Need some body in your hair?

Go out and buy you a 40! lol  No really go buy some beer.

The proteins from the malt and hops found in beer coat, rebuild and repair damaged hair.

1. Simple Beer Rinse

Once a month use a can of flat beer after shampooing. Choose a beer that does not have a strong odor. Shampoo and rinse hair as usual. Pour the flat warm beer on your hair and work it through. Rinse with lukewarm, not hot, water. 

Math Rider Review

Math Rider is a computer based math program that helps with math facts.  This was something I wanted to really work on the kids with as they both need some practice in the speed department.  They suggest using it three to four times per week.  We do math in our home every day so we added the drills into our morning warm ups.  It was a way to get our brains going with a fun game and some quick thinking.  It geared us up for our daily lesson.

 The program is a downloaded and costs $47.00.  While the program is not geared to a certain age it is for those that are doing subtraction, addition, multiplication, or division.

Pro's

It is a game so the kids are more excited to try it out.  
There is a story line with goals that you work at.
You are on a horse jumping over the problems as you get them correct.  The quicker you answer them correct the faster the horse runs.  If you miss one the horse slows down some again.

Con's
The accent was something my kids were not used to and had a hard time understanding it.  We are used to a southern drawl so it was a big change :).
Even on easy level I felt the horse was going to fast for my first grader and she got really frustrated with it.  There was also no room for error if you hit the wrong key.  My kids are not fluent on the computer so they had to look each time for the number they wanted and so they missed several just because of that.  I did help them some by letting them yell the answer and I would punch it in to help them. 

Overall I think this was a great program for kids that know how to use a computer.  I wouldn't try to use it as my main drill instruction if the kids were not fluent on the number pad as they may miss some and get frustrated.  Also I noticed that it took a long time to level up and progress in the game and that kind of took the fun out of the story line.

I loved that there was a statistics page that I could go back and look at and see where they may need a bit more practice on certain problems they may have been continually missing.

Also you can try it out for free for 7 days to see if you like it. Check it out here at Math Rider Trial

For more reviews check out the other crew members pages.

Time4Learning Review

I was given the chance to review the Time4Learning online curriculum for my 1st and 2nd graders.  This is pretty much an all-in-one box set but on the computer.  They utilize every subject and have games to go along with the work.  This made learning a bit more fun than just looking at worksheet pages all day long.  The program also grades and keeps track of all of your information, which is great for those of you that have to keep plans, grades, and attendance.  It is better than using the online public school program because you still have more freedom on what your teaching and when, as you can pick through the things on there.  It also allows you to get access to the grades above and below what your child is in so that they can work at their pace.  This was a great perk for me as my 2nd grader is already well into 3rd grade math and my 1st grader still is having issues reading so she got some of the behind work to work on.

The lessons are quick to work through so the kids do not get board.  It is really great if you have a child that works well on their own like my 2nd grader.  I am able to let her at it and then I can log on to the parent portal and see what she has done, how well she done it, as well as how long it took her.  This lets me see if I need to work with her extra anywhere.  

This is a program that you can use for your full on curricula or you can use it to supplement areas that you want.  The kids are able to log on and pick what subject they want to work on as well as what part of that subject they want.  This helped like in math if we were tired of subtraction we could move over to fractions for awhile and go back. 

Over all this is a great program and I think it would be great to continue using as a full on curricula.

Now through April 30, 2013 you can try your first month for only $9.98 per child.  Their is no contract and you can cancel at any time.  The normal price is $19.95 for the first child and $14.95 for each child after.  Not a bad deal for what you get. 

Disclaimer- I was given a 30 day free trial in return for my honest opinion of the program.

Leadership Garden Legacy Review

Leadership Garden Legacy is a program to help you grow your children into leaders.  The kids and I focused on the U.N.I.Q.U.E. KIDS: Growing My Leadership Garden book.

The paperback book is priced at $18.95.  This is a colorful book written for kids aged 8 - 12.

I also recieved the following:

• U.N.I.Q.U.E.: Growing the Leader Within also priced at $18.85 and is for high school aged kids to adults.
• The Leadership Garden Guidebook also priced at $18.95 and is for high school aged kids to adults.

Leadership Garden Legacy also offers the following PDF's and MP3 downloads to go along with the program.

• U.N.I.Q.U.E. KIDS Activity Guide & My Leadership Garden Journal – PDF Downloads this is for grades 3-5 and is $8.95
• U.N.I.Q.U.E. KIDS Audio Book MP3 Download Priced at $8.95
• U.N.I.Q.U.E.: Growing the Leader Within – Audio Book MP3 Download priced at $14.95

                      



The book we used also had the MP3 that read along so that we didn't have to read it all ourselves. It was a nice change of pace since I have one good reader and one that still struggles with reading.  They were able to follow along in the book while listening to someone other than mom read.  I have to say that it was pleasant to listen to.

The journal that goes along with the book is a little tool that helps your child keep up with what is going on and how much they are retaining.  I will say the book would probably be easier for the latter age range than it was for my 6 year old.  They give ideas on field trips and to plant your own flower though which was nice.  It did give us a chance after chapters to discuss together out loud though.  It helped prompt things to talk about and see how the kids felt about it as well as myself on how I think they should handle things.

Now overall I think that it was a good idea for the program.  Kids need to learn leadership skills and Hugh (the main character in the book) is going around learning these skills in this garden from other animals.  However on the religious aspect of it all we did not agree with it.  The book stated there are no bad people.  When talking about animals in the book they are correct that animals do things based on instinct to survive.  You can not compare that to humans in no way or form.  My children know their are bad people and I teach them "stranger danger".  I do not want them out in public with false hope that there is no bad people and something happen to them.  Even though the book had those points it made for great talks about how we believe.

I also read the book Growing the Leader Within.  I don't really think it was a how to be a leader book though.  I think that it is more of the author telling her life story.  You also want to make sure if you pick this for yourself or your high school child that you also get the younger level book as well as it references back to the story of Hugh.  If you don't read it you may get lost in the book.

This program is no way labeled as a christian program so I can not knock it.  I think maybe if someone isn't looking for a biblical prospective program this would be a great fit for them.  It really did have a good story line as well as some good points.  The journal also goes along with the Oregon State standards and has the list in there. This could easily be tweaked to whatever state you are in and your guidelines. 

Spring has SPRUNG here!

We have been getting our seeds planted and ready for the garden.  The grass is getting so green outside and I will actually have to mow by next week!  We are currently under a tornado warning, the only downside to spring.

I am really excited to get my plants in the ground and start seeing some real growth!  I have not been able to have a garden the last two years so I have really been missing it.  We have so many different plants that I am excited to see what we are successful at and what we fail at.  

The kids picked watermelon and cantaloupes which I have never had luck with.  Two years ago with my last garden I was able to get them to grow a bit bigger than a softball and the dog gawn coons would bite holes in them and leave them.  I mean come on if you are going to ruin it for me you mind as well eat it all.  Do not leave behind most of it making me sad!!!

Next favorite thing about spring is summer will be here soon and that means swimming.  This is the river just a mile from my house.  Little man and I had to go check it out yesterday as it was in the 80's.  This is the White River in Arkansas and is notorious for its cold water.  Cold water means fresh water though and it is very clear!

Great Giveaway!

I am proud to say that I am a part of a wonderful website called So You Call Yourself A Homeschooler?

This site has just relaunched as a group site with many contributors blogging about their homeschool lives.

I must say it is a great group of woman that are posting and they have such a vast array of information that they are sharing.  I talk about being a single mom as well as a full time college student! 

It is so nice to share experiences with others to help them grow in life as well as grow with God.

So in light of the relaunch there is a great giveaway to kick it off.  Check it out and maybe you can win!

http://www.soyoucallyourselfahomeschooler.com/2013/04/04/re-launch-giveaway-letter/