TOS Review ~ Corps of Re-Discovery

Tweet

  

Has your daughter expressed an interest in sewing? If so, this patchwork quilt is the perfect craft for you from Corps of Re-Discovery.  The company was founded by a  fellow homeschool family’s passion for providing “…high quality, engaging products with directions children can understand”. Corps of Re-Discovery also offers kits that focus on the Pioneers and Colonial, Frontiersmen and the American Indians, all of whom contributed to the early history of the United States.

Corps of Re-Discovery is well named after the Lewis and Clark expedition-the Corps of Discovery.  There products make it  easy to enhance your family’s studies and “Re-Discover” America’s past all the while bridging the gap between the written words found in your studies and by creating hands-on projects.

Young ladies learned early on to sew from their mothers. Sewing a quilt was especially useful during the cold winter months.  With this quilt kit we were able to sew a beautiful Nine Patch doll quilt that is similar to what the  pioneers would have made and used in there homes.  For $11.99 you get all the material, batting, thread and yarn needed to complete the quilt. Piecing the quilt together can be done by hand or by machine. Adult supervision is necessary when using the iron.

When we found out about Corps of Re-Discovery we were super excited to be picked to complete and write a review for the patchwork quilt. Mikayla was so excited to start on it she kept asking me everyday. We finally got the quilt out and started the process of sewing with just the needle and thread, just like the pioneer days; but that took too long so we switched to the sewing machine about 1/4 of the way through.  Madison and Montana joined in too and helped to prepare this quilt. And how great because we just started our Prairie Primer unit study and it corresponds so well with this project. The girls had such a great time with this project that they can't get enough of sewing. They  have big plans to sew more bedding and move on to clothes for their dolls.

Check out what other had to say about Corps of Discovery and their great line-up of projects at the Homeschool Crew blog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Crew and as such received the patchwork quilt from Corps of Re-Discovery in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but are not influenced by the company or the free product provided .

Wordless Wednesday (almost) ~ Halloween past

Tweet

 

Mikayla @ 10 mo ~ 2003

Montana @ 13 mo ~ 2007

 McKenzie @ 14 mo ~ 2010

I am linking this post up with the girls over at SITS who are giving away a Canon Rebel T2i. I don’t know you Tiffany but I am sure you are beautiful inside and out!!!

Candy Day recap~ full of pictures

Tweet

My blessings

 

 

McKenzie’s Princess Pumpkin

  

                 black cat                                           bedtime bear

 

              Queen Nefertiti                               50’s poodle skirt  girl

 

              Snow White                                           T-Bone  & I

The haul

TOS Review ~ Yuck

Tweet

The girls were so excited when we found out we were selected to review Yuck by Buckets-O- Fun. I didn't realize until experiment day that we did not have the prized Sticky Yuck, but the show mush go on and things got pretty yucky around here anyways.

Just what is Yuck?
Yuck products are different types of slime made from  acrylic polymers.  Yuck is available in 4 different consistencies:

Chunky Yuck: It looks like rock salt when dry and hydrates to the size of machine ice cubes.

 
Saucy Yuck: It starts out as a powder and when hydrated has the consistency of applesauce.

Snowy Yuck: When dry it has the consistency of sugar. When hydrated it looks like slushy snow.

Sticky Yuck: When hydrates it has the consistency of snot.

We received the free sample pack from Buckets-O-Fun and my girls had a blast with the Yuck.  The Saucy and Snowy Yuck became yucky pretty quickly but the Chunky Yuck takes 24 hours to fully hydrate. Because we didn’t receive any Sticky Yuck I will be placing an order and spreading the Yuck wealth with cousins (AJ you’ve been warned :-))

Madison is not tasting the Saucy Yuck as that would be a bad thing since polymers absorb water, need I say more?

 Yuck can make for messy fun for birthday, co-ops, youth groups, or  just plain fun.  How about a Yuck balloon toss or Saucy Yuck wrestling? Depending on the amount you need the price ranges from $16-$20. A little bit of Yuck goes a long way. Want to try Yuck yourself? Well hop on over to Buckets-O-Fun and order a free sample and have some yucky fun!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Crew and as such received a sample packet of Yuck in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but are not influenced by the company or the free product provided .

Review~ 2010-2011 Middle School Planner

Tweet

I was given a copy of the 2010-2011 Middle School Planner from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine store a few weeks ago to review.  I am sure you know about the Big E-book Planner that TOS sells. Yes, the one with over 600 pages for only $39 it’s a steal and I love it!  Well now TOS is selling a multipurpose student planner so that your children can learn to balance home and school responsibilities.

The Middle School planner is geared towards 7th and 8th graders and since Marie is an 8th grader I was eager to see what this planner entails. The planner allows me to put Marie in charge of her schedule as we transition to more independent work.

This planner allows you to select from a wide variety of forms to fit your students individual needs. Items such as:

• To-do lists (today, tomorrow, next week . . .)
• Audio/Visual log
• Log sheet
• Marking period planners
• Wish list (stuff to buy later)
• Science lab sheets (use to gather all the supplies and record the experiment too)
• General book reports
• Chore charts 
• Loaned and borrowed lists (no more lost books, CDs, DVDs . . .)
• Important phone numbers and contacts (never forget a phone number again)
• Address book (from A–Z)
• Family tree
• Community service record (college and scholarship applications may require this information)
• Dates to remember (birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, important events)
• Website login/password reference (handy!)

You get all this and more with any of the TOS Student Planners. Don’t have a Middle Schooler, no problem, TOS has it all covered!  They offer four age-appropriate planners for the different stages of learning at a reasonable price.

• Primary Planner—grades K–3 ~ $9.95
• Secondary School Planner—grades 4–6 ~ $9.95
• Middle School Planner—grades 7–8 ~ $19.00
• High School Planner—grades 9–12 ~ $29.00

I am so impressed with this student planner that I am going to order a Primary and Secondary planner for Mikayla and Madison’s use. I want to teach the girl’s how to effectively manage and organize their time, a life skill that is essential for good performance in school and in life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   I received a TOS Middle School Student Planner in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but are not influenced by the company or the free product provided .

Wordless Wednesday

Tweet