A Last ‘Thank You’ to the Sponsors

 

I’d like to say one last ‘thank you’ to all of the AMAZING and generous sponsors!! I hope that you all have learned more about these great companies and the products that they offer ~ and have bookmarked some ideas for gifts in the upcoming months!

 

Another Round of Winners…

I know I haven’t been keeping you all very well updated on the winners, but I have been contacting them and they have all been officially notified.

Here are a few names, just in case you were wondering ~

My Funky Camera

Commenter # 178  ~ Kristin @ The Adventures of Club Aramo

 

Geo Toys Puzzles

Commentor #59 ~ Mandy @ Our Homeschooling Journey

 

 

Out of the Box Games ~ Backseat Drawing Jr.

Commenter #Jennifer @ McQuillLand

Rosetta Stone Homeschool Level 1 

Commenter # 321 ~ Mary @ Not Before 7

Giveaway #13 ~ Strider Running Bikes

When Strider Bikes agreed to be a part of the 1,500 Subscriber Celebration I was VERY excited. My excitement, however, was no match to that of a certain {then} 2-year-old. Kaleb was practically beside himself with happiness.

Fortunately the weather was gorgeous in late November when we pulled it out to have Kaleb ride it ~ and he took off right away, all smiles, stopping every now and then to say the color of his bike and tell me the letters on the bike {grins}.



I promise you that every.single.day since he first rode the bike he has asked us {no less than} five times a day ~ “Can we go on a bike ride today?” It’s become a family joke of sorts, but Kaleb REALLY loves his Strider bike!!!

What is a Strider Bike?

You might be wondering what makes a Strider bike so special {admit it…you’re curious}. Strider Bikes are essentially a pre-bike for kids ages 1-5. They have no pedals, chains, or sprockets. The bikes sit low to the ground and enable children to quickly learn to balance and build motor skills as they ride.  Within just three 20 minute spurts of riding his bike, Kaleb was lifting his feet and gliding for 15 to 20 feet stretches.
Here are a few of the things that I love about the Strider Bikes:

• puncture-proof tires 
• adjustable seat starting at 11” extending to 16”
• 7 pounds
• adjustable handlebars
• goes together in right around 5 minutes {the kids timed me putting it together!}

This video clip will give you a little more insight into Strider Bikes and some of the advantages to starting your child out with one:

All Strider Bikes {$99} come with a 60 day money-back guarantee, a full one year warranty and ship quickly via UPS {we had ours in just 2 days from the time it was shipped!}.  You can purchase your own bike through the company website ~ along with a few other bike supplies.

This giveaway is now closed

Strider Running bikes is giving one of my readers a Strider bike ~ your color choice! There are several ways for you to enter this giveaway, but there is one mandatory first entry: Visit the Strider Running Bike site and leave a comment with the bike color you would pick.

If you would like to earn extra entries {you can earn 4 extra entries}, leave a comment for each of the following:

• If you are a subscriber to my blog, give yourself an extra entry! Thanks so much! If you don’t subscribe, hop on board and leave a comment.
• Read a little bit about how Strider Bikes started ~ and let me know how Ryan {the founder} created the first Strider bike.
• Follow Strider Bike on Twitter and leave a comment with your username.
• Twitter about this contest and let me know your twitter name so I can follow you too.

This giveaway will be open until Thursday, February 11th until 8pm and I will announce the winner by Saturday, February 13th. Please be sure there is a way for me to contact you ~ otherwise I will draw another winner. Note: US Residents only, please!

  

Disclaimer: Thank you to Strider Bikes for providing the giveaway product. This review is based on my own experiences and gives my honest opinion.

Rosetta Stone Homeschool Level 1 {Review}

Rosetta Stone is a company well known for their language learning software. Did you know that they also have a special version of their language software geared specifically for homeschoolers?

Their homeschool language software is one the children {and adults!} can work on at their own pace and is fully interactive. The software provides up to five levels of instruction in some languages and begins with the foundation of listening comprehension, reading and writing. Rosetta Stone offers 31 different languages in their homeschool language software.

One of the features of the Homeschool software is that parents are able to see their children’s progress ~ which exercises have been completed, how much time they have spent learning and also test scores. Parents can also print off progress reports and lesson plans to save for documentation. Full features include:

• Lesson Planning ~ predefined lesson plans
• Full Year Curriculum~ the software is designed to guide students through in one level in a scholastic year.
• Testing ~ students are tested periodically throughout the year and reviews are based on their scores.

Another feature of the program are the audio CDs that help reinforce what students are learning. The Audio Companion CDs can be listened to while traveling in the car or loaded onto a student’s mp3 player for additional practice.

In the Box

Here is a look inside the box of our Spanish {Latin America} Level 1 for Homeschool:

• Application CD
• Language CD
• Audio Companion™ CDs
• User’s Guide - Discusses the basics of the Rosetta Stone program
• Parent’s Guide - Aids the parent in lesson planning, tracking student progress, and effectively using Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3 in a homeschool environment
• Headset with microphone
• Quick Start Activation Card
• Supplemental Education Materials CD includes printable files for:
  
  
  
  
  
  • Table of contents
  • Scripts for each lesson
  • An index to all words in the program
  • Student workbook including a quiz for each lesson
  • Unit tests
  • Answer key for workbooks and tests

Purchasing Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone Homeschool ranges in price from $229 to $299 a level, but does offer ‘bundles’. Levels 1-3 may be purchased for $539 and Levels 1-5 may be purchased together for $699.

Product purchases include free shipping in the continental US and from now until February 15, 2010 they are offering a 10% discount on all personal and homeschool product purchases. Rosetta Stone also offers a 6 month money back guarantee on all of their products.

This Giveaway is now closed

Rosetta Stone is giving one of my readers a Level 1 Homeschool Program! There are several ways for you to enter this giveaway, but there is one mandatory first entry: Visit the Rosetta Stone site and leave a comment with the language you would choose to study.

If you would like to earn extra entries {you can earn 4 extra entries}, leave a comment for each of the following:

• If you are a subscriber to my blog, give yourself an extra entry! Thanks so much! If you don’t subscribe, hop on board and leave a comment.
• Visit the Rosetta Stone site and leave a comment telling me where they are taking a homeschool language trip this summer.
• Follow Rosetta Stone on Twitter and leave a comment with your username.
• Twitter about this contest and let me know your twitter name so I can follow you too.

This giveaway will be open until Tuesday, February 9th until 8pm and I will announce the winner by Thursday, February 11th. Please be sure there is a way for me to contact you ~ otherwise I will draw another winner. Note: US Residents only, please!  

 

Disclaimer: Thank you to Rosetta Stone for providing the giveaway product. This review is based on my own experiences and gives my honest opinion.

Out of the Box ~ Backseat Drawing Jr.

Drawing is something that can keep our children occupied for a very long time.  When Out of the Box games agreed to be a part of the giveaway celebration, they sent me the game Backseat Drawing to play with our kids. Guess who was VERY excited?


We pulled out the game on a snowy afternoon and it was an immediate hit! Even Zachary {with a little extra coaching} was able to play along with us.

To play the game, one person is chosen as the ‘Director’ {aka the one who describes the picture that needs to be drawn} and another person is the ‘Artist’. The Artist must draw a picture that only the Director has seen ~ drawing a picture based on what the Director tells him to draw.

Everyone else then tries to guess what the picture is and the person who guesses correctly gets a point along with the Director.  Instead of using paper, the game uses a dry erase boards, so there isn’t a lot of clean-up or mess when playing the game.  The first person to get five points wins!

We played the game for several rounds {i.e. until everyone had a chance to win. :) While the game is for ages 7 and up, Zachary {who is 5} did play along with us by both Directing and drawing. Granted, his directions were a little more sketchy than others, but he was able to work through many of the cards without much difficulty.  Below you can see a few of our artistic endeavors while playing.


Backseat Drawing Jr. is a great game to use in helping focus on directions and also incorporate some great positional words ~ ‘draw a smaller circle inside the larger circle’ or ‘draw a medium triangle upside down under the circle’. Out of the Box Games also has a sheet of the educational standards for Backseat Drawing Jr.

Backseat Drawing Jr. Game
Ages: 7 & up {depends on the maturity of your child}
Number of Players: 3 to 8
Time per game: About 20 minutes per round
Where to buy? Available online from OTB Games

Out of the Box also has many other fun and educational games, including Apples to Apples Jr. {another favorite here}, so be sure to browse around their website a little bit.

This Giveaway is now closed

Out of the Box Games is giving one of my readers a copy of the game Backseat Drawing Jr.! There are several ways for you to enter this giveaway, but there is one mandatory first entry: visit the Out of the Box website and leave a comment here telling me another great game that looks like fun!

If you would like to earn extra entries {you can earn 4 extra entries}, leave a comment for each of the following:

• If you are a subscriber to my blog, give yourself an extra entry! Thanks so much! If you don’t subscribe, hop on board and leave a comment.
• Visit the Out of the Box awards/reviews page and leave a comment telling me one game that won MORE than SIX awards {there are several, so you have plenty to choose from!}
• Follow Out of the Box Games on Twitter and leave a comment with your username.
• Twitter about this contest and let me know your twitter name so I can follow you too.

This giveaway will be open until Sunday, February 7th until 8pm and I will announce the winner by Tuesday, February 9th. Please be sure there is a way for me to contact you ~ otherwise I will draw another winner. Note: US Residents only, please!

 
Disclaimer: Thank you to Out of the Box Games for providing the giveaway product. This review is based on my own experiences and gives my honest opinion.

Winner Update

 

Random.org helped me pick a winner for the Counting Bears from Learning Resources. Congratulations to commenter # 129 ~ Angela @ Moments in Time.

 

Giveaway #10 ~ Geo Toys Puzzles

When we began our geography studies, I found some wonderful puzzles to help our kids learn more about the continents that we were studying. Our kids enjoy doing puzzles and there was something about a ‘hands-on’ project that really helped things click in their minds. I loved that they were learning in a sneaky sort of way. :)

About GeoToys

GeoPuzzles ~ Each of these puzzles is focused on a continent/country area and has pieces that are shaped like individual countries. These are a GREAT introduction to world geography and are made out of recycled materials. Each puzzle is brightly colored and comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee {and I can guarantee that you will love these!}. Currently they offer puzzles for the five major continents and also one for the entire world ~ we already have Asia, Europe and Africa on our homeschool shelves.
 
Games ~ GeoToys also offers a variety of learning games including GeoBingo {guess what is right now sitting in my Amazon cart!!}, GeoCards {jumbo sized information cards}, and some FUN geography based games.

Speacialty Puzzles ~ Beside their great continent puzzle, GeoToys also has some other jumbo sized puzzles for kids ages 4 and up. One features animals of the world and another dinosaurs. Both were illustrated by children’s author Dennis Rockhill.



Teacher Guides ~ Geo Toys also offers some great teacher guides to go along with their GeoPuzzles. Each guide has facts, quizzes and discussion questions {all free of charge} for you to use and reproduce.

There are several online retailers that carry GeoToys products, including Amazon, so adding one of these great learning toys to your curriculum is quick and easy!

This giveaway is now closed

Geo Toys is giving a puzzle {of your choice!!} to one of my readers. There are several ways for you to enter this giveaway, but there is one mandatory first entry: visit the Geo Toys site and let me know which puzzle you would pick!

If you would like to earn extra entries {you can earn 3 extra entries}, leave a comment for each of the following:

~ If you are a subscriber to my blog, give yourself an extra entry! Thanks so much! If you don’t subscribe, hop on board and leave a comment. 

~ Visit the Geo Toys  site and leave a comment telling me the name of one of their two board games {check out the bottom of the main page}. 

~ Twitter about this contest and let me know your twitter name so I can follow you too. 

This giveaway will be open until Thursday, February 4th until 8pm and I will announce the winner by Saturday, February 6th. Please be sure there is a way for me to contact you ~ otherwise I will draw another winner. Note: US Residents only, please!

   

Disclaimer: Thank you to GeoToys for providing the giveaway products. This review is based on my own experiences and gives my honest opinion.

Another Round of Winners…

 

It’s time to announce a few more winners!! Random.org helped me pick a few winners for both Amy Knapp’s Family Organizer and also Little Passports. Thanks so much to all of you who are entering and helping to make this so very fun!!

 

The winners of Amy Knapp’s Family Organizer

Comment #26 ~ Kris @ Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Comment # 67 ~ Debbie @ Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn

 

The winner of the 6 month subscription to Little Passports

Comment # 211 ~ Valerie from The Crafty Classroom

 

Don’t forget ~ if you want to purchase a subscription to Little Passports, use the code hscblog and you will receive a 10% discount on your purchase!

 

Giveaway #9 ~ Virginia Soaps and Scents

Virginia Soaps and Scents has donated a sampler kit for one  of my readers! Please read through this post for the complete details on this giveaway!

Since this last summer I have been using products from Virginia Soaps and Scents daily as well as using their cleaning bars to make our own laundry detergent ~ and we’ve loved it!

About Virginia Soaps & Scents

Soapmaking for the Spargurs started out as a homeschool project while studying Colonial Williamsburg. What began as a one-time project turned into a fun family adventure with the entire family developing recipes and starting a business together. Everything that Virginia Soaps & Scents produces {from labels to making soaps} is done in their own home.
The bars are all hand cut, giving them each a unique look. As for what is in the soap? All of their soaps are made with natural oils ~ no chemicals.

We use many combinations of oils in our soaps, but almost all will contain olive oil and coconut oil - in combination with other oils such as lard, cocoa butter, safflower, sunflower, canola, peanut, palm or soybean oils.

My Favorite Products

I struggle with different scents and smells, often getting migraines because of something that others might not even notice. The bars that I purchased myself were very mild and don't overwhelm you with their scent {they also have a line of Fragrance Free products too!}. The scents that I have used are: Caribbean Breeze {shaving bar}, Coconut Lemongrass {Shampoo Bar}, along with some of their seasonal soap scents.

Laundry Soap ~ Making it was so incredibly simple ~ I just grated the cleaning bars, followed their recipe online, and had homemade laundry detergent in under 15 minutes.  The detergent is low-sudsing, so you can also use it with front loading washers!!

If you want to 'test the waters' to see if it would work for you, they offer a Laundry Soap Kit for $4.95 that includes everything you need to make a batch of detergent ~ all you need to do is add water! Cleaning bars are $3.95 for a 9 oz bar {128 loads} or laundry kits are available for $4.95 each {enough to make 2 gallons of detergent}.

Shampoo Bar ~ The shampoo has a GREAT lather and leaves your hair feeling very clean {I use the bar for oily hair}. Basically, it works just like the shampoo that I was using before. Shampoo bars are $5.50 for a 5.5 oz bar or 2/$10.

Soap Bars ~ We are generally a liquid soap using family. To the point that Zachary was in awe of a bar of soap while we were visiting friends. The soap has been hidden from little hands and stays with me ~ mainly because I don’t want to share! My two favorites are the  Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey bar as well as the Fresh Orange scents. Soap bars are $4.50 for a 4.5 oz bar, 3/$10 or 10/$35.

Ordering Information

Be sure to visit Virginia Soaps & Scents and see the wide variety of products and soap scents that they have available. If you haven't already figured it out, I highly recommend them for both their products and wonderful customer service ~ tell them I sent you over! :)

The Giveaway!!

Virginia Soaps and Scents is  giving one of my readers a sampler pack filled with a laundry kit, several of their soap samplers and a mini shampoo bar!  There are several ways for you to enter this giveaway, but there is one mandatory first entry: visit Virginia Soaps and Scents and leave a comment with which soap scent you think is the yummiest!

If you would like to earn extra entries {you can earn 3 extra entries}, leave a comment for each of the following:

• If you are a subscriber to my blog, give yourself an extra entry! Thanks so much! If you don’t subscribe, hop on board and leave a comment.
• Visit Virginia Soaps and Scents and leave a comment telling me the name of another product they offer.
  
• Twitter about this contest and let me know your twitter name so I can follow you too.

This giveaway will be open until Tuesday, February 2nd at 8pm and I will announce the winner by Thursday, February 4th. Please be sure there is a way for me to contact you ~ otherwise I will draw another winner. Note: US Residents only, please!



Disclaimer: Thank you to Virginia Soaps and Scents for providing the giveaway products. This review is based on my own experiences with the products and gives my honest opinion.

My Funky Camera {Review}

Not quite a year ago I bought myself a little something to ‘pretty up’ my camera. While I love my camera, the strap that came standard with the camera was {for lack of a better term} ‘blah’. Black and boring.'

Since the camera is with me quite a bit, I wanted something that would be durable, comfortable AND cute. All of which I found in the camera strap I purchased from My Funky Camera. 

About My Funky Camera

The name pretty much says it all! Gabi at My Funky Camera makes some of the most gorgeous, functional, and fun camera accessories for SLR cameras. Want to know a few more details?

All of the products from My Funky Camera are created by Gabi and feature high-quality fabrics and trim. The Neck Straps{$32} are all lined with a super soft plush backing, so that is comfortable to wear around your neck. They are also 26” in length and adjustable {you can also request longer straps up to 40”}.

I happen to own this lovely strap ~ Cherry Blossoms White & Green. I have gotten so many compliments {and questions} about this strap! The stitching is precise and the fabric itself is so beautiful!



One product that I am eyeing for a future purchase are the Wristlets or Hand Straps {$25}. These handy little straps attach onto your camera and allow you to just slip your hand through and hang on to your camera without having a strap in your way when taking pictures.

If you don’t have a camera that needs a neck strap or a wristlet, My Funky Camera also offers some thinner neck straps that can be used for smaller point and shoot cameras, as well as cell phones, video cameras, ID badges and more.

If you have someone that you know would love a strap, but don’t know what to pick for them, My Funky Camera also offers gift certificates for all of their products!

This Giveaway is now closed

My Funky Camera is  giving one of my readers their choice of a gorgeous camera strap!  There are several ways for you to enter this giveaway, but there is one mandatory first entry: visit My Funky Camera and tell me the pattern of the strap that you would pick if you won.

If you would like to earn extra entries {you can earn 4 extra entries}, leave a comment for each of the following:

• If you are a subscriber to my blog, give yourself an extra entry! Thanks so much! If you don’t subscribe, hop on board and leave a comment.
• Visit My Funky Camera’s blog and leave me a comment telling me the name of one of the photography magazines that has featured My Funky Camera!
• Follow My Funky Camera on Twitter and leave a comment with your username.
• Twitter about this contest and let me know your twitter name so I can follow you too.

This giveaway will be open until Sunday, January 31st until 8pm and I will announce the winner by Tuesday, February 2nd. Please be sure there is a way for me to contact you ~ otherwise I will draw another winner. Note: US Residents only, please!
 
 
Disclaimer: Thank you to My Funky Camera for providing the giveaway product. This review is based on my own experiences and gives my honest opinion.