Review: Bright Ideas Press

A few months ago, Bright Ideas Press sent me a free curriculum book to review. I received Christian Kids Explore: Earth & Space. This was the only thing received.

Precious Jewel enjoyed this thoroughly. While there was much information in this, and it was not in “living book” form, it still flowed easily and naturally. Precious Jewel enjoyed coloring a picture that related to the information she was learning about. She especially loved the hands-on aspect that is included in each lesson.

To the right, she is proudly displaying her paperweight (rock) designed with the layers of the earth made with tissue paper. This wasn't the exact activity for that particular lesson, but I wanted her to do an activity she could use later and not only remember the information, but have a useful item.

When we learned about tectonic plates, she was tickled to do the egg activity to help cement the ideas expressed in the chapter.

I love that they unashamedly announce that God's Word is true, and science aligns with His Word. I love that they say God created the world in seven literal days - the evening and the morning, the sun rose and then it fell. I greatly enjoy companies that stand up for believing what God says.

This is a great product, especially considering it's only $29.95. This is a product that is captivating and informative.

The one drawback for me was trying to photocopy the coloring pages from the book itself. I would have enjoyed the coloring pages to be out separately to photocopy. The picture would have certainly come out cleaner! I had to type up forms on the computer that mimicked the forms in the book so that they would come out clear and crisp, but I could not do that with the coloring pages.

Aside from that, I have no negative things to say about this product. I was a little bit surprised, because it is a little “text-bookish,” when one first looks at it. However, once you really dig into it and start utilizing the material, you'll find that this is one of the few interesting “text books” out there. I am certainly looking forward to seeing more of their stuff, purchasing it and using it in our learning adventure!

If you would like to learn more about Bright Ideas Press Products from other members of The Old Schoolhouse Crew, go here.

What the Week Holds

Monday - ran errands to prepare for a business meeting with the local natural foods co-op in town. (They emailed me randomly on Friday and asked if I would be interested in selling them products to sell to others.) CRAZY day. Tired, depleted. Had a family friend drop off Precious Jewel's "Calee" cat stuffed animal that we left at Bible study the day before. He guarded me like a Papa bear (he's almost 60) when he saw Bubby at the house. I told Bubby on Friday to stop coming around and the protective friend and his protective wife already knew that.

Tuesday - Felt like puking before the business meeting, bathed the meeting in prayer. No worries - they have already been advertising on their website that they will be selling my stuff before we even had the meeting - it's official, I am selling there! Not only my cleaning supplies, but cosmetics, art, etc. WOW!!! Praise God for meeting my needs in unexpected ways!

Wednesday - Slept two hours from 7-9 am. Bubby came in while I was sleeping and my driver's license, bank card and a few other, less important cards, went missing. Internet hunting for business information and suppliers for packaging. House-searching desperately for my cards, looked through everything literally FIVE times. Not to be found. Had church fellowship - cried more in front of people than I have in the last 5 years combined. Got home. Finally got cards back right before I was to call the police. Still not sure what happened, but I know God is good.

Thursday  - More business look-ups. More pushing to get stuff done quickly for local co-op. They wanted to be selling my product awhile ago! Set up a PayPal account for internet orders. And finally, school. Baking. Cleaning. Home-time at last!

Tomorrow holds - more school! Gymnastics time with homeschool families. Relaxing at home. Breathing.

What's your week looking like? Share with me all the ups and downs!

Review: ABCTeach

ABCTeach gave me a free one month membership so that I could utilize all of the benefits and give an honest review with my opinions. No monies or any other products were given to me.

It has so very much to offer for families that love worksheets. While their free section has a good offering, their member's section is great. If you are big into worksheets, you'll want the membership for $40 a year because it is well worth it.

There are many worksheets (thousands are free but over 35,000 to members) including a variety of areas: crafts, science, math (though I would have enjoyed more), holiday, geography, language arts, art appreciation, and so much more.

Precious Jewel enjoyed some of the things we used through ABCTeach. It was mostly the hands-on project ideas or items I tweaked to make more hands on (such as a good article on spelunking).

With a membership, one has the ability to create their own worksheets in a variety of ways. I was really excited to perhaps make some handwriting copywork sheets for Precious Jewel, but found that ABCTeach does not offer italic cursive, which is what we (and many other homeschool families) are teaching/learning. They do, however, offer many other styles of handwriting.

There are some excellent mini-offices, that we have been using frequently. These are not worksheets, really. Mini-offices are helpful information stored in one place: for example, a mini-office on measurements contains all of the useful information about ounces, pounds, kilograms, inches, centimeters, etc. in one little section in an eye-pleasing manner. ABCTeach has a large number of mini-offices that are extremely useful for any homeschooling family!

In our learning/teaching we try to be Charlotte Mason-y in approach, and this entire websites benefits' didn't exactly fit into our homeschooling as well as it will other families. Though we did not enjoy this as much, it is an excellent resource for those that enjoy worksheets.

If you enjoy worksheets, head on over to ABCTeach, because it is *the* place to get all the worksheets you could ever imagine needing or wanting!


If you would like to learn more about this product from other members of The Old Schoolhouse Crew, check out TOS Homeschool Crew's blog!

Wonderful link

I seriously have to link to this article, "The Day I Left My Marriage." It's truly great.
Here's just a clip of it... and if you know anything about me, I am not at all promoting divorce.

Bill never picked his clothes off the floor. He never told me when he was going outside. He slept in church. He had embarrassing, nasty habits such as blowing his nose or belching at the dinner table. He never bought me nice presents. He refused to match his clothes. He was tight with money. He wouldn't help with the housework. He didn't talk with me.
The list went on and on, until I'd filled the page. I certainly had more than enough evidence to prove that no woman would be able to live with this man.

Another Frugal Idea

This one isn't new or my own, it's just a good one, with some food for thought.

Check out The Common Room about taking a company's word for it when they offer unlimited lifetime warranty's on items.

This is not a new concept, but it is a good one. I also believe it is ethical - if it weren't, the company wouldn't be advertising such a deal. The only area I might see "grey" in is if you were able to find some LL Bean product at a yard sale or something and tried to trade it in. I am not sure about that myself. However, if you buy something directly from a company that offers such a warranty - you yourself have paid to be able to do what the company said they would do.

Anyways, I thought I would share a really great post with you all.

And the floodgates let loose.

I am not sure if anyone has noticed on here, but there are several things on my blog that I noticed after the fact, that could give away recent changes in my household.
The most obvious to me is the picture of Precious Jewel having set the table for dinner. There's only two places made. One thing I've never talked about on here is that this is not an unusual situation. My husband does not work nights, he is not a trucker who is gone all the time, and he is not a soldier overseas.
I have a difficult marriage. It's certainly better than others. I'm not beaten - I am truly thankful for that. My husband doesn't have affairs on me - again, I am very thankful.

Rather, I have a husband that runs from the Lord and clings to drug and alcohol addiction. He didn't come home until "he felt like it." Sometimes that was 10pm, sometimes it was 3am. In the last couple of years, it's rarely been before 10pm.
He has been battling with this off and on for just over 6 years - most of our marriage. That I know of, he'd been clean for about two years. That is, until a few months ago. It was then that I said, "I love you, and when you're clean and sober, you are welcome to come back - even if it's 20 years from now... but you are not welcome here anymore like this."

This throws so many things out of whack. Precious Jewel misses her Daddy. Even though I have barely seen him in the last couple of years, I miss him too. It throws our finances off. It throws energy levels off for me because I am struggling with depression. It makes me want to punch myself for avoiding friends that are pregnant and reminding me of what I might not ever have again - I want to rejoice with them. I'm worried that I am not really as faithful to God as I want to be, hope to be, talk about Christians needing to be. Do I trust Him when things look bleak and the only way seems to be to disobey Him?

I put off saying anything about my personal life right now, for several reasons. All those reasons made me so much more tense.
I haven't asked hardly anyone for specific prayer in my personal circle of friends because there is one friend who has actually made up rumors about my husband in the past, and I didn't want them to take something real and make it into something bigger. But then I realized that if I just come out with it, it's there. Anyone can see the truth of what's happening, and she can't make it something different. I decided I wouldn't let her dictate to me what I ask for prayer or help for.

I also didn't want anyone to see my husband in a poor light. But the reality is, he put himself in that light. And I don't have to trash him when I am talking about my life in a truthful manner. As sinful as he is, I am just as much so. I have no right nor desire to trash his name or tear him down.

I've finally decided to share what is going on with my family because without being honest, I just can't get help. No one knows what to pray for us. Things I say seem fake and with-held... because, well, they are. I feel like a liar when I keep talking about all the wonderful domestic-y things a wife can do when there's so much turmoil going on inside.

I am certainly going to keep blogging about domestic life because, frankly, God has called me to it. While I am fighting my human nature's worry about finances and living life... I know that God has called wives to keep at home, and mother's to teach their own children, and He will not leave me to flounder in that. He will provide a way for it to happen. But aside from domestic life, I also want to talk about all the things He carries me through in my personal life as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend and anything else you want to label me with.

So there it is. I let the floodgates open. I feel like me again.

Review: Virginia Soaps & Scents

When I saw in advance that The Old Schoolhouse Crew had a vendor lined up that made their own soaps and shampoo bars, I became anxious to get on the list.

Virginia Soaps & Scents didn't hold anything back. The member's of the crew received a sampling of their Fresh Orange soap, Oatmeal, Milk & Honey soap, and Coconut Lemongrass soap, along with their Ginger Lime shampoo bar and and laundry soap kit! All for free, to give an honest opinion about their products.

The scents of their soap bars are heavenly. Precious Jewel said her favorite is the Oatmeal, Milk & Honey, while my personal favorite is the Coconut Lemongrass – but all three smells are divine!
We had no trouble with our hands getting chapped or dry when using these, and our hands smell like the soap for at least a good hour if we don't do anything like cut up onions or dig in the soil.
These bars lather well and last a long time. You can tell the company has let them cure awhile so that you are getting more for your money.
I hope to be able to buy a seasonal scented bar or two soon. At $4.50 for a 4.5 oz. bar, it's a good deal, especially considering how long they last!

I'd been washing my hair with baking soda, rinsing and then “conditioning” it with vinegar rinses for about two years when at the recommendation of another blogger, a few months back I tried a different (unnamed) brand of shampoo bar. I had disappointing results. I had to wash my hair every other day with that bar. I had been spoiled, being used to the need to wash my hair but every 4-5 days, before it looked greasy (I still take showers in-between then). Not only that, but the bar did not lather up at all, ever. Top that off with the fact that the bar was about 3 oz. in the beginning, cost me almost $10, and lasted only 2 months, I was not a happy camper.
I went back to baking soda. Yet, I desired something natural for Precious Jewel that didn't require me to help her every time she showered.
I am really excited to say that Virginia Soaps & Scents gave me the perfect solution for Precious Jewel (and myself when I want to change things up a bit) – still natural, affordable and easy to use. For a 5.5 oz. bar that lasts an average of 4-6 months, $5.50 is an excellent price. The scent lingers in your hair in a pleasing way. The bar lathers up so well that had I not known it was a shampoo bar made from natural ingredients, I would have suspected that it was store-bought liquid shampoo. Glorious bubbles from natural sources!

The laundry soap kit, that made a half-gallon (16 loads), works well, Cleaning action is comparable to store-bought, chemically-laden detergents, skip all the chemicals and high cost. Oh yes, and skip the hassle of going to the store.
The one thing I cannot get over is the smell of lard. I have a very sensitive nose and even after adding generous amounts of essential oils to the mix (25 drops total – the same amount I typically put in a gallon), I could still smell the lard in the laundry soap. For those that don't have a sensitive schnoz, you may never notice, but I did. While the cleaning action is good, the smell overwhelmed me and I could smell it all throughout my small apartment while the laundry is being done and afterwards for a day or so. I pushed through and used the soap for 6-7 washes, but just couldn't do any more than that.
I'd like to say it is all lard-based soaps, but I've not had any problems with different brands before this. These soap kits cost $4.95 for a batch that makes 2 gallons (64-72 loads).

The products aside, I want to mention the customer service from this awesome homeschool-family's company. In my first shipment from them, in which the samples were contained, the shampoo bar was a bit strange. It was falling apart and was not solid. I contacted the company, and they sent me a new bar right away. The new bar was perfectly fine. The package also contained a personal note. Customer service rates high for them.

This company receives an A+ from me without a doubt. Customer service, pricing, effectiveness, and pleasant presentation go into figuring this one, and they aced all categories.

Want more reviews of this product? Check out the TOS Crew blog!

Review: The Amazing History Timeline

A long, slender package came to us in the mail about a month and a half ago, exciting everyone in the house. It doesn't matter what's inside – Precious Jewel loves opening things from the mail and discovering what's inside.

What happened to be in that long, slender package was The Amazing History Timeline. This was given to us for free to give an honest review about what my own family thought about the product. While my 7 year olds' interest quickly waned, this 27 year old became enthralled. I enjoy learning about history, though I am no history buff. I enjoy the “clicking” of understanding when two different events happening in two different place were happening at the same time.

The timeline costs $29.97 + S/H. It is pretty sturdy. As you can see, I've hung it up on our wall! When you purchase the timeline, you will also get a few free bonuses!

I don't find this just a conversational piece. I believe it can be an educational tool, however, it does take a little bit of time to understand how to utilize its benefits.
For example, Precious Jewel has continued to do Grapevine Studies' Old Testament Timeline. She's been doing things pretty much chronologically through the study, and The Amazing History Timeline has helped her to understand the pattern of events a little bit more.

Also, this gives a more concrete example of when certain events were happening, what other events they overlapped with, and this helps people to understand a little better why other events were happening at that same time, as well.

I have one concession for any of my reader's out there. Though the timeline I received is subtitled “In Accordance with Bible Chronology,” there are references to the book of Mormon material as well as the Koran.

Personally, I have no problem with referencing to other religious works in a basic timeline – while I don't believe the premises of other religions outside of Christianity to be according to God's Truth, I also don't believe that every word from other religious writing to be lies. I know that historically accurate data can be found from other blatant religious material, as well as the religion(s) of atheism and secularism.

My issue comes from the fact that the timeline is promoted to be based from the Bible, when in fact it is from multiple religious sources, some of which greatly contradict the teachings from Scripture. Scripture is very clear that there is only One Way - and God is not tolerant of false religions. So now you can see my personal opinion on that matter.
Aside from the way the timeline is advertised, I do enjoy the timeline.

There is a webpage through the company that attempts to answer some of the questions I am sure many people have had in regards to the timeline. I cannot say I personally agree with all of the answers, but I thought it was an interesting read-through!

Overall, I rate this product a “B.”

Want to read other reviews of this product? Check out the TOS Crew!

Healthy Money Saving Tips

 Save the paper from your butter. Fold them inwardly, in half, and pop into the freezer for later use. When a recipe calls for a greased cake pan, bread pan, etcetera, snatch a butter paper from the freezer and use in place of the spraying with an aerosol-based oil. By doing this, I have not had to buy a can of that junk in well over a year.

 Start making your own cleaning supplies – it saves BIG, and it can be done in a natural way! Without finding recipes, a few good natural ingredients to have on hand are baking soda, apple cider vinegar, castile soap, borax and one antiseptic essential oil you enjoy the smell of (lavender is lovely, and rather affordable).

 Iron your clothes right before you're ready to wear them. Using starch to hold the ironing in longer can attract fiber-eating insects as well as hasten the breakdown of clothing fibers.

 Shop thrift stores, yard sales and dumpsters for non-food items.

 Make your own soup stocks. Save the bones from meals, scraps of vegetables, cleaned eggshells and body-boosting herb scraps (astragalus, garlic, nettle, dandelion leaves and roots, etcetera). To make it taste more like the store-bought, MSG-laden counterpart, add a healthy amount of butter to the stock after the scraps have been removed.

 Stop using paper products in your home, aside from actual paper. The easiest thing to move over to is cleaning rags. Cut up old flannel shirts for mirrors and windows, old t-shirts for light dusting, and old towels and washcloths for heavy-duty cleaning.
Second, make or buy some cloth napkins for mealtimes and cut up old t-shirts for kleenex.
Last, and for the very brave of heart, make up or buy some cloth bathroom wipes in place of toilet paper.
This step is big, but important. Not only will you be saving your family a *lot* of money, but you will be stopping a little bit of the flow of exhausting the world's resources.

 Mix up natural insecticides for home and one for body. It's far cheaper than chemical crap from the stores and most recipes are very effective. Diatomaceous earth seems to work for many invaders while still being perfectly safe for humans and pets.

 Make your own bread. You know what's in each loaf, and you know you are saving a bit of money too.

 Create your own paint for indoor jobs.
Gloss Paint
3 kg tallow (can usually be obtained for very cheap, if not free, through local grocer)
3 kg dry, powdered lime
milk
Place tallow in large bucket so that it completely covers its base, add lime and then enough water to cover ingredients by about 10 cm. When heat from lime melts tallow, stir mix thoroughly until ingredients have dissolved. Store in container with tight fitting lid. Add 2 cups milk to every 18 cups of paint just prior to application.
Apply to dry surfaces with large, wide brush. Will dry to off-white. Can be colored by powdered earth pigments: red iron oxide, chrome oxide, cobalt, yellow ochre, etc. Test with small quantity first!

 Make your own yogurt. It tastes wonderful, is super healthy for you, and is by far cheaper than buying it from the store. Better yet, make kefir!

 Grow your own food. Victory garden, raise rabbits and/or chickens, or even go wild crafting. Grow tire potatoes – most tire places will give you tires for free.
Something that can be grown, be fun, and will still save you a tiny bit of money is growing loofahs! Latin name luffa aegyptiaca, these plants will surprise you. Pretty much because I think most people believe these to be some sort of a sea-vegetable when they buy them in the store and will be tickled when they learn it's a land vegetable. {smile} These are good to use for yourself, but....

 Loofahs grown at home make great gifts. These can, of course, go with homemade cosmetics: herbal baths, bath confetti, lotions, etcetera. Homemade cosmetics can be natural and much cheaper than store-bought.

 Buy reusable shopping bags. Unless you have been given some canvas or other strong material for free or VERY cheap, it's unlikely you'll be able to beat the prices of the pre-made reusable bags at the grocery store these days. Get some. I own about 25 – but I use many of these to haul my gallons and half-gallons of laundry soap, fabric softener, stain spray, etc. to and from farmer's market to sell as well. Getting some of these does not “save you money” per se, but it's ecologically smart, and that's worth a lot. However, buying them ready made will save you over making your own (that's a real exception to a rule!).

So Happy Together

My mind has lightly touched upon a wonderful thought recently.

One of my dearest friends had recently gone on a trip for a week or so and her children went with her. It dawned on me after she left that she probably had to take one of the kiddos “out” of school for the time they were gone, as they are in public school.
I just read one of my favorite blogs in Google Reader, Green and Natural Parenting, that the author did pretty much the same thing recently: went on an awesome trip, but needed to let the school know first.

What my mind thought of was how much I love that I can go to a pumpkin festival or anything like that and it actually counts as school! And I don’t have to tell anyone that I am living my life with my family and get a subtle permission from an agency or others to do so (and by permission I mean that if a public school family were to take their kids out "too much" then the school would tell them to not do it so much.)

I know some might completely enjoy the time they get when they put their children in public or private school, that they get more time alone to themselves.
But it’s one of the drawbacks for me.
Not only is spending less time with my family a drawback (as I know it is for my friend), but having to notify someone else that I am going to be doing something “different” with my family than the typical school schedule tells me I have to do it.

I thought about it quickly a few times this last week. I am truly grateful and thankful that God has me on this journey. I am thankful to watch a butterfly crawl out of its chrysalis and count that as true science for my daughter. To play hopscotch, jump-rope and ball and count it as math. I am so thankful to push through the hard times when I feel selfish and want my own way, to remember that God is blessing me and will continue to bless me for obeying Him.

I am incredibly thankful for this journey of learning I’ve taken with my daughter.
(Edited: This is not coming down on any of my friends or family, or otherwise strangers. I am noting what I am thankful for.)