Pure Water Flavoring

Grocery trips these days have me feeling like I've run a marathon. Not that I've ever run a marathon, but I did place first in the 400 yard dash in 4th grade...sooo.

I digress. With three growing children, my cart is full to overflowing. I'm the lady the cashiers groan to see coming. I got to thinking about how to lighten the load, both in the cart and on my wallet.

I realized last year that my kids were drinking far too much juice. If I brought home a bottle, that's all they would want to drink. They would consume far more than the daily recommendation, and then we would be completely out of juice until the next shopping trip.

Last year when Crystal Lite came out with their Pure Water Flavoring, I decided to give it a try. Rather than follow the package directions and pour a powder packet into a single serving water bottle, I filled up a two quart pitcher with ice-water and added one packet to that. The result was water with just enough flavor so that my kids would drink it, and it's budget friendly.

I feel better having my family drink more water. The Pure Flavorings are all natural, and low calorie, sweetened using the leaves of the stevia plant. Recently many stores have come out with their own brands of natural water flavoring, making them even more economical.

Now we save juice for special occasions (like weekends) and I've only got to toss a small box or two of water flavoring into my cart each week. If I could just find a smaller alternative to the gallons of milk and bushels of fruit that I buy, and I could switch to a little shopping cart!

Review of Life of Fred Math

K-boy has always been a reluctant student when it comes to math. Math facts were the bane of his existence when he attended public school. Once we started homeschooling, math was still the one subject that he would always drag his feet on. Up until two months ago we pleaded and prodded him through a very traditional math program. That was when we made the switch to the Life of Fred math series.

I first heard of this series from a homeschooling friend, who called to rave about it late last summer. Unfortunately, her recommendation came after I had already placed my orders for new textbooks, and the curriculum purchasing coffers were bare.

We're typically people that stick to a program once we invest money in it. Homeschooling carries enough expenses, without adding to them the cost of flip-flopping on textbook choices! This year however, K-boy just didn't seem to be progressing in his math studies. Sixth grade is a crucial year academically, so we made the decision in January to give Fred a try.

Wow! One look at the author's website (see link below) was enough to convince us that this could be the answer to our math woes. Stanley Schmidt is a former college professor, who has a problem with the way that math has traditionally been taught. First of all he puts the responsibility for learning squarely on the shoulders of the student, not the parent. His textbooks look more like novels, but boy is there a lot of math packed into each chapter.

K-boy is a reader, we all are around here. Instead of dreary math drills, and very dry lessons, Schmidt presents math as it applies to everyday life, well the everyday life of his charming main character, Fred. Five-year-old Fred happens to be a math professor, so in reading about his adventures students are actually exposed to math. It's just presented in a unique and appealing way.

At K-boy's level, he's supposed to handle the daily lessons on his own. No more struggle. I check his bridges (tests) for him, and if he's too confused we go back and review. The tests are frequent enough that the student can't move too far ahead if they still need more work on a concept.

M-girl and D-boy are working on the elementary series. The author recommends sitting cozily with young children while doing Fred together. That's what we do, and I'm amazed how fast they're picking up concepts. My only problem is they don't want to stop!

As parents, BadDad and I will continue to monitor progress and assure that everyone is learning. We're still using flashcards, and the occasional math fact worksheet. As far as learning new concepts though, we're all in love with Fred. He's in our home to stay!


I was not compensated for this review. My opinions are based on my own family's experience. Please visit the author's website for more information regarding this program.




http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/index2.html

Review of the Explode the Code Series

For the beginner, one of the most intimidating aspects of homeschooling can be which materials to use. Buying textbooks, especially for multiple children, adds up fast. Making the wrong choices costs not only money, but valuable teaching time as well.

In the past few years of homeschooling, our family has had some hits and some misses when it comes to curriculum. One of the best programs we've stumbled across has been the Explode the Code series by Nancy Hall. It's put out by School Specialty Inc. Last school year we tried the Go for the Code preschool series for D-boy, and liked it so much that we purchased multiple books in the elementary series for both D-boy and M-girl this year.

One of the most crucial subjects to master in the elementary years is reading. To become a true learner, a child must get beyond that early reader stage, and begin to decipher bigger texts and more difficult words. Explode the Code assists the child in this process. It is a phonics based program, that gradually takes the learner from the simplest one syllable words to reading longer passages with multi-syllable words. The format is very child-friendly, with text accompanied by simple line drawings.

It is designed to be easy to do at the child's pace. The available teacher's manuals lay out easy lessons and review to do with the child at the beginning of each chapter. The optional flash cards are well worth the cost, as they are called for in most lessons. After the lesson comes multiple pages that review each specific concept. Each book also contains both a pre and a post test, helping both parent and child see how much progress has been made.

For M-girl, in second grade, I usually schedule her daily Explode the Code time right before we read aloud together. I've been amazed at how much her reading level has improved this year. She's become increasingly more fluent, and thanks to her phonics skills, is able to figure out many unfamiliar words on her own. She's developed greater confidence as a reader, and enjoys challenging herself. I've even noticed an improvement in her writing and spelling skills since we've been using this phonics series.

Our family will definitely be using Explode the Code for years to come.

Please note that this review is based on my own opinion and my family's experience. I have not been paid for this post.