Review: My Animal Family -- Nanuk

The Product


My six year old animal lover was thrilled to learn that together we would be reviewing a book from the My Animal Family series. The book we received is Nanuk, A Baby Polar Bear's Story. More than just a book, however, it includes a DVD with footage provided by BBC, and a membership to the interactive polar bear habitat on My Animal Family's website.

Our Experience

Luci didn't want to waste any time after learning she could register for the interactive polar bear habitat, so that was the first thing we did. It was a little confusing figuring out how to get registered and gain access, but once we were logged in she enjoyed looking around and figuring things out. Like other popular interactive website environments there are games and activities to play in exchange for points that can be used to purchase tools and things needed to enhance the experience. The first couple of days were fun, but she got tired of playing the same games over and over again to earn a few points. After the first week or so she lost interest in the website.

The book and DVD, however, are another matter. The book is a very sweet story of two baby polar bears and is artfully illustrated. Together we've read the book a number of times. My little animal lover cannot resist a good story about animal babies! The DVD is entertaining, even for my older boys, with footage from BBC. In case you weren't aware, this is some of the same footage seen in Planet Earth DVDs and in Disney Earth. However, much of it was still new to me.

The Bottom Line

Each book in the My Animal Family series is priced at $12.99. This includes the book, the DVD, and access to the habitat associated with the book you choose.  I think $12.99 is a good price for the book and DVD, and the website is just a bonus. Each book/DVD is created for children ages three to eight.

To see a DVD Preview click here.
For a free trial click here.

I received this product for free as a member of TOS Homeschool Crew. My opinions are solely my own and are not influenced in any way. I am not being reimbursed in anyway for this review. What I have shared is simply our experience, your mileage may vary.

Review: Corps of Re-Discovery

The Product

Several weeks ago I received this product in the mail for my review. It couldn't have come at a better time! It correlated perfectly to the time period in history we were studying. Corps of Re-Discovery is a company, owned by a homeschool family, dedicated to providing crafting kits related to American Indians, Frontiersman, and Pioneer Americans. The kit we were sent was a Fringe Pouch Kit. The kits contain instructions and everything necessary to complete the project.



Our Experience


The Fringe Pouch Kit comes with the pre-punched pieces of leather, a needle, the laces, and a leather carrying strap.

I set my son up with a needle for the first time in his life and explained the running stitch to him. I only had to help him out a couple of times when he went the wrong way with the needle. 

He finished the stitches himself in about thirty minutes. Attaching the drawstring/carrying strap was a little tricky. The instructions were a bit vague about how it worked. But in the end we figured it out.

The Bottom Line

We found the Fringe Pouch Kit to be a great product. Not only did he enjoy making his fringe pouch, he has enjoyed putting his small toys inside the bag to take to his friends' houses for playtime.

Fringe Pouch Kit sells for $11.99 and I think this is an excellent price considering the quality of the pieces. There are several other kits from Corps of Re-Discovery that I am anxious to try with my kids.

I received this product for free as a member of TOS Homeschool Crew. My opinions are solely my own and are not influenced in any way. I am not being reimbursed in anyway for this review. What I have shared is simply our experience, your mileage may vary.

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

It dawned on me this morning that it is November -- the month before Christmas! With so many things happening this month and next I need to make it a priority to get the kids' Christmas photos taken and order Christmas cards. I love sending and receiving photo greeting cards because in some cases, it's the only time we  get to see the precious faces of those who live far away.

Last Christmas is a blur to me. My dad was admitted to the hospital the first week of December and I spend over half of the month away from home and away from my children while I stayed at the hospital with him.  It's such a blur I honestly can't remember if we even sent out Christmas cards last year. I don't think I did, and can't find any evidence that I did, so this year I'm hoping for our holiday cards to be extra special!

I am planning to use Shutterfly to do our cards this year. They have so many creative designs to choose from. And not just for Christmas either.

There are birthday themed cards so you can get creative and personalize your child's invitations.

And there are some of the cutest baby announcements just waiting for an adorable newborn face.

Whatever the occasion, you could probably find a Shutterfly card! The hard part is selecting your favorite from all the wonderful designs.

Right now, this one is my favorite:

(Obviously, this is NOT my family, LOL)

Take a look and tell me which cards are your favorite!

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly. Click here to find out how!

Gratitude Challenge Day 7

I am grateful that God called me over a year ago to teach 4th and 5th graders in Sunday School. I am blessed by them each and every Sunday!

Gratitude Challenge Day 4

I am grateful to live in a country where I am free to homeschool my children.

We Are Thankful -- Our Thanksgiving Tree

There's no question, we should always be thankful. Our hearts and attitudes should always reflect that we are appreciative of what we've been freely given and that which we've been allowed to earn. But the month of November is a good time to reinforce that trait in ourselves and to try to pass it on to our children. To help my children build a spirit of gratefulness we spent a few hours at the onset of this month creating a Thankful Tree. 

All three of the kids input their own ideas for decorating and they each put forth effort in the the work.

We decorated a coffee can with fall colored construction paper, filled it with sand, and 'planted' our Thankful Tree.

Each evening our family writes on a leaf something that they are thankful for. 

It can be anything.

Luci's first leaf reveals she is grateful for God.

Whatever we are thankful for at that moment.

Brian is thankful for family.

The rain after a long dry spell makes Gavin grateful.

Like his father, Ben is thankful for family.

By the end of the month I expect our tree will be quite bountiful with our Thankful leaves. Just as our hearts are full of gratitude.

We are thankful.

Gratitude Challenge Day 3

I am grateful for the man who loves me, who makes me laugh, who works hard for his family, who supports me in the things I do (no matter how silly), and whom I love beyond words. I am grateful for my husband!

Gratitude Challenge Day 2

I am thankful to live in a country where our leaders are chosen by the vote of the people.

Gratitude Challenge Day 1

For the month of November I will be participating in a Gratitude Challenge. The purpose is to present an attitude of gratitude and a thankful heart each day.

There are many things that I am grateful for, however for this initial post, I will share that I am deeply grateful for my personal relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is through Him that I am able to do anything!

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:8

Girl Can Cook, Part 2

Some of you might remember me posting several weeks ago about Luci and her birthday gift, Cook It In a Cup. I shared with you how excited she was about getting up each morning to prepare her own breakfast eggs. Well, several weeks have passed now and she's moved on to bigger, better, and more complicated dishes! This week she prepared Ham and Cheese Popovers, a recipe she found in the recipe book that accompanied her Cook It In a Cup set. 

The ingredients: 

1 cup chopped ham

1 cup shredded cheese

1 package refrigerated crescent roll dough

Now, I've never done this before with either of my boys at this age, but I did place my chef's knife in her hand. I figure the quicker she learns to be safe in the kitchen the better. And besides, after watching this video of a dad/chef who puts a knife in his son's hand at the age of two, I felt like six years old would probably be okay. So, with lots of instruction in safety (and intense supervision--which is why there are no photos of this step) she chopped the ham she needed for the recipe.

She covered each triangle with an amount of the cheese and ham and then rolled each crescent roll up. 

Then placed each roll in a cup, pressing it down just a bit. And then into the oven they go, with mom's help of course.

Luci was really excited to have prepared lunch for the family. Aren't they cute?

Postcard Geography

I've mentioned before that we are studying American History this year as a family. It's been amazing so far and I really love that we are all on the same 'page' of history. A great opportunity to enhance our studies of American History came up for us at the beginning of the school year and I'm really excited to share with you what we are doing. A fellow homeschooler and TOS Homeschool Crew member, Jacqueline of A Stable Beginning, recruited other homeschoolers from around the country to participate in a United States Postcard swap. Nearly all 50 states are represented. Each week we receive a new postcard from a different state (they are in the same order that they were added to the Union) with a few interesting facts about that state. So far we've received Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Maryland. As our postcards arrive in the mail we locate them on our big map and then tape them for display. Our turn to mail out postcards for Mississippi will come in January.