Archives for August 2012

Go Back to School with HP and Walmart (Giveaway!)

August 31, 2012 By: amyswandering

The planning is done, the workbooks are printed, and we have happily finished our first week of school.

Since much of our homeschooling is done with free printable resources, a good computer and printer is a must-have for back to school!

Walmart has a line of HP products with some pretty cool features to help you or your kiddos embrace technology along with education.

HP Pavilion dv6-7029wm Entertainment PC

Homeschool Mom might not come to mind when you read quad speakers and subwoofer, but have you ever tried to gather 5 kids closely around the average laptop because no one can hear the really cool video that you’ve carefully chosen to go with your science lesson? Gimme the speakers!

The Pavilion dv6-7029wm is sure to be the best entertainment PC on campus. With a sleek, tapered metal design, it’s easy to pick up. With cool features like Beats Audio amplified by quad speakers and a subwoofer, it’s tough to put down.

HP Deskjet 3052a e-All-in-One printer

I really LOVE this idea of being able to print something from anywhere using a smartphone or tablet. I assumed this printer came with a high price tag and I was shocked when I checked the Walmart website. Y’all…it is priced from only $69-$148!!

With an HP e-Print wireless enabled printer you can now print from your smartphone or tablet from virtually anywhere! Your children can send photos and assignments from the classroom right to your HP ePrint printer at home by simply sending an email. This printer is also great for teens going away to college! You can share photos and recipes with them in their dorm room. Stay in touch with your students with HP ePrint.

HP XL ink cartridges

It is such distraction to have to run to Walmart in the middle of a big project because your printer ran out of ink. These big boys should keep your printer humming until the job is done.

Back-to-school means lots of printing! These cartridges fit in your printer like HP’s regular cartridges, but they hold more ink! The best part is they are now available at Walmart and Walmart.com/HPink so you can stock up on ink when you buy groceries. You can save up to 40% on printing with HP’s XL ink cartridges*. That’s a great value any mom can appreciate!
*Compared with single, standard HP ink cartridges. Based on average retail pricing, actual prices may vary.

One of my wonderful readers is going to win a $25 Walmart gift card to stock up on back to school essentials!!

Winner to be announced soon!!

Mandatory entry: Which HP product would best prepare you or your child for a new school year, and why?

Extra Entries:

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Giveaway ends Wednesday, September 5th

I will receive a Walmart gift card as part of a promotional program with MomSelect. All opinions are honest & my own.

How’s It Goin’?

August 29, 2012 By: amyswandering1 Comment

Just popping in to say

Howdy! How’s it goin’?

We started school this week, and it has gone great, but MAN I’m tired!!

I can get up early…it’s the going to bed early that I can’t seem to master.

So how about you? Have you started homeschooling already? Or sending your littles out the door in their cute backpacks with their even-cuter lunch bags?

Seriously? That is one of the things I struggled with when I first started homeschooling –> I wanted, but couldn’t justify buying, the adorable backpacks & lunch kits. Oh, and my kids would never win cool ribbons at field day either. How silly is that? (Please tell me you have struggled with that. :-D)

No matter how you educate your kiddos, I hope you have a blessed school year!

Things Get Exciting with Esther

August 27, 2012 By: amyswanderingcomment

My kids LOVE the story of Esther!

It has all the makings of a great adventure: a queen-in-training, bravery, suspense, secret plots, saving the kingdom

And running through it all is the thread of Faithfulness.

Esther teaches us that God has a plan, and we have a purpose. We must not be afraid to do what is right, and what we are called to do.

Grapevine Studies makes it easy to share the story of Esther with your family by simply drawing colorful stick figures. The Teacher Book has step-by-step instructions, making this an open-&-go curriculum.

Grapevine Studies has several Old Testament and New Testament studies that offer a fun way to teach Bible as a part of your homeschool, or to do as a family during an evening devotional time.

Take a look at how our family uses Grapevine Studies before bedtime.

Some of the studies have multiple levels. Here is some info from the website to help you choose a level that is a perfect fit for your family:

The Beginners program focuses on the main accounts of the Bible. Beginners draw two drawings per page.
Level 1 students are introduced to the Bible timeline and continue to learn about the major characters and events of the Bible. Level 1 students draw four drawings per page.
Level 2 students read more Scripture and memorize additional Bible facts. In addition to memory verses, Level 2 students also learn: Books of the Old Testament, Ten Commandments, Twelve Sons of Jacob, Books of the New Testament, The Twelve Apostles, The Apostles Creed
Level 3 students learn basic biblical geography and read more Scripture than the previous levels. The stick figures for Level 3 are more detailed, adding names of people and cities.
Level 4 students learn where the books of the Bible fit into the Bible timeline. Students also learn how to use Bible study tools including a Bible concordance, Bible dictionary, and topical Bible.
Level 5 studies are self-directed and do not include stick figures. In Level 5, students use inductive Bible study skills and do hands-on projects and research topics related to each lesson.

Do you have kids in multiple levels? The Level 3-4 teacher manual can also be used to teach Levels 1 and 2 by simplifying the drawings and using the Scripture reading from the oldest student book you are teaching.

Look for the purple box under each book to view a sample.

Order by August 31st & get 20% off your entire order with the code: 12BlogSun

Stick figure your way through the Bible with Grapevine Studies!!

I received a free Esther eBook for this review as a member of the Grapevine Studies Blog Team. No other compensation was given.

Good Morning Guide

August 15, 2012 By: amyswandering5 Comments

I am NOT a morning person.

My body gets up early, but my brain doesn’t kick into gear until around 9:00.

A school morning routine needs to be a no-brainer!!

I made this handy-dandy Good Morning Guide as a reminder for my kiddos to:

put on a smile
get dressed
put away pajamas
make bed
put away any books
brush hair
brush teeth
turn off the lights
count your blessings

DOWNLOAD your own Good Morning Guide

The Good Morning Guide is part of my Back to School Boot Camp!

good morning guide

A big Thank You to MyCuteGraphics for the use of her adorable clip art!

Linking up to: Works for Me Wednesday, Enchanted Thursdays, The Mommy Club, Homeschool FreeBEE Friday,Tuesday Tots

Our Daily Homeschool Routine

August 14, 2012 By: amyswandering8 Comments

When my older kiddos were little, I tried over & over to create a homeschool schedule that worked for us. It would look great on paper but derailed miserably by lunchtime everyday, and left me feeling like a failure.

I don’t remember where I read about establishing a routine vs. a schedule, but it was life-changing for me (I don’t say that lightly).

I discovered that I function best with a daily rhythm… doing the same things in the same order each day.

I now divide our school day into time blocks. For example: 10:30-12:00 is my time to do Math & LA with the younger crew. I know what we have to get done within that block of time, but I am free to help each child in whatever order works best that day. I don’t pin myself down to doing Warrior Boy’s math at 10:30, reading with Sassyfrass at 10:50, etc.

We don’t always stay within the blocks, but at least I know where we should be & can adjust to get back on track.

A peek at this year’s routine:

6:45 ~~crawl~~ ~~drag myself~~ hop out of bed, Bible, coffee, computer time

8:15 kids up, Good Morning Guide, breakfast & read aloud

9:00 Bible Roadtrip

9:30 Theme of the Day

10:30 language arts & math w/the littles; older girls work independently

12:00 lunch, free time to read/play game/work on project/go outside

1:00 quiet time for assigned reading

1:30 Science (Mon/Thurs). History (Tues,Wed), House Blessing (Fri)

2:30 little kids done; older work independently

Establishing a routine is part of my Back-to-School Boot Camp. Check it out to read more about our homeschool plans!