This initiative features a pop-quiz style game, where supplies are donated to BGCA for every correct answer you score.

This is a fun way to give back to the community without leaving your home…plus the kids can play too! Here is the link: http://www.bgca.org/backtoschool/Pages/Landing.aspx

I just played the trivia game and got all the answers correct! Can you beat my score? Reminder that each 5 correct answers = school supplies for a club kid!

The BGCA has also partnered with JCPenney – and in August you can join JCP cares and round up your purchase at the register to benefit BGCA.  So…take a trip over to your local JCP, get the kids some back to school clothes and a free hair cut (JCP is giving away free haircuts in the month of August). Visit JCP website for more information: http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/jsp/browse/marketing/promotion.jsp?pageId=pg40013300014

Well I hope you are getting yourself and your children ready for the start of a new school season! Whether your children are home schooled or attend a traditional school remember that the BGCA website offers different educational content and tip sheets for parents to download and utilize. You can find them on the left hand side of the BGCA site under the ‘Get Ready’ header.  You can find these handy tools here:

http://www.bgca.org/backtoschool/Pages/Landing.aspx

BGCA has really outdone themselves with tips for parents and children. I especially like the time management tip sheet that they have available. Do not forget to check the Get Ready section and see if any of the materials can work for you!

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Boys and Girls Club. I received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”


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Back to School Supplies #BagItForward #CBias @Elmers @Walmart

Posted by html404 on July 19, 2012
in Education, Giving Back/Charity, Uncategorized


We are only a month into summer but school will soon be starting back up again as back to school sales indicate. Most show their teachers appreciate at the end of the school year. Some may not even show their appreciate at all! For shame! But if you forgot to do it a month or two ago, I am going to share a way you can easily do for this back to school session.

As you know, we homeschool, and just like any other family purchasing school supplies is a little like Christmas around here. New glue sticks, new markers, new crayons, new pens and pencil and erasers you can actually find, are a source of rejoicing in our home. Seriously.

The other night my two older daughters and I went out to Walmart at 11:30pm to shop for quality school supplies at low prices for Elmer’s simple service project, which is a campaign supporting teachers by offering a donation of buy 2 school supply items and Bag It Forward to the teacher of your choice. My daughters were tickled to be out a midnight with mom shopping and we had fun.

To help with our shopping experience, I downloaded Elmer’s 1st Day App, which is also available at the school supply list holder. I simply went to the website clicked download and it was quickly downloaded to my iPhone. It is an app to help parents and children to capture the memories of the first day of school. It is available for a free download here. Using the 1st Day App will actually help drive donations to the Kids in Need Foundation which provides funding to teachers and ultimately kids.

We shopped for notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, more notebooks, glue, glue sticks and more pens and pencils.

Our donation gift is not wrapped in pretty paper or anything because our teacher is very practical and did not want wrapping paper or a gift bag wasted when the school supplies were just going on shelves.

This is going to be very weird and out of the norm for me in the giving back projects I usually participate in. My daughter was suppose to write this for me but she slept in! But here’s it is…we chose me as the teacher.

I admit my family doesn’t take time to officially show their appreciation at specific times of the year for all I do, other than Mother’s Day and my Birthday. However, there are little ways all throughout the year they thank me – my husband surprises me with big and little gifts when I least expect it or my oldest daughter will say she’s so thankful she’s homeschooled and will share that gratitude with me. There’s never been a time when we’ve taken our children on a field trip or another place that our children haven’t thanked us. So this simple service project was a way for us to get a jump start in purchasing school supplies for our eight children, as we go through a lot of school supplies. We are very grateful for this opportunity and privileged we have the option to homeschool.

My children woke up to the bags of school supplies yesterday and cheered, “Mom got school supplies!” And were soon asking for new markers and crayons to color. 😉

I am still deliberating over who we could share a bag of school supplies with, as it just doesn’t feel right that we gave to us! Maybe I can call an elementary school and see if there’s a family in need of school supplies and give back that way.

Be sure to visit Bag It Forward on Pinterest, Elmer’s Facebook and Twitter. The Pinterest board has some very creative ideas!

“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Elmer’s. #BagItForward #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.”


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Drawing, Art and the Magic Whiteboard

Posted by html404 on July 11, 2012
in Education, Fun Stuff, Reviews, School

My children love to draw. They create paper dolls, they draw pictures of families, animals and have lots of fun doing so. What’s that old saying about idle hands? Well drawing keeps my children mostly out of trouble because their hands are kept busy. They can draw for hours on end and be pretty quiet while doing so…until they start fighting over markers or crayons (grimace). Drawing has been a great activity to do inside during this hot spell we have been experiencing.

Last summer I invested in a number of wipe off activity books so my younger crew could practice writing their names, alphabet and numbers. I thought this would help save on the amount of paper we used, in addition to saving money. They worked really well, except now we go through more white board markers!

Speaking of whiteboard markers, drawing, art and the Magic Whiteboard have been lifesavers for me during times I need to get work done.

Magic Whiteboard is a roll of whiteboard paper that has 25 sheets per roll ($59.99 retail value). It is portable so setting up a whiteboard on the go never got any easier. The surface wipes off really well and is completely reusable. Ripping the sheet of whiteboard paper off straight and in one piece is challenging at times, especially now that my children broke the box the roll came in. 🙁 Update: Let me amend this by saying I completely missed the perforated sheets! It works great even with my broken box. (wry smile)

It works great for keeping little boys busy too. What do you think, is it a keeper? I would have to agree!

Interested in the Magic Whiteboard for your family? Feel free to connect with Magic Whiteboard on their website, Twitter , Facebook or Pinterest. Be sure to check out their other products too while you are there!

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Kohl’s Cares Campaign – A Review

Posted by Professor on June 24, 2012
in Books, Education, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Giving Back/Charity, Kids Toys, Organization

Kohl’s is one of my favorite stores… not only because they offer a great variety of fashion but because of their low prices and great deals! But Kohl’s is awesome because they also give back though their Kohl’s Cares campaign.

Kohl’s Cares Campaign features merchandise for children and 100 percent of the net profit benefits children’s health and education initiatives nationwide.

Items available through the Kohl’s cares campaign for the Summer 2012 campaign feature Vibrant Guy Parker-Rees illustrated Books, Coordinating plush toys, and tote bag.

Kohl’s Cares Cause Merchandise for Kids Books include:

  • Down by the Cool of the Pool – Children will love to sing and dance along as the story comes alive with animal sounds and celebration! 
  • Giraffes Can’t Dance – This adorable story will teach children about the importance of individuality in a tale of a giraffe with two left feet. 
  • Dinosaurumpus! – Read this fun story aloud to children and watch their excitement as they get a glimpse into the life of a dinosaur. Who knew dinosaurs could dance? This book and coordinating plush are available exclusively at Kohls.com only.

NEW ITEM: Down by the Cool of the Pool tote bag – Resourceful and cute, this multi-purpose tote bag is great for the pool, a sleepover or even a trip to the grocery and features a vibrant illustration from Down by the Cool of the Pool – a must have for summer!

All items are ONLY $5.00 each

 

Kohl’s Cares Cause Merchandise for Grown-Ups

Kohl’s is treating adults to a tasty way to support children’s health and education with two cookbooks that are great for the entire family. Beat the summer heat and treat friends and family to a variety of homemade popsicles featured in POPS! Icy Treats for Everyone by Krystina Castella.  Adults can also learn to master the art of outdoor grilling with Good Housekeeping: Grilling cookbook. Each cookbook is available for just $5 – a real value!

In addition to the merchandise program, Kohl’s Cares features the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program, which last year recognized more than 2,100 young volunteers with a total of $410,000 in scholarships and prizes; the Associates in Action program, which encourages associate volunteerism and provided more than $10 million in grants last year to youth-focused nonprofit organizations and fundraising gift cards for schools and youth-serving organizations. For more information, visit www.Kohls.com/Cares.

OUR REVIEW:

We were very excited to have the opportunity to review items from the Summer Kohl’s Cares Campaign. We received a plush monkey and two books (Giraffes Can’t Dance and Down by the Cool of the Pool). The monkey plush is so cute…my youngest (3 years old) totes it around everywhere and has deemed it her best friend. The books are also a favorite in our household. The stories are very cute and the illustrations are wonderful. The illustrations make the stories pop to life…my children absolutely love hearing the stories again and again.

I would not hesitate to purchase more from this series…not only because the kids love the books and plush but because all of the profit goes to charity. I actually went to Kohl’s today and stopped by the Kohl’s care campaign Kiosk to grab a tote bag…and to my disappointment the entire Kiosk was empty. So…this must be the hot campaign this summer. I hope my local Kohl’s restocks so that I can get some more goodies real soon! Stop by your local Kohl’s and check out what they have to offer!

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Melissa & Doug Giveaway on Facebook!

Posted by Brande on June 19, 2012
in Contests, Education, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Giveaways, Kids Toys, Parenting, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping

I’m a HUGE Melissa & Doug fan and wanted to share about this great giveaway!  Every week they pick a new winner for a great Melissa & Doug Camp Sunny Patch Product – virtual camp for you and your kids! I missed the first 2 weeks, eek! Forgive me! The sprinkler above was for the week ending the 19th. According to their terms page here’s the weekly line up:

6/21 to 6/26 – Spark Shark Floating Target Game

6/17 to 7/3 – Happy Giddy Bug Net

7/5 to 7/10 – Speck Seahorse Sand Ice Cream Set

7/12 to 7/17 – Winner’s Choice Role Play Costume

7/19 to 7/24 – The Box Girls Camp Bunk Box of Questions

7/26 to 7/31 – Backyard Explorer Role Play Costume

8/2 to 8/7 – Spark Shark Fish Hunt Pool Toy

8/9 to 8/14 – Activity Cones – Set of 8

8/16 to 8/21 –  Trunki Prize Pack (includes 1 Trunki Suitcase, 1 Trunki Saddlebag, 1 Trunki Tote Bag, 3 packs of Trunki Stickers)

8/23 to 8/28 – USA Map Floor Puzzle

Let me know which Melissa & Doug Giveaway your kids would love!


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Pottery Barn Summer Reading Challenge

Posted by Brande on May 31, 2012
in Books, Deals, Education, Family Stuff, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Giveaways, News Worthy, Parenting, Saving Money, School, Thrifty Thursday

*Pictures are from the Pottery Barn Website*

Select a book, track your child’s progress with the book(s), get a reward!  Sounds good to me.

With summer nearing, it’s hard to keep your child still reading.  Here’s an incentive and a reading challenge!  Download the book list, progress chart, a certificate from Pottery Barn’s Website ( http://www.potterybarnkids.com/design-studio/articles/summer-reading-challenge.html ).  Once your reading is done and tracked, you then print a certificate for your child and visit your local Pottery Barn and your child will receive a book!  You can also enter to win a backpack with books!

Happy Reading!


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