April 8, 2014 · 7:25 pm

Victus Study Skills System . . . A T.O.S. Review

We recently had the opportunity to review the Victus Study Skills System, written by Susan B. Ison, founder of http://www.studyskillssystem.com. The author explains the Latin word victus means “a way of life,” and the goal of the system is to “equip the student for success in Academics and in life.”
We received the Teacher Edition (priced at $40.00) and the Student Workbook, (priced at $20.00)

Both are easy to read and follow, and the appendix comes with worksheets and tools to use throughout the course. This system can be taught to all ages, with more teacher involvement needed for younger students. It is most appropriate for students from 5th to 12th grade. The author gives a good description of the courses aims, goals and objectives. The author’s “Foundational Cornerstones” for the course ask three questions:

1) Where Am I Now?
Lesson One (Study Habits Checklist) is a self-assessment to help determine what the student is doing now. Lesson Two (Learning Strengths) helps assess how the student takes in information (through Visual, Auditory, or Kinesthetic means) and gives some useful tips on how to help your dominant learning strength or improve a weaker one.

2) Where Do I Want To Be?
Lesson 3 (Mission and Goal Setting) first asks the student to visualize where they were 5 years ago, where they are now, and where they would like to be five and ten years from now. This helps the student visualize long term goals for themselves. They are also introduced to the “SMART” method of goal-setting; the objective must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. The lesson ends with an introduction to a system to help them set priorities for long-term goals.

3) How Do I Get There?
Lessons 4 through 10 get into the specific details and exercises to help the student develop good study habits through Time Management, Organization and Study Environment, a study process with the mnemonic “PQRST” (more on this later), Listening, Note Taking, Test Taking, and a final review.

This is the type of course my husband says he would have loved to have when he was back in school. He says he was a “brainiac” who never had to study that much in high school. When college rolled around, however, he struggled until he learned how to study.

If you run a structured home school and you have a student (or students) struggling with some course materials, then this course might be a welcome addition. In our loosely run, lightly scheduled, eclectic situation, however, we did have some challenges.

My husband has had experience with courses like this in the past through his workplace, so I asked him to take the lead on it. We chose “The Artist” to work with, as we were hoping to help him with his habit of flitting about from project to project and help him prioritize things.

They did quite well with Lessons One through Three. They determined how The Artist best takes in information (Visually, with Auditory and Kinesthetic in a virtual tie for second place), and we are using some of the tips to help the weaker aspects.

2014-04-05 06.20.52

Lessons Four through Ten, however, were a bit difficult. For example, the Time Management chapter was good for people still in “analog,” as my husband calls it. It gives tips like, “Write your schedule in pencil to allow for changes.” We’ve been using Google Calendar on “The Artist’s” tablet for several months now for scheduling daily chores, appointments, etc. with good results. Plus, he is already a good note taker, so he didn’t get a whole lot from the Note Taking lesson. We use a notepad application on his tablet so he can transcribe and organize notes from various study subjects into color-coded pages. We also do not use any kind of curriculum that has examinations, so he totally lost interest in the Test Taking lesson.

We were able to find some wheat among the chaff. Lesson 6, PQRST, outlines a great method of reading for better comprehension and learning. The mnemonic stands for:

Preview – get the high points
Question — to determine which facts to look for
Read – “action” reading, to find answers, note, highlight, etc.
State – read aloud what you’ve just read
Test – a daily review of what you read the previous day

“The Artist” finds learning by reading very easy (just like his father). But his father told him that, as he continues in his education to more advanced subjects, he will hit a brick wall at some point! He told “The Artist,” “There will be subjects that just do not jump off of the page and into your head; you will need to know how to pull that information out of the book by force! Better to learn those methods now instead of waiting until you really need them!” “The Artist” was not happy at first, because the PQRST method takes a little longer than just simply reading the page. But he has now incorporated it into his study routine, and we do believe it will serve him well when we start moving to some more complicated subjects down the road.

Now, to the bottom line:

At the beginning, we thought we would not get much from this course. We don’t test, so we have no way to measure whether or not the course is effective for us. And several of the lessons just simply did not apply to our circumstances. However, as mentioned above, this system was helpful in that “The Artist” HAS been able to incorporate some of the methods into his way of learning. While I personally would probably not spend $60.00 on the Victus Study Skills System, as written above, I can certainly see where it could be of immense help to a homeschool student in a structured program, or even a student in public or private school.

Check out Victus Study Skills System on the social media listed below:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VictusStudySkillsSystem
Twitter: @VictusStudy

To see what other Schoolhouse Review Crew members thought of the Victus Study Skills System, please click the graphic below:
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April 7, 2014 · 7:42 pm

Weekly Wrap Up . . . Ending With Some Excitement!

Well, I had PLANNED to share a video with you this time, as the Sunshine Kids Choir at our church did their final special for the school year Sunday night, but in face, I can’t.

On Friday, after homeschool PE, my husband met up with us to get “Mr. Loquacious”, taking him to an appointment with an ear/nose/throat specialist. He’s had chronic, severe nosebleeds for some time, and had previously had chemical cauterization. What we THOUGHT was going to happen would be that the doctor would schedule him to have it done surgically, but instead, he did the chemical one again.

After that, we all met up again at church for Teen Comedy Night, a spaghetti supper/entertainment fundraiser for teen camp. I will share a couple of videos from the evening, but in a later post. They are taking forever to load to youtube!

Sunday morning, “Mr. Loquacious” had another big nosebleed, and since I’m in the choir, my husband had me take the others while he stayed home with our son, hoping he’d be better enough to go that night, which, he was.

Now here is why you aren’t seeing the video of the kids’ special . . . about half-way through, “Mr. Loquacious” quite literally passed out. Eyes rolled back, and he went backwards, hitting his head on the floor. I dropped my camera and took off to check on him, and by the time I got there, there were already some of the men helping him up. We ended up leaving shortly thereafter, just in case. My husband called a family member who happens to be an RN and a Paramedic, and he told us for sure what to watch for (concussion), not to give him food, not to give him the medication he takes to sleep. We stayed up so my husband could check him every couple of hours, in fact, my husband made me go to bed and he stayed up later to keep check.

“Mr. Loquacious” is just fine now, back to his normal self, but was very upset at having caused a disruption (even though told everyone understood), and leaving during the preaching (we’d JUST Friday had a lesson on manners and respect during church, lol!)

Here’s hoping this next week will be MUCH calmer! 🙂

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March 28, 2014 · 7:52 pm

Weekly Wrap – Up . . . A Bit Less Busy!

So, this week was more of a regular week, no special meetings at church, etc, which was good, because as I may have said in a previous post, I’ve been dealing with some health issues that we’re trying to get regulated.

The boys and I took it very easy this week, as far as school stuff, although I did ask for daily piano practice. “The Artist is up to 50 minutes per day, and next week he goes to 55, then one hour per day the following week. Our teacher says at his level, he should be doing at least an hour per day, 5 days a week. I am at 30 minutes, as is “The Batman”.

I will leave you with the following video of the song I sang at church Sunday night a week ago, which was written by a good friend back in MI . . .

This post is being linked up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

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March 28, 2014 · 6:12 pm

Spelling You See, A T.O.S. Review

Having been given the opportunity to review with my younger two boys (our twins, “Mr. Loquacious” and “The Puzzler”) an advance pdf copy of a very newly published program, Spelling You See, and knowing that it was coming from the publishers of Math-U-See, a program I have heard nothing but good about, I really wanted to give it a go with both boys.

They are both (finally) coming along nicely with their reading, especially given that when we adopted them four years ago at the age of 8, they couldn’t spell (or read!) much beyond their own names, but having seen phonics programs fail with them, I thought this just might be a good change.

I was given Spelling You See: Wild Tales (Level C) to use with my boys.

I will be completely honest here, and tell you that I was not SURE that this program would work, or even that they would like it at all. My father taught me to read before I ever began school, and he used phonics, even though I don’t believe he called it that, or even knew that was what it was. So, when I began homeschooling, I did what I call “school in a box”, from a big name company, with a very strong phonics spelling program. Guess what? It had worked for me, but not so much with my kiddos.

Before choosing the level I would want to review, I went to Spelling You See to check out their “Readiness Guides“. I did find that both boys easily read the material for Level C, but when asked to write the same material, missed quite a lot, therefore I chose Level C for them.

One of the BEST things about this program, one that means an awful lot to my boys, is that it is not set up by grade levels, rather by skill/developmental level. We have tried things in the past that were marked actual grade level, and they balked mightily about it, because before we adopted them, they were supposedly “in the 3rd grade at their public school”, and didn’t want books that said they were “in kindergarten or first grade”.

We have been really enjoying the way this program is set up, it is perfect for boys with very short attention spans (which I freely admit describes my boys, LOL!).

Here is how this program does NOT work . . . there are no spelling lists, no tests, etc. In Level C, for example, we begin with nursery rhymes, which I happen to think is great, as they are part of our heritage. By lesson 8, they will have moved on to short stories involving different animals.

Each week begins with learning which letter groups to look for to mark while “chunking”, which is what Spelling You See calls marking letters that come in small groups, such as special sounds made by vowels, or consonant blends. After practicing the “chunking” on that week’s nursery rhyme or story, the student then goes to the second page to do copy work, and doing the same exact chunking on their written work. The second day, the two workbook pages are a repeat of the first day. Then, we come to day three, which is in part a repeat of the first day, but the copy work is different in that a different portion of the rhyme or story is being copied each day. Day four, the student will read and chunk the passage, but then he or she will draw or write his or her own story. Spelling You See calls this “no rules” day. On the final day of the week, the rhyme or story is read, the chunking completed, and then your student(s) will write it while you dictate it. You are supposed to use a timer for ten minutes, and stop when it goes off, even if they haven’t finished writing. The goal is to be learning to spell, not to be fast ( I’ll admit, that one is tough for “Mr. Loquacious”, who always wants to “win”).

Here we are during the first week (the only time they didn’t balk at pictures), reading the passage while clapping each syllable . . .
2014-03-28 00.53.07

Here is “Mr. Loquacious, following the “chunking” instructions for the specific vowel sounds called for. That particular week, they were to mark them with the color yellow. Each different “chunking” group is coded with a different color.
2014-03-28 00.55.25

Here is “The Puzzler”, doing HIS chunking . . .
2014-03-28 00.55.39

This program is certainly living up to what I have always heard of the company that produced it. BOTH of my twins enjoy it, and have asked more than once if they can do more than one day at once. The only thing they didn’t care for (and really, the only one who cared was “Mr. Loquacious), was that on the copy work pages they are not given the three lines with the dotted line in the middle. In fact, a direct quote from him was “Mom, they forgot a line on the paper”, LOL!

By now, I’m sure you’d like me to let you know what you will receive (and what it will cost) should you choose to purchase this program . . .

Wild Tales Student Pack (2 student workbooks, covering 36 lessons between them, along with a pack of erasable colored pencils) – $30.00

Wild Tales Instructor’s Manual – $14.00

Do I feel this program is worth the cost? Yes, I do. My twins are seeing “patterns” in words, which I believe will aid in their improved spelling. American English is not the easiest language to learn how to spell, as we all know, and I think this is going to help them. Are we going to continue to use this, now that our review period is over? Yes, we are. As I said before, even my boys are happy with it, which I think is a GOOD thing!

Want to try before you buy? download a sample and check it out for yourself. 🙂

To find out even more about Spelling You See, please check them out on the following social media:

Facebook

Twitter

To read what other Review Crew members thought of this and other levels of Spelling You See, please click on the graphic below!
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March 21, 2014 · 4:58 pm

Weekly Wrap-Up . . .Boy, am I TIRED!!!

Beginning Sunday, our church had special conference entitled Solve Family Problems, featuring Dr. S.M. Davis. He spoke for the adults and teens during Sunday School, and again in morning service, then we also had him for Sunday evening service, Monday and Tuesday evening. Monday and Tuesday, as our church generally does, a supper was provided at 6:00 p.m. so that those who would need to come straight from work could still eat. And our church is, as our Pastor likes to say, “the eating-est church in town”, so you know the food was really great! Of course, it IS a Baptist church, and I’ve NEVER had a bad meal in a Baptist church, whether it be a pot-luck or a church provided meal! 🙂 The conference was really great, and we got a lot out of it.

Wednesday evening, I needed to hang around after church to practice with the choir, as we’re singing the special Sunday morning, then after that, I practiced with our piano teacher, who also plays when I sing a special. We WERE practicing for my scheduled special at the end of the month, when the music director asked if we could do it this coming Sunday evening instead. Well, we do feel comfortable with it now, so we told him yes. I’ll post that sometime this next week. Y’all are not getting tired of all my videos of either my kids or me singing specials, are you?

This morning we had homeschool co-op at church, where we had the kiddos split into 3 groups based on age/ability range, who then rotated between rotated the 3 moms who were there for things like string art, writing, younger kids writing, and my station, which was using different color paints to put their hand prints on the big banners for the upcoming co-op Creativity Fair. They also had root beer floats for snack.

Next, we went to McDonald’s (I know, I know, don’t judge me!) for a quick dollar menu lunch before heading over to piano lessons. We have an hour and a half block with our teacher, for me, “The Batman”, and “The Artist”. I got my recital piece last week, it’s really pretty. It’s called Appalachian Sunrise by Michael Schwabe. “The Artist” will be doing Solfeggietto by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and “The Batman” is going to be doing Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin. God thing we have until August to practice!

Well, I’ve been very tired lately, and dealing with some stressful stuff, so I believe I’m going to go lie down on the couch and try to rest for a while. I hope you’ve had a good week!

This post is being linked up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

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March 14, 2014 · 9:48 pm

Weekly Wrap-Up . . . Music At Both Ends Of The Week!

We began on Sunday evening, when the Kids Sunshine Choir did the special during the evening service at our church. You can check them out in the video below. 🙂

During the remainder of the week, we went a little light on school, as I’ve been dealing with some health issues, and my doctor is currently trying to regulate some new medications for me. Meanwhile, it often affects my days, so we’ve mostly been just working on some review things that you’ll be reading about soon! 🙂

We skipped out on homeschool park day yesterday, I was so tired, and slept a lot. 😦 Today, however, we made it to piano lessons. We’ve switched with another family, and now we are going Friday instead of Thursday. That way, the kids get to continue with their regular homeschool park day, when we’re able to make it.

I found out from our piano teacher (yes, “our” teacher. “The Batman”, “The Artist” & I are all taking lessons!) today that “The Artist” is really an advanced student, and that when she was at his level, she was required to practice an hour per day, 7 days a week. He’s not real keen on that, so I said we’d work up to it. He’s already doing 40 minutes, so beginning Monday, we’ll add 5 minutes each week, until he gets to an hour. She did say that on days when the time really isn’t there, he’s to do a MINIMUM of 30 minutes. Here’s a short little video I took when we got home, after I convinced him to play just one song for me to post. He sounded much better at lesson, but he just wanted to get it done with when I was recording, LOL!

This post is being linked up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers, and you too, can link up a post about your week! Just click the graphic below for the guidelines, write your post, and link it up!

As always, I’d love it if you join me on all of my “Journeys Through Life”! Just enter your email into the “sign me up” box at the top of the blog, and never miss an update! Also, if you do enjoy “My Journeys”, please, go to our Facebook page and “like” it. I’d sure appreciate it if you did! 🙂

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March 14, 2014 · 8:32 pm

Mango Languages For Homeschoolers, A T.O.S. Review

My regular readers are very aware of my seemingly never ending quest to actually learn Spanish with my kids, so when, as a Schoolhouse Review Crew member I was given an opportunity to test drive something new from Mango Languages, I really wanted to give it a try.

Up until now, Mango Languages has been available to be used in businesses, schools (K – 12), and in many libraries (though not OUR library system, I checked). But Mango Languages is now introducing Mango Homeschool Edition, which is very exciting news!

Now, I want to tell you right up front that when I say we are test driving it, I mean that. Mango Homeschool Edition is currently a beta version. However, there is still a great deal available to the subscribing family!

I have permission to share the following directly from the vendor:

“What is currently available on the site:

Over 60 different languages
Progress Assessments
Built-in journals, discussions and wikis
Collaborative learning spaces
eNote messaging/chat rooms
Access to embedded/downloadable content
Support from other community members
Calendars to schedule meetings or study groups

Over the next several months, we’ll be introducing other exciting features like:
Enhanced Tracking and Progress Monitoring – including seat time (for students and parents)
Goals and Personal Lesson Plans (both stand-alone and tied into Mango courses)
Resume and Portfolio Builder”

Did you notice that bit about 60 different languages? Let me tell you, this is the very best thing about the Mango Homeschool Edition. When you sign up for your subscription, you are not limited to one language. You may choose, one, or several, or you may do one, decide it is not for you, and change to another! I LOVE that! 🙂

I will be pleased to see better tracking methods however, allowing me to see exactly where the boys are in their progress, along with being able to set goals and lesson plans.

During our review period, we were given a one year subscription to Mango Homeschool Edition for five students (which included one for me as the homeschool mom/teacher). To be honest, once we got our log in information and went to get started, I decided that during the review period I would concentrate solely on “The Artist” for this review. In retrospect though, I think the others probably could have handled it, considering that there were only certain portions of the program I was willing to let him use, so I’ll likely be adding the others in, and maybe even letting them choose what languages they want to try (in addition to Spanish).

We (meaning I) chose Latin American Spanish. It was a little bit confusing getting set up, but then after watching the little videos that are provided, and doing what they said, I got everyone’s accounts set up (that way, when I decide to put the other boys in, we are already set up!).

For the portions we actually used, navigation was quite simple, “The Artist” would just log in to his account, and then into his “Space”. Here he is during one of the lessons . . .

2014-03-10 23.27.14

Whatever language you choose, it will include things such as native speakers giving you audio lessons and pronunciation help, a voice comparison tool (but you need a microphone for this, which we did not have available), which is completely optional, you can do the lessons without it. Not only will you be learning the language, but you will be receiving information about the culture, the customs and the etiquette of the land of your chosen language. There are also grammar and conversational aspects as part of your lessons.

Each unit is referred to as a “Journey”, and is fairly simple to understand, done in flash card style. I do like that. Below is a quick video I snuck while “The Artist” was working in an early on lesson . . .

After that, he wouldn’t let me anywhere near if I had the camera, can you believe it???

Also available on the Mango Homeschool Edition is the “community” aspect of the program. We did not use this portion. It involves online chatting in forums and “eNotes”, a private messaging section. My husband and I are very wary about this sort of thing for our kids, and even though I know that at Mango Homeschool Edition they are working very hard to make certain this is safe for kids, the fact is that this program is being touted as perfect for kids and adults. I just don’t want to take the chance with my kids.

OK, now the bottom line . . .

The cost for Mango Homeschool Edition is as follows:

1 subscription is $18/month or $125/year total
2 subscriptions are $28/month or $175 /year total
3 subscriptions are $38/month or $225/year total
4 subscriptions are $48/month or $275/year total
5 subscriptions are $58/month or $325/year total

Anything over 6 subscriptions is a special group rate that will depend on the number in the group.

The above is the introductory pricing, and is accurate at the time of this posting.

MY bottom line? I probably would not purchase this for our homeschool. I have four children, with special needs, and a lot of what is available on this program is just not going to be useful for them. I would HIGHLY recommend it to someone preparing to travel, however, as I think it would give them enough conversational (whatever their choice of language) to get around.

I AM going to let them all sign up for Pirate (yes, that IS an available language, LOL!), because my older boys have an activity coming up with the teen group in our church which includes pirates and such. They are thinking it will be a blast! 🙂

Here is where you’ll find Mango Languages on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MangoLanguages
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mangolanguages/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MangoLanguages

To find out how other Schoolhouse Review Crew members felt about Mango Homeschool Edition, please click the graphic below!
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March 13, 2014 · 3:03 pm

Windows 8.1 Is NOT Fun . . . Not At All!

However, it IS fun to be writing this on my brand new HP Pavillion that my husband bought me so that he could, in his words, “support my blogging and other writing”.

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He also took the picture above, which I’d normally not publish, but I don’t feel like going and getting all fixed up just to type, lol!

I asked him to look for a Windows 8.1 For Dummies On Amazon, since he has a prime membership. He found that, and also found Windows 8.1 For Seniors For Dummies. The only difference is that the one for seniors has larger print, and the screen shot pictures are bigger, so yes, you guessed it, I said “get THAT one, please!”

I still don’t think I’ll EVER get the hang of Windows 8.1, and everyone I’ve asked about it says they just use the desktop and ignore the apps, but I’ll give the book a try, and see if I can manage. I am already kinda sick of things disappearing and going back to a previous screen if I move the cursor too quickly, though . . .

As always, I’d love it if you joined me on all of “My Journeys Through Life”. Just go and enter your email into the “sign me up” button at the top of the blog, and never miss another update! Also, I you DO enjoy “My Journeys”, please go to our Facebook page and “like” it. I’d sure appreciate it if you did! 🙂

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March 10, 2014 · 7:54 pm

Amazing Science, Volume 1 . . . A T.O.S. Review

Anyone who knows me well, KNOWS I am simply NOT good at science (right, Charlene? lol!) So, when I saw that this particular review of Amazing Science, Volume 1 would have SIMPLE experiments, explained by the instructor, Jason Gibson, in a way that even *I* could understand (never mind the children), I decided to go for it!

Jason Gibson has earned advanced degrees in Engineering and Physics, has worked as a Rocket Scientist for NASA, and loves teaching Science and Math (don’t even get me going on how much I have always hated Math, lol!).

The product we received for review is, as I said above, Amazing Science, Volume 1, which comes from ScienceandMath.com.

It comes in one DVD case, which holds two separate DVD’s. On those two DVD’s, we found 23 different science experiments to watch, learn about, and actually do, in very little time, as long as we had the needed materials around the house.

For this review, I am going to focus in on the Color Changing Milk experiment, because all of the boys thought it was cool! I heard plenty of “oooohhh’s” even from the one kid (“that would be “The Batman”) who was complaining about watching when he wanted to play a video game, lol!

Here, we see the instructor on our TV screen, talking about one of the experiments, and explaining the science behind it.
Amazing Science 006
All four boys, watching with definite interest, while Mr. Gibson explains what he is doing, and why.
Amazing Science 003
The Color Changing Milk experiment, which was absolutely the top vote getter for which one to put on this blog post, was a hit. All four boys really loved how it came out! Here are some pictures of the process while getting things ready to go.
This is me, getting things started . . .
Amazing Science 008
Now, we add the four food colors into the milk.
Amazing Science 009
Amazing Science 010
Amazing Science 011

We honestly thought it might not work, because the only food coloring we had was the gel kind, and Mr. Gibson was using the liquid sort, however, if you will watch the video below, you’ll see how well it worked!

You can see how much fun they had, right? 🙂

Here is how our plate of milk looked when they had really finished up as much as possible.
Amazing Science 016

At this point, all of the fat in the milk had clung to the dish soap, so the only way to do it again would be to start over with a new batch. So, we have learned how it is that the soap works better than just water when we wash our hands or our dishes, especially if we are trying to wash off something with fat in it.

Here is “Mr. Loquacious”, rinsing the plate off with cold water, but all of the boys loved what he discovered when he dumped the milk into the sink, BEFORE he actually began rinsing it . . .
Amazing Science 017

Here are some samples provided on the company’s website for the following experiments . . .

“Balloon in a Candle Flame”

“Amazing Magnetic Force” . . .

And if you go to Amazing Science, Volume 1, you will find links to a couple of other samples, as well as the complete DVD chapter index of all that you will get on this set of DVD’s.

Amazing Science, Volume 1 is available as a DVD set for the cost of $ 17.95 (a discount off of the retail price of $24.95), and as a digital download for $14.99. I do think this product is at a very good price point for what you get!

I am supposed to tell you that the intended age range for this product is grades 1 through 3, but let me just tell you, every single one of my boys love it, and so do I. And I am WELL past grade 1 – 3, lol! In fact, there would literally be only one thing that I don’t care for about this package. I wish the company would make a little mini booklet to insert into the DVD case, sort of like the liner notes that you see in music DVD’s, listing the materials needed for each experiment. That would make it much easier to collect the materials needed BEFORE watching the DVD. My kids wanted to do some things for which I really did not have the materials on hand (like copper pipe, a bicycle tire pump, etc), but we did have materials on hand for a few things.

This DVD set would be wonderful for any homeschooling family, but I think it would also be great as a supplement for students who are in public or private school. In short, it’s great for anyone!

I also want to acknowledge my husband Mike, who took all of the pictures, and the video as well, while working on learning to use his new camera. Didn’t he do a great job? 🙂

If you’d like to read what other crewmates thought of Amazing Science, Volume 1 and other products (Mastering 5th Grade Math – Volume 1 – Essentials of Fractions, Algebra 1: Volume 1, & Fractions Thru Algebra Companion Worksheet CD) from ScienceandMath.com, please click the graphic below . . .
ScienceandMath.com Review
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As always, I would just love it if you joined me on all of “My Journeys Through Life”. Just go and enter your email into the “sign me up” button at the top of the blog, and never miss another update! Also, if you DO enjoy “My Journeys”, please go to our Facebook page and “like” it. I’d sure appreciate it if you did! 🙂

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March 8, 2014 · 10:20 am

Weekly Wrap-Up . . . When Our “Schedule” Was Off Duty . . .

My husband had this week off of work, so we didn’t get a whole lot of “school” stuff done. It was helpful to have him here though, because we DID get some other things out-of-the-way. We FINALLY managed to get the tires replaced on his car, which was becoming urgent, plus getting his oil change. Next we’ll get my oil change, and we have a coupon for that.

My sunglasses FINALLY came in. Because of the problems getting them, they had told me to come in and choose a different frame, and said they would not charge me the difference even if they were more expensive than the ones I had originally chosen. I chose a pair of designer frames (Laura Ashley) that were nearly $100.00 more. Then, a few days later they called and said they found a pair of the original frames I chose, and I would get both pairs at no extra cost. So now, I have two pair of prescription sunglasses to switch off. I also now officially have cataracts, so will need eye surgery within a few years.

My husband was supposed to go to a conference yesterday and today with men from our church, but he got sick with some kind of bug and ended up not being able to go. He got up, was already feeling sick, but tried to go anyway, only to turn back halfway to the church. He was very disappointed, because he really wanted to go, he’s never gone to anything like this before. Hopefully he’ll be able to go next year!

Well, today, I’m going to go to a Mary Kay thing a friend at church is having, then I’m going to pick up the last bit of groceries I didn’t have time for the other day. Then, I guess, since it’s time change weekend, and I have to be at church by 8:30 tomorrow morning to practice with the choir, it will not be a late night for me, lol!

How was your week? Write about it and link up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers. For the guidelines, please click the graphic below:

As always, I’d love it if you joined me on all of “My Journeys Through Life”! Just enter your email into the “sign me up” button at the top of the blog, and never miss an update! And, if you do enjoy “My Journeys”, please go to our Facebook page and “like” it. I’d sure appreciate it if you did! 🙂

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