Our Homeschool Reviews

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Hard Subjects to Teach

Over the years in our homeschool the subjects that have been the hardest to teach have changed. Some years it was Math and some years it was Spelling. This year those are actually going really well for us.

Of course, you have to keep in mind that my only child is just in 5th grade. As she gets older I'm sure the subjects will change again. I seriously can't imagine teaching Algebra and Geometry! Thankful for teaching videos. :)

I would say right now that the subject I struggle teaching most has to be Latin. I can teach the basics, but once we move past that, I just can't keep up. :(

We've used several different curriculum, and thankfully they all come with CDs and DVDs. I don't know what I would do without those. But when Funny Bunny has a question that isn't in the book or DVD, I really can't help her. Foreign language is just not my thing.

And unfortunately, she doesn't really like it either. I'm hoping though, that as she gets older, I can find some kind of online or local class that she can take so she can be with other children or friends learning the same thing. I think that will help motivate her with this hard to teach {and learn} subject!!

In the meantime, we are going to Keep Calm and Love Latin {well, at least we are going to try} ;)

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Monday, February 10, 2014

Menu Plan Monday - February 10

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/01/hash-browns-and-black-bean-burgers.html

If you have been reading my blog over the past week you know that I was selected as one of the many Engine 2 Challenge bloggers!!

Engine 2 is having a Nationwide 28-Day Challenge to eat plant-based foods!

Before I get into my meal plans for the week, I know that many of you are interested in a healthy plant-based lifestyle, but are unsure of where to start.

Engine 2 offers two plans: Firefighter {go all in} or Fire Cadet {ease into it giving up new foods each week}. You can take this online quiz to find out where you should start.

Both plans along with free recipes and resources are available at their 28-Day Challenge page. And to view all my posted meals and recipes you can view my Engine 2 Challenge thread.

Today is Day 8...and I'm feeling GREAT! ;)

Here are a few of my meals from the weekend

Pizza from YourPie {whole wheat crust, no cheese, and lots of veggies}

Spelt Blueberry Pancakes from Engine 2

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies from Happy Herbivore

Here are my meal plans for the week:

Black Bean Burgers
Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili
Burritos with Spanish Rice and Black Beans
Black Bean and "Cheese" Quesadillas

And you may be wondering how I am feeling. Well, I feel wonderful! After one week I've lost 4lbs and {if you don't mind too much information} am having bm's every day. To some that may not be a big deal, but for me, that is just short of a miracle!

On the down side, I've been having headaches just about every day as well. I know that they are probably caused by lack of sugar and caffeine and from toxins leaving my body, so I'm looking forward to being headache free! Last night was my worse one yet, so I'm pretty over having them at this point.

Well, that's it for our meals this week. If you have any questions about the Engine 2 Diet or if you are also taking the challenge, I'd love to hear from you!

Dial Vitamin Boost Body Wash Giveaway

NEW Dial Vitamin Boost Body Wash gives your skin a daily boost of vitamins. The advanced formula contains a moisturizing Vitamin Complex, which helps draw moisture directly to your skin leaving your skin feeling so healthy and soft, people can't help but notice!

We received the new Dial Vitamin Boost Lotion Infused Amazing B Body Wash to try and we really like it!

Hubby and I have been using it in the shower. It goes on really smooth and the smell is nice, not at all overbearing. Plus, it's great that Vitamin B helps draw in moisture and keep skin hydrated! I really feel like my skin is soft and smooth after using it.

GIVEAWAY

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Friday, February 7, 2014

Engine 2 Challenge - Day 5

Today is day 5 of the Engine 2 Diet and everything is going great! I've been sticking to it 100% and haven't been hungry at all. I've kept my meals simple and easy to make, something I think anyone can do. I'm also trying to stay away from crazy, hard to find ingredients, which makes it even easier!

Below are a few of the meals that I've eaten this week:

A variation of Rip's Big Bowl

Food for Life toast with approved peanut butter and a peach

Open face sandwich and a salad loaded with goodies

Again, these meals have all been simple to make with easy to find ingredients. If you want to see some of my other meals with recipes this week, view my Engine 2 Diet Challenge thread.

Although I'm not doing this to necessarily lose weight, I've lost 2lbs so far!! And my tummy troubles have decreased. :) I have had headaches this week though, which I'm sure are from lack of sugar, but they have been slowly lessening too.

This afternoon I'm also planning a trip to our local Whole Foods store. It's about 30 minutes away so it's a fun trip for me. More on that another day. :)

If you are taking the Engine 2 Challenge I'd love to hear from you! And if you are thinking of eating a more plant based diet, I'd like to hear your thoughts too!

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Thrifty Thursday

Here are some of the thrifty deals for today!

FREE Valentine's Resources @ Friends & Heroes

FREE Valentine's Day Study @ Proverbial Homemaker

FREE Homemaker's Companion @ The Road to 31

FREE Children's Laundry Printable & Detergent Recipe @ The Road to 31

FREE Age Appropriate Chore List @ The Flanders Family

FREE Scripture Printable @ Hip Homeschool Moms

FREE Meet the Masters Art Appreciation Curr @ Homeschool Freebie of the Day

FREE Earthquakes Unit & Lapbook @ Homeschool Share

FREE Countries & Capitals Bingo Game @ CurrClick

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

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Wordless Wednesday: Oatmeal for Breakfast

Breakfast this morning: oatmeal, apples, raisins, honey, flaxseed meal, and a few grape nuts for crunch.

Learn more about the Engine 2 Challenge.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Engine 2 Challenge Day 2

Yesterday I embarked on Engine 2's 28-Day Challenge! I am so ready to start eating healthy again!

Some of you may be wondering how on earth a person could survive without meat, dairy, processed foods, and oils, while only eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. It's really easier than you think, and I plan to prove it!

Yesterday was Day 1 and I stayed completely full the entire day. Normally when I've dieted or juiced, I'm always hungry. But with the Engine 2 Diet, you can eat until you are full. No counting calories or weighing portions. :)

Yesterday I ate the following:

Oatmeal with raisins, apples, and honey for breakfast

Tomato, Cucumber, Avocado, and Greens Sandwich on Ezekiel Bread for lunch. This was soooo good and kept me full most of the day. I'm having it again today for lunch.

Black Bean and Brown Rice Extravaganza for dinner. Everyone in the house loved this one and we are having the leftovers for dinner tonight!

Banana Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies for dessert. I could really sit and eat these all afternoon...at least they are good for me. :)

So day 1 was a success all around. I don't expect that we will love every recipe we try, but I am hoping we will like most of them.

Purex Make-A-Wish Giveaway!!

Purex is teaming up with Make-A-Wish to bring bright wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.

Purex brand will pay $.05 per bottle to Make-A-Wish for the first 4 million bottles of 75oz+ liquid detergent sold from Feb 1 - Feb 28, 2014 and will increase the payment to $.10 for every bottle above 4 million, with a minimum guarantee of $200,000 up to a maximum of $300,000!

They are also going to pay $.08 per bottle to Make-A-Wish for the first 620,000 bottles of Classic and Ultra Lines in Mountain Breeze and Sweet Lavender fabric softeners sold from Feb 1 - Feb 28, 2014 and will increase the payment to $.10 for every bottle above 620,000, with a minimum guarantee of $50,000 up to a maximum of $100,000!

I think this is wonderful so be sure to stock up on Purex detergent and fabric softener in February because every bottle helps this great cause!!

We love Purex here in our home, not only because it is great for the family on a budget, but also because it really cleans our clothes. Plus, it doesn't bother those in our family who are sensitive to certain scents.

If you'd like to try to win a FREE bottle of Purex Mountain Breeze detergent, enter my giveaway below. There will be THREE winners!!

GIVEAWAY

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Monday, February 3, 2014

Engine 2 National 28-Day Challenge

I was selected to be one of the many bloggers who will be blogging through the Engine 2 National 28-Day Challenge!!

Today starts Day 1!

Never heard of the Engine 2 Diet? It's is a simple, easy-to-follow four-week program that helps you lose weight and become fit, but most importantly, reduce the precursors to disease.

There is no measuring portions or counting calories...it's all about eating plant based, nutrient rich whole foods until you are full.

Yep, I said Plant-Based! But don't leave...it's not that hard, really!

Engine 2 has FREE resources on their website, including two free PDF ebooks to get you started, along with several videos. Plus, Whole Foods stores across the country are also partnering in the Challenge and some stores will even be holding E2 classes. If you're interested, sign up for the Challenge and join me. :)

For additional resources, you can also purchase Rip's books, The Engine 2 Diet and My Beef with Meat. I received both in the mail over the weekend and am still reading through them.

I'll be posting a couple times a week to share my meal plans, new recipes, free resources, my challenges, successes, and excitement for this journey! You can follow along here or on my other social media sites, like Facebook. I've also been pinning tons of simple plant-based recipes on Pinterest.

Here are a few of the recipes I'm trying out this week. Stay tuned for more..

Black Bean and Brown Rice Extravaganza
Rip's Big Bowl
Banana Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies
Banana-Date Walnut Muffins

And you can go here to see all of the Engine 2 Challenge Bloggers!

Sunday, February 2, 2014

SodaStream House Party!!

I was lucky enough to be one of many bloggers who had the opportunity to review a SodaStream! Today we had our SodaStream Fizz & Football Superbowl House Party with friends and family!

It was fun trying it out and very easy to use. Just simply connect the Carbonator to the back of the unit and you are ready to start. Then fill a carbonating bottle with water, insert it in the front, and press down to add the fizz. There are three different carbonating levels so you can adjust the level of fizz to your liking.

Then pop the bottle out and add one of the 70+ SodaMix flavors, from soda to tea to lemonade.

They even have SodaStream NEW Sparkling Naturals, made from cane sugar and other all-natural ingredients, making `better for you’ sodas. Sparkling Naturals contain no artificial flavors, no artificial colors and no artificial sweeteners, and do not contain any preservatives.

Each bottle of concentrated SodaMix contains enough syrup to make about 12 liters or 33 cans of soda. Plus, there is no high-fructose corn syrup in regular flavors and no aspartame in diet flavors.

Carbonators are available in two sizes, 60 liters and 130 liters, but are not both compatible with all of their machines, so be sure to check online first before replacing yours. Empty carbonators can be exchanged for a full one at participating SodaStream authorized dealers.

SodaStream can be purchased online or at one of the many authorized dealers, like Target, Walmart, Kohls, BJ's, and more.

If you are looking for an alternative to store bought sodas and flavored drinks and also something that is a little more earth friendly, then maybe take a closer look at SodaStream.

Edited on 3-11-14 - Since receiving the SodaStream, we've used it a couple more times. Even though we like it, we have to find a place to store it, and it seems like a lot of work for a simple soda. Hubby has also made a mess with it twice now. ;) He does like it to make carbonated water, so for now it stays.