Apologia Educational Ministries Review

Vendor: Apologia Educational Ministries

Product: Writers in Residence

Price: $89.00 Full Set

Age: 4th through 8th grade

About: Learning to write well has been a struggle at my house so I was excited to try this new writing program, Writers in Residence from Apologia Educational Ministries. Apologia Educational Ministries is a company I have used before and I am never disappointed with their faith based curriculum. The Writers in Residence is an all in one writing curriculum that includes grammar, punctuation, and capitalization. The student text book is also the workbook. This saves having multiple books to keep track of. Also included is the answer guide that has directions and guidance. The lesson guide has your lessons planned out in a four day work week for thirty-two weeks. The pages are nice with a bigger font and colorful. There is a spot in the front that tells you how to use the book. There is also a Christian Writers spotlight that gives some information about those writers. An introduction to the writing process is also included. Its a flow chart type of process which was easy to follow and to the point. 

The unit starts with and introduction explaining what the unit will be about and what kind of things you will learn. Then next is the rubric for your writing to show the child what all they need to make sure to do in their paper. Then you have the module 1 that gives the assignment and gives sections to help you get the information needed for your writing topic. Like the first topic is when you were young. You will then find a memory chart which allows the child to fill in the spots with their information and memories.  More helpful information and a place to write your draft. This unit you are learning some parts of speech like verbs. Then write your story and the final checklist. Then you continue on to other things under the same topic for Unit one. Unit one will take about 15 weeks to complete. We were able to only complete the first few weeks for the review. 

I used this with my 5th grader. She is really good at self teaching. This book made it great for that as it is all there in one book and it gave her everything in step by step processes. She is my child that has about zero imagination and it has been very hard for her to write stories since she is not good at thinking things up. I was glad that this really broke it all down for giving her each leading topics to help her come up with each piece of her story. It helped her brainstorm ideas and have them wrote down and then allowed her to be able to put them together. The checklist is great for her to be able to check back and make sure she input each thing that was needed.  Overall we love this and I can't wait to get through the unit to see how well she can do in the next. It will be so much easier when she learns to do this on her own after we complete the book. Being able to write is such a helpful gift that will help in so many other subjects through life. 

Be sure to check out the following social media links.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/apologiaworld
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Pixie Cup

We all know the new best thing for a woman's period is a menstrual cup. You don't risk TSS like with tampons and you don't sit in a soiled pad. These are easy to use. They are easy to clean. You can wear up to 12 hours so shouldn't have to change while you are out and about.

I like this one as you can pick a smaller size which fits me much better than the suggested sizes on other brands. I don't typically have a heavy cycle so the size 1 was a great option. I think the smaller size feels more comfortable too. Other brands say if you have kids you need to choose the bigger one, those one I can always feel it's there.

Pixie Cup on Amazon

I recieved this at a discount in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

You know you're a mom when

How true does this ring for your home? Maybe it is because I have 5 kids that I understand this oh so well. Say it's lunch time. You start cooking up something to eat. 

Oh ya get the kid out of the toilet. Send him to play with his sibblings. 

Go back to cooking... oh now they are fighting. 

Ok everyone mis come sit to eat. You dish out everyone a plate. 

Now there is a spilled drink you must clean up. 

Get it clean and go to sit down.  Wait! She wants second.  He needs his cut up. Oh and she needs ketchup, you know because forbid there ever be a meal without ketchup. 

Sit down again and yip, you smell it too huh? The baby pooped. There is no one going to be eating while smelling that. Go change her.

Back to the table again. My food is cold and everyone else is done and all that is left is a table full of dirty dishes. 

Field Trip Thursday

Typically we do field trips on Fridays but the crazy back and forth weather has us yearning for some sunlight. So today we took our journey to HaHa Tonka State Park. We have been many times before but we try to explore a new area each time we go. Today we walked along the lower path and to the mouth of the spring.

The water is just breath taking. The green and blue water just invites you in. To bad the water is still to cold and you are also not allowed in the spring. Once the weather gets warmer you can swim below the spring in the lake as well as fish.

If you are ever in Camdenton, Missouri you should stop by and see the beauty it has to offer. https://mostateparks.com/

The Trigger Memory Co. Review

Vendor: The Trigger Memory Co.
Product: Times Tales
Price: $19.95
Age: 5 years old and up

About: The Trigger Memory Co. Gave me the wonderful chance to review Times Tales. Times Tales works for kids from about 5 and up that are working on their times tables. This is a digital download of the game to your computer. It is a mnemonic-based program to help your child memorize the multiplication facts. They use cute storylines to help trigger memory. This teaches the following facts: 3x6,3x7,3x8,3x9,4x6,4x7,4x8,4x9,6x6,6x7,6x8,6x9,7x7,7x8,7x9,8x8,8x9, and 9x9. It is real simple to download and start using it with in twenty-four hours. You also get access to printables that you can download on PDF files. These contain things like games, flashcards, and crossword puzzles. Also, this can be used with multiple kids!! No extra cost and they can use all the same things. This is real helpful for those that have more than one child working at the same time. Or even to keep on your computer to use for the younger kids when they get to that point.

Like I mentioned before the program is a story line and the numbers are characters. Like number 4 is a chair. The story is they play musical chairs with the 6th grade. I think this helps kids that are more visual or even those that get bored easily with the monotony of just looking at a bunch of number. Also I have a daughter that is dyslexic so it kind of helps then see the numbers the correct way. You watch a part which introduces you to your number aka character and watch its story. During the time watching the stories the child will be quizzed. It's good to rewatch part that they may not have done so well on. You can also use the things that come on the PDF files for extra practice.

We used this with both my girls. One breezed through it as she is pretty good at knowing her facts but she needed some practice on speed. My other daughter was slower and she is also dyslexic so we have had to watch stories several times for her to get some of them. However since it's stories she hasn't complained like she would had I just been making her do worksheets. She wasn't fond of doing the extra work but my older daughter enjoyed the crossword puzzles.

I think this is a good program for anyone anyone that needs some practice on their facts. Or just wants to add a fun way of working on them into the mix. These are the higher multiplication facts so if your child is just starting to learn then it might be a little harder for him. It would be better to get them going before moving to this. Otherwise it is an amazing program and we really love working on it.

Be sure to check them out on Facebook and check out what my other crew members had to say.