Our Country Road

Bible Activity Book: Pharaoh's Dream FREE Printable!!

2012-02-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

I am happy to bring you another printable for your Bible learning.

This page is based on the story 'Pharaoh's Dream' in the Beginner's Bible.

I didn't get a lot of photos (I was holding a baby), but the file contains a picture of Pharaoh, two dream clouds, 7 skinny cows, 7 fat cows, and a page to glue everything to.

First, cut everything apart.

This is great cutting practice!

Then, glue down Pharaoh and the two dream clouds.

There are two activities that can be done with this page. The first is to sort the skinny cows into one dream cloud and the fat cows into the other cloud.

The second activity is to let each skinny cow eat up one fat cow=one to one.

I have to admit that Mustang found this one a bit babyish, but Charger and Mini Cooper really liked it! So, I guess this activity page would be good for ages 2 - 5.

You can download Pharaoh's Dream free here. It can be used in your home, school, church, or anywhere you want. Please don't sell it, but otherwise use away!

Checkout our other Bible Activity Book pages here.

Enjoy and God Bless!

We're linked up:

TOS Review: KinderBach

2012-02-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

I have always thought it would be fun to sign up for a weekly music and movement group at a cute little children's gym in the city. There are some small problems with that idea:

1) They cost a small fortune if you are talking about signing up 4 children at a time.

2) They often have a rule that says you can only bring 1 kid at a time, which would mean 3 sad kids and an expensive babysitter.

3) They are for children not 'school-aged' and

4) 30 minutes each way from my house. Need I say more?

But yet, a few weeks ago we started taking a music and rhythm class. And, it has been WONDERFUL!

We have been singing and dancing.

Learning about rhythm instruments.

And exploring the keys on our keyboard.

The program accepts all three of my big kids (ages 2-7), and I don't have to pay a babysitter if the baby tags along :).

KinderBach at Home has provided us with these super fun music lessons at home!!

We watch our lessons streaming online.

Complete worksheets to help remember what we just learned.

And just plain have fun!!!

KinderBach at home comes in two different options-streaming online on your PC or iPad for as little as $7.99 a month. Or, you can purchase DVD packages for as low as $40.45. Plus, KinderBach has provided my readers with a 30% code that can be used for ANY order this year!!! Use the code TOSCrew2012.

I could tell you how much we loved KinderBach, but I think the pictures say it all :). Our only complaint is that the sessions weren't long enough. We found ourselves choosing to do more then one session at a time. But, that's the beauty of doing it at home-you can control the length.

I highly recommend giving KinderBach a try, which you can do for free!! The first two weeks of sessions are available free of charge so you can see how much your children will love them! You can also read other family's reviews of KinderBach on the TOS Crew Blog.

God Bless!

This is a review for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Thank you to Kinderbach at home for providing our family with a 3 month subscription for our review. We were not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are our own.

Winter and Valentine's Activity Trays!!

2012-01-26T21:12:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is my monthly day to 'teach' at our homeschool co-op preschool group.

Here is what will be on the trays this month:

Snowman addition game. I found this idea on My Montessori Journey.

It is free for download from Making Learning Fun.

Snowman Colors. I found out about this great printable from Deb at Pre-K and K Sharing (also LivingMontessoriNow).

It is available at The Kids Place.

Heart patterning. I downloaded pattern strips from PreKinders.

Then I paired them with the hearts from a pack of candies I got from Oriental Trading Company (not an affiliate link).

Snowman magnet page, also from The Kid's Place.

I found this through Deb's Pinterest page.

Roll a snowman.

From 2 Teaching Mommies.

How Tall is the Snowman?

Yet another great printable from The Kid's Place.

Matching Snowflakes.

These are from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Tweezing feathers. I found this idea on My Montessori Journey.

Mini Cooper got into my bin of materials while I was putting together other trays.

She started doing this on her own, so I hope the other kids like it, too.

Felt heart sorting. I made this one up a couple of years ago.

It's nice to have it already made up :).

Lacing beads.

Opening and closing little heart boxes. There is a little bead in each one.

Red boxes are from the Dollar Tree.

Heart sticks from the Dollar Tree put into a Parmesan holder (also from the Dollar Tree).

Penguin pattern blocks from Prekinders.

Heart scratchers I found at Hobby Lobby.

Water transfer. I made the mistake of pouring all the water out before I took a picture! I got this idea from My Montessori Journey.

Spelling puzzles by Lauri.

Matching written numbers to the numeral.

I made these 2 years ago, so they aren't as great as some of my newer printables. You can find them here.

Count and clip cards.

These are from Nicole at Tired, Need Sleep.

Matching the uppercase snowman to his lowercase hat is one more great printable from The Kid's Place.

It was featured on PreK and K Sharing, which is how I heard about it :).

So there you have it, 20 Activity Trays or Tot Trays as some would call them. I'm so thankful for the many printables that are shared by wonderful blog mommies out there! It really made my job a breeze this time!!

Enjoy and God Bless!!

We're linked up!

Bible Activity Book: Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors

2012-01-22T16:45:00.000-08:00

We are finally up to Joseph in our Beginner's Bible. First up, Joseph's Coat of Many Colors.

I have often made up printables for our story, but this time I didnt have to :)!

I found this wonderful craft at Confessions of a Homeschooler who found it Delightful Learning.

I pulled out some scrapbook tissue paper I have had FOREVER!

We used the tissue paper to glue patches on Joseph's coat. Note-if you use tissue paper turn the coat over so that the words 'glue here' dont show through :).

(and, yes it is dark outside, sometimes we night school-er I mean we were up before the crack of dawn. Right that's it.)

Even Wubbzy, I mean Mini Cooper, enjoyed this.

When we were done we had three unique colorful coats, that also have a fun texture to feel in our activity books.

If you'd like to see our previous pages, look here.

God Bless!!

We are linked up:

Letter P Three Part Cards

2012-01-20T15:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a fun set I hope that you enjoy!

The set has 3 part cards for words beginning with P, based on our P letter box.

The words included are:

panda

police car

pig

plate

purse

pliers

piano

pizza

peppers

and pot

We use them with our letter box to match pictures to objects, match words to words, and help learn the beginning sound P.

They can be downloaded, free, here.

Enjoy and God Bless!!

We are linked up:

Explorer's Levels Are Going Down!

2012-01-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

I received a great up date from our doctor's office about Explorer!! Her levels are going down!!!

Her ALT levels had been 78 (I messed up on the last post) and it is now 73. Normal is 3 to 40. Her AST was 100 and is now down to 75! The normal range is is 7 to 56.

She did have a urine test that showed elevated Alkaline Phosphatase (I think this is what they said). I have the number of 390, and a normal of 350. I really don't know much about this particular number and I plan to research it in the next little bit.

Really good news is that all her tests came back clear! Her thyroid function is okay, her genetic testing came back clear, and she doesn't have Hepatitis A.

This means that, even though her levels are elevated, there is no reason they can find. So, she has been diagnosed with Idiomatic Neonatal Hepatitis (AKA infant with inflamed liver and we don't know why).

Since she doesn't have any threatening diseases, they are taking a wait and see approach. Her next appointment wont be until March 12th. If she develops any scary symptoms, I am to call them. But, otherwise, we pray that the levels keep going down.

I am so thankful for how God is healing Explorer! I am looking forward to a clean bill of health in March. In the meantime, she is busy growing!! She gained another 12 ounces between appointments-yep almost a pound in just 2 weeks. She'll be caught up to Mini Cooper in no time!

Thank you so much for all your prayers!! There is nothing more precious to me then knowing you are lifting up my sweet little girl.

God Bless you all!!!

My 500th Post!!

2012-01-13T17:49:00.000-08:00

I started this blog on January 11th, 2009!! It is amazing how fast the time has gone!!

In just 3 years time I:

Went from having 2 children to 4!!

Went from being a city girl to a country girl!

Went from being an accountant's wife to a farmer's wife!

Moved twice!

Went from being a brand new homeschooler of a preschooler to an 'experienced' homeschooler of a Kindergarten/first grader who knows how to read!!

And still have the most awesome God orchestrating this crazy life of mine so I can write about it and share it with you.

Thank you so much for riding this road with me! I am so blessed to have you all as my friends, family, and followers. You have made this journey so much fun!

It is just unbelievable how exciting the last 3 years and 500 posts have been. Lord willing, the next 3 will be just as great!

God Bless and thanks for reading!!

TOS Review: Maestro Classics

2012-01-09T18:35:00.000-08:00

If you have not yet heard of them, I am very excited to get to tell you about Maestro Classics.

Maestro Classics are a collection of classic stories put to beautiful music. The music is performed by the world renown London Philharmonic Orchestra and narrated by Yadu.

Maestro Classics are directed and produced by husband and wife team Stephen and Bonnie Simon. Their mission is "To cultivate a love of music through education and joyful performances."

Maestro Classics are offered in either CD or MP3 format. They currently offer 10 different titles to choose from including Peter and the Wolf, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, and Juanita the Spanish Lobster in English or Spanish.

Each story retails for $16.95 (CD) and $9.98 (MP3) or you can purchase a pack of 9 stories for $128.00-a savings of $25.00!

We have recently had the pleasure of listening to The Story of Swan Lake. Mustang and I have really enjoyed the beautiful orchestra music and story telling by narrator Yadu.

When I first put Swan Lake in our CD player, I was not sure how it would be received. My children are used to fast paced media and electronic products. Charger and Mini Cooper currently have a very short attention span, so they didn't stick around long. But, since the Maestro Classics are geared toward ages 5-12, I wasn't surprised. Mustang, on the other hand, sat through the entire story.

Mustang is familiar with the Story of Swan Lake, so I didn't tell her what we were listening to before I hit play. It didn't take long before she was excitedly telling me-Mommy, it's the story about Odead (yes we have fixed the pronunciation)!! Mustang listened very intently, sitting as close to the CD player as she could so that she didn't miss anything. That is, except the parts where she was up pretending to be a ballerina.

The quality of the recording is excellent and the packaging is beautiful. Not only do you get to hear the story, but there is information about the life of Peter Tchaikovsky and a number of other cool bonus features on the CD.

Maestro Classics doesn't stop at just the listening aspects of learning. On their website, they offer a ton of great educational materials and links to help enhance the stories on their CD's. The lists are quite extensive and make teaching any of their stories easy and fun.

I think Maestro Classics would make a great addition to any listening library. They are great for listening at home or in the car (if your CD player isn't broken *sigh*). They would also make a nice gift (Valentine's and Easter will be here soon!).

If you would like to read additional reviews of Maestro Classics, check out the TOS Crew Review Blog.

God Bless!!!

This is a review for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine review crew. Thank you to Maestro Classics for providing my family with a complementary copy of The Story of Swan Lake for our review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

P is for Pig Free Preschool and Kindergarten Printables

2012-01-08T18:04:00.000-08:00

I hope you have enjoyed your winter break as much as we have! Ours was full of unexpected things, such as my trip to the ER and Explorer's trips to Children's, but the rest of the time was a lot of fun celebrating all things Christmas and just enjoying each other's company.

This week we were back in the school room, and finished up our letter P unit. I made a few printables to enhance our learning, so I thought I'd share them with you :). The P is for Pig Mini Pack can be downloaded FREE here: http://www.4shared.com/office/VN3EaoDq/PisforPig.html?

The P is for Pig mini pack includes 3 different activites:

1) Uppercase and lowercase p sorting. Sorry! I dont have any hands on pictures of this one.

2) Pig and corn cards and counters.

The pack includes cards numbered 1-10 that have pigs with feed buckets next to them. (BTW I am in love with these pig plates I found at our local thrift!)

The object is to fill the bucket with the right amount of corn. Here we filled them with small pieces of plain popping corn.

Or, I have included printable corn cobs like the ones that Charger is using here.

And the final thing in the pack is a word family game.

The set includes words from the -et, -en, -ip, -it, and -in families (based on the letters learned in our curriculum up to this point).

I cut out mud pits out of felt and labeled them with word families.

Mustang had to match each pig to its correct mud puddle.

I hope you can use one or more of these in your learning! I also used items from other blogs around the blogosphere. You might be interested in them, too:

P is for Penguin from Lawteedah

P is for Pumpkin from Confessions of a Homeschooler

Tot School P printables from 1+1+1=1

We are linked up here:

Have a great week!! God Bless!!

Update on Explorer

2012-01-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

I want to thank you all so very much for all of your prayers and kind words over the last few weeks!! I have been so encouraged by each and every comment and email I have received, you are all so wonderful!!

The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of Christmas and New Year's celebrations. Thankfully, they kept me busy so I wasnt worrying about the upcoming tests for Explorer. We had an amazing holiday, getting to see all but one aunt and uncle over the course of just 3 days time!! The children received some amazing gifts from their loving relatives. Many of them will be used in school, so you will be seeing them here!

Above is a photo of Explorer and my sister. Explorer is wearing MY first Christmas dress that is *ahem* 32 years old!! They dont make clothes like they used to!!

Today Explorer and I drove the trek to Children's without the rest of the family. I have an amazing hubby who held down the fort (and even cleaned it) while I drove 3 hours to the hospital and then turned around and came back. I'm also so thankful for Explorer who was the best passenger. She slept all the way there and back!!

So, the positives that we found out at the appointment today:

Explorer gained 12 ounces in just 2 weeks!! Exclusively breastfed, too!!

The test for the Alpha-1 genetic test was negative!!! Thank God!

Her billirubin levels are back to normal (I might have told you this already).

Unfortunately, as I said before, her liver enzymes were still elevated at the last appointment. Not only were they still elevated, they had gone up. *Sigh*

There are 2 main types of liver enzymes (I am not sure if there are others, still learning here!) AST and ALT. Normal AST level is 5 to 40, hers was 73.

Normal ALT level is 7 to 56, hers was 100.

The doctor said that these are still just moderately high, but he certainly wants to know what is causing the problem. He checked her over again today to verify that she hasnt developed any abnormalities since he saw her last. Thankfully, she is a growing, happy, and seemingly healthy baby girl-so she passed that test.

After the appointment with the doctor, we went for another blood draw. The dr is testing for a nice long list of things including thyroid function, Hepatitis A, and a virus called CMV. He also said that he is going to do a genetic testing panel (I think I am saying this right). The DR let me know that we may never find out what is causing the problem, but if the enzymes dont go down we will keep moving forward until either they go down or the cause is found. We should have test results in the next few days.

One thing I am really thankful for in all this is the opportunity to see that Explorer is healthy! They did the ultrasound of all her organs at the last appointment, so I know that they are all currently working well. It helps to give me peace of mind for the future!

I would really appreciate continued prayers until we get a clean bill of health for Explorer! I am trusting that we will get it soon. But, we will wait on the Lord and His perfect timing!!

On another note, we are back to school this week so I will be getting some schoolish posts (and a new printable pack!) up soon.

Even Explorer has been learning some new things. To lift her head.

And smile :).

Thanks for checking in on us! God Bless!!

The Unexpected...and Unwanted Phone Call

2011-12-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

So, it appears that Wednesdays are not our day around here lately. Last week, we received our first calls to go and have Explorer checked out at the Children's Hospital in the big city. This week, well, we got another call.

It appears that Explorer's liver enzymes are still elevated. The Dr didn't expect them to be elevated. Apparently, if blood is drawn through the heal-like Explorers was at our local hospital-it can actually traumatize it slightly and he thought the elevated enzymes were due to that. But, at the Children's Hospital, they used a tube in Explorers arm...and they are still elevated.

I received the call yesterday afternoon from the same receptionist that had saved our initial appointment. She has been there 20 years, and I think she has some pull around the office. That was a big help yesterday. She explained the the Dr wanted to see Explorer for a follow up. I was honest with her when I said that I was told there wouldn't be another appointment unless something was wrong. She asked me to hold on a minute, and then told me that the Dr wanted to speak with me.

The Dr himself was willing to discuss with me Explorer's high enzymes (though silly me forgot to ask what the levels were). He also told me that he would like to see us on the 4th of January. He followed that up with, I'm not usually in that day, but I really want her to come back soon so I'm making an appointment for her. Is that a good time for you? I could come later in the day if you needed.

First off-WOW-a Dr that is working an appointment just for us. Second off-Uh oh-this is possibly pretty serious.

I have done many Google searches, and it does seem that elevated liver enzymes of any sort in a baby is an indication that something is going wrong in the liver. It could be inflamed, damaged, or being attacked. What that something is, we do not know, but the goal now is to find out. We DO know that it is not enlarged, nor does it have any growths or tumors. So that is good news!

I have been amazed at how the Lord has continued to go before us in this. For an early Christmas present, my husband purchased me 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I had a number of books on my list, but this one was available in Kindle format, so he picked it. Oh, how the words that the Lord has given Ann to write in her book are exactly what I have been needing to prepare my heart for this journey. He has been challenging me to trust Him in the highs and the lows of life, and believe that He will extend enough grace to cover my heart no matter what valley or mountain top He leads me through.

He has also been providing us amazing relatives and friends who are willing to lift us up and cover us in prayer. We are so thankful for those of you who have been doing so! If you wouldn't mind, I would ask if you would continue to remember my little Explorer in your prayers for a bit. Please pray for healing, and an easy answer to her high levels. Please also pray that the Alpha 1 is negative. After reading about it, it is not a simple thing at all, there isnt a cure from what I can see.

On a positive note, we are all ready for Christmas and looking forward to spending time with our amazing families. The children have been wrapping presents for each other tonight and it has warmed my heart to watch them pick the paper and the tags for their brother or sisters. It is also so fun to have that short amount of one on one time with each of them. I am so thankful for each of my little arrows, and pray that God is molding them to be used by Him in the perfect way.

I pray that you are preparing for the celebration of Jesus' arrival as well!!

Merry Christmas and God Bless You!

Explorer is Okay! And a Few More Details, too.

2011-12-20T09:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Explorer and I headed into the hospital for a day of tests and appointments.

We actually opted to stay the night at my parents house, they live MUCH closer to the hospital then we do. My mom even dropped us off on her way to work so that DH and the other kids could stay and grandma and grandpas for the day.

I have to tell you, this children's hospitalt is AMAZING!! The radiology department was decorated like a baseball dugout and had sports stuff everywhere. I was very impressed! The staff is very friendly and helpful, too.

First up, was the ultrasound. The ultrasound went well. Turns out that our tech was from our hometown. She was easy going and friendly. Explorer even talked to her a little bit. It was cute.

Then came the 5 hour wait between the u/s and her Drs appointment. Ug. I spent a lot of time in the cafeteria. It's a beautiful space with atrium windows and a hot air balloon. I learned that donuts and bacon are the only yummy breakfast foods in the cafeteria. Dont eat the eggs...just dont.

I checked out the rest of the place, too. The roof top deck was so neat, sadly it started raining right after we got up there so we had to leave. The playrooms, library, parent's spaces-all lovely.

Finally, it was time to head to the Dr's office. 5 stars for a friendly, easy to understand doctor that explains everything!! And 5 stars to a great staff. I found out that Explorer officially weights 14 lbs-double her birth weight-all breast milk. Go Explorer!!

After talking to him, I found out the real reason why we were there! I'm so glad we went!!

Okay, ready for some technical stuff???

There are TWO types of bilirubin. The first type, unconjugated, or indirect, is the kind that you always hear of. It is the kind that causes babies and adults to turn yellow. There is also a second type called, conjugated or direct. Direct bilirubin is what happens to the indirect. Essentially, the liver breaks down the bilirubin and makes it water-soluble so that it can be excreted from the body in urine. It is then called indirect bilirubin. For some reason, if the liver isnt excreting the indirect bilirubin correctly, it can wind up in the blood stream. Explorer had some elevated levels of indirect (normal jaundice), but she also had elevated direct levels along with elevated liver enzymes. And, these showed up on more then one blood draw. Okay, NOW, we have a reason to call special doctors. I wish that my local Dr had told me, but I understand how that doesnt always happen.

After reading online, I have found out that these levels can indicate problems with the liver, or possibly with the spleen or gall bladder, and lastly the kidneys, which explains the ultrasound of all Explorer's organs. They all checked out-perfect!!!

The Dr at Children's did run labs after the appointment and is checking her levels again. He is also running a test for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. Which you can read about here: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/alpha1def.htm if you are so inclined. But, he doesnt think that anything is wrong with her.

I want to thank you all so much for your prayers for Explorer!!!

The results could have been very different, and I am so thankful for God's grace in allowing a healthy scan. As I roamed the halls and sat in the cafeteria yesterday, I saw many families dealing with some really hard things. I know that my God would have been God regardless of the answers yesterday, and that He would have extended enough grace to cover us had we needed more. But, I am so very thankful that He has decided to answer our prayers with a clean bill of health for Explorer.

So thank you, so very, very much for lifting us up and covering us in your prayers over the weekend. I am forever grateful!

I pray you are having a fun and healthy week as you prepare to celebrate the birthday of our Lord and Savior through whom all blessings flow!!!

Merry Christmas and God Bless you!

It's Probably Nothing, But...

2011-12-18T14:57:00.000-08:00

Wednesday I received two messages on my voice mail. The first was from our pediatrician. It said to please call their office. The second was from another doctors office saying that we had been referred to their office and they could get us in Monday. Not exactly the kind of messages I like to get.

So, I quickly call the ped's office. I am told that our Dr is concerned about how slowly Explorer's billirubin levels came down. They were coming down, and nearly gone, but at a slower then normal rate. She had called another Dr at the Children's Hospital and together they felt it was best if we took Explorer in to see if there are any underlying issues. They said it's probably nothing, but they want to be safe.

I'll be honest, I started questioning whether this was necessary, And, the fact that Children's is nearly 3 hours away and it's the week of Christmas didnt help my reluctance to make the appointment. I mean, she LOOKS healthy, as the jaundice is gone and she is growing like a weed-already doubled her birth weight. And, I really didnt want to drive down!

So, I started praying. Praying that a few phone calls to the Dr.'s office would change her opinion. Praying that speaking with my husband, he would say that we werent going to go. Praying that in posting to Facebook I would get enough friends who agreed with me and would give me the courage to say we weren't going. My prayers were answered...but not the way I wanted.

Calling the Dr.'s office I asked about doing another blood draw in hopes that she was finally in the normal level range. That's when I found out they were worried about the speed and not the level. Speaking with my DH, he left it up to me, but was reluctant to say we shouldnt go. Speaking with my friends on Facebook actually produced my most convincing results to change my mind. I received an email from a high school friend who is now the pediatric hepatology nurse coordinator at another hospital. In other words, she works in the exact same department as the one we would be going to-just somewhere else. I dont know about you, but it isnt everyday that I have someone who works in the exact medical field I have questions about pipe up to give advice. My best bet is usually some article I found on Google (that sends me into a panic attack because of all the 'what ifs' lol). So, yeah, I am pretty sure God answered my prayers with a "No, you should go."

So, we are going. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, Explorer and I are headed into Children's Hospital for an 8 am ultrasound. She cant eat after 4 am-so that out to be interesting. Years ago I used to volunteer at this hospital at Christmas time (when I lived nearby not in the middle of nowhere). I went to spread cheer to the families having to deal with health issues during the holiday season. I never once dreamed I would someday be one of them. I'm glad I was able to get most of my Christmas preparations done early.

It might sound weird, but I'm a little worried about how everything has worked out. Apparently, there is usually a 2 month wait to see this Dr. BUT, the day we were referred there was a cancellation and the receptionist made a point to save it for us before she had even spoken with us. Again, I'm so thankful about the quick appointment, but a little worried, too.

I know that there is probably nothing, and that is what everyone has said, but, I would still appreciate your prayers that Explorer is the healthy little girl that we think she is. Either way, I am thankful that the Lord seems to be making it obvious that He is going before us in this situation. I know that He is in control and that He will be glorified no matter the outcome!

I pray that you are all having a great Christmas season and are getting ready to celebrate the best gift of all, our Lord Jesus.

Merry Christmas and God Bless!

TOS Review: World's Greatest Stories

2011-12-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

Our family has been enjoying a CD that I am sure would be a blessing to anyone who hears it!

The World's Greatest Stories are a collection of Bible stories on CD. But, these are not your typical Bible stories! Narrator George W. Sarris reads DIRECTLY from the Biblical text, using the art of dramatic story telling. Mr. Sarris changes his voice sound and tone depending on who is speaking and what is being said. He also incorporates music and sound effects.

The result? A very cool and entertaining collection of Bible stories that my children and I both enjoyed listening to! I specifically told my husband before listening that I wasn't sure there was a need for another narrated version of the Bible. I am more then happy to say that I had to eat my words. The World's Greatest Stories are truly unique in their format and quality.

I LOVE the fact that they are taken directly from the Biblical text. I am able to let Mustang read a long in her own Bible, making this our best 'book on tape' set yet!

I highly recommend The World's Greatest Stories to, well, everyone! Bible stories aren't just for children! I know many adults who would enjoy these, too. But, don't take my word for it, listen to samples of the stories on The World's Greatest Stories website.

The World's Greatest Stories is offered in both the King James Version and the New International Version (1984). There are 6 different volumes bringing 24 different Bible stories to life.

Each volume is only $7.95! If you buy 6 or more volumes, the shipping is free! They can be ordered directly from The World's Greatest Stories website. I know it might be a little late to order for Christmas, but Easter will be here soon. These would make a great addition to an Easter Basket!!

If you would like to read more reviews before making your purchase, check out the TOS Review Crew Blog.

Merry Christmas and God Bless!!!

This is a review for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. Thank you so much to The Sarris family for providing my family with a complementary copy of The World's Greatest Stores, Volume 1, for review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

22 Fun Christmas Activity Trays!!

2011-12-15T23:34:00.000-08:00

I have been preparing Christmas activity trays all week for our Homeschool Co-Op Christmas Party. The kids have been helping me test them all out, too. My children loved most of them, and I thought I'd share them with you in case you will be doing school next week. Sorry no action shots on these, my children were working on them while I made others. I didnt get the pictures until after they were in bed!

Peppermint Puzzles which I made. They can be downloaded free, here.

Christmas Pattern blocks from Prekinders. Thanks for the heads up Adventures of Bear!

Jingle bell tonging and patterning.

3 is for three kings magnet page from Making Learning Fun.

I Spy Christmas Tree. I found this adorable idea from Kinder by Kim via Pinterest.

Pouring jingle bells. I saw this idea on Parenting in the Moment.

Candy size sorting. I purchased a big bag of foam candy beads from Oriental Trading Company. Then, I made a sorting mat for big and small pieces of candy. The sugar bowl was a great yard sale find this summer.

I made Nativity lacing cards from graphics I purchased from Just So Scrappy earlier this year.

I downloaded the adorable Gingerbread Baby printable pack from Homeschool Creations.

I combined the houses from her hide and seek game with gingerbread men from Oriental Trading Company to create a cards and counters game.

I added stickers on the back for self checking.

An oldie but goodie, pipe cleaner bead sculpture from My Montessori Journey. Mini Cooper loves this one!

Tonging and sorting pom poms. Inspired by a tray I saw on H is for Homeschooling.

They can be sorted by color

or by size. The tray is from our Melissa and Doug Birthday Party set.

I was just going to set this Christmas tree out to be decorated as the kids wanted. But then I got an idea...

I decided to add instruction cards.

Mustang is reading, so she is able to read these to herself. Then she read them to Charger.

The end result.

Felt tree decorating. I read about this idea on Criss-Cross Applesause and LOVED it!! Then, I came across a premade set in Hobby Lobby for $2.50!!

I decorated the tree four different ways and took pictures. I printed out the pictures and put them with the trees.

The object is to decorate the tree like the picture. Criss-Cross Applesauce has made a free download available if you would like to make one too!

I made up a set of Christmas Tree Cards and Counters that can be downloaded free here.

Then I found some little presents at Walmart to put with the cards.

I added stickers on the back for self checking.

This lovely stamping page is part of a great set provided free from Our Worldwide Classroom.

I put out a little basket with all the letters needed to spell Nativity. I also included crayons which didnt make the picture.

This alphabet match is also part of the Gingerbread Baby set from Homeschool Creations. Using the pocket chart is always a highlight for my children!

I put self checker stickers on the back of the matching cards.

I am sure that these Nativity sticker sheets from Oriental Trading Company will be a hit tomorrow. My children didnt get to try them out because there are limited amount-they will get theirs tomorrow, too. The sheets dont come with a paper, so I included a tablet of paper to use.

I always put out an art box, because I have a few students in our Co-Op that would rather draw and color then do activity trays.

This one includes Christmas stampers (Walmart), mini cookie cutters for tracing (Hobby Lobby last year), markers and card stock.

Nativity Puzzle. I found this at Hobby Lobby for a couple dollars and my children have really loved it.

Christmas tree color scratch ornaments. I know these are going to be a hit! They are from Oriental Trading Company. I took advantage of their free shipping sale earlier this month and ordered a bunch of stuff. I have loved all of it!

Nativity finger puppets. These are also from Oriental Trading Company. They come in packages of 4 sets, so I already gave my children one. They have been having many plays of Baby Jesus' birth this week.

Last but not least, snowflake rubbing. This basket includes paper, crayons, and a set of snowflake rubbing plates from Oriental Trading Company. They are really cool!

I found a ton of other great ideas that I didnt end up using this year. Some of them I pinned on Pinterest you can check out my board here: http://pinterest.com/ourcountryroad/christmas-trays/

I hope you all are having a great Christmas Season!!

God Bless!

We are (or will be) linked up in the following spots:

I Was Featured!!

2011-12-14T20:27:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to share that I was featured on Thrifty Thursday on Playing with Words 365! I especially love being thrifty, so I am very glad to help other homeschooling mommas be thrifty, too.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the very cool Thrifty Thursday Link party on Playing with Words 365. There are some wonderful printables, crafts, and other thrifty ideas shared by mommies around the blog world. While you're there, link up a few ideas of your own!!

God Bless!

Matching Peppermint Puzzles: Free Christmas Printable

2011-12-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

Here is a set of 12 peppermint puzzles. Just cut down the centers and have your children find the other half. You may want to add stickers to the back for self checking-some are a but challenging. They can be downloaded for free here.

Enjoy!!

Merry Christmas & God Bless!

I'm Linked Up:

Christmas Gift Ideas-6 Year Old Girl

2011-12-08T20:32:00.001-08:00

Not to stress you out, but there are only 16 shopping days left until Christmas! If you are still looking for the perfect (or ANY) gift for a little lady on your list, here are a few ideas to help you out.

I'll be honest, my hubby and I thought LONG and hard before we were able to choose the perfect gifts for Mustang this year. Part of the reason is that she didnt seem to ask for things she wanted. She asked for doll things and play food, but she spends much of her free time playing with the XBOX Kinect and watching Barbie movies. Plus, she doesnt pick up very well so I hated to buy her many toys. Add to the fact that all she wants is a 145.00 Barbie Dream house-NOT in the budget-and we were stumped. We hope she will enjoy what she gets!

Santa (who she still totally believes in) will be bringing her art supplies:

An art smock,

Watercolors

brush set

and more watercolor crayons

She will also be getting a canvas that my mother found unopened in her basement, and some watercolor paper.

I fought a few people and stayed up late to score Just Dance 3 on Black Friday.

And another Black Friday deal: Tangled for her Leapster.

Sprigraph was a yard sale find from this summer that I decided to give Mustang rather then try to sell it. I know she will love it.

I also got her a couple pens to use with it.

Camelot Jr. is something that I cant wait for her to open! I want it for me!

And on last Good Friday deal, Barbie Princess Charm School on DVD.

Along with a few normal things (toothbrush, candy, etc), her stocking will have a pair of Tinkerbell Pajamas, a Barbie book, and hand tatoos-they are so cool!!

Some things that are on the list, but not under the tree:

Alex Happily Ever Crafter

Alex My First Sewing Kit

Barbie A Perfect Christmas DVD

Ken Clothes! Like this one: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3963940

Wedgits

Bizu Style Studio

Alex My Art Show

Melissa and Doug Food Groups

Barbie Makeup Artist

And Polly Pocket Boys!!

If you are looking for other gift ideas, check out my lists for a 4 year old boy or a 2 year old girl.

Hope this helps you in your shopping! Merry Christmas and God Bless!

I'm linked up!

TOS Review: Artistic Pursuits

2011-12-06T13:44:00.001-08:00

If you ask Mustang what she wants to be when she grows up, she will tell you an Artist Spy. When you ask further, she will tell you that she wants to be a Spy (like Sarah on Chuck) and that she is already an Artist. She's right. Ever since she could hold a crayon, Mustang has been creating art everywhere. My grandfather is an amazing painter, my cousin works for the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art, and her aunt majored in Art and works at the local art museum. To say the least, there are many artists in our family. I am NOT one of them! This left me avoiding the subject of art in our lessons, and Mustang quite disappointed.

With that in mind, when I was asked if we wanted to review an art program, I jumped at the chance. I really had no previous knowledge of Artistic Pursuits, it was simply an art program and I was interested!

We received Artistic Pursuits K-3 Book 1. Along with it, an art materials list. I headed off to Hobby Lobby with all 4 kids in tow to buy the materials. Let me say, that isn't the way to do it. Artistic Pursuits offers the products on their website, either as a package or individually. I certainly recommend buying from the website if you are art illiterate like I am! Somehow, we were victorious in the supplies buying, and we headed home to create art.

I opened the book the first lesson and was initially disappointed. There wasnt a step-by-step how to tutorial that I was expecting. Instead, I was staring at a picture that I remembered from my art appreciation class. I sighed and decided to move forward as I had promised Mustang, Turns out, the things I initially didn't like ended up being why I enjoyed the lesson!!

Each lesson contains three parts. In the first part, the student explores what an artist does, what an artist sees, or ancient art. The second part, they are shown an example of art, and the third part, they are to create their own art.

In lesson one, we looked over a picture painted by Pieter De Hooch called The Courtyard of a House in Delft, from 1658. We discussed the details of the painting and how it depicted daily life in 1658. I LOVED that it was an art lesson, history lesson, and culture lesson all in one! The painting is really neat, too.

When it was time to create art, there wasnt a step by step on how to draw a cat. There were no directions on how the picture should look at the end. There was no right or wrong answer!! The lesson presented an art material-the Ebony pencil. Explanation was given on how the Ebony pencil is used and how to create art using it. Then, we were set loose with our paper and pencils. It was suggested that we drew something we saw everyday, just as Pieter De Hooch had done.

So, we set to work with our pencils. Yes, I said WE. I am taking these lessons right along with Mustang because I think I need it more then her! I know over the years that she will want to tell me about her hobby, and I want to know what she is talking about!

Mustang drew the rooms in the upstairs of our house-complete with our storeroom, as the squares in the bottom right corner are depicting.

I drew the things Mustang uses to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

This lesson, Artists Compose, is available free on the ARTistic Pursuits website. You can try it out with your students.

My favorite lesson so far is lesson 2. We were introduced to watercolor crayons! I'd never heard of them before, but let me tell you I am LOVING them!! Why didn't my teachers let me use them in school??? Mustang loved them, too. As soon as she created her masterpiece, she asked if she could make another.

Here she is working hard to create a painting of her room. She is dressed up as a princess. I thought for sure I had a finished product picture, but I cant find it!

Here's mine. Mustang gave me a tutorial on how to draw people. She told me she learned from her OTHER aunt (my brother's wife).

So did we like ARTist Pursuits? Um, nope, we LOVED IT!! Seriously! I love that ARTistic Pursuits teaches Mustang (and me, lol) ABOUT art. It helps an artist create art, not by giving them a draw a circle, draw a line, put a square next to the circle instructions, but by inspiring them to create what they see and what they imagine. The best part, is that it introduces the various art mediums. There are many, many, mediums with which to create art, but unless you get a chance to try them, you wont know if you like them. I love that at only 6 years old, Mustang is getting to try things I myself have never tried. It should really help her to begin creating the art that she is capable of.

ARTistic Pursuits currently offers 10 different books for levels Preschool through High School, and are each priced currently at $42.95. You can see the entire list on their website, as well as view sample lessons from each book. The price is very affordable if you take into account that it can be used over and over again. I plan to use ARTistic Pursuits with each of my 4 children, so it is worth the money to me.

I would highly recommend ARTistic Pursuits to anyone wanting to learn about art with their children (or even just themselves!). But, if you would like to read more reviews before making a purchase, check out the TOS Review Crew Blog.

Merry Christmas and God Bless!!

This is a review for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. Thank you to Artistic Pursuits for providing my family with a complementary copy of K-3 Book 1 for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated in any other way.

Montessori Christmas Tree and Presents Cards and Counters

2011-12-05T21:00:00.001-08:00

This set includes 10 Christmas tree cards and 55 presents to be used as counters. It can be downloaded here. If you would rather, pick up a few packs of mini present ornaments from the Dollar Tree as counters.

I hope to make a few more printables before the end of the season, but I will be putting them up individually instead of as a pack. I'm afraid if I wait, it might be January and then you wont be able to use them :).

We used this set tonight and Charger really enjoyed it! I hope you do too.

Merry Christmas!!

I'm linking up!

Christmas Gift Ideas-2 year old girl

2011-12-02T10:40:00.001-08:00

First I wanted to thank you all for your warm wishes about my leg!! It seems to be healing well. Hopefully, I will be okay throughout the birthday party for Mustang and Charger tonight (it was delayed a little due to a new baby and harvest).

I realize that your shopping may already be done. But, for those of you who are still shopping, I hope some of these ideas will help in your search. BTW, I wanted to add that I put in links to Amazon, but due to the state I live in, I can not be an Amazon affiliate. The links are purely for your help, as online shopping has been my saving grace since my leg is hurt! Well that, and it's nearly impossible to shop for surprises with 4 kids in tow!

This year, I was able to find some great used items for Charger, but was not that fortunate with the girls. I hope to change that next year! Here's what's going under the tree for Mini Cooper:

First, is this adorable dolly named Mali. She is a Waldorf style doll from Haba. I randomly stumbled on her and she is LOVELY!! She's also sold out, but there are other dolls to choose from.

We had a cute porcelain tea set, but since we have a cement floor in our toy room, it is no more. Hopefully, this wooden one from Plan Toys will be a good replacement.

I also found some lovely items on Etsy!!

Mini Cooper LOVES peg people. I found an adorable set from Beneath The Rowan Tree that I know will be a hit.

To go with her rainbow girls, I found a rainbow puzzle from Bugaboo Crafts. I want to be a 2 year old this Christmas!!

Mini's 'school room' gift (the gift that will go in the school room after the Christmas excitement) is a fun Kumon Cutting book. She LOVES cutting right now!!

A couple pairs of kid scissors will make sure that she ONLY cuts the paper :).

Lastly, Santa will be filling her stocking with this Primer Pack of Lauri toys. I plan to open it up and use it as the stocking stuffers rather then fill her stocking with a bunch of Dollar Tree junk (though I am sure a few things will be added).

Now for the wish list. Here are the rest of the things that she would love, but this Santa cant afford this year :). Maybe they will give you more ideas if you are still looking for your little one.

Waldorf Doll Clothes like this one

Doll Carry Cot for her Haba Doll

Kid O Magnatab

Plan Toys Creative Peg Board

Bible Beginnings Felt Book

eeBoo Never Forget a Face

eeBoo Baby Animal Pairs

Melissa & Doug Magnetic Hide and Seek Farm

Melissa & Doug Wooden Kitchen Pots & Pans

Alex Little Hands String My ABC's

Melissa & Doug Stamp and Sort Mailbox

Poke-A-Dot Books

Melissa & Doug Big Number Button Fun

And ANYTHING Little People (though she has most of it).

If you are looking for ideas for your other children, I also have a gift idea list for 4 year old boys. I hope to have a list for 6 year old girls, baby girls, and extended family in the next few days.

I pray your holiday season is going well! Merry Christmas!!

I'm Linked up!!

TOS Review: Great Commission Languages, The Easy Spanish

2011-12-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

As you may know, we have a Tia in our family. Tia means 'Aunt' in Spanish. Tia grew up in Panama and married our uncle over 5 years ago. She speaks both English and Spanish, and so do our cousins. Mustang has wanted to learn Spanish so she could practice with Aunt Tia. So, we were really, really, excited when we found out that we were being sent a Spanish language program for review!! And, let me tell you, we were even more excited when it arrived!

We received El Espanol Facil! or 'The Easy Spanish,', Junior Level, written by Maria Filion. The Easy Spanish is one of the many great programs available from Great Commission Languages. It is a three year language program for students in Kindergarten-Third Grade.

It includes a beautifully illustrated spiral bound teacher's manual and two CDs. The CDs include listening exercises, vocabulary, fun songs and PRINTABLES!!!

What do we think of The Easy Spanish??

Oh my goodness!! We are in love with The Easy Spanish!! Maria Filion and the Great Commission Languages have thought of EVERYTHING!! True to their title, it is easy to follow, easy to prepare, and easy to teach-which makes a momma's dream come true!

I feel up for the challenge of teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic, but add a different language in the mix and I am lost. I loved that not only did The Easy Spanish have a nice little dialogue in each lesson to help us (yes US) learn the vocabulary, but they had a LIST of activities that we could choose to go with it. You can choose which activities will appeal to your child. If the activity needed a printable, they made those and had them ready for printing on the CD set. Above, Mustang is writing in her book, Yo Soy! (meaning, It's Me!), which is one of the printable sets included with The Easy Spanish.

On the disk, there is a great introduction on how to make The Easy Spanish work for you. It really helped me understand what each piece of the program was for and took the guessing work out of the preparation. You can watch the clip on their website here: http://www.theeasyspanish.com/sample.html. While you are there, you can also listen to some sample tracks from the disks.

What I love the most are the disks themselves. On each disk are a ton of printables and activity sheets and you can use over and over and over again. You can use it for your family or even your co-op group (read here for more info on using with a group: http://www.theeasyspanish.com/coop.htm)!! As a mother of 4, knowing that we can use this program with all 4 kids is AWESOME!!

The cost of The Easy Spanish may seem a little high at $69.95, but really its a STEAL! First off, the program is set to be used for 3 years. $70.00 over 3 years is just over $23.00 a year. But, if you have 2 students that is now 6 years at $11.67 a year. Or, if you have 4 children like I do, you will be using the program for a total of 12 years or $5.84 a year! And on top if it all, I have only a small, easy to store, teacher's manual for my shelf instead of a bunch of workbooks and extras.

Now, I cant go as far as to say that my children are now speaking a second language fluently, but I am sure we are going to enjoy using The Easy Spanish to get there! I highly recommend it for your family, too! El Espanol Facil!, Junior Level can be purchased from Great Commission Languages.

If you would like to read more reviews before making your purchase, check out the TOS Crew Review Blog.

Feliz Navidad! and God Bless!

The First Christmas I Ended Up in the ER...

2011-11-30T17:56:00.001-08:00

So last Friday night I ended up in the ER. Ug. Other then when I was having a miscarriage, I have never been to the ER. And, this was certainly the first time I was picked up in public for an Ambulance ride. I did ride in one when I was in labor with Charger, but that was between hospitals. To say the least, it was exciting!!

Friday night we were in my hometown visiting my family. The town hosts a wonderful Christmas celebration that begins with an evening parade. The parade this year was AWESOME!! Over 60 entries of beautiful floats, 2 marching bands, a horse drawn carriage and a few politicians. Oh, and a ton of fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances.

After the parade was over, we all headed over to the town square to watch Santa Claus light up the Christmas decorations. We-as in my parents, hubby, 4 kids, brother, sister, brother's girl friend, a few friends and about 3,000 other people. Yes I DID feel like a Whoo in Whooville!

We all gathered around and listened to the community band play Christmas carols. Then the Mayor greeted everyone and Santa 'turned on' the city decorative lights. Afterwards, he went to his 'house' to greet children and listen to their Christmas wishes.

As you can imagine, that is his busiest night of the season and we didnt want to wait all night. My brother and his girlfriend were awesome and went to save us all a place in line so that we didnt have to. We walked around looking at the decorations until my brother called to say we had just a few more people until it was our turn.

Moving 3 children, aged 2, 4, and 6, along with a large stroller through a mass of people is hard even with Grandma and Grandpa's help. It was dark, and we were in a hurry, and all of a sudden...I was DOWN. Apparently someone had moved decorations and left a hole just the right size for my ankle to twist all up and send me to my knees.

Ever fallen in a crowd on city property? Oh my, I was sooo embarrassed!! Before I knew it there was an off duty EMT checking me out and calling 911. Minutes later I was being carted off in the Ambulance. Thankfully, it is not broken. I am still in pain and limited in my movement, but thankfully DH has been AH-MAY-ZING!!

So, my goal was to have Explorer see Santa for the first time. Hopefully, she still will! The older kids did get to see him as a distraction from me leaving since they had started to get upset. But, instead of Santa pictures, we got this one instead-not exactly the memory I was hoping for, but oh well!

Hope your Christmas season is going well! Merry Christmas

Christmas List Ideas-4 Year Old Boy

2011-11-29T11:22:00.000-08:00

If you are like me, it is becoming a struggle with each passing year to find the 'right' gift. Each year comes with its own challenges of cost versus size, quantity versus quality, and simply-will he like it or will it be added to the pile of misses?

I'm not promising that my ideas are the best since Charger hasnt actually opened any of them yet. But, here is what's going under the tree for my little man this year.

First up, is a large, talking Muck, from the Bob the Builder set. He already has Scoop and Scrambler that he found at yard sales this year. Of course, it's discontinued, so good old eBay was the source for this one. I am sure Charger is going to be thrilled that Santa was able to make him a new one :).

I was thrilled to find a used Discovery Toys Marbleworks Marble Run this summer at a yard sale for 1.00. This will be going under the tree, too!

A $3.00 yard sale find this summer, Charger will be getting a road rug to play with his cars.

I took advantage of a Black Friday sale to pick up a new Leapster game. He loves his Leapster!

And, of course one needs at least ONE 'educational' game. This Geo Shape Tack Tap will be going in the school room after the Christmas excitement has worn off.

Some other ideas that made our wish list for Grandparents and family, but didnt make it under our tree at home are:

Super Why ABC Game

Sea Turtle Magnetic Bead Maze

Melissa and Doug Vehicles Stampers

Magnetoes

Automoblox

Design and Drill Activity Center

Pretend and Play Tape Measure

Smart Car

Jumbo Checker Rug Game

Melissa and Doug Artists Smock

Leapster Star Wars Game

And a looong list of Thomas the Train Learning Curve train cars for his set :).

I plan to fill his stocking with file folder type games, coloring sheets, and the like. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to blog about them before the holidays. Its such a busy time of year, that I will make no promises :). But, I do plan to be back to blogging on a regular basis come January. I miss you all!!!

Hope your Christmas season is going well. Merry Christmas!!!

I'm Linked up!!

TOS Review: The Reading Game

2011-11-22T12:37:00.001-08:00

Last week, my Charger turned 4 years old!! Can you believe it? Time is FLYING, I must be having a lot of fun :). As he is getting bigger, I am starting to notice a slight interest in learning to read. Interest as in doesnt RUN in the other direction anytime I pull out something that 'looks' educational.

He has never been much of one to like worksheets-a complete opposite from Mustang- so, I have had to find other methods of introducing concepts to him. I prefer to use games, puzzles, and other activity trays to help him learn.

When I heard about The Reading Game, I thought this could be a great tool for Charger, and I was not disappointed!

What is The Reading Game??

The Reading Game is a fast action memory card game. It includes a series of six beautifully illustrated storybooks. After completing the first memory card game series, the student has learned 30 new words.. The Skunk, the first book in the series, is told using only those 30 words. Upon completing the program, a student will know 180 words and be able to read all 6 books in the set.

The Reading Game was created by Kenneth Hodkinson who also created Wordly Wise.

What did we think of The Reading Game?

Well, The Reading Game showed up at our door just before Charger's birthday, so I decided to hold it as a gift. He was very excited to get a 'reading' game for his birthday.

We opened it up and set a game between the two of us. He won-of course :). He surprised me by already knowing a couple of the words and being interested to learn the others. Since then, we have played many games of The Reading Game. Charger has been quite interested in learning the words-and beating me :).

Due to his age, I think it will be awhile before he can read one of the books, but he has been VERY happy to show Mustang each new word he learns to read.

The Reading Game is a completely sight word based game. I used to be against sight word learning and phonics only, but I have changed my tune as I watched what knowing a few sight words did to Mustang's interest in learning to read. If you are looking for a really fun and creative way to learn new sight words, then The Reading Game is for you!

The Reading Game retails for just $24.95. They offer a discount of 15% off for orders of 8 or more. It would make a fun gift for your little student this Christmas!

If you would like to read more reviews of The Reading Game before making a purchase, check out The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog.

Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless!!

This has been a review for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. Thank you to the creators of The Reading Game for providing my family with a complementary copy for our review. All opinions expressed are our own.

Wordless Wednesday...The Birth Announcement/Christmas Card Photo

2011-11-16T15:00:00.001-08:00

After many, many, many tries.....

We found the perfect picture for our card :).

God Bless!

Telling Time 3: Digital Numbers & Writing the Time

2011-11-12T00:24:00.001-08:00

Moving forward with our lessons on time, we did a short lesson on digital numbers. This was really easy. I just printed a set of regular numbers and digital numbers. Even Mini Cooper could figure them out. I am following our curriculum, though and I am not skipping-just to be sure I dont miss anything.

On to harder things...

Out came the little clocks again, this time with a laminated copy of a clock face without hands. I printed the clock from ABCTeach.com.

I explained how the blue hand on the little clock was the minute hand and pointed to the blue numbers or minutes. I then pointed out that their clock also had minutes, just in black. Then I explained how the red hand was the hour hand and pointed to the red numbers or hours-the same as the big numbers on their pages.

I set the clock to various times, and then Mustang and Charger drew then time on their clocks. Mini Cooper got a clock to draw on-but she mostly just drew circles.

Charger was REALLY GOOD at drawing the time, but I am still not sure if he got the minute hand. We will be doing this lesson again to see if he got it. Mustang seemed to really grasp it and even tried a few 1/2 hour and other times. I'm pleased to see the kids beginning to understand this concept-I hope-instead of just memorizing the time.

Have a great weekend! God Bless!

Pinterest Tuesday: A few weeks off

2011-11-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

I hate to do this, because I am loving all the creative ideas I get from Pinterest Tuesday. But, I need to take a few weeks off I think. I am finding with my new family routines that I am having a hard time getting this up on Tuesdays, so I may try a different day or just come back ready to go in a few weeks. I really hope I dont disappoint you too much by doing this.

See you soon & God Bless!

TOS Review: The Person I Marry from Bower Books

2011-11-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

My children are just starting to 'think' about marriage. You know, the times when they honestly think that they will marry their brother or sister when they grow up. And, in our case, if they cant marry their brother, they will just marry the neighbor boys. It's quite humorous to hear Mustang mention in a matter-of-fact way that she will marry the funny boy at AWANA, or Charger, or maybe even Daddy. But, I know that her heart is already starting to form a 'list' for her prince. I want to be able to help her form that list into one that will have a Godly, wise, and loving husband who isnt perfect but IS Heaven-sent. The Person I Marry is the perfect book to help her mold that 'perfect' list.

As parents of 12 children and grandparents of nine, Gary and Jan Bowers have used their God-given talents to provide an amazing resource to talk to your children and teens about marriage. Jan Bowers' beautiful paintings illustrate 35 pages of character traits to look for in a spouse, written by her husband of 32 years, Gary.

Here is a little video to tell you about the book. WARNING, you may need a tissue!

The Person I Marry from Bower Books on Vimeo.

I must say, that I think every Christian couple needs this book in their home. It is the kind of book that you lay on the coffee table and hope that visitors pick up and read. The Person I Marry describes God's intentions for marriage in simple but challenging words. It carries the kind of message that I hope my children will have ingrained in their thinking from the very onset of 'marriage' thoughts.

While reading The Person I Marry to my children, I realized that though written on a child's level, I got so much out of the book that they did not. I was challenged while reading to make sure that I am being the kind of wife my son should be looking for when he chooses a wife, and the kind of wife that I promised my husband I would be when I married him almost 11 years ago.

Winner of the 2010 Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award, The Person I Marry and other Bower Books have received raving reviews from Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar, Gary Smalley, Eric & Leslie Luddy and more. The Person I Marry is a beautiful book both inside and out. The pictures are breathtaking and the story line is perfect. It is a must have for any family library.

The Person I Marry, by Gary Bowers, illustrated by Jan Bowers, can be purchased from Bower Books for just $11.99. And, they are currently offering free shipping on orders over $30.00. It would make a perfect gift, especially for a wedding.

If you would like to read more reviews on The Person I Marry, check out the TOS Crew Review Blog.

God Bless!!

This is an Old Schoolhouse review. Thank you to Bower Books for providing my family with a digital copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Coffee Filter Fish

2011-11-06T21:47:00.000-08:00

This week the kids and I made some adorable little fish out of coffee filters. I'd like to say it was my idea, but we were just following the suggestion of our curriculum. They came out so cute, however, I thought I'd share with you.

Day one, use markers to color a coffee filter.

Or if you are Mini Cooper, color your lips. She has the worst habit of doing this when I am not looking. Not sure how I caught this on camera.

Spray down the filters and leave them to dry-in our case overnight.

When dry, cut out a fish. We were provided a template with our Bob Jones Curriculum, but it was actually too big for the filter. So we improvised.

We added googly eyes.

Tons of glue (kids like glue).

And even more glitter-we sparkled all day!

Mini added 3 eyes-we are working on learning body parts lol.

We created a whole school of fish!

Yes, we-it looked so fun I made the one at the beginning of the post. It was, indeed, fun!

Mustang's

and Charger's.

When you are done...destroy the template with scissors.

I love how focused Charger is in this photo!

We will be hanging our fish for display tomorrow. It was a great little craft!

God Bless!

We are linked up at:

TOS Review: OOKA Island

2011-11-03T23:54:00.000-07:00

The Ooka Island Adventure is a downloadable hero-mission in 3D designed to teach young children how to read fluently and well. The Ooka Island Adventure combines the highly engaging components of a state-of-the-art virtual world with the scientifically proven OokaMethod that builds literacy skills.

Carefully embedded within the Ooka Island Adventure are dozens of interactive instructional activities that captivate the child and motivate them as they learn essential pre-reading, reading, spelling, and writing skills. After completing the Ooka Island Adventure, children will be on their way to reading fluently and well for life.

Here is a little trailer video with highlights about the game:

Over the last few weeks, Mustang and Charger have been making their way across Ooka Island with their new friends Zobot and Auntie Kay.

On their journey, they have been learning and reviewing letter sounds and blends, sight words, and working on their reading comprehension. Most of all, they have been having FUN!!

Why we like Ooka Island:

First of all, the graphics and music are wonderful! All three kids have been entertained by how fun it is to watch. Mini Cooper cant play the games, but she has asked more then once to 'play Ooka Island'-AKA, watch others play.

The games are really fun! Mustang and Charger have been taking turns playing the various games, and though they are easier for Mustang then Charger, and they both are able to enjoy the games. Our favorite is a cake decorating game where you are to decorate the cake with the correct letter sound.

I also appreciate that the games are truly educational, not just games that have letters and numbers and *say* they are educational. I think that Ooka Island does a great job of introducing the phonics sounds and blends. I did feel that the sight words are not repeated as much as I would like prior to asking the student to recognize them, but overall they are taught well.

Overall, we really are enjoying the Ooka Island program. It has been a great chance for my children to practice their computer skills in addition to their reading skills. Because of Ooka Island, I am pursuing a computer station just for the kids so that they can spend more time with this and other online games.

The only thing I didnt love was that it is a super large file and took a couple of hours to download. It has also had a few bugs, but I think that is expected with a new software program. The tech support at Ooka Island seems to be working hard to get it up and running smoothly. The Ooka Island support staff is friendly and responds very quickly to questions or issues you may have about the game. Our super hero decided to become invisible shortly after we started our game, and it took just a few hours from when I emailed support to fix our little guy.

Ooka Island is a paid subscription that starts at just $12.95 a month depending on how many students and how long of a subscription you want. I am personally considering extending my subscription so I can certainly say that I think it's worth the money. They offer a 14 day free trial, if you would like to check it out for yourself! And, for a limited time only Ooka Island is offering 30% off a monthly subscription if you use the above code.

If you would like to read more reviews on Ooka Island, check out the TOS Review Crew Blog.

Happy Exploring and God Bless!!

This is an Old Schoolhouse Review. Thank you to the Ooka Island creators for providing my family with a complementary subscription to Ooka Island for the purpose of review. I was not compensated in any other way and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Pinterest Tuesday: It's November Edition

2011-11-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

Wow! I cant believe it's already November!! Welcome back to Pinterest Tuesday! Today should actually be called the I'm sorry it's a bit late we were out late Trick or Treating last night edition :), so I hope you will forgive me.

We had some adorable ideas last week and I have a few favorites to highlight!

Christina at The Only Thing Pink in a World Gone Blue shared one of the easiest recipes I have ever seen (I dont cook so this is important) and they look SO yummy!! These Pumpkin Bites will make a great holiday treat in our home.

Let Kids Create shared a yummy idea for eating out of a pumpkin!! Now, I know Halloween is over, but this would make a great Thanksgiving idea, too (just leave off the smile face).

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational has a super fun idea to use a drum to help identify syllables in words. Dont have a drum? That's okay because she gives a tutorial on how to MAKE a drum.

And Kristina from Mommy's Monkeys shared a whole post of fun learning trays. My favorite was this open and close tray with fun activities inside each container.

If you were featured, be sure to grab a button for your blog!

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I am looking forward to more ideas to feed my Pinterest addiction this week! Spread the word, I'd love to see a TON of links this week!!

God Bless and Happy Pinning!

TOS Review: Memoria Press Classical Phonics & First Start Reading

2011-10-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

I am SO EXCITED to tell you about a new program we have added to Mustang's lessons, First Start Reading and Classical Phonics, from Memoria Press. We are LOVING this new addition to our learning and I think you might, too.

First Start Reading, by Cheryl Lowe

*Focuses on the three major areas of Phonics, Reading, and Writing

*Aimed at Kindergarten students

*Includes set of three workbooks and a teacher's guide

*Retails for $29.95

*Download sample lessons here

First Start Reading covers consonants, short vowels, 45 common words, and manuscript printing, accompanied by artist-drawn coloring pictures and drawing pages for every letter. Your child will begin reading in the very first lesson as he progresses through three student books and twenty five phonetic stories, such as "Hogs and Pigs" and "Jog to the Jet." A Teacher Manual guides you through the program and provides helpful assessments and teaching tips.

Classical Phonics by Cheryl Lowe

*A child's guide to word mastery

*Designed for both Kindergarten and First Grade use

*Simple, easy to follow pages

*Retails for $14.95

*Must have supplement for First Start Reading!

*Find sample pages here

Classical Phonics is a deceptively simple little book our teachers and families use constantly in both Kindergarten and first grade. It consists of phonetically-arranged word lists for students to practice their growing phonics skills. In a word list there are no context clues, so the learner must rely on his mastery of letter sounds. For instance, if your child can pronounce each word in this list correctly – pot, pat, pit, put, pet – he knows his short vowel sounds, and you can move on to long vowels! If not, he needs more practice, and Classical Phonics is the most effective tool I know of to address the repetition that young ones need when learning to read. Classical Phonics can be used as a supplement to any phonics program and covers nearly all English phonograms and sounds taught through second grade.Classical Phonics is your handy tool for phonics practice and for building confident readers.

Why we love First Start Reading and Classical Phonics:

This program could not have arrived at a better time. With the arrival of baby Explorer, life has gotten a bit more hectic around here. It was such a gift to be able to begin a new program that needed ZERO and I mean ZERO prep time from me! All I did was read the introduction in the teacher manual and sharpen a new pencil and we were ready to begin.

The first lesson introduces the letter A. You can download that lesson on the Memoria Press webpage. Each lesson afterwards builds on the previous lesson to create words and word families. I love that from just the second lesson your child is already reading their first word!

Mustang is already a reader, so the beginning lessons are simply review to her. However, her reading needs work lol! What I mean by this is that she knows how to read, but is still working to learn and remember the phonics rules so that she can sound out unknown words instead of guessing at them. Both First Start Reading and Classical Phonics aim to teach just that. This curriculum is designed to help students master their letter sounds and blends. There are no pictures to help her guess the words, either :).

The very best part, in my opinion, is the focus on writing. First Start Reading is a collection of workbooks with a huge emphasis on correct letter formation. I love that as a sound, blend, or word is learned in the reading, it is repeated in the writing. I know that hearing, reading, and writing all help a concept to be learned on a different level. This will hopefully help with spelling down the line as well.

Mustang loves the drawings. Each lesson has an opportunity to draw something. Mustang loves to draw, so this appeals to her creative side and keeps her interested in the lessons.

I can certainly tell you that First Start Reading and Classical Phonics are going to be a permanent addition to our curriculum, and I will likely use them for my other children in the future. I love it that much!

I would recommend First Start Reading if you are:

1) Looking for a simple, focused, no frills curriculum

2) Looking for a minimal prep maximum payoff curriculum

3) Have a student who knows their basic letters and is ready to being reading

4) or Have a student who knows how to read and needs to focus on phonics basics to move to the next reading level

5) Have a student who is ready to learn how to write correctly

I would personally recommend starting First Start Reading if your child is not at either #3 or #4 in addition to #5. Hold off until they are to get the maximum use from First Start Reading.

Classical Phonics is a great daily review, and I appreciate its simplicity. I have even been able to begin using it with Charger, though he is not quite ready to begin reading. We have been going over the letter sounds and I have been helping him to blend the letters. I am not sure it is completely necessary to the program, but I would still include it in my own purchase.

I really can not say enough good things about First Start Reading and Classical Phonics. Memoria Press has provided an excellent resource and I highly recommend considering it for your student. If you would like to read more reviews, check out the TOS Crew Blog.

This is a review for The Old Schoolhouse Crew. Thank you to Memoria Press for providing my family with a complementary copy of Classical Phonics and First Start Reading for the purpose of review. We were not compensated in any other way and all opinions expressed are my own.

Weekly Wrap Up: Fall and Halloween

2011-10-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some glimpses from inside our classroom this week:

Mini Cooper with the Mini Knobbed Cylinders

Mustang doing lessons from her new curriculum First Start Reading (check back tomorrow for our review).

Charger and the hundred board.

Mustang matching word family apples in their basket from my A is for Apple pack.

Mini Cooper matching apples, also from the A is for Apple pack.

Matching pumpkins.

Sorting apples by size.

And offering me one to eat :).

Explorer hanging out in her bouncer seat.

Charger adding apples on top, also from my A is for Apple pack.

You can download my A is for Apple pack free here.

God Bless & Happy Halloween!

We are linked up at:

Jacob and Esau Meet Again-A Lesson on Feelings

2011-10-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

We are slooooowly making our way through the Beginners Bible in our lessons. I'd like to say we were going faster, but ya know, the Bible took thousands of years to write, so we are going in real time :).

This lesson was based on Jacob and Esau Meet Again (Genesis 29-33). I thought this would be a great lesson to learn about feelings, since we know that Jacob was feeling all kinds of different feelings when he met up with Esau after such an angry parting of ways.

We started by reading two books:

Today I Feel Silly by Jamie Lee Curtis and The Way I Feel by Janan Cain. Both are super cute books-highly recommended!

Then we discussed feelings using the cards from Carissa's pack at 1+1+1=1.

We acted out a few of the feelings. This is cold.

Silly.

Strong.

For their Bible Activity book, they made little Jacob's feelings books.

Any chance to cut and glue is a great time here.

The book is VERY simple, I just used free online clip art. Everything needed for this page can be downloaded here.

If you would like to see other pages of our Bible Activity Book, check out previous entries here.

We are linked up at:

God Bless!!

Pinterest: Scary World Series Edition

2011-10-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

As a die-hard Cardinal's fan, I am anxiously waiting game 6 tonight in St Louis. Last night, as I typed up this post, I was biting my nails as the game turned from fun and promising to down right scary, lol!! I guess it makes this the perfect time to highlight some adorable Halloween crafts that you amazingly creative mommas posted last week. Maybe they will scare the Rangers? (no offense to any of you who are rooting for them :) )

Here are my top 4 favorites:

Mama Pea Pod and her sweet little girl made this fun and simple pumpkin suncatcher.

Hannah at Paint on the Ceiling made this super cute Silhouette Puzzle for her daughter. I cant wait to make this for my children!

Jessie at The Preschool Experiment made an adorable felt Roll a Pumpkin game!

And Andie Jaye at Crayon Freckles made the cutest pumpkins EVER with toilet paper and material. I am simply in LOVE with these little decorations!!

Hmmm I meant to choose scary decorations, oh well :).

If you were featured, be sure to grab a button:

I cant wait to see what creative ideas you have this week!!
Happy Halloween a little early, and good luck to the Cardinals and Rangers, may the best team win (in game 7)!! God Bless!

Telling Time 2: Clocks and Hours

2011-10-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

So next up in telling time was the obvious-clocks!

We received this box of 6 small geared clocks last year as part of a review last year and I am so glad I went with a set of small clocks instead of a large one.

Everyone enjoyed having their own clock to explore. We checked out the different parts of the clock-the face, the hands, and the minutes.

Then we started talking about hours of time. Turns out, both Mustang and Charger had a good grasp of the hours of time. So, we took turns calling out a time and all setting our clocks.

For review the next day, I set out this tray. It contains 2 copies of a worksheet I found on The Teacher's Guide.

I laminated one copy and filled in the answers, then I set a worksheet, clock and pencil for Mustang to do this work.

The object was to set the clock and write the time on her worksheet to match the worksheet. Mustang would show me her clock so I could check her work before moving on. This was not hard for her, but was a great way to begin learning to write time in addition to telling time.

I am linking up to:

God Bless and GO CARDS!!!

TOS Review: Wits & Wagers Family

2011-10-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

We were recently sent a cute new family game for our game night, Wits & Wagers Family from Northstar Games.

Wits and Wagers is a trivia game with over 300 family friend questions. Once a questioned is asked, each person or team writes their answer down for all to see. Then, they wager who has the right answer.

Wits and Wagers has the CUTEST game pieces called Meeples. Mini Cooper was happy to play with the ones we werent using while we played the game.

Even the guess cards have the adorable Meeples.

Our over all thoughts:

My thoughts-I really loved the game itself. It seemed that North Star Games had done a wonderful job of presenting a cute, eye appealing game. The instructions were super easy to read and understand, and game play was very straightforward. I personally enjoyed the fact that it was a trivia game, as I tend to know lots of strange, useless trivia. I also appreciated that even if you didnt know the answer, you still had a great chance of getting points in the wager portion of the game.

Mustang's (6 year old) thoughts-She loves the little cards to write her answers. She thinks the questions are funny. The game is technically for age 8 and up, so she played on my team. She understood HOW to play, but the questions werent things she would have known how to answer.

The husband's thoughts-Well, he didnt like it. He likes trivia, but more history type trivia. Trivia he deems 'useful.' When the first question was: 'How old was Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly) when she started her show?' and it was followed up shortly after by 'What year did Barbie get a belly button?", DH was completely turned off by the game. And, I guess the cute little Meeples are not as thrilling to a guy. YES, the girl's team won, so maybe that had something to do with it? :)

So, sadly, he wouldnt play again and it left me unable to play again since, though she was interested, Mustang couldnt play alone. I am looking forward to the holidays and hope that others at the family gatherings will want to play, because I really did like the game and would like to play it more.

Unlike my husband, MANY people have enjoyed the original game Wits & Wagers. It is the most award winning party game in history. It has been featured in Real Simple, USA Weekend Magazine, on the Today Show, and on Dave Ramsey!

Wits & Wagers Family is the same game, with a few changes to make it even more family friendly. You can read more reviews of the game at the TOS Crew Review Blog.

Wits & Wagers Family retails for $19.99 and is sold at many online retailers. I think that Wits & Wagers Family would make a great family gift this Christmas!! God Bless!

This is a TOS Crew Review. Thank you to North Star Games for providing my family with a complementary copy of Wits & Wagers Family in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are our own.

A is for Apple Preschool and Kindergarten Free Printable Pack!

2011-10-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

I know there are many printable packs out there with apples, but I wanted to add my offerings into the mix. I also have no idea when I will get a chance to photograph my own children using the pack. So, in order to get these out to you at a time you might actually use them, I am only posting my pack-not the pack in use :).

My A is for Apple pack includes:

*Lowercase and Uppercase sorting mats*

*Apple matching cards-can be printed twice for a matching game OR

put the apples in order from whole to eaten!*

*A word family game-put the apples in their word family bin. Set includes word families it, in, et, en, at, and an, along with the words at, sat, hat, bat, in, sin, tin, an, tan, set, net, wet, it, hit, bit, sit, ten, hen, and ben.*

*10 Apples Up on Top cards-we have been reading this book by Theo LeSieg, so I made up cards and counters to go with the story. I tried to model my cards after the pictures in the book. We used red and green craft gems as our counters, or you could use red and or green pom poms.*

*Fall/Apple themed cards that could be used for spelling cards, 3 part cards, matching cards, or whatever you would like. Set includes cards that say apple, butterfly, carmel apple, core, flower, jug, owl, pie, tree, and worm.*

The entire pack can be downloaded here free!!

I hope it can be a blessing to you in your classroom.

Enjoy and God Bless!

*Some of the clipart used was created by Trina Clark*

Pinterest Tuesday: Cold Fall Day Edition

2011-10-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday!!! It is a dreary and cold fall day here, and I have had the heat on for 24 hours. I am looking forward to checking out your creative ideas to brighten my day.

First, though, here are a few of my favorites from last week:

Let Kids Create made these adorable luminaries from old jars (which we have a lot of). Perfect for little pumpkins.

Vicky at Mess for Less turned an unexpected art project into a beautiful fall banner.

CrayonFreckles offered a simple tutorial on making colored glue.

And, Amanda at Nursery Rhymes and Fun Times made up a great set of Rain Forest Nomenclature cards to share!!

If you were featured, grab a button:

Looking forward to this weeks goodies!!! God Bless!

Telling Time Lesson 1: Day and Night

2011-10-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

Our recent lessons have been an introduction to telling time. The first lesson was to determine between day and night.

I gathered pictures of day activities and night activities.

We took turns putting them on night and day.

Even Mini Cooper got a turn.

The day and night sorting cards can be downloaded here.

Then, Mustang and Charger completed a cut and paste page from Education.com.

A very simple lesson, but I think it got the point across!

We are linked up at:

God Bless!!

Montessori Mini Knobbed Cylinders

2011-10-12T15:51:00.000-07:00

Mini Cooper received some money from her grandma for her birthday. I wanted to get something that would really benefit her, so I chose something for the classroom. I decided to purchase a set of Mini Knobbed Cylinders. I wanted to purchase the large set, but they were just simply out of the budget. Plus, I knew that the mini set would be more beneficial to Mini Cooper at this time anyways.

I chose to purchase from IFit International, because my normal outlet for purchase does not carry the Mini Knobbed Cylinders. The price is 1/4th the price of the large set, so I could justify purchasing these for now and still getting the full sized Knobbed Cylinders sometime in the future.

I gave Mini Cooper one block at a time, thinking I would introduce one to her each day. She didnt like my idea and asked for another as she completed one. I dont think she could do more then one at a time.

For Mustang and Charger, I gave them all 4 blocks at a time.

They were simple enough to do this.

In case you are new to Montessori materials, the Knobbed Cylinders teach depth and width. The cylinders are often the same size around, but longer or shorter in length. Or, they are the same size in length but wider or narrower around. Or, a mix of the two. Its a puzzle of sorts, but not one I have seen replicated elsewhere.

We were very pleased with the purchase and all 3 of my students enjoyed the new work. I would recommend adding these to your shelves!

I am linking up to:

Pinterest Tuesday! Apple Edition

2011-10-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I hope you didnt mind our week off last week. Things were a bit crazy here :).

I have a few entries from 2 weeks ago that I would like to feature.

The day that Explorer was born, I was supposed to teach our Homeschool Co-op Preschool group. The theme was apples. Little did I know that it would be the only day that I absolutely could not be there, nor could I manage to send all the materials for the trays I had made up. *Sigh* But, in preparation I researched many blog posts about apples.

I was thrilled to have Deb from Living Montessori Now link up her collection of Apple unit trays and ideas! It was perfect for inspiration and a ton of printables!

The Only Think Pink in a World Gone Blue also posted this adorable apple craft and a recommendation for the book 3 in 1: A Picture of God. It is now on my book list!

Well, not about apples, but the cutest pumpkin ever!! Being a new mummy again, this Mummy from Pam's Party and Practical Tips caught my eye. I just love him!

And my flat out favorite this week was the Pirate party from Honey Bee Books. Great little boy's party idea!

If you were featured, grab a button:

I am looking forward to reading all your creative ideas this week! I missed them last week!

Happy Linking and God Bless!

Explorer's Birth Story

2011-10-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

Wednesday evening the 28th, my water broke, but hadnt really had contractions yet. A few in the morning, but they pretty much all stopped as soon as my water broke. I decided to stay home and try to get labor started since I had this happen with both Charger and Mini Cooper and I knew I didnt want to have pitocin or an epidural. With Charger, I didnt try to do anything and when straight to the hospital where they hooked me up to the pitocin right away. With Mini Cooper, I had stayed home, walked around, did a lot of stuff and got to the hospital in labor. With her I had no pit and no epi and I was happy.
So, Wed night I walked, used my birthing ball, took a bath, etc, etc....nothing. I only had contractions when I layed down. I tried all night. Thursday MIL was great and came to watch the kids so we could go to the hospital. We-DH, my mom and I-even stopped over at Walmart to buy a car seat to take Explorer home in (our old one was expired) and STILL no contractions.

Got to the hospital which was CRAZY busy. So busy that my first room was literally the size of a closet. Apparently they never even use the room and all the nurses were apologizing that I was in there and promising me another room as soon as possible. As expected, they hooked me up to the pitocin as my water had been broken for about 16 hours at that point. We all suspected it would just take a few hours and Explorer would be born, as the others had been pretty quick once I was at 5. I came in at 3, so we figured getting to 5 would just take a few hours and then it would be an hour or 2 passed that. HA, little did we know.

The pitocin drip was started somewhere around 2:15 and shortly after they moved me into a HUGE room. The nurses kept increasing the pitocin, but I was feeling hardly any contractions. They increased it by 2 for 12 hours until at 1 the next morning I was receiving 20 ml (per hour I think),the max dose they will give, and had not really felt ANY contractions. And I had no cervical change to speak of.

I was scared at that point that I was going to have a c-section because it had been 28/29 hours since my water had broken. I had a terrible melt down, knowing that the hospital has a no VBAC policy and I didnt want to worry about that then. The doctor decided to turn off the pitocin drip, leave it off for 2 hours and then start again. So, that's what they did. I got to take a hot shower and relax for about 2 hours.

When they hooked the pitocin back up, my hand immediatly started to burn like crazy. The nurse decided to take off that IV and start in another. I think that was a miracle that I really needed!

Once the IV was moved into the other arm, it only took a few minutes to start feeling the contractions. I progressed to 5 within an hour. The doctor wanted me to have the epidural since there was still the chance I might need to go for a c-section, but mostly because he thought it would relax me to dilate faster. I knew that could be the case, plus I hadnt had sleep in a LOOOOOOOONG time by that point and agreed to the epi. And being on my 2nd bag of Pitocin natural birth was waaay gone anyways.

Thankfully, by 7 AM-pretty much the 'cut off time' I was at a 7, and they were no longer talking c-section.

Explorer was FINALLY born at 9:23 am on Friday the 30th, 37 hours after my water broke, and after nearly 19 hours of attempted induction, but only 6 1/2 hours of active labor. I only pushed twice. She weighed 6lbs 15oz and was 20 inches long, even though she was born at 36w 4d. God has truly blessed us again!

We are loving our new little lady! There are many fights over who gets to hold her and she is nursing well. The jaundice is down to a safe level, so we are done with the Billi-blanket. I'll blog more about that soon.

God Bless you!

Gabby, God's Little Angel Winner!

2011-10-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

The winner of Gabby, God's Little Angel is #18, Debbie who wrote:

Yes, I like you on FB.

Congrats!!! I'll be emailing you soon!

She's Here!!!!!!!

2011-10-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to introduce to you our newest little lady!!

Miss Explorer was born Friday, September 30th at 9:23 am. 37 1/2 hours AFTER my water broke. Needless to say, her labor was nothing like I had planned or imagined, but I learned a lot and prayed a lot and by the grace of God she was born healthy and vaginally. It was crazy, but oh so worth it.

I hope to get her birth story and more pictures up later this week. We are dealing with a bit of jaundice so I wont be around much this week.

The give away for Gabby, God's Little Angel will still end tomorrow, October 4th, at midnight. So, dont forget to enter.

Have a great week & God Bless!!

Book Review and GIVEAWAY!! Gabby, God's Little Angel by Shelia Walsh

2011-09-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited that today I get to tell you about one of the cutest books I have read in quite awhile! Gabby, God's Little Angel arrived at our home last month and my little angels have loved getting to know her.

Gabby, God's Little Angel was written by Shelia Walsh, the creator of the award winning Gigi, God's Little Princess which my girls also love.

Here is a little clip from Shelia Walsh, herself, about Gabby, God's Little Angel:

This first book in a delightful new series offers a comforting message for young readers-God loves you very much and is always watching over you!

What little girl wouldn't love her very own guardian angel? Parents and children alike will be won over by this humorous tale of Gabby, a guardian angel in training who has much to learn about taking care of God's little ones. Her new assignment is to protect a young girl named Sophie, but Gabby soon realizes that watching after Sophie is a bigger challenge than she had expected! After a close call while riding her pony, Sophie learns what the Bible says about guardian angels: "He will put his angels in charge of you. They will watch over you wherever you go" (Psalm 91:11 ICB)

What we thought of Gabby, God's Little Angel:

Overall, I think this book is super cute!! The message of the book tells little girls (and not so little girls) that God loves them, and is always watching over them. It introduces the idea of guardian angels by introducing us to Gabby, the guardian angel of a little girl named Sophie.

My girls enjoyed the bright, colorful photos, and that Sophie rides horses in the story {my girls love horses}. Gabby, God's Little Angel can be a great way to start discussions about guardian angels and the way they help the Lord and us.

Probably my only reservation with this story is that this little angel is a child, and a clumsy one at that. IF you were looking for a completely accurate theological book for your child, this may not be on your list. But, if you are okay with a little imagination in the mix, this is a great choice for your library!!

Gabby, God's Little Angel retails for $14.99 and would make a great Christmas gift, or maybe an extra fun First Communion gift! You can currently find it at Christianbook.com for just $9.99!

To read more reviews of Gabby, God's Little Angel, check out the Lifuse Publicity Group blog.

Now for all the fun!!

As part of the release of Gabby, God's Little Angel, there are a couple of giveaways that you wont want to miss!

First, Shelia and her publisher, Thomas Nelson, have put together and "Angel" prize package worth over $150.00! {click on the icon to enter}

Enter 9/19-10/3!

The winner will be announced during a Facebook Party where Sheila will also host a chat and give away a ton of fun products from the Gigi and Gabby line! Be sure to stop by on October 4th at 5pm PST (6PM MST, 7PM, CST, & 8 PM EST).

And, you can also win a copy of Gabby, God's Little Angel HERE on Our Country Road!!!

Yes!!!! I am really excited about this part! Sheila Walsh and Thomas Nelson publishers has graciously given me a copy of Gabby, God's Little Angel to give to one of you!!!

Here's how to enter:

Leave a comment below letting me know what little angel you would read Gabby, God's Little Angel to.

For extra entries:

1) Follow or subscribe to Our Country Road and tell me that you did. (one entry)

2) Like Our Country Road on Facebook (one entry)

3) Head over to the Gabby, God's Little Angel Facebook Party and RSVP! (two entries)

4) Enter the Gabby, God's Little Angel Kindle Giveaway Sweepstakes! (two entries)

This giveaway will end Tuesday, October 4th at midnight CST. The winner will be announced shortly after!

Good luck and God Bless!!

This has been a Litfuse review. Thank you to Sheila Walsh and Thomas Nelson Publishers for providing my family with a complementary copy of this book for our review. All opinions expressed are my own and I have not been compensated in any other way.

Pinterest Tuesday!

2011-09-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday!!!!

Well, I wasnt creative enough to come up with an edition title this week. I should probably call it the I wish this baby would hurry up and be born, but not really because its a little early and I'm not quite ready edition. But, yeah, that wouldnt fit in the title :).

But, YOU were creative this week, even if I wasnt!

Here are some of my favorites (really they are all my favorites and I swear one of these days I'm just going to use the random generator to pick because its VERY hard to pick four!!):

Ticia at Adventures in Mommydom has put together the CUTEST Noah's Ark craft. I really dont want you to miss this because printables with cute Bible characters are hard to find, IMO. She went all out!

Tracey and her son at Musings of the Monroes created Toasty the Robot to go along with a great lesson on robots. Isnt he cute?? I love all the recycled bits used to make him!

Brook at Let Kids Create let her kids create my kind of art! They made colorful fun pictures out of glue and colored rice! No mess-at least no paint or other stain causing mediums! She and her kids made these outside, so other then a little sweeping, no mess at all!

And one more great idea this week is this FANTASTIC sensory bin!! Jessica at Little Tiger Growing Up appealed to all the senses with her 'Shape Bin.' I love the use of color and textures in addition to the shapes.

If you were featured, here is a button to put on your blog if you would like! And, I didnt realize until now that the link I gave last week was NOT right. I'm going to go back and fix it, but I wanted to let anyone who tried to grab last weeks that it was messed up!! Sorry! I'm blaming it on the new blogger interface-because I am sloooow like that!

Happy Pinning and God Bless!

Garage Sale Finds September

2011-09-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I really love yard sailing in the fall. The weather is good, the sun goes down early-helping me to limit my yard sailing, and the people just want to get rid of their stuff.

I have noticed something about yard sales at different times of the year. In the spring, prices are higher, there are more shoppers, and the stuff is generally a bit nicer. In the fall, prices are lower, there are less shoppers, and the things arent quite as nice (across the board). Generally, the people in the spring are your 'early birds' and more organized then the fall procrastinators, and they take care of their things accordingly. The spring sales want to make money, the fall sales want to GET RID OF STUFF!! What I love is to hit those few procrastinators that actually have nice stuff, but are still willing to sell them cheap!

Last weekend, especially, we did quite well. Here are some of the highlights:

Some school stuff:

Banana Grams, 2.00

Silver tray with a cream and sugar bowl-great for pouring work, 75 cents

Books, including a Madeline book that we gave Mustang for her birthday, 2.25 total

A really fun find that I hope my MIL enjoys as much as I think she will. This is her Pfaltzgraff set. For 5.00

I got 8 salad plates, 8 pedestal mugs and a serving bowl. If she doesnt want any of it, I will sell them.

I found a bunch of fun stuff for school trays:

Green and white cream and sugar, 1.00

Beautiful Noritake cream and sugar, 2.00

Cute little basket with two duck baskets, 50 cents

3 sets of fruit coasters for a very simple sorting game, 30 cents for all

Up close of the Noritake cream and sugar. BEAUTIFUL!

Three fun games for school. LOVE the Symmetrix game. It is a board of 1/2 the pictures and you have to match the other side to the picture. Also, there is a box of Transportation lacing cards. I love to have different lacing cards for themes :). 2.50 total.

And THIS, my friends, made the entire trip worth going. I hit a Ben Franklin parking lot sale. If you dont have a Ben Franklin, think mini Hobby Lobby or Michael's. They've been around a lot longer, too. A location in another town closed, and they brought all the extras to our local store and sold it in the parking lot. Fill a bag for 5.00!! They were pretty big bags, and I filled 3 of them!! The apple basket was extra at 2.00. So I spent 18.36 for everything in this photo. Oh man are my Tot Trays and sensory bins going to get an upgrade!!

Summary of what is here:

Tons of bananas, cherries, limes, and oranges

A bunch of orange leaves

Whole can of Easter eggs

A bowl full of wooden balls for painting

A huge basket of little wreaths for Christmas and Easter projects

A huge basked full of stickers, pom poms, pipe cleaners, gems, clippies, Popsicle sticks and more

2 books

Plastic lacing animals and people

11 baskets and bowls in various sizes (including the apple basket)

A wire shelf that Mustang HAD to have

and 4 St Patrick's Day stampers

Yes ALL THAT for $18.36 (I had to pay tax since it was a store).

I was in a bit of Learning Trays HEAVEN :).

So, I know that the weekly link ups are over, but if you went yard sailing lately I'd love to read about your finds. Leave me a link so I can come read!!

Have a great weekend and God Bless!!