Monday, May 28, 2018

Review: The Girls' Guide to Conquering Life by Erica & Jonathan Catherman




There are many things that I want my daughter to get out of life and it's our job as parents to prepare them as best we can. Times have changed with all the technology that is in our world today, but many of the basics are still the same. We want our children to be able to manage their money, cook a meal and put gas in the car. How far we want our daughters to go is on us and how much we teach them. In
The Girls' Guide To Conquering Life by Erica & Jonathan Catherman there are quick reference notes to how to do many of the basic tasks that we face daily. There are many things that our daughter's will pick up from us just by helping around the house and doing their daily life activities. There are many things we think they will learn, but often they feel they aren't important and therefore don't pay them too much attention. In this book they can easily flip to the section that they are interested in learning and in less than a few minutes have the knowledge to help them complete the task. The main sections of the book are the following:

Guys & Dating

Social Skills & Manners

Work & Ethics

Wealth & Money Management

Health & Beauty

Clothes & Fashion

Sports & Recreation

Cars & Driving

Food & Cooking

Tools & Fix-It

In this book your daughter can learn how to have a GREAT interview, CHANGE a tire, Sew a button on and many other things. I highly recommend this book for all girls as it's a great way to help them learn on their own or just have a quick refresher if they need it.


Saturday, May 26, 2018

Week Ending 5/26/2018

Where has the time gone this month? It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Issac's 11th birthday and I was preparing to go to Boston for our UDN PEER meeting. Before we even realize it the school year will be over and we'll be in the heat of summer. I'm not looking forward to the heat!

This past week has been one of the busiest weeks this month. Brianna had her orthodontist appointment on Monday and was super excited to find out she didn't have to have bands for this next 6 week session. Apparently her largest gap that she was mostly concerned about has started closing, so she was super excited to hear that!

Tuesday Issac had his 6 month follow up with the electrophysiologist. They are following him for his elongated qt. They has prescribed an AED, but we have had insurance issues with that. I think we finally found the people to help us and we'll see if we get it soon :) He feels the beta-blocker he put Issac on is doing well and hasn't seemed to aggravate his asthma like was the concern, so we're good for another 6 months.

Wednesday Issac had his follow up with the pediatrician from the asthma flair up the week before. Thankfully he was so much better. No wheezing and barely any coughing.  The only issue was his 2 large toes looked very strange to me and she got the pleasure of informing me he has a fungus :( Yikes, how does an 11 year old get a fungus on only his 2 large toes and we didn't have a clue? I guess I have to start checking his toes out a little more (LOL)

Thursday I had to take our daughter to the neurologist to follow up on the headaches and migraines she has continued to have. He feels they are becoming rebound headaches, so we are going to stop ALL over the counter meds to try and reboot her system. He's also starting her out on a low dose of preventative meds to see if that helps. I'm hoping she'll get some relief from it because they are making her miserable!!

Friday was the homeschool formal.  My daughter looked so beautiful, but wouldn't take a nice picture with me!! Hard to believe her dress was less than $10!!






Last night Issac had a good friend over as his parents were out celebrating their anniversary. When boys get together they want to sit in front of the game consoles for hours (LOL) I made sure my husband knew that I didn't want them there the entire night, so he did a great job of keeping an eye on them and suggesting when to do other things. It was so precious hearing them talking before they fell asleep last night. Nothing better in life than a friend :) Today they spent the day playing video games, shooting basketball, Nerf gun war and we played about 3 or 4 games of Clue. While Issac's friend was here he told him very excitedly that he has a toe fungus!! I gently told him that information is not always wanted by other s:) All in all it was a great day!

Tomorrow will be a hard day for me. Our oldest and his family are coming over for lunch. When it's time for them to leave we will be saying goodbye to him for the next 9 weeks. He's heading off to basic in the Army. I have already shed SO many tears over this and I keep telling myself that he's just starting his life and that I should remind myself how luck I am that he is here on this earth. I wasn't this emotional when he got his license, a job or even moved out. It's just gotten very real that when this part of the process is all said and done he won't live just a few minutes away from us anymore. He could very easily end up in another country. This mama will be shedding quite a few tears over this next week!

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Review: Home School Navigator

Home School Navigator
One of the areas that our youngest has struggled most in is Language Arts.  He was a late talker, was in speech therapy for years and we just weren't sure how all that would affect his learning how to read. In kindergarten I started him in the same program his sister used and he seemed to be going great. I was so thrilled and remember at Thanksgiving he read some little Bob Books to my mom and brother. I had such a sense of relief that he was learning to read easily because it just seemed like life would go so smoothly once he knew how to read. When we started back in January after the holidays he couldn't read anything he had been reading before Thanksgiving. We reviewed, took another break, tried another program and it was like he'd never learned any words. I was heartbroken and didn't know what to do. I felt that taking the holiday breaks had somehow made him lose what he learned and that it was all my fault. We spent the next 3+ years doing various programs, taking breaks, reviewing etc and just weren't making too much progress. Somewhere around late 3rd grade/early 4th grade we started making progress. He was several years behind and still struggling to remember the difference between a noun and a verb. His writing skills were non-existent and I just felt I was failing him. I finally realized that he loved me reading to him and that it was better for him to narrate to me than to not work on writing at all.  I was very intrigued when I heard about Home School Navigator and the different levels their program has.  They currently have 6 levels as well as the higher levels have interactive notebooks.  








We were given a 1 year subscription and we had about a month to decide on what level we wanted. After spending some time researching the different levels I decided Issac was probably in either the yellow level or the green. I spent some more time going back and forth about which level I thought would work best for Issac. It seemed like the yellow level was better for him with regards to parts of speech and writing whereas his reading level was more on the green level. I finally decided just to ask the ladies that wrote the program! I explained a little about Issac and they recommended we start with the yellow level. They explained to me that we could always add in additional reading at a higher level and it would be better to work on the skills he's struggling with more.  I decided we'd jump into the yellow level and see how it went.

The first thing I did is to go and print the monthly book list as well as the daily lesson plans. I know some people prefer to look on their computers, but I enjoy having the paper in my hands. I like being able to mark off what we did and keep all our papers together. I printed the first month of everything in hopes that I could be organized :) There is also an additional master book list that pretty much breaks down what the student will be learning during the year.  


Home School Navigator


Each lesson has the same basic setup which I think students overall enjoy. It gives them a sense of security knowing the "game plan" for each lesson. It's up to the parent/teacher if they choose to have the kids do all the activities each lesson. We aimed to do them all, but if Issac was feeling tired or having more of a rough day then we adjusted.  







At the end of the lesson you have the option to upload assignments to help make a portfolio later or to just check that the lesson is completed. We uploaded once, but we don't usually keep a portfolio and so we just kept all our papers from the lessons in our notebook. Originally I had requested all the books for the first month from the library, but once Issac realized we could watch the videos being read on YouTube he decided he preferred that method. Even though I traditionally prefer holding a book in my hand this part really excited him and he looked forward to it. My only issue with the videos were there were some that were hard to hear and it made it difficult to get the information. I believe this is currently being addressed and won't be an issue for too long.  


Even though the agenda is the same for each lessons the activities do vary.  Issac has enjoyed most of the activities, but would still prefer to skip the writing! I found I was able to encourage Issac to write small amounts and the writing prompts were often interesting to him and that helped to motivate him. 



I think for us using Home School Navigator has really helped to foster some writing skills in Issac. He hasn't instantly fallen in love with handwriting or is writing short stories, but he  is writing several times a week without tantrums and that's a blessing. I've gone back and forth about whether the yellow level was the right choice or should I have gone with the green. I think ultimately Issac needs to learn that writing isn't a fate worse than death and that it is something he will need to do during his life. He's really enjoyed all the stories so far and he got a big kick out of Anansi and the Talking Melon. We are working towards fostering a love of learning and reading and if we push too much that will not happen. I'm happy with the progress we've made with the yellow level and look forward to continuing on and seeing the progress Issac makes. 


Check out this video to get a better understanding about the program. Also check out what the rest of the crew thought as they explored all the other levels.




Home School Navigator Reading and Language Arts Curriculum {Home School Navigator Reviews}


Saturday, May 19, 2018

Fun printables I found this week.

We attend a TON of appointments and it always helps to have something to keep Issac busy. He usually brings his tablet, but I often prefer something that it's a screen :) We just recently started playing hangman and he really enjoys it. When I was in the Boston airport I saw a really nice hangman set, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend the money. It was actually pretty reasonably priced, but I just wondered if we'd use it enough. After I got home I thought surely there has to be something I can print from the internet to use :) I did a quick search and ran across The Puzzle Den . I lucked out and found a printable hangman as well as the dot to dot game. I printed both an laminated them to keep the clean for many uses. Issac and I are already enjoying using these. 

I'm not sure what I was searching, reading, etc., but ran across the Princess Pinky Girl Parts of Speech and math printable. Issac is still having trouble remember facts and parts of speech, so I figured this might be great for him. About 6 months ago when he was still in OT they told me that they noticed he did better focusing when he was in the upstairs room that really didn't have anything on the walls. I've always been one to hang things on the walls for the kids and realized that might not be the best plan for him. I figured he could have these little lists in a notebook and refer to them if/when he needed them. 

This week I ran across The Bible Trivia for Kids Game from The Fervent Mama. This is a neat little freebie right now that looks like would be fun to play with the kids. I'm hoping to get mine laminated this weekend. I was blessed with a laminator as a gift from a dear friend and I'm trying to find every excuse I can to use it :)

I hope you all have a great week and feel free to share any great things you ran across this week :)

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Thankful Tuesday 5/15/2018

Today I'm so thankful for my wonderful daughter. When I was pregnant with our first child I always hoped he'd be a boy, then we'd have a girl and then another boy. I loved my son, but I really wanted a little girl. I wanted to dress her up in cute dresses and do her hair.  I was so happy the day she was born. She's been a precious little girl all the while being a spitfire too :) She's an amazingly strong young lady, stronger than I am as an adult. She's headstrong, loving, a great protector of her friends and overall an amazing girl. 

For Mother's Day she gathered friends together to make one of my dreams come true! I've wanted a pot belly pig for years and she made that happen. Some family comes in the form of blood and others are friends that are really more than friends.  She rallied her friends and their parents to make a home for this pig and bring him to us. She planned a way to get me there all the while still keeping it a surprise.  She's an amazing daughter and I love her so much!






Monday, May 14, 2018

Review: Kids Email Safe Email for Kids

Kids Email
When I was growing up parents didn't have to worry so much about their children having pen pals or writing friends that moved away. We had to take the time to write the letter, stamp it and get it in the box. There seemed to always be thought and purpose in those actions. Today with all the technology it's so easy to write something that isn't nice or click on sites to see things we shouldn't. Those of us that grew up without technology find it harder and harder to know how to help shield our kids from things they shouldn't see. Issac recently turned 11 and of course because he has older siblings he's thought for several years that he should have what they have. The thought of him having his own email has been being tossed around recently.  When I saw what was offered with Kids Email Safe Email for Kids I was excited to check it out.  Kids Email has given parents a peace of mind with the product they have produced.  
Setting up the account was very quick and easy. It was a matter of adding a child and then basically choosing which safety items I wanted for his account. After I set up Issac's account I thought he would enjoy being part of the process. The child is able to chose their themed background, so he sat down to see the choices. There were a few he liked and I think with kids it's huge when they can customize the products.  


He chose the cars and immediately wanted to send emails to people. I had only put family on his approved list, but he was fine with that. He sent very short emails to my husband, his sister, his grandmother and myself. I didn't bother to share with him that I would be receiving copies of these emails as he wrote them. I didn't expect that he would write something inappropriate, but liked the idea of him not knowing :) That's just one of the many great features.  My son only used our desktop computer, but if he were using other devices I could put time limits on the usage. You can ground your child which is something I thought was great. When Issac misbehaves about the only thing he cares to lose are his screen privileges. This lets you know they are sneaking when you aren't home or at night and trying to email! Another biggie for me was the no ads. I think the ads are the problem a large amount of the time. Things are advertises to attract children's attention and it doesn't always take them to sites that they think they are going to.





There are also different options for younger and older kids. The email can be changed a bit for teenagers, so it doesn't seem like a "kid" email to their friends. Teenagers never want others to know that their parents are watching over them or restricting them in an way and this takes care of those fears. It's a great way for younger kids and teenagers to have their own email and the parents can still feel like they are able to monitor.  

Here are a few quick shots of the emails that I get when he's sending/receiving an email. He started emailing my mom and I was really excited about that. It helps extend their relationship while helping him with his writing and typing skills. It's also a nice little "treat" for my mom to see an email in HER inbox from him.  






As the parent I have complete control over what my son is doing and I like that for him at this age. As he gets older I can adjust those controls and that helps him learn to manage himself and his behavior. It's nice to be able to log in at any time and see what he's been doing. The activity log shows everything going in and out. 


Kids Email
Kids Email has truly given parents a great product and is helping us navigate this technological world that we experience as kids.   Kids Email Safe Email for Kids is also very reasonably priced. I usually try to search out products that are free or inexpensive and this is one of those I really think is great. 



Kids Email started back in 2009 and has been helping families navigate the world of email since. Some of our crew are reviewing them for a second time, so I'm sure they have some great advice on how to use this program.  



Safe Email for Kids {Kids Email Reviews}

Saturday, May 12, 2018

The Great Molasses Spill




Have you ever heard of the Boston Molasses Flood? I hadn't either until Friday when I was attending a UDN PEER meeting. There is an amazing man there named Paul who is so gracious and so full of knowledge of the town. The molasses flood came up and none of us had ever heard of it. He started telling us the story and I KNEW I had to get Issac looking this up and reading about it. What an amazingly crazy story!!



On January 15, 1919 a horrible sound similar to gunfire and grating noises was heard before a 5-story high metal tank of molasses split open! More than 7.5 MILLION LITERS of molasses ran through Boston's North End. Traveling at 55 mph and in a wave 7.5 meters high and 50 meters wide at the peak. 21 people were killed and another 150 were injured. I would love to spend an entire week with Paul learning about Boston!



Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Thankful Tuesday 5/8/2018

Today I'm thankful for the progress that I have seen Issac make over the last few years. He has had years of social issues where he wouldn't even speak to those he deemed friends if they didn't start the conversation. We've had anxiety issues pop up within the last few years and that added another dimension to Issac. It used to be and still is sometimes that if he's afraid to do something he just won't do it. He's developed a love for basketball recently and got a goal and new ball for his birthday. Today the ball rolled all the way down into the back. It was deep down into the bushes. I told him he'd have to wait until his dad came home because I wasn't go back in the bushes. He went back there with his shovel and the entire time was saying over and over again that he could do this because this is what explorers do. He then said that if people didn't explore then Indiana Jones wouldn't have found America. Not sure where that came from, but I was extremely shocked and pleased that he pushed forward and went to get the ball. There are still many issues we deal with and tough days, but I'm thankful for these times of progression!


Monday, May 7, 2018

Review: ASD Reading

ASD Reading
We have one child that would be considered not to be neuro-typical.  He was delayed with his speech, had fine and gross motor issues as well as many other obstacles that made his learning hard.  We were in therapies for about the first 10 years of his life. Reading seemed to be SO hard for him.  I really couldn't even pinpoint the issues and I was so frustrated that I couldn't seem to help him. His speech therapist actually started working with him on reading as well and gave me some suggestions to work on at home. Even though his reading has improved he's no where near grade level and I still worry about his comprehension. He understands and remembers much more when I read to him verses when he reads to himself. I decided that ASD Reading might be the thing he needed to strenghten his reading skills and take him to the next level.  This program is recommended for ages 4-10. Kids that don't know their letters, who aren't reading at all or even those that can read, but are struggling. The more frequent the sessions the faster the student will progress.  Children not yet in first grade should work 4 days a week in the program and children first and up should work 5 times a week. One session typically lasts 15-30 minutes, depending on the student. The student can also pause the lesson for up to 12 minutes.  The account is easily set up as well as you can give your student more time or less to answer the questions.  In the first introductory lesson the students will be taught how to use a mouse and keyboard. Even if this is something your student struggles with they can still use this program.  ASD Reading is recommended to be used with Google Chrome.  

ASD Reading relies on the 6-SIM Six Skill Integrated method by Dr. Marion Blank.  Dr. Marion Blank is the former Co-Director of the Columbia University Developmental Program for Autism.  This program uses "intensive word teaching".  All the components of the words are taught: their meaning, spelling, placement in sentences, relationships to other words, etc.  ASD Reading teaches students to read, comprehend what they read and write.  Most current methods do not work with children on the autism spectrum.  ASD Reading even works for those children that are NON-VERBAL.


ASD Reading
I chose this program because my son was labeled on the autism spectrum and I thought the special teaching in this program would benefit him.  One thing I really like is when a program has an assessment to fit the program to the student.  Issac was able to start on level 3. That put him at about the middle of the course. I also like that the parent is shown how the child is doing in the levels. 





He really liked the program when he started, but as time went on he didn't want to work on it daily. One thing I noticed was that he got very frustrated by the amount of time that was used in the program. There was too much of him sitting there waiting to move to the next step. Thankfully  ASD Reading has given the parent or teacher an option to change the time that is given to the student.  You can chose more time or less time to give them during the lesson. I changed it to give him a little less time and that seemed to solve that issue.  I think the time option is great because each child on the spectrum is different and some need more time and others don't. The default selection is a great jumping off point for starting the program. 




Each lesson seems to focus on a set of words and the student uses those words in sentences, writing, comprehension, etc.  I like that it focuses on different words each time. Helps see if there are certain words that your student might struggle with and in what way they are struggling. Here are a few samples of the lessons.  


In the above the student has to type the letter that is coming down the screen.  


The above is one of the reading selections. 

One thing that seemed to disappoint my child was that at the beginning it's talking about a passport. When you've earned so many points from working through the lessons you get to open the passport. He thought there would be some surprise there and was really looking forward to it. He felt a bit let down by that.

Some of the other great parts to this program is that you get a 30 day free trial.  This gives you a chance to see how ASD Reading meshes with your student.  After the 30 day trial the program is $19.99 a month or $199.99 per year. If you have additional children in your family that will use the program they receive 50% off each month for a charge of $9.99.  This program is available for school settings and ASD Reading can be contacted for that pricing.  


Some of our crew members reviewed ASD Reading and some reviewed Reading Kingdom, so please check out all the different thoughts and opinions on these programs.  You can also check out their social media sites for additional information: FacebookTwitter and Instagram.  



Learn to Read with Reading Kingdom OR ASD Reading {Reviews}







Sunday, May 6, 2018

Funny Comments from Issac

Was reading to Issac before bed tonight when I mispronounced a wrestler's name in the book Hornswoggle. About half way through the book Issac got upset and told me I was saying the name wrong. I told him that's how it was spelled in the book. His response was it much be auto correct that messed it up in the book! That reminded me that the other day he was talking about cell phones and which ones everybody he knows has. He then asked me what kind did I have when I was his age. I told him we didn't have cell phones when I was 11! I then explained that I didn't get my first cell phone until about 17 years ago. He asked me how I called people before then.  I explained that we used our home phones. He then asked if we had internet when I was a child. I told him that we didn't have that until about 20 years ago. He asked me how I didn't my school? (LOL) It's crazy to think of all the technological advances that have happened in the last 20 years and how much our kids don't understand with it!

Review: When God Says go



When God Says go by Elizabeth Laing Thompson is a wonderful book of people in the Bible and how they followed God's call. We often say that we are following God, that we are open to anything he calls us to do, but are we truly? Often times we aren't even sure if we know what God is calling us to do. In this book we learn about the following people, their stories and even how we can relate them to our own lives.  


At the end of each chapter there is a "Let's Go Deeper" page. This includes further verses to read as well as journal prompts and a prayer prompt. This is a great book to read alone or even to read along in a group setting. I felt like the chapters were chosen to reach out to us all. How many times have we thought that God's call is too scary? When his call is unclear? When the call isn't glamorous? These are some of the samples of what is in this book that can help us to a deeper understanding of just what is God's call for us.  


**"I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review."

Review: Roar Like a Lion

Raising kids has always been a hard job, but with technology the way it is now I think most parents would say it's become harder.  We al...