Homeschool Failure?

I ask myself this every single day, especially today. Two kids have already had breakdowns over simple, easy things. Things that they should of learned before now, especially since they are in 6^th and 7^th grade.  I’m talking about basic addition and subtraction and grammar, simple right? Well every single time I tried to explain the steps to them I encountered this statement “I don’t understand, you make no sense.” Hmmmmm…well there is not an easier way to explain it to them.

What am I doing wrong? Why did I have this bright idea to homeschool? Why do I put myself through this madness? Why don’t they understand? I ask myself these questions every single day. I know I’m not the only homeschool mom that has these thoughts or feels like a failure.

Then I think back to why didn’t they learn this at school? I’m not blaming any of their teachers, because they had the best teachers along the way until we homeschooled. I am blaming our society and the stupid common core crap! We now live in a society where it is okay to play “dumb” and have someone else do the work for you. We coddle kids, we make them feel they are entitled to anything and everything instead of working hard for it. My kids want me to tell them the answers, however I don’t agree with that, I tell them how to get to the answer themselves. That is when the arguing begins.

Don’t get me wrong, my kids are very bright and gifted. They each moved on to the next grade before any of their public school friends, but when they get in this mindset, it is impossible to change it on that day.

Every day is a new beginning and tomorrow will be better. Just needed to write a little something to encourage myself that I am doing the right thing, even if it’s not immediately clear right now! My girls are getting the best education they can get by having all different opportunities opened up in their learning by homeschooling.

If you are a homeschool mama and have gone through this, please comment. We are united together towards one common goal and MAMA YOU CAN DO THIS!!!

PRODUCT REVIEW: 12x12 Adhesive Vinyl Sheets by Angel Crafts By Angel Direct Products

DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free or at a discounted price in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. 

As I said before, arts and crafts are a big thing in our family! We love to craft. In fact, I'm so excited to decorate and craft when we move to our new house that I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to how I want to decorate our house and these vinyl sheets are going to come in so handy. 

I opened the package and love all the options for the colors we were provided and these sheets are some of the best I have ever seen as far as vinyl crafting sheets go! 

We can't wait to make all kinds of projects with them! 

Therefore, I give these a 5 out of 5 stars based on my experience with them so far. 

Please also note that a few blog posts down is a code to save when ordering these sheets! 

PRODUCT REVIEW: Active Life Therapeutic Comfort Creme by Robin Ball Designs

DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free or at a discounted price in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Some may not know this, but I live with pain every single day of my life. I have a genetic condition in my back where I don't have cushion in my lumbar region so it is bone on bone. Everytime I move the bones scrape together and cause excruciating pain. Also, my feet end up hurting and turn purple most of the time. Therefore, I have tried medicine, natural remedies and essential oils. When I saw this creme, I knew I needed to try it out.

The creme came in and I was excited to try it out. The first place I had my daughters use it on me is my back before I had surgery last week. The creme feels very smooth and goes on immediately to hydrate my skin. At first I didn't feel it working at all, but then it started getting cool. I will compare the cooling feeling to Icy Hot, except there is never a heated feeling. 

It never worked on my back, so we decided to try it on my feet. Within 10 minutes of having it on my feet it started working and my feet immediately started to feel better. Another problem in my house is the dog hair (we have 2 Golden Retreivers) so whenever there is lotion on my feet or anything else I end up getting dog hair stuck as well! However, this creme sunk into my skin so fast that there was no worrying about dog hair on my feet! I really like that about this creme. 

I have decided to give this creme a 4 out of 5 stars with the reason being for this is because the mint smell is very strong and because it didn't work on my back. I think anyone with RA, fibro or chornic pain will benefit very well from this product! 

PRODUCT REVIEW: Kiwii Selfie Stick by Kiwii

DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free or at a discounted rate in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. 

Selfie sticks are BIG right now. They are what everyone wants or thinks they need. I must admit, they do make taking pictures of our big family easier. 

I have been given the opportunity to review two selfie sticks in the past month, so lets talk about the Kiwii Selfie Stick. Here is what the manufacturers' pictures look like:

We got it in the mail last week and put it to use right away! Please enjoy our funny pictures below: 

The quality of this selfie stick is fantastic! It is easy to hold and position. It fits our Galaxy Note 4s and our kids' iPhones. We've had a lot of fun with it and I'm excited to use it in a public setting soon! 

I give this selfie stick a 5 out of 5 stars as it has met or exceeded all my expectations! 

PRODUCT REVIEW: US Art Supply 9" x 12" Premium Drawing Paper Pad

DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free or at a discounted price in exchange for an unbiased, honest review. 

Art supplies are a big thing in our house! I have one budding artist, and three others that love to draw and craft. Naturally, I was going to apply to review anything that has to do with arts & crafts. 

Enter the drawing pad:

My daughter, Michaela was so excited to start drawing and sketching in this book. Once it arrived, it was hers and she was loving it! 

The drawing pad is good quality, has a lot of paper to use and the paper is easy to draw on in any kind  of pens, pencils, etc. She fell in love with this pad and won't let anyone else use it! 

Here are some pictures that she has currently drew in it as of today, August 30, 2015: 

The first picture is a nose (she's been practicing those a lot because she says she's horrible at them) and the bottom picture is a sketch of her Google Chromebook. 

When asked what her review of this product is, she gives it a 4 out of 5 stars because she doesn't like the dimensions of it. She would like it to be smaller so that it is easier to carry everywhere. Other than that, this is a terrific product! 

PRODUCT REVIEW: Bonefish Gear Vacuum Insulated True Pint, 16 oz

DICLAIMER: I received this product for free or at a discounted price in exchange for an unbiased, honest review. 

I don't know about y'all, but it drives me nuts to make a nice ice cold drink and within 15 minutes it has all the ice melted and the cup is sweating on my nice granite countertops, then I have to pour out my whole drink because it's worthless and watered down by that point. 

I was excited to try out this new insulated Bonefish cup! Here is what the product looks like from the manufacturer. 

Even more exciting, it is my favorite color!! 

This product arrived about a week ago and I was ready to use it! My first thought about it is that it is extremely thin around the rim and very light. I didn't know how I would feel about this because of how big of a difference that is from a regular cup. After washing the cup it was time to try it out! 

Of course, I took a picture before using the product: 

Now it was time for the moment of truth. I made myself a nice cold Pepsi with ice. 

I drank some and put the cup down and came back about an hour later to check on things. This is what I saw one hour after initially putting the ice and Pepsi in. 

The ice was just as it was when I made the drink initially! Now this is my new favorite cup and I use it ALOT! After all, it's hard to remember that you made yourself a drink when you are dealing with 4 kids that you homeschool! 

I give this product a 4.5 out of 5 stars. I don't give it a complete 5 stars because the thinness of the cup still gets to me a little. However, I strongly recommend you giving this cup a shot! 

If you want to give this cup a try, here is the link where you can purchase it:

http://www.amazon.com/Bonefish-Gear-Insulated-True-Pint/dp/B012Y78IPU/ie=UTF8?m=A10STKZQTLFL47&keywords=beer+pint

Why Product Reviews?

I know some of you may be asking why is a homeschool blog doing product reviews?

Well the answer is simple, I am a mom to 4 kids and know how busy moms are so I want to be able to recommend products for busy moms that can be ordered right off of websites. Our reviews are always honest and unbiased.

Any other questions? Let me know!

PRODUCT REVIEW: Heat Resistant Nomex Gloves With Silicone by Inspired Basics.com

DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free or at a discounted price in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. 

How many of y'all hate pot holders? Hands up! My hand is up as well, I cannot stand those big, clunky potholders, so I applied to receive the Heat Resistant Nomex Gloves and I was chosen as a reviewer! 

Here is what the gloves look like from the manufacturer: 

So these gloves came on Tuesday from Amazon Prime and I was ready to try them out. I made cheeseburger french fry casserole on Wednesday in the oven on 450 degrees. When the casserole was done and it was time to get it out, I put on the gloves and was ready, albeit very nervous on if I would get burned or not. The gloves fit my hands good and were not bulky in the least bit. I reached into the oven to pull the oven rack out and felt absolutely no heat at all. I was able to take the casserole dish out and push back in the oven rack without any kind of disturbance with the heat. 

So, naturally, I wanted to check that it wasn't just me that these gloves worked for, so I enlisted my husband to try them out today when he cooked lunch. 

Here is his experience with the gloves: 

As you can tell from the pictures, he was able to touch the oven and the tray without burning himself. The gloves fit him as well and he has now taken them over! 

Based on all the above, our family rates these gloves as a 5 star review! We may even need to get an extra pair for the bbq grill. 

PRODUCT REVIEW: GAVINO KITCHEN SHEARS, PROFESSIONAL GRADE

DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free or at a discounted rate in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. 

I was so excited about being approved to try out these kitchen shears. I hate using knives because I am always afraid I will cut myself when cutting vegetables. 

These shears came last week and they were put to use last night and again today. 

They are super easy to use and feel smooth when cutting. My experience in the past is with shears locking up during the cutting process, which is very frustrating to me! Enjoy the pics below of how easy these shears are to use! 

These amazing shears cut through bacon like it was butter! They are easy to handle, feel light in the hands, and cut amazingly. Therefore, these shears earn a 5 out of 5 stars as they are just what our kitchen needed! 

PRODUCT REVIEW: Digital Tire Pressure Gauge from Federico's Car Care

Disclaimer: I was given this product at a free or reduced price in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

As some of you may know, my husband works at an automotive dealership so he was pretty happy to try out this new Digital Tire Pressure Gauge.

Here is what the product looks like:

Amazon Prime dropped the tire gauge off last week and my husband took it to work the next day to test out on vehicles on the lot. 

Now on to the review of this product. 

While it is nice to have a handheld sleek designed digital tire pressure gauge, it did not exactly live up to all expectations. It was expected that the tire gauge would work as good as old school gauges, but it took up to three tries to even get it to read the tire pressure on a vehicle.  The gauge is much lighter and easier to handle than the regular tire gauges. 

Based on it taking multiple times for the tire gauge to read the air pressure, my husband gives this product a 3 out of 5 stars review. If it wouldn't have taken so long for the air pressure to read then he would surely have given this a 5 star review.

Reviews Coming Soon

Hi friends! I have been given the opportunity to receive many products at free or discounted prices in order to write honest reviews for several companies. Below is a picture of just some of the items I have received.

Be on the lookout for reviews coming soon!

COUPON CODE - Vinyl Sheets for Crafting!!

I have been sent 12" x 12" Adhesive Vinyl Sheets to review and that review will be coming very soon, but in the meantime Angel Crafts, the maker, has sent me a coupon code to share with my family and friends to receive 15% off of products. 

These vinyl sheets are a necessity for crafters and/or Cricut users. 

Here is the Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Adhesive-Vinyl-Sheets-PACK-Permanent/dp/B0125FQD6C/ie=UTF8?m=A2BHYNWMF1ZMRV&keywords=adhesive-vinyl-sheet

And here is the code:  15OFFADP (expires 12/31 this year) 

If you decide to utilize this opportunity, please comment or send me an email at: camartinez0982@gmail.com. 

Thanks and have fun! 

Homeschool Basket Giveaways!!

I just found this amazing link: http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/project/back-to-homeschool-gift-baskets/

34 homeschooler moms are giving away baskets full of all types of neat things! Make sure you check it out and enter.

Thoughts

So I started this blog with the intentions to help others find homeschooling resources and to share my own lesson plans. I will continue to do this, but I also would like to utilize my writing skills and make a little extra spending money by reviewing products or writing articles for companies. Please continue to follow and let me know if there is anything special you may like to see and I will try to accomplish that!

My girls and I also have a book review blog at: 5girlsbookreviews.blogspot.com, we actually receive children's/YA books from authors/publishing companies that are either already on the shelves, or will be coming out soon. Please be sure and follow that blog as well!

Plus, if anyone knows how to make posts to the separate pages, please give me a heads up because I am unable to figure it out!

Day 5 Creative Writing

• Journal Writing - 10 mins
• If you could visit the set of any TV show, which would you go to?
• Personal Autobiography Project
• Personal Alaphabet
• Example at: http://mseffie.com/assignments/portfolio_unit/03%20Personal%20Alphabet.pdf
• Superpower for a Day WS
• Found at: http://bogglesworldesl.com/creativewriting.htm

Day 4 Creative Writing

Journal Writing - 10 mins

• What is an issue that our world need to work on?  

Autobiography Project

• What's in a name? 
• Example: http://mseffie.com/assignments/portfolio_unit/02%20What's%20in%20a%20Name.pdf

Day 3 Creative Writing

Journal Writing - 10 mins

• If you could build a dream house, what rooms would it have? 

Big Money Worksheet

• Found at: https://www.superteacherworksheets.com/writing/1-bigmoney_WFBMF.pdf

Autobiography Project

• Prologue/Introduction Part
• Example at: http://mseffie.com/assignments/portfolio_unit/01%20Prologue.pdf

Day 2 Creative Writing

Journal Writing - 10 mins

• Who is the scariest Disney villain?

My Trip in a Time Machine Worksheet

• Found at: http://www.k12reader.com/worksheet/my-trip-in-a-time-machine-writing-prompt/view

Today is when I introduced the girls to their big end-of-year creative writing project. Their project is to write an their autobiography and then have it published at the end of the school year. The link to the instructions is: http://mseffie.com/downloads/Portfolio.pdf

For Day 2, I gave my girls the cover page, the directions page and the first page of assignments. 

Day 1 Creative Writing

• Journal Writing - 10 mins
• If you designed a video game, what would it be called? What would you do in the video game?
• If I was in a Band Worksheet
• Found at: http://www.education.com/files/241001_241100/241020/creative-writing-prompt-01.pdf