Remember when I told you about the SchoolhouseTeachers.com from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine? Well, they are having a giveaway for 1 year PREMIUM level membership!
Here’s the link! http://networkedblogs.com/vsCFp
If you’d like to sign up for any of the SchoolhouseTeachers.com levels, here is the link to do that also!
http://schoolhouseteachers.com/dap/a/?a=3429
Happy Educating from Faith and Family Reviews!
I love sharing about new resources that educate people about our current Big Ag food system and anything that helps people realize we do not need big corporations controlling our food. Hungry for Change is a new movie from the creator of Food Matters (another must see!). This is a direct quote from FRESH’s email as I am about to watch the movie with one of my sons and whoever else is propelled towards the sound of a movie playing…..so here it is:
Today marks the worldwide premiere of Hungry for Change, and you can watch it online for FREE until March 31st. Check it out today!
http://www.hungryforchange.tv/fresh
In this movie, you’ll hear the truth behind “diet,” “sugar-free,” and “fat-free” products, and learn what to avoid in your supermarket. You’ll be inspired by transformational stories from people who have recovered from being sick and overweight. You’ll find the solutions to vibrant health for yourself and your family. So, watch the movie and share the knowledge with a friend–it may save a life!
To a more energetic you,
Ana and Crystal
The FRESH TeamP.S. Want to support good food and our work at FRESH? Consider adding to our tip jar.
Join Bingzy Bee as your child has fun through this new learning app! Just released in January, this app is available for iPhone, iTouch, & iPad. This adorable character is directed for your younger ones (ages 2-6). There are 4 activities to choose from: “Bingzy’s ABC Song”, “Song & Games”, “Letter Drag & Drop”, and “Bingzy to the Rescue”
Bingzy’s ABC Song – This great little song goes through the alphabet and sounds out the letter, give you a picture, than gives you a word. Perfect for your little ones learning the alphabet
Song & Game – Starts with Bingzy’s ABC Song, then you play a game after the letter D. For example, Letter A is Ant. The app gives you the picture of the Ant and give you _ NT your child then must pick the correct letter out.
Letter Drag & Drop – Similar to the Song & Game section. Except, you get the picture of the Ant and give you _ NT your child then must pick the correct letter.
Bingzy to the Rescue – Save Bingzy’s friends by loading them in the rescue copter in alphabetical order.
My Review
This is a great app for my daughter (3 years old), we are still working on our ABC’s all the way through and this is perfect for her! She’s not quite to the Letter Drag & Drop and Bingzy’s Rescue. But, this is what makes it a great app. She can use it for years to come. At last check this adorable & useful app is available on Itunes for only .99!
Follow them! Here’s Bing Note’s Information!
Website: http://bingnote.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bing-Note/70588121848
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/bingnote
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.
This is great for you and your kids. I can see two plus’ to this already!
A) You need to be outside to use this reference guide
B) You and your kids are learning and it’s fun! Kinda like a treasure hunt!
Go an get your Wildflower Reference Guide at http://shop.wildseedfarms.com/inforequest.asp
Check out The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s (TOS) reinvented Teacher’s Toolbox. I introduce SchoolhouseTeachers.com.
Click the banner above or here’s the link – http://schoolhouseteachers.com/dap/a/?a=3429
The topics of March include “Get Out and Garden!” , “This Day in History” , “Schoolhouse Kitchen”, crafts, lots of encouragement and devotions.
TOS is continually adding enhancements to SchoolhouseTeachers.com – Watch for Schoolhouse Clubs for Kids, freebies (for long-term members), and TOS digital back issues! With even more coming in April and beyond!
There are 3 different tiers of membership.
The Standard Membership includes –
After 12 months of uninterrupted membership, you’ll receive a $5 gift certificate to the Totally TOS section of The Schoolhouse Store.
After 12 months of uninterrupted membership, you’ll receive a $10 gift certificate to the Totally TOS section of The Schoolhouse Store.
After 12 months of uninterrupted membership, you’ll receive a $25 gift certificate to the Totally TOS section of The Schoolhouse Store.
BONUS for the Ultimate Membership for a limited time only!
Go and sign up, this is a great tool for any parent just not homeschoolers!
**The membership information was quoted directly from the SchoolhouseTeachers.com website.**
For once my Monday Motivation is not about cleaning or working, but about showing hospitality and sharing our experience making maple syrup. This week on one of the homeschool yahoo groups someone posted about a maple syrup event that was a great children’s activity especially for homeschoolers, however, it was with a cost. I know how much homeschoolers watch their budgets, after all I am one! So without too much thought I posted inviting interested families to our house for a FREE homeschool activity to see what we have done to make our own maple syrup this year. After I hit send, I was like, “Oh-oh, what have I done?” I wasn’t expecting much response and about four families responded. Therefore, we’ll be getting ready for our guests this week, as I thought hot chocolate and homemade cookies were in order to go along with the children learning about where maple syrup comes from and how it is made.
The catch is we got snow and it is colder so the sap may not be running this week, but we’ll wait and see. Someone said it was going to hit the 50’s by mid-week, which will be perfect and muddy. It should be fun to meet new people and share what the Lord has blessed us with here with our maple trees and space.
This week’s motivation is to share our home and maple syrup adventure with other homeschooling families. Hopefully blessing them by helping them save money on an outing and to show them if we can do it so can they!
The Rest of Our Maple Syrup Story
Obviously we are not done tapping our trees or collecting sap, nevertheless, I thought it was time to show the rest of our maple syrup adventure or what we have recorded so far. We’ve had a few mishaps and bumps in the road and may not get as much sap as we had hoped. 🙁 You see, we have had wind blow our bags off, we have had them fall off due to being too heavy and we have had certain family members dump our maple syrup down the drain thinking it was water in the pot! Yeah, that’s what I said. This happened two different times by two different people and I am like, “Can’t you ask first? We are making syrup!?” Talk about aggravating, to say the least. Both individuals were apologetic and felt bad, but accidents happen…..still, just ask!
Our Tapping Adventure Continues
Drilling.
The younger ones wanted to try too.
The tap is in. We were not very happy about the sap dripping out below the tap, but that was rectified once we got the drill boring the right way!
The bags were put on the little metal hangers and set on the taps.
The day we put them up the sap was running fast. This is what we got within the first couple of hours.
Then by late afternoon, look what we had!
We improvised when we ran out of metal hangers and use a milk jug and wire.
This pot was full of sap and you have to boil it down to almost nothing.
Then we filtered the sap to get dirt and any other unwanted particles out of the syrup.
Baby wanted in on the action too.
Not a lot of syrup and by the time we had bottle it (sorry no picture of that!) we only got a quart out of 3-4 bags of sap. It wasn’t as thick as we would have liked, so it should have been boiled more. We know that for the next batch we do, as we are living and learning as we go along.
This is a must see video if you are even remotely curious or concerned with the amount of chemicals our children are exposed to today. Thanks to the Environmental Working Group (EWG.org). They also have a site that allows you to look up ingredients, which I cannot seem to find that link right now but will add once I find it:
This video is precisely why we are changing the products we use and the foods we eat. It is for the future of our children and future generations. A change must occur. What will you do?
“God’s love graces each creature, the great and the small,
and it soars to the sky like His redwoods so tall.”
This is a beautiful heartfelt book for your children is written by Jennifer Dewing and Illustrated by Maria Carluccio. It is available at “I See Me! Inc. Personalized Children’s Books“.
“God Loves You” won multiple awards in 2010, including Mom’s Choice Award and Creative Child Magazine’s “Preferred Choice” Award.
There is a great deal of personalization in this book. You are able to include the following information, child’s first, middle & last name, gender, dedication, sender, the month, day and year!
The book flows along paths of different illustrations, including the ocean, thru the wood, springtime, etc.
Follow this link for a tour of the book – “God Loves You!”
This is a great gift for Easter, baptisms, births, or just because.
My Review:
This book is full of love and inspiration for you and your child. This is going to be the “go to” present for when friends and relatives have new babies. The personalization in this book is extensive, no more writing in the front cover for me. I’ve read “God Loves You” for my daughter the past few nights. She loves the illustrations and I love the message coming from the book.
**”I See Me!, Inc.” did mention to please place your order before March 23rd if you’d like it for Easter.**
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.
“YOU ARE YOUR CHILD’S FIRST TEACHER” Great slogan and so true. Here’s a great reading incentive program for your K-6 kids. The program is available for Home School Children or contact your child’s teacher and tell them about the program. It runs October to March – the home educator/teacher sets a monthly reading goal of books to read. If that goal is achieved, the child will get a “Reading Certificate Reward”, with that certificate the child goes to Pizza Hut (with their family, of course) and they will receive a free one topping personal pan pizza, “BOOK IT!” card, and a Backpack clip. Enrollment for 2012-2013 begins in March, CLICK HERE for the enrollment form!
What about the Pre-K kiddos! Try the R.E.D. ZONE.
No pizza for the little one, sorry. If you register for the “Give Me 20 Reading Challenge”, you’ll be entered to win one of 50 “Skippyjon Jones Prize Packs”!
There are also printables for your little ones!
Happy Reading!
I loved all your responses to our Wordless Wednesday post! I got a lot of chuckles! The tree hugging really was about measuring the tree, but it was for tapping the trees for sap. We need to measure the diameter of the tree to determine how many taps we can put in each of our five maple trees because we are making maple syrup! Today’s fun with food post will be all about our fun tapping trees and making our very own chemical free maple syrup! (I know there is really no food shown, but it’s all about making our own and being self-sufficient in providing our family’s food from our land – rented land in this case.)
Our handy little reference booklet.
Maple syrup supplies.
Photo from Anderson’s website.
Yes, we can measure with the measuring tape upside down, we are talented that way! 😉
Drilling tap holes.
Tapping trees was a family event.
Two of our maple trees are in the backyard, the other three are in the front.
Stay tuned for more of our journey into the world of making maple syrup in our own backyard!
