Free Sign Ups for the Learning Can Be Fun With Toys Giveaway

I have found another great event to join in with.
(If you would like to enter this giveaway please stop back on September 10th.)
If you would like to help promote this event, keep on reading.
This is a FREE Blogger Opp!

Mommies Point of View and Oh! My Heartsie Are Hosting This Event!! 

They are looking for bloggers to help promote.

You will have {2 Free Links}, Facebook and a Twitter Link  in the Rafflecopter

The Event will Start September 10th at 12:01 AM

We thank Early Learning Center and Dallas Vintage Toys for

Providing these toys and learning tools.

The giveaway will be for 

# 1 Prize~50 cars from Dallas Vintage Toys

#2 Prize Teaching Tiles™ Early Learning Tiles Beginning Reading Center 

#3 Prizes Phonics Firefly

All Prizes Will Go To One (1) Winner 

Click Here To Signup

Scavenger Hunt Sunday (A little late again): Aug 28th, 2012

Okay, I was a tad busy this past week and weekend so I didn't get to my pictures like I wanted to. Better late than never, huh?


Here is this past week's prompts:School, Rule of Thirds, Side Profile, Small, Motion
School

Gathered around our school table for lesson time. I remember having Hannah in the Bumbo a couple of years ago when we did school, now she is at the table with us. Time sure flies too fast.

 Rule of Thirds

Not sure if I did this right. But either way it is a great way to share a picture of our granddaughter. 

 Side Profile

Baby Harold and Daddy at playgroup last week. 

 Small

The small grasshopper that the girls found at the football game that held Tabitha's attention much more than the game. It was hurt so it didn't hop away.

 Motion

On our way to the game. Surprisingly this shot was taken just to see if our new memory card would work. I saw the trees in the background and thought it would go great with this prompt.

"What is the Weather Today" song

The other day I mentioned our Weather Song during school time. 

I decided to get brave and share it.

Please ignore the fact that I can't sing.

Wordless Wednesday: Aug 29, 2012 (w/linky)- Baby Harold's First Kids Day

It may have been the baby's first Kids Day at the Ralph, but the girls were so excited, they had been anticipating it for a while.

In line for the bouncy house:

This is as far in as she went.

They love going up to our old seats (we sit in the Family Corner now).

And of course a little grasshopper was more fascinating 

And we always stay for the fireworks on Kids Day

<a href="http://totsandme.blogspot.com/search/label/Wordless%20Wednesday/"><img alt="Tots and Me" src="http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt58/kewkewphoto/001-4-1.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>

#WW Come link up your #WordlessWednesday posts totsandme.blogspot.com/2012/08/wordle… @kewkew34
— Karen Waide (@kewkew34) August 28, 2012

Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up- August 28, 2012

<a href=" http://totsandme.blogspot.com/search/label/Tuesday%20Giveaway%20Linky "><img alt="Tots and Me" src="http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt58/kewkewphoto/TuesdayGiveawayLinkup2.jpg" border="0" alt="num2"></a>

Welcome to Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up with your hosts Karen @ Tots and Me and Emily @ Emily Reviews

Our co-hosts this week are  Mellissa from Something Like Life and  Crystal from FurKid Fosters .

This link up will be posted Monday at 7 PM est. and run all week long! Make sure you stop in as often as you can to list your latest giveaways.

Here is how to use the Giveaway Link Up

1. Post your reviews and/or giveaways, as many as you have, be sure to add the end date (family friendly please)

2. Help spread the word about the giveaway link up by grabbing our button, Tweeting or posting on Facebook. (Not mandatory- but it helps get more exposure to your giveaways as well!)

3. Take a moment to enter any giveaway that strikes an interest to you!

If you would  like to follow the  hostesses, we will gladly follow you back! Simply leave us a message to do so.

Thank you for linking up with Karen @ Tots and Me & Emily @ Emily Reviews along with        Mellissa from Something Like Life  and  Crystal from FurKid Fosters  .

Copy-Kids Giveaway

I have seen this DVD around and was thrilled when I had the opportunity to join in to share this giveaway with my readers.

Have you been curious about this DVD?

Check out the review below Jenn, Mom of Two Munchkins!

Then see how you can win one of your own.

Munchkin 2 and I had the opportunity to review Copy-Kids DVD.  Copy-Kids is a new video aimed at children ages 6 months to 5 years that encourages the eating, and enjoyment of fruits and vegetables.  The video features children not only eating 12 different fruits and veggies but loving them and showing their excitement which infects the child watching the video. What a great concept!!

Watch the trailer for Copy-Kids below

Copy-Kids has won three Children's excellence awards!  I would say that is an achievement in itself!  They are also approved by the USDA and are part of the USDA's Education and Training Materials Database for pre-school nutrition. You can the listing here.

Copy-Kids is divided into twelve chapters of 6-8 minutes each focusing on a different fruit or vegetable.

bell pepper          bananas               oranges

carrots                 strawberries        avocado

raspberries           tomatoes             apples

broccoli               cucumber            blueberries

Copy-Kids can be purchased for $19.95 with free shipping on the Copy-Kids Website.

Munchkin 2's Review:

She loved it!!  She loved to watch the different children eating vegetables that she already loves.  She would ask for me or Munchkin 1 to put it on for her.  She would even say, "mmmmmm".

Jenn's review:

I have mixed feelings on this product.  It is a great concept and Munchkin 2 enjoyed it which is important but I think it could have been done differently to improve its ease of access.

Lets start with the good:

I think Copy-Kids would work really well for a parent that has children who do not like to eat their vegetables.  Munchkin 2 thoroughly enjoyed the DVD and it helps her to recognize the names of the vegetables better.  They have a variety of fruits and vegetables in the chapters.

The not as good:

The chapters are all separate on the disc so after every chapter I would have to manually click the next chapter.  There was not a way to set it to play all the chapters at once.  That was very frustrating.  I thought although they had a variety of fruits and vegetables that they could have had more problem vegetables.  For example. green beans were not one of the vegetables and that is the one I have the most problems with Munchkin 2, she like to peel them apart and only eat the seeds inside. 

The verdict:

Copy-Kids would be very effective in getting children to eat vegetables.  It has a few flaws but who doesn't.  This concept is new and I predict will only grow and get better with time.  I can't wait to see the next DVD they come out with!

You can find more information on Copy-Kids DVD here.

You can find more reviews on Copy_Kids here.



a Rafflecopter giveaway




*Disclaimer: Copy-Kids provided me with a free sample of this
product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so
chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or
sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. 



***Jenn, Mom Of Two Munchkins or any partner blog are not responsible for shipping of prize.  Copy-Kids has the sole responsibility for shipping of prize.  Prize value is approximately $19.95.

2012-2013 A Day in the Life of our Homeschool

Our days have not been very consistent so far. I am trying to get us into a routine, but the baby is making it a little tricky. The days that have gone the best are the ones where daddy has been here to help hold the baby. Daddy works night shift so some days that is a possibility, other days daddy is in bed sleeping. I am so thankful for the days when I have some help. I am hoping, as we get further into the year and baby Harold gets older, that our routine will flow better. So, without further ado, here is what our homeschool looks like.

Wake Up

We do not have a set wake up time, which I am going to work on. I wake up most mornings and nurse the baby. When the children wake up they do their "Morning Routine."

They have 10 minutes to finish the routine and they check it off as they go. If they finish in 10 minutes they get a sticker. 

Bath Time

While the girls are working on their routine I will be giving 1 or 2 of them a bath. I finally got a schedule down and they get baths 2 times a week. It will be Harold and Hannah (they get done on the same day because I can wash the baby in the baby tub while she plays, then he will lay there or sit in his Bumbo while I wash her), Amelia or Tabitha.

Breakfast 

When baths and morning routines are all done we come down stairs and the table gets set (we have a schedule for this too; right now we alternate between Tabitha and Amelia). Whoever didn't set the table will say prayer.

As they eat I try to get their hair done, which doesn't happen as much now because I am also feeding the baby cereal. If he finishes before they do I will do their hair, otherwise we get it done after breakfast, usually while they count their money for their cup.

(We use these cups for discipline purposes. They get 10 pennies each day. Depending on the offense they will lose 1 or 2 pennies. If they have no pennies left at the end of the day they do not get a sticker. If they have a certain amount of stickers at the end of the week they can get a small toy from the thrift shop. They do have the opportunity to earn pennies back by doing extra chores. I love these for counting one-to-one and for exchanging money)

When they are done eating they clear the table and I clean up. 

Lesson Time

When mommy is done with cleaning and organizing (and probably nursing the baby again) we will sit at the school table. Here is our Lesson Time Routine:

Prayer

Pledge of Allegiance and Pledge to the Bible

Sing the B-I-B-L-E

Memory Verse

Morning Chart (sing "This Is the Day the Lord has Made" then hang up our day, month, date, year, season and weather (when I get it made). 

I started something a little different. I lay the calendar cards on the table and when they tell me which one we need I will have them try to figure out which one is the correct one. Easy for Tabitha, but a challenge for Amelia. I still hand Hannah the correct one.

We sing a What is the Weather song I made up.

"Is it a sunny day or a cloudy day, someone tell me please

Is it a raining day or snowy day, someone tell me please

Look out the window and what do you see

What is the weather today"
As I sing this they get out of their chairs to look out the window. 

They will sing the weather, for example:

"A sunny day, a sunny day, a sunny day"

And I finish with an appropriate line:

"The sun is shining down to day, it is a sunny day."

One of these days I may be brave enough to post a video of it. I can't sing though so I am a tad embarrassed to share.

We fill in our calendar and sing "There are 7 Days in a Week"

Then do our Hundred Chart.

After our calendar routine we move into the actual lesson, following the directions in the My Father's World Teacher Manual. Tabitha will help me read the Bible Verses.

Then we do our projects.  Hannah will join in with us most days. So far I have just let her wander if she loses interest. I have got to come up with some things for her to do that are a bit more structured. But with trying to keep the baby happy I sometimes figure I will be less stressed if I let her go for now. It is definitely harder than I thought it would be with the four little ones. 

Lunch time

While I prepare lunch the children will watch a show. They get to choose between Sid the Science Kid, Super Why!, Dora the Explorer and Leap Frog. Usually on Sunday they watch a VeggieTales movie at this time. When lunch is ready they need to pause the show if it is still on (though most days it takes me too long and the show is over). 

Rest time

After we are done with lunch I put Hannah upstairs for her nap. Before she lays down we have "Hannah/Mommy Time" where we use the Teach My Toddler. Then I read her two books or have the girls read to her. At this time the older two may have computer time or workbook time or reading time (where they read to me and I read to them). Some days...I fall asleep. They also have outside time while Hannah is sleeping.

Dinner time

We have dinner by 5:00 so daddy can go to work. I have got to get into a habit of having dinner at the same time whether he works or not because some days we don't eat until 7 or 8 o'clock when he is off.

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