So my husband bought the URL jensthinktank.com for me! I'm wanting to completely change it up...lots of "How To" articles on repairing American Girl dolls. We have been collecting for two years now, and I've learned so many ways to repair them...and I would love to share it with other moms who are wanting to collect them too :) We are in the process of creating the layout, etc...I'm giving myself a week to have something up and running...so check back in the next week!
http://www.jensthinktank.com
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Geared Up For Christmas!
OK, so normally I am the one running around at the very last minute trying to find presents for everyone on my list. I usually end up settling for things that weren't exactly on my list, but will work. But this year, I did something different and I have to say, "It feels great!!".
Here's what I did!
Sold lots of last year's toys on Ebay, started in August...made enough money off that to pay for a good chunk of this year's presents.
Went to Walmart the first day of their Layaway (I think it was Oct 17) and put all of the big items on layaway. This ended up helping out in three ways 1) Can pay off in increments 2) Bought the items before the prices started going up 3) Had a place to store everything until Dec. 17th!
Bought most of the other presents online and used my Paypal account, which still had the $$ made from the toys.
and...made a huge decision to limit presents to 3 per child and put the rest of the $$ into a trip that we go on the day after Christmas! (and will be a surprise to the kids) Now don't get me wrong, the presents they are getting are big, so they aren't getting ripped off in the present dept...I just eliminated all the little presents that are typically the fillers and the ones I buy to even the # of presents out.
That's it! Simple.
For the other people on my list (moms, dads, cousins, etc)...we bought one present per person, tried to keep them lightweight or gift cards, and mailed it all to one central house instead of mailing each box to different homes.
Feels good...just thought I would pass it on!
Here's what I did!
Sold lots of last year's toys on Ebay, started in August...made enough money off that to pay for a good chunk of this year's presents.
Went to Walmart the first day of their Layaway (I think it was Oct 17) and put all of the big items on layaway. This ended up helping out in three ways 1) Can pay off in increments 2) Bought the items before the prices started going up 3) Had a place to store everything until Dec. 17th!
Bought most of the other presents online and used my Paypal account, which still had the $$ made from the toys.
and...made a huge decision to limit presents to 3 per child and put the rest of the $$ into a trip that we go on the day after Christmas! (and will be a surprise to the kids) Now don't get me wrong, the presents they are getting are big, so they aren't getting ripped off in the present dept...I just eliminated all the little presents that are typically the fillers and the ones I buy to even the # of presents out.
That's it! Simple.
For the other people on my list (moms, dads, cousins, etc)...we bought one present per person, tried to keep them lightweight or gift cards, and mailed it all to one central house instead of mailing each box to different homes.
Feels good...just thought I would pass it on!
Friday, December 9, 2011
I'm Back!
So it's been over a year since I blogged...I think my last blog said I would let you know how my homeschooling was going.
Well, it was hard, but rewarding and I wouldn't have changed anything at all.
Now with saying that, I am also thrilled that Michael entered high school AT the school too :)
I would say, if you have ever considered homeschooling, and really wish for a year that is a bonding time...consider 8th grade. It's right before high school. You can make sure he is where he needs to be academically and it is a good time to try and connect and pass on any morals before peers take precedence over you.
For the cliff note version of what worked for us curriculum-wise:
For the overall curriculum: My Father's World. (Great for history, geography! and gives you a daily schedule to go by, wonderful!)
Science: Apologia. Hard, but good.
Math: Teaching Textbooks (This program was AMAZING!) Michael was behind in math (especially with his founding things like multiplication, fractions, etc) and this program was perfect! I can't say enough about it, except that if you don't do it, you are really missing an amazing opportunity for learning!)
English: We never really found one thing that I loved (and I'm an English teacher by trade). I finally just went down and bought some grade appropriate GRAMMAR and WRITING books at Barnes and Nobles. For English, always know that there are two main parts...Grammar (punctuation, sentences structure, etc) and Writing (Reports, writing stories). Both parts are important!
Spanish: Rosetta Stone
Flash Cards: I did daily math flash cards with him (he thought it was ridiculous, because he was "Too Old" for flashcards...but the importance of knowing your Math facts instantly is something that is a life long need). We would go through the deck once and if he took longer than 3 seconds on one, it would be added back to the deck. This is quite boring, but Michael is soaring through his math class at the high school this year and I believe between that and the Teaching Textbooks...that gave him a huge jump.
He did a daily writing assignment, usually from the book "Writing Strands".
That was everything, I think! It was a hard thing, more on me...because you (as the parent) will have no choice but to give up basically all social activities (ie...coffee with friends, spontaneous shopping trips, pedicures, etc...etc...) during the school time. We started everyday around 8:00 am and would finish by 1;00...so that was a nice thing.
The last tip I would pass on...BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR SCHEDULE AND SCHOOLWORK. Don't get behind. It's very easy to start sleeping in later and starting later...then saying, "We will just double up tomorrow, etc." This is a VERY bad habit to begin and will be very hard to catch up.
OK, so my next blog will be a Toy Blog...what toys hold up to my crew!
Merry Christmas!
Well, it was hard, but rewarding and I wouldn't have changed anything at all.
Now with saying that, I am also thrilled that Michael entered high school AT the school too :)
I would say, if you have ever considered homeschooling, and really wish for a year that is a bonding time...consider 8th grade. It's right before high school. You can make sure he is where he needs to be academically and it is a good time to try and connect and pass on any morals before peers take precedence over you.
For the cliff note version of what worked for us curriculum-wise:
For the overall curriculum: My Father's World. (Great for history, geography! and gives you a daily schedule to go by, wonderful!)
Science: Apologia. Hard, but good.
Math: Teaching Textbooks (This program was AMAZING!) Michael was behind in math (especially with his founding things like multiplication, fractions, etc) and this program was perfect! I can't say enough about it, except that if you don't do it, you are really missing an amazing opportunity for learning!)
English: We never really found one thing that I loved (and I'm an English teacher by trade). I finally just went down and bought some grade appropriate GRAMMAR and WRITING books at Barnes and Nobles. For English, always know that there are two main parts...Grammar (punctuation, sentences structure, etc) and Writing (Reports, writing stories). Both parts are important!
Spanish: Rosetta Stone
Flash Cards: I did daily math flash cards with him (he thought it was ridiculous, because he was "Too Old" for flashcards...but the importance of knowing your Math facts instantly is something that is a life long need). We would go through the deck once and if he took longer than 3 seconds on one, it would be added back to the deck. This is quite boring, but Michael is soaring through his math class at the high school this year and I believe between that and the Teaching Textbooks...that gave him a huge jump.
He did a daily writing assignment, usually from the book "Writing Strands".
That was everything, I think! It was a hard thing, more on me...because you (as the parent) will have no choice but to give up basically all social activities (ie...coffee with friends, spontaneous shopping trips, pedicures, etc...etc...) during the school time. We started everyday around 8:00 am and would finish by 1;00...so that was a nice thing.
The last tip I would pass on...BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR SCHEDULE AND SCHOOLWORK. Don't get behind. It's very easy to start sleeping in later and starting later...then saying, "We will just double up tomorrow, etc." This is a VERY bad habit to begin and will be very hard to catch up.
OK, so my next blog will be a Toy Blog...what toys hold up to my crew!
Merry Christmas!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Recovered from Road Trip!!
My newest endeavor is going to be homeschooling my 13 year old for his 8th grade year. I will be updating things I learn throughout the experience. So far, I have been buying his curriculum (I researched so many for months, so I'm excited to actually have it all picked out!) and reading all the books I can on organizing time. I'll post a new page (on the left side of the homepage) that's all about homeschooling!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
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