Education - Faith and Family Reviews

Tag Archive for Education

Barnes & Noble Kids Club

Posted by Brande on May 24, 2012
in Books, Deals, Ebooks, Education, Family Stuff, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Parenting, School, Thrifty Thursday

I just signed my daughter up for the Barnes & Noble Kids Club! It’s FREE! Here’s all the great information she will receive!

“30% off list price on any one kids’ book or toy for your children”

“$5 reward for every $100 you spend on kids’ stuff”

“Free cupcake from our café for all your children’s birthdays”

“Free digital book created by your child on Tikatok.com”

“Monthly email newsletter featuring even more savings”

“25% off every day on books created by your child on Tikatok.com”

Make sure you read the fine print, they say there are exclusions!

It’s easy to sign up and FREE! Head over to Barnes & Noble Kids’ Club!

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Autism – Invisible Disability

Posted by html404 on May 22, 2012
in Articles, Guest Post, Health

Because Matthew, my son with autism, looks so “normal” many people don’t believe he has a disability. He has no visible problems, all of his limbs are well formed, he carries no telltale traits that would clue the casual observer into the fact that he struggles with many normal activities. Even extended family has questioned his diagnosis because during their brief encounters with him, he appears to be just fine. He looks “good”.

But in reality he has a pervasive developmental delay that touches almost every aspect of his life. Over the years of “looking good”, he has had to participate in physical therapy to help him learn to hold his head erect, crawl, sit, walk and run. He still works with an occupational therapist to help him with his fine and gross motor problems such as writing, coloring, ball play and balance, among other things. His autism has left him ill-equipped to deal with every day stressors and he is prone to bouts of anger and temper tantrums. He requires close adult supervision while at school because he does not have the attention span to stay on task, raise his hand, or complete his assignments. While my husband and I understand that his behaviors stem from his autism and how his brain handles (or doesn’t handle) certain situations, many people assume he is just a poorly behaved child and that we are negligent parents.

I used to feel bad if other people looked at us as if we had no control over our child, or as if we didn’t care. I used to think their opinions mattered. Then I realized that we are more involved in our child’s life than many parents. We know his moods intimately and read his actions to gauge what interventions are needed at that moment. Because of our devotion to Matthew we have actually been able to help him improve so much that his autism is no longer impacting him to the same extent it previously did. He has become extremely high functioning and we now feel confident that he will be able to attend college and hold a job in the future. Of course this now makes his autism even more invisible. He looks even more “normal” or “average”. And I guess ultimately we want his autism to be completely invisible, so invisible, that he no longer qualifies for the diagnosis. The reality of autism is that it affects a child’s behavior and physical condition without leaving physical markers, which in turn make it undetectable to many. Autism is an invisible disability.

Maryann is the mom behind Matthew’s Puzzle where she blogs about her son’s autism recovery.

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Stargazing #Brandcation #GulfCoast

Posted by html404 on May 19, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Business, Education, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Travel

I have to finish telling you all about the rest of my Brandcation trip now that my house is quiet. My last post was about our trip to Adventures Unlimited, which we did during the day on Saturday, May 5. Two weeks ago today actually. Then after a dinner of subs we went stargazing. I don’t know what I expected but it was better than I anticipated and I thoroughly missed having my family with me because they would have loved it. Especially my husband and my second oldest daughter as she studies astronomy for fun and often coaxes us outside to see what she sees, but I don’t always see it that’s the problem!

Dewey and his friends had their telescopes and binoculars all set up in stations for those of us attending, which not only included our group but a few others as well. We were there to see what is known as the Super Moon. At the first station I went to Dewey actually had an accessory that enabled us to attach our iPhones to the telescope and take pictures and video It was so neat. I was able to text video and photos to my husband so they could share in the experience in real time, but of course from home. Dewey even put a screen on the telescope so he could make the moon look red, but I cannot remember why.

I believe the next station was of Venus and the clouds were covering it at the time so while I tried to see it, it was too late. 🙁 Then at the next one I was able to use these huge binoculars to look at the moon, I believe. See already starting to forget little details like that! Getting to look at Saturn was very cool and I so wished I could have got a picture of that but Amy from Grinning Cheek to Cheek did and offered to share.

The last telescope was huge and it was powered by the man’s truck battery, which I didn’t know they could do but it doesn’t surprise me as much as it struck me funny in an ironic sense that it could be done.

The beach was beautiful that night with a gentle breeze and full moon. I wished my husband was there for a romantic walk on the beach, but alas I enjoyed seeing the Gulf side of Portofino Island with Sheri from Kidsumers, Johanna from Mama Chocolate, Lisa from Between the Kids, Amy and a few others that I am probably forgetting were also on the boardwalk with us. I actually did go down to the water very briefly as it is said sharks feed at night and because of so many stories of sharks being close to shore in Florida and I did not want to be a shark snack. Therefore, I quickly felt the water because I wanted to see how cold it was at that time of night – it was warm! Much different than what I am use to coming from living on the Atlantic side for more than half my life, that’s for sure!

Many thanks goes out to Dewey and Escambia Amateur Astronomers Association for sharing their knowledge and time with us! It was amazing. It has motivated me to find local astronomers here to get help learning how to use a telescope that was given to us – thanks to one of Dewey’s friends for suggesting I do that! Oh and by the way Dewey and his friends do this on their own time and for FREE! How awesome is that?

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Organic Valley Farm Friends

Posted by Brande on May 10, 2012
in Coupons, Deals, Downloads, Education, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Health, Health and Nutrition, Organic, Thrifty Thursday

This was the first time I visited Organic Valley’s Website! Shame on me, right!?

We are all trying to keep our families happy and healthy, well Organic Valley will help. They have a fantastic website and even two apps for Apple devices (Organic Valley and Organic Moo Can), they are FREE and you can download them from Organic Valley’s Site! **Sorry, they don’t have it for Android at this time**

On this site you can Find your Farmer, Organic Valley Products, Recipes, Reason to Choose Organic Products, and more. Organic Valley’s website is full of wonderful information.

Head to the Tab “Community” – on the right you can a subscribe section. Enter your email and zip code. It will then take you to where you can sign up for newsletters and the “Farm Friends Welcome kit” – “The Kit contains Rootstock Magazine, a Kid’s Activity Booklet, a Go Organic! bumper sticker, and a booklet of useful Organic Valley coupons.” Sound good to me!

Head to Organic Valley and start your next organic journey!

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Nudge Your Kids

Posted by Brande on May 9, 2012
in Children's Clothing, Cleaning, Clothing, Education, Encouragement for Moms, Family Stuff, Fashion, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Humor, Parenting, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Reviews, School

Nudge your kids with a Nudge Tee that is! So, what has your child accomplished on their own? Brushing their teeth? Making their Bed? Feeding an animal? Reading or writing? Celebrate with them! For $20.00 you can praise their efforts, and by wearing one of these tees they can let everyone else know of their good doings!

Guess what! They have them in adult sizes also! If your husband’s like mine and doesn’t like washing dishes. Get him a shirt that says “I wash dishes”! lol……! I Love You, Honey!

My Review:

Here’s the shirt my daughter received from Nudge Tees.

Granted we are still working on this, but she’s getting better. I would have shown my daughter in her new shirt Nudge Tee shirts as my daughter achieves more accomplishments. I love these shirts and what they do to boost my child ego.

Head over to Nudge Tees and encourage your child!

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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FREE Samples from Dover Publications

Posted by html404 on May 3, 2012
in Education, Family Stuff, Free Stuff

Our family loves the coloring books and paper dolls from Dover Publications and when I recently opened our email with free samples I thought, “This is something I should share with my readers,” so here I am!

I know you may be thinking, “Who plays with paper dolls anymore?” To that I say, “We do!” Our children play with their paper dolls more than they play with their other toys. Paper dolls allows them use their imaginations and creativity. There are paper doll books from different time periods which teaches the children about the clothing people of those times wore. My girls are more interested in this than my boys. However, there are paper dolls for boys too and while they are fewer than the girls’ selection it’s enough to keep my boys happy. Soldiers, knights and sticker dolls have been favorites with my boys. My children even cut out the covers of their paper doll books!

A word about the little sticker paper dolls, they do not last long as the adhesive wears off pretty fast if they play with them a lot. However, they are very cheap at $1 or $2 for a few days of fun.

Dover’s coloring books are not only fun but educational as well. Included in the coloring books are fun facts, brief history and information about the topic of the coloring book. We have purchased them to learn more about birds, flags, butterflies, horses and I may be missing a couple.

My Boys Favorite Coloring Pages (so far)

My Favorite Sample Pages (so far)

My Youngest Daughter’s Favorite Coloring Page (so far)

To get free samples from Dover Publications, such as coloring pages, book pages and more, which arrive to your inbox twice a month, just click here.

For more information about Dover Publications and to see the other products they have to offer visit their website: www.DoverPublications.com

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Earth Day 2012 Giveaway – $50 Gift Certificate to UncommonGoods!

Posted by html404 on April 20, 2012
in Contests, Eco Friendly Products, Education, Faith and Family Reviews Friday Giveaway, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Giveaways, Kids Toys

We love educational products and tools. UncommonGoods not only has educational toys, but also gifts for plant lovers, hummingbird feeders and unique home accessories. Many handmade and eco-friendly products all very different. Recently we were able to review two of their educational kits for kids – Cheesemaking and Crystal Explosion….And UncommonGoods is providing a $50 gift certificate for one happy winner of our Earth Day 2012 Giveaway! A great way to start off Earth Day weekend!

Cheesemaking Kit Review

We have always been interested in cheesemaking so this was a cool kit to do. My older girls actually did this one and we let the younger children do the Crystal kit.

The kit gives you a choice of making mozzarella cheese or ricotta cheese. We chose mozzarella since we eat more of it than ricotta. The instructions were very well laid out, easy to follow and included photos so you could actually see if your cheese was doing what they said it should at each step.

Everything you need is in the kit except for a gallon of organic milk and a pint of half and half. Those need to be purchased separately. Each little tablet shown has to be cut into quarters, so you can actually make 30 batches of cheese with this kit – bonus!

One of my daughters was worried that the cheese did not turn out, but once we tasted it was fine. We lightly salted it when we tried it and liked that better than plain.

This kit is for older children (teens) to do on their own or for younger children to assist a parent due to needing a heat source, like a stove or microwave. We really try to limit our microwave use.

The girls enjoyed their cheesemaking experience. Now we need our own cow so we can truly make our own cheese. 😉

You can purchase your own kit here($25).

Crystal Explosion Kit Review

Our children have been studying rocks and have been fascinated by what they are learning. The Crystal Explosion kit was very fun for the younger children.

The crystals (bath salts) were a bit messy but the enjoyment the children got from completing the crystal experiment far outweighed the small mess on the table!

Again, this was another kit that is very easy to use. Instructions are easy to follow. Due to hot water being required, some parental guidance and help is required.

It was fun to wake up to the crystals in the refrigerator. We still have them in there! Every now and then the children will bring me the cup and say, “Mommy, look at the crystals” because they are in awe. 😉 Very cute.

To order your own Crystal Explosion kit visit this link. It is available for $17.99.

Both of these kits are winners in our house and we give them two thumbs up. Thank you UncommonGoods!

Now you can enter our giveaway….

Earth Day 2012 Giveway – $50 Gift Certificate to UncommonGoods

Enter to win a $50 gift certificate to UncommonGoods! Open to the USA only. Winner will be contacted in 2-3 weeks, if not before.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Factory Tours USA

Posted by Brande on March 29, 2012
in Deals, Education, Family Stuff, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, News Worthy, Parenting, Saving Money, Thrifty Thursday, Travel

Spring Break and Summer are getting close, what are your plans? With gas prices soaring and admission into places doesn’t seem to be getting any lower, family fun is getting expensive! Try this site Factory Tours USA . I did a spot check and from what I could see, most of the Factory Tours are FREE, granted I’m sure most have a gift store at the end. By going on a tour, you and your family are having fun and don’t even realize they are learning! There are many great places to visit. There are just about 50 categories ranging from candy to racing teams to musical instruments to mines and mining. You can search by state too. Here’s the website! http://www.factorytoursusa.com

Happy & Safe Travels!

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FREE “Dummies” Books

Posted by Brande on March 29, 2012
in Articles, Books, Downloads, Ebooks, Education, Encouragement for Moms, Family Stuff, Free Stuff, Parenting, Products for Dad, Products for Mom

I’ve used “Dummies” books before and they are helpful. Check out these 3 that I ordered. “Living the Boomer Life for Dummies“, “Well-Being for Dummies“, and “Retirement for Dummies” – Get these FREE Dummies books as a download if you need them faster or in hard copy. They are available at REAL Powered by Humana, which so far, for me at least, seems to be an equally good site for various information about work, family, self and play. If you look near the middle of the page you will see Marketplace that’s where you will find these “Dummies” books too. They are on the right side of the Marketplace link.

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Looney Tunes ClickN READ Phonics Program Review

Posted by html404 on March 25, 2012
in Education, School

I know you all must remember Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester the Cat and Tweetie Bird, The Tasmanian Devil and others. Very funny characters that make you laugh and remember your childhood days of watching these cartoon characters. I use to watch them with my Dad. He loved them and would sit and chuckle over their antics.

My children have had limited exposure to them, only because I am concerned about them learning to talk correctly and well, Tweetie and a couple others leave much to be desired in the pronouncing words the right way.

Nevertheless when we reviewed Looney Tunes ClickN READ Phonics, they loved it!

My Review of Looney Tunes ClickN READ Phonics Program

I really liked how the phonics lessons were organized, repetitive and fun! It is so important to have an element of fun when children are learning or else it just seems like drudgery work. After all we want them to love to learn!

When I set up an account for our daughter, I chose to start at level 10 because she already knew her ABCs and basic sounds, so my review is based on lessons 10-15, as those are the only ones we made it through. Nice features were: you can change settings for slow, medium and fast sounding out, parents may also set the length of the lesson which is a bonus for children with short attention spans!

Sample Lesson from Looney Tunes ClickN READ

The Looney Tunes Phonics Program has a fun little robot character that acts as the teacher. He instructs the children and takes the children through sound lessons first.

After doing some phonics work, there is a little break with the Loony Tunes characters. Then Mr. Robot takes the children through some words.

Again after a short lesson on sounding out words, there is another little break with a show about some of the Loony Tunes Characters. The next phase of the Loony Tunes Phonics Program is sentence reading.

Looney Tunes ClickN READ offers a free sample lessons to review before you make any purchase. There is lots of repetition. The robot talks clearly and concisely. This program is very easy for children to follow along and do their lessons with supervision and after each lesson part they get to practice what they learned by doing an activity where they clicked on a letter sound, word or read a sentence. Upon completion they are told how many they get wrong.

The only negative I see to the program is what I mentioned in my introduction and that is the way Tweetie talks, especially with children who are already struggling to say sounds correctly, but that is all. Overall it is fun, entertaining and educational.

Looney Tunes ClickN READ Phonics Discount!

Get Your Kids Reading With Bugs Bunny and Friends! Get Started with Looney Tunes Phonics for Only $9.95!, plus they have other purchasing options. If you are interested in trying it out, we were given a promotional to share with you of 15% off any purchase through 12/31/12 with the code: 15PERCNS15