Our Homeschool Reviews: March 2014

Monday, March 31, 2014

Menu Plan Monday - March 31

If you've been following my food journey, you know that I started eating plant-based on February 3rd. Today ends two months of my journey.

We took a trip to Legoland and Disney over the weekend. I tried my best to stick with it so my goal was to eat vegan, or at the very least, vegetarian. I just didn't want to stress over oil and sugar.

Here are a few of the highlights -

Friday afternoon - Garden salad at Legoland and a few healthy snacks that I brought.

Friday evening - Vegetable Jambalaya at Boatwright's Dining Hall at Port Orleans Riverside. {A lighter take on a New Orleans Classic with Asparagus, Mushrooms, Peppers, Onions, and Tomatoes with Rice} I also had several pieces of Cornbread. Not plant based but I just couldn't resist!!

Saturday afternoon - Quinoa Salad at Be Our Guest at Magic Kingdom. {Quinoa Salad with Green Beans, Potatoes, Olives, Roasted Bell Peppers, Golden Beets and Tomatoes}. It was really good!!

Saturday evening - Buffet at The Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom. The chef came out and showed me all the meat and dairy free options at the buffet. Then he brought me some Tofutti ice cream from the back. I was totally stuffed!!

Sunday afternoon - Vegetarian Platter at the Tangierine Cafe in Morocco at EPCOT. {Hummus, Tabouleh, Lentils, Falafel and Marinated Olives with fresh Moroccan Bread}. This meal surprised me the most. It was very good and a great deal for the amount of food I got.

I brought my own snacks but did get a pretzel on Sunday, just because I was craving it!

I wish I had taken some pictures but I wasn't even thinking about it at the time. Of course, most of the food had lots of oil, but my goal was to eat as close to plant-based as I could.

Here are a few of the meals I had last week before we left.

Lazy Pasta

Pancakes, Grits, and Fruit

For the menu this week our dinners will include:

Quick Burgers
Vegetable Stirfry {Hubby made this one and I'll share the recipe next week}
Black Beans and Brown Rice Extravaganza
Spaghetti, Salad, and Happy Herbivore Fat Free Cornbread

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©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Thrifty Thursday

Here are some of the thrifty deals for today!

FREE Write Through the Bible Bundle Set @ Homeschool Giveaways & Freebies

FREE Scripture Cards @ Coffee for the Soul

FREE Spring Chicks and Hen Crafts @ Kathy's Cluttered Mind

FREE G is for Garden Printable Pack @ Motherhood on a Dime

FREE Magnetic Pom Pom Tutorial @ Hip Homeschool Moms

FREE Jesus and Lazarus Science Lesson @ Future.Flying.Saucers

FREE Easter File Folder Game @ the measured mom

FREE Praying For Your Pastor Printable Calendar @ The Proverbial Homemaker

FREE Favorite Greek Myths @ CurrClick

FREE Long Vowel Word Sort @ Teach Them Diligently

FREE Bubble Wrap Easter Egg Tutorial @ Chaos and the Clutter

I hope you enjoy some of these FREEBIES! If you know of any others, please leave a comment below.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Wordless Wednesday: A Morning Alone

Ahhhh, just got back from a morning of shopping by myself. Exciting stuff people!! ;)

Monday, March 24, 2014

Strength Stack 52 Review

Last month I was contacted by Michael Volkin, the creator of a really cool fitness card game called Strength Stack 52.

At first I wasn't sure how this fitness card game would relate to my blog, but after a little research I realized that this simple deck of cards would be something that a wide variety of people would be interested in, including homeschool families like ours!!

Strength Stack 52 will give you a full body workout, regardless of your fitness level. Everyone from beginners to advanced can use it. And what really drew me to it was that -

* There is no equipment or gym membership needed
* It's a deck of cards so it's portable
* It's very affordable
* It's versatile. It can be used solo or with a group
* It's fun and challenging at the same time

Each card is color coded by muscle group: blue is cardio, red is core, pink is back, yellow is legs, orange is arms, and green is chest.

Each card is suited for playing games, numbered from 1 {easiest} to 51 {hardest}, and has a skill level classification (B= Beginner, I= Intermediate, and A=Advanced)

Each card has an exercise, silhouette of the exercise being performed, a description of how to perform the exercise and a suggested number of repetitions.

And finally, each card has a QR code. When scanned with a smart phone it will display a video of the exercise being performed. A link is also provided on the card so you can watch the video by typing it in browser.

So after receiving it and looking through the deck, I went to the Strength Stack 52 website and looked up a few fitness games. They have a ton listed on their website. I also put aside the Advanced cards since Funny Bunny would be playing with hubby and I.

The first game we played was War. The player who throws the highest card wins and all losing players must perform the exercises on the cards that were thrown. We had fun with this one.

The next game we played was Fast and Furious. The goal is to be the first person to get rid of your seven cards by performing the exercises. It was fun and tiring, and we were cracking up trying to be the fastest, but of course we were all losing form and Funny Bunny was going crazy...lol! It's hard to do sit ups while laughing. ;)

The last game we played was Memoriods. It's kinda like Memory but with a twist. This one took forever and we ended up quitting because we were all so tired by then.

My Thoughts: I would totally recommend Strength Stack 52! I love that it's affordable and easy to use and can be used by a variety of people, regardless of fitness ability. It was also fun to use as a family and got us up and doing something together. I also like that I can take the stack into a room and just use it by myself. I am a firm believer that you don't need fancy equipment to get a good workout.

Find Out More: You can find out more online at Strength Stack 52. Strength Stack 52 is only $16.95 for the deck of 54 cards. In the deck you get 17 beginner, 17 intermediate, and 17 advanced cards, along with 1 wild card. There is also 1 Anatomy of a Card, and 1 promo card. You can also purchase the Expansion Deck for $16.95 and Insane Deck for $16.95. Or you can save 20% and get the Tri-Pack for just $39.85. You can also find Strength Stack 52 on Facebook. Strength Stack is recommended for 16+ but Funny Bunny is only 10 and she had a great time playing.

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©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Menu Plan Monday - March 24

Today is DAY 50 of plant-based eating for me. I started with the Engine 2 Challenge on February 3rd and have been continuing through March with motivation from the No Meat March Challenge.

It really hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be. I think I do better with eliminating entire food groups because it just keeps me away from it all. ;)

I've been pretty successful eating out as well. I think the hardest thing is avoiding oil, but I just pick what I think are the best selections and don't worry about it.

Yesterday we ate at a new restaurant called Bentos. I ordered the noodle bowl with tofu and vegetables. Of course it had soy sauce...and was very greasy, but it was good, and I think the best selection I could have made {hopefully}. And I did go for a run after eating it because I was feeling grease guilt...lol!

Last week we had Spaghetti, a salad, and Happy Herbivore Fat Free Cornbread. It was yummy and easy to make.

We also had Alphabet Soup, which was good but could have used more flavor and seasoning. Definitely wasn't hubby's favorite.

Oh, I also made Peanut Butter Banana Soft Serve Ice Cream and it came out the way it was supposed to!! It was just what I needed for a late night snack!!

For the menu this week our dinners will include:

Lazy Pasta
Quick Burgers
Grandma's Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

Grandma's Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

A probably a variation of a Brown Rice Bowl

Snacks will be the same as last week because I've found what I like and I'm sticking to it!! ;)

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Homeschool Mother's Journal 3-22-14

In our homeschool...

I can't believe we have only 8 more weeks left in 5th grade!! YAY!

Funny Bunny has finished working on Unit 26: Life in Ancient Rome and Unit 27: The Roman Empire in Heart of Dakota's Creation to Christ.

She really enjoys this time period so it has been fun working on the projects together.

For her Independent History Study in Unit 26 she had to draw a Roman chariot and color it.

And for her History Project in Unit 27 she had to make a cutout of a Roman Solider along with his clothes and equipment. She's named him Flat Fluvius. If you missed her post yesterday, she will be writing about him in an ongoing series she created and named, Flat Fluvius Friday.

For Science Funny Bunny has started a new book called Exploring the History of Medicine. She is enjoying this one too.

Her science experiment last week was to find out the body's natural response to bleeding. By using water, food coloring, salt, sugar, oil, and shredded wheat, we found that as blood flows out of a cut, the body's platelets form a sticky blood clot to seal the leak. It was a great visual!

Books I am reading aloud to Funny Bunny...

Books Funny Bunny is reading independently...

Friday, March 21, 2014

Flat Fluvius Friday

Hi, and welcome to Flat Fluvius Friday written by Funny Bunny. Each Friday, Flat Fluvius will talk about himself, his armor, his language (Latin), and he’ll pose in a different spot.

This is Flat Fluvius:

Flat Fluvius is about 35 years old and he’s been in the Roman army since he was around 18. He fought in the Punic Wars, which you can learn more about here.

He hopes you enjoy this page!

Armor: As you can see in the picture above, Flat Fluvius wears a lot of armor! (It almost makes him look 3-D, doesn’t it?) So, let’s go through it all, step by step.

The first thing Fluvius puts on when he’s called to battle is his tunic.

Some people think of it like Roman soldier underwear, but that’s really not the case. Although a tunic is a garment underneath the armor, Romans considered tunics as their everyday clothes. So really, Roman soldiers wear their armor over their normal clothes.

Tunics are red, woolen garments worn underneath all that armor. The tunic hangs down to about the soldier’s thigh, and is very coarse and rough. You can imagine how uncomfortable the Romans were – every day!

Learn some Latin! Fluvius speaks Latin, the old Roman language. Here’s the exciting part – drum roll, everybody – now YOU get to learn the ancient language of the Romans!

Fluvius will teach you one or two words each week. Soon, you will be able to say many Latin words!

So, here is your first word: Salve means hello.

Whenever Fluvius sees a fellow soldier, a friend, his wife and children, or anyone he knows, he always says “Salve!”

Now whenever you see someone you know, you can practice on them by saying “Salve!”

Here's your second word: Amicus means friend.

This one goes along with ‘salve’. Whenever Fluvius meets someone he knows on the street, he says “Salve, amicus!”

Well done! You’ve learned how to say “hello, friend” in Latin! You’re doing great!

Find Fluvius: In this part of the post, each week Fluvius will pose in a different spot. It’s time to find Fluvius by guessing where he is!

Did you guess where Fluvius is? If you guessed the library, then you are correct! The library is a great place to read a good book and get some research done.

Speaking of research, these are a few good sites to learn more about the Roman Army:

Mr. Donn's Social Studies Site

Ducksters

Hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s Flat Fluvius post!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Thrifty Thursday

Here are some of the thrifty deals for today!

FREE Digital Magazine @ The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

FREE Feathered Friends PDF @ Cornell Lab of Ornithology

FREE Where is God Printable Pack @ The Proverbial Homemaker

FREE The Big Handbook of Nature Study: Plants & Trees @ Homeschool Freebie of the Day

FREE Elementary Geometry Math Software @ CurrClick

FREE Printable Spring Cleaning Checklist @ Simple Living Mama

FREE Spring Activities and Projects @ Teach Them Diligently

FREE Memory Work Made Easy @ his mercy is new

FREE Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Printables @ Chaos and the Clutter

FREE Rainbow Mini Puzzle Unit @ In All You Do

I hope you enjoy some of these FREEBIES! If you know of any others, please leave a comment below.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

You Can Draw Bible Stories for Kids Book Review

Funny Bunny and I received You Can Draw Bible Stories for Kids by Sandy Silverthorne in the mail to review.

This is a fun book filled, not only with Bible stores from Adam and Eve to the Resurrection, but also with simple drawing lessons.

You can discover amazing truths in the Bible while you learn to illustrate stories with awesome cartoons.

Each chapter begins with a Bible verse and story.

Then several pages of drawing lessons that pertain to the story follow. The story is then continued...with more drawing lessons.

Each chapter ends with "What's the Big Idea" to pull it all together.

Funny Bunny loves to draw and {I think} is quite good at it. She followed the lessons in the book to draw her own scene.

Find Out More: You can find out more online on Facebook. You Can Draw Bible Stories for Kids is just $7.49 for the Kindle Edition or $8.09 for the paperback. You can also find out more online about the author Sandy Silverthorne. Sandy has written several other books for children and has also made drawing video tutorials which you can see on his website, Facebook page, or at http://youcandrawbiblestories.com/

Monday, March 17, 2014

Menu Plan Monday - March 17

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! My GREEN menu for today contains lots of fruits and veggies!! It's like St. Patrick's Day everyday! ;)

If you were following along with me through February, you know that I was taking the Engine 2 Challenge. It went great so I decided to stick with it!

This month I've been getting encouragement and recipes from Girls Gone Green and their No Meat March Challenge. Even if you don't want to go meat free, it's a great way to get some good meatless recipes!

Oh, and if you are keeping track, I've lost 9lbs by eating no meat, fish, dairy, eggs, oil, and about 99% of processed foods. When eating out I just try my best to pick what I think would be plant-based.

Last week we tried Pizza Potatoes. Funny Bunny and liked them but hubby likes them better without the pizza sauce.

We also tried Spinach-Rice Enchiladas from The New McDougall Cookbook. We are really liked these! I added corn and black olives. I would have added black beans too but we were out.