Fit Mama Friday-February 26th

Hello there, fellow Fit Mamas!!

I am happy to say that this week was MUCH better than the previous week. I do want to clarify, though, that when I was complaining about my diet last week it was purely from a nutritional perspective because I got several messages telling me not to worry about the calorie content of the food I was eating and to enjoy. Honestly, I likely was NOT getting ENOUGH calories and the ones I was getting were unhealthy so that is where my concern lay. I usually eat pretty healthfully so the indulgence in junk without much of anything healthy to balance things out was my concern. I have no worries in terms of calories in the least, my goal is to eat eat HEALTHY and get some exercise and I have no concerns about weight in the least.

So, as I was saying, this week was better than the last. There was a 20% off sale on fresh produce at our grocery store last week so I managed to get a lot of fruit and vegetables. I ate a whole wheat pita/tortilla (or two) every lunch hour stuff with salad, cheese, roasted vegetables, meat (sometimes), and my spicy sour cream. I had fruit for breakfast each day and nuts to snack on throughout the day. There was also lots of veggies left for supper time as well. I did not indulge a lot in extras, though, I have been enjoying a chocolate or two from the box Mike brought home for us on Wednesday. Yummy. We’ve already purchased our groceries for the week so I’ll likely do something similar next week with a nice soup or two thrown in as well. I would like to get back to drinking just a tad more water a day, too, so that’s something I’ll need to keep in mind. I think I’ll fill up some jars and put them in the fridge so I see them when I open the door up.

I also did pretty well in the exercise department this week. We spent a fair amount of time at the library this week so I walked there and back frequently and we took the kids out to the park this afternoon. I feel pretty good with the amount of exercise I am doing. I’d like to do a bit more but baby is making it more uncomfortable. He was transverse (sideways) for the better part of the week, lessening my aches and pains and giving me some room to breathe but he is flipped again (HOORAY!!!!) now making things a little bit harder. I’ll try to get in one walk this week by myself to just enjoy a little bit of quiet as that can sometimes be quite refreshing.

I’m wishing all my other Mama friends a wonderful and healthy week!! To see how they are all doing be sure to check out Got Chai?

Fit Mama Friday-February 26th

Hello there, fellow Fit Mamas!!

I am happy to say that this week was MUCH better than the previous week. I do want to clarify, though, that when I was complaining about my diet last week it was purely from a nutritional perspective because I got several messages telling me not to worry about the calorie content of the food I was eating and to enjoy. Honestly, I likely was NOT getting ENOUGH calories and the ones I was getting were unhealthy so that is where my concern lay. I usually eat pretty healthfully so the indulgence in junk without much of anything healthy to balance things out was my concern. I have no worries in terms of calories in the least, my goal is to eat eat HEALTHY and get some exercise and I have no concerns about weight in the least.

So, as I was saying, this week was better than the last. There was a 20% off sale on fresh produce at our grocery store last week so I managed to get a lot of fruit and vegetables. I ate a whole wheat pita/tortilla (or two) every lunch hour stuff with salad, cheese, roasted vegetables, meat (sometimes), and my spicy sour cream. I had fruit for breakfast each day and nuts to snack on throughout the day. There was also lots of veggies left for supper time as well. I did not indulge a lot in extras, though, I have been enjoying a chocolate or two from the box Mike brought home for us on Wednesday. Yummy. We’ve already purchased our groceries for the week so I’ll likely do something similar next week with a nice soup or two thrown in as well. I would like to get back to drinking just a tad more water a day, too, so that’s something I’ll need to keep in mind. I think I’ll fill up some jars and put them in the fridge so I see them when I open the door up.

I also did pretty well in the exercise department this week. We spent a fair amount of time at the library this week so I walked there and back frequently and we took the kids out to the park this afternoon. I feel pretty good with the amount of exercise I am doing. I’d like to do a bit more but baby is making it more uncomfortable. He was transverse (sideways) for the better part of the week, lessening my aches and pains and giving me some room to breathe but he is flipped again (HOORAY!!!!) now making things a little bit harder. I’ll try to get in one walk this week by myself to just enjoy a little bit of quiet as that can sometimes be quite refreshing.

I’m wishing all my other Mama friends a wonderful and healthy week!! To see how they are all doing be sure to check out Got Chai?

Beehive Reader 1

Product: Beehive Reader 1
Company: All About Spelling
Price: $19.95US

Earlier this school year, I had the opportunity to review All About Spelling (see my review). In January, I was delighted to come home from a family vacation to find a beautiful hard-covered book waiting in my mail box from All About Spelling. Their new Beehive Reader 1 was created to compliment the first level of the company’s spelling program but is a lovely addition to any reading/phonics/spelling program. This isn’t your typical reader with babyish and disjointed stories (Cat has a hat. Cat on a mat. Hat on a mat……..zzzzzzzzzzzzzz………boring). The dedication of this book reads:

To the reader-may you find yourself among friends.

That is exactly what happened when my children opened this book. My son, Liam, is reading MUCH above the reading level of this book but he really enjoyed the 10 stories included in the book and delighted in reading them over and over again to his little sister. Little sister, Morgaine, fell asleep night after night with the book in her bed because she loved looking at the beautiful artwork that makes this reader extra special. I am convinced that this will be a book that will be treasured in our house for years to come!

I think that the exceptional pencil drawn images and the fact that the book just seems so much more special being in durable hardcover makes this book worth the $19.95US price tag. The stories are captivating and the characters easy to relate to. It’s just a really fun book to read. Yes, it is more expensive than some early readers out there but when you factor in quality and the fact that the book contains 10 stories then it really is a reasonable price if other readers you have tried are causing you to doze off!! Either with or without the complete All About Spelling program this book is delightful. Be sure to check out the sample pages of this book. I think you will be impressed!

Beehive Reader 1

Product: Beehive Reader 1
Company: All About Spelling
Price: $19.95US

Earlier this school year, I had the opportunity to review All About Spelling (see my review). In January, I was delighted to come home from a family vacation to find a beautiful hard-covered book waiting in my mail box from All About Spelling. Their new Beehive Reader 1 was created to compliment the first level of the company’s spelling program but is a lovely addition to any reading/phonics/spelling program. This isn’t your typical reader with babyish and disjointed stories (Cat has a hat. Cat on a mat. Hat on a mat……..zzzzzzzzzzzzzz………boring). The dedication of this book reads:

To the reader-may you find yourself among friends.

That is exactly what happened when my children opened this book. My son, Liam, is reading MUCH above the reading level of this book but he really enjoyed the 10 stories included in the book and delighted in reading them over and over again to his little sister. Little sister, Morgaine, fell asleep night after night with the book in her bed because she loved looking at the beautiful artwork that makes this reader extra special. I am convinced that this will be a book that will be treasured in our house for years to come!

I think that the exceptional pencil drawn images and the fact that the book just seems so much more special being in durable hardcover makes this book worth the $19.95US price tag. The stories are captivating and the characters easy to relate to. It’s just a really fun book to read. Yes, it is more expensive than some early readers out there but when you factor in quality and the fact that the book contains 10 stories then it really is a reasonable price if other readers you have tried are causing you to doze off!! Either with or without the complete All About Spelling program this book is delightful. Be sure to check out the sample pages of this book. I think you will be impressed!

As we haven’t kept up with Liam’s Blog I’ve decided to let Liam “guest” blog on my website. He still loves lego and wanted to tell you about his creations! I oversaw his spelling when he was writing too quickly but didn’t really have him fix a lot so you could see how his spelling is improving (funny, how he can spell the bigger words no problem but has trouble with some smaller words). Enjoy!

~~~~~~~

Hi, I am Liam. I’ve got lots of legos and lots of creations too.

My sisters name is Morgaine and shes waring her blue dress.

Some of my creations are a town, a speed car, a skiing flying car, even a realy funny thing I have no idea what to call, a plane that only fits 2 pepole (with 2 or 3 k’nex peices), a floting truck with 4 homing missiles.

I hope you like the picthures.

As we haven’t kept up with Liam’s Blog I’ve decided to let Liam “guest” blog on my website. He still loves lego and wanted to tell you about his creations! I oversaw his spelling when he was writing too quickly but didn’t really have him fix a lot so you could see how his spelling is improving (funny, how he can spell the bigger words no problem but has trouble with some smaller words). Enjoy!

~~~~~~~

Hi, I am Liam. I’ve got lots of legos and lots of creations too.

My sisters name is Morgaine and shes waring her blue dress.

Some of my creations are a town, a speed car, a skiing flying car, even a realy funny thing I have no idea what to call, a plane that only fits 2 pepole (with 2 or 3 k’nex peices), a floting truck with 4 homing missiles.

I hope you like the picthures.

What is that, Stuff…..Well….

A lot of you mentioned that it was some kind of yeasty substance and well, yes, it is but it is so much more than that! It’s a pregnant women’s dream come true! 5 minute bread that you don’t even have to knead! Take some water and add a little salt, sugar and yeast. Stir in flour until the mixture gets somewhat stiff and that’s about it. Let it rise for a couple hours and then you can store it in your fridge for a couple weeks (or use immediately) and then just saw off a hunk of it whenever you have a craving for homemade bread. Flour the dough lightly and toss it in the oven and that’s it (it’s a tad wet, okay sometimes quite wet, and a different texture then what you’d be used to from traditional bread but it cooks up just as nicely). If you are feeling creative them you can indeed add whatever you would like to the mix as well and make all sorts of shapes of loaves (I do knead the bread a small (really small) bit to incorporate whatever I want to add just before I toss it in the oven). So simple and such a relief as a couple weeks ago I was thinking I might have to give up homemade bread because working to knead the bread was making me feel light headed and short of breath!

Here are this week’s creations…

Focaccia, cinnamon buns, maple flax breakfast bread and a loaf of white bread all from that goop in a big ol’ pot!

What is that, Stuff…..Well….

A lot of you mentioned that it was some kind of yeasty substance and well, yes, it is but it is so much more than that! It’s a pregnant women’s dream come true! 5 minute bread that you don’t even have to knead! Take some water and add a little salt, sugar and yeast. Stir in flour until the mixture gets somewhat stiff and that’s about it. Let it rise for a couple hours and then you can store it in your fridge for a couple weeks (or use immediately) and then just saw off a hunk of it whenever you have a craving for homemade bread. Flour the dough lightly and toss it in the oven and that’s it (it’s a tad wet, okay sometimes quite wet, and a different texture then what you’d be used to from traditional bread but it cooks up just as nicely). If you are feeling creative them you can indeed add whatever you would like to the mix as well and make all sorts of shapes of loaves (I do knead the bread a small (really small) bit to incorporate whatever I want to add just before I toss it in the oven). So simple and such a relief as a couple weeks ago I was thinking I might have to give up homemade bread because working to knead the bread was making me feel light headed and short of breath!

Here are this week’s creations…

Focaccia, cinnamon buns, maple flax breakfast bread and a loaf of white bread all from that goop in a big ol’ pot!

Even More Math-A Math Mammoth Review

Product: Math Mammoth Light Blue Series Grade 2 Complete Curriculum (249 lesson pages)
Company: Math Mammoth
Price: $29.70US (various other programs available)

Last year, my two brave little cavemen captured a woolly mammoth not knowing that mammoths had anything to do with math. Well, I just have to say that we’ve been introduced to Mammoth Math and while the mammoth’s involvement is still a mystery we could not be happier with the program. As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew we were able to choose pretty much anything from the Math Mammoth website to review and with Liam’s help we decided on the complete grade two curriculum (we could have received worksheets with, or without, explainations, on a specific topic instead). This workbook is broken down into chapters and covers a variety of topics:

• Addition and subtraction with carrying and borrowing
• Time
• Money
• Fractions
• Geometry
• Place Value
• Multiplication and more

Each unit/section starts with a clear explanation and examples and then is followed by questions for your student to answer. Each section ends with a review so that you can gauge what your child has learned and be certain that he has retained the information that was taught earlier in the unit. I was surprised to see how much Liam enjoyed this method of instruction and how little involvement I had to have. Besides the occasional time I had to pull out a manipulative from our current math program or rephrase a question, Liam was able to work through the questions on his own. It was fun to just sit nearby and listen to him make the connections with a little help from the explanations. The only drawback I found was that there wasn’t always a lot of room for Liam to write his answers on the worksheets so a few pages looked a little sloppy and crowded. It did force Liam to start writing a little smaller and that has also translated into him writing smaller in other subjects as well. For $29.70US for enough worksheets to keep Liam busy for a whole grade level (though unlikely a full year) we will be purchasing the next grade level for Liam when he has completed the one that he is working on.

In addition to selling complete curriculum by grade level (the light blue series) Math Mammoth also sells the:

• Blue Series (worksheets focused on one topic WITH explanations) for grades 1-5
• Gold Series (worksheets by grade level WITHOUT explanations) for grades 3-8
• Green (worksheets by topic WITHOUT explanations) for grades 3-7

Prices vary between series, topics and grade level but all seem (to me) to be well worth the price (you can find some subjects for as little as $3.35US). You can order the PDF files and receive the worksheets immediately to print at home or for an additional price order the printed copy through Lulu (linked on the Math Mammoth website). In addition, you can sign up for Math Mammoth virtual e-mail course Math Teaching E-mails and receive:

• 280 free worksheets and sample page;
• 7 math teaching articles ;
• 2 emails discussing the books;
• Homeschool Math newsletter

I suggest that you take a peak at the Math Mammoth website and sign up for the teaching e-mails and also read what other Crew Members have to say about the product (a wide variety of products were reviewed this year).

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Even More Math-A Math Mammoth Review

Product: Math Mammoth Light Blue Series Grade 2 Complete Curriculum (249 lesson pages)
Company: Math Mammoth
Price: $29.70US (various other programs available)

Last year, my two brave little cavemen captured a woolly mammoth not knowing that mammoths had anything to do with math. Well, I just have to say that we’ve been introduced to Mammoth Math and while the mammoth’s involvement is still a mystery we could not be happier with the program. As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew we were able to choose pretty much anything from the Math Mammoth website to review and with Liam’s help we decided on the complete grade two curriculum (we could have received worksheets with, or without, explainations, on a specific topic instead). This workbook is broken down into chapters and covers a variety of topics:

• Addition and subtraction with carrying and borrowing
• Time
• Money
• Fractions
• Geometry
• Place Value
• Multiplication and more

Each unit/section starts with a clear explanation and examples and then is followed by questions for your student to answer. Each section ends with a review so that you can gauge what your child has learned and be certain that he has retained the information that was taught earlier in the unit. I was surprised to see how much Liam enjoyed this method of instruction and how little involvement I had to have. Besides the occasional time I had to pull out a manipulative from our current math program or rephrase a question, Liam was able to work through the questions on his own. It was fun to just sit nearby and listen to him make the connections with a little help from the explanations. The only drawback I found was that there wasn’t always a lot of room for Liam to write his answers on the worksheets so a few pages looked a little sloppy and crowded. It did force Liam to start writing a little smaller and that has also translated into him writing smaller in other subjects as well. For $29.70US for enough worksheets to keep Liam busy for a whole grade level (though unlikely a full year) we will be purchasing the next grade level for Liam when he has completed the one that he is working on.

In addition to selling complete curriculum by grade level (the light blue series) Math Mammoth also sells the:

• Blue Series (worksheets focused on one topic WITH explanations) for grades 1-5
• Gold Series (worksheets by grade level WITHOUT explanations) for grades 3-8
• Green (worksheets by topic WITHOUT explanations) for grades 3-7

Prices vary between series, topics and grade level but all seem (to me) to be well worth the price (you can find some subjects for as little as $3.35US). You can order the PDF files and receive the worksheets immediately to print at home or for an additional price order the printed copy through Lulu (linked on the Math Mammoth website). In addition, you can sign up for Math Mammoth virtual e-mail course Math Teaching E-mails and receive:

• 280 free worksheets and sample page;
• 7 math teaching articles ;
• 2 emails discussing the books;
• Homeschool Math newsletter

I suggest that you take a peak at the Math Mammoth website and sign up for the teaching e-mails and also read what other Crew Members have to say about the product (a wide variety of products were reviewed this year).

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.