TOS Review ~ LanSchool

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Have you heard of LanSchool?  I hadn’t either until I was offered to review it.  Basically it is a classroom management program that allows you to see and control what is done on multiple computers throughout your home.

 

LanSchool enables you to network all your computers to the “teacher computer” and see what your students are doing. The teacher computer is capable of remotely controlling student computer. You can also send messages to the student computer, or limit access to programs or the Internet, and much more. One fun feature is that if you catch your student on the computer when they are supposed to be doing something else, you can blank out there screen with or without a message.

LanSchool’s website describes there program with these words:

“Teachers today are faced with the challenge and opportunity of using technology to teach. Computers are amazing educational tools, but they can also be a huge distraction to learning. The Internet, instant messaging, email and games are a constant temptation for students.

LanSchool v7.5 removes these distractions so you can teach more effectively. No classroom management solution is simpler to install, easier to use or better suited for teaching in a 21st century classroom.”

Two versions are offered, one for the home and one for schools. The home version can be installed on up to 3 computers at one time. The price of the  Home Version Sign-Up  is $99 and it includes  access to updates for 3 years.

I think LanSchool is a great program and we enjoyed using it for our review,  but I do not see a need for it’s use in our homeschool.  I only say that because we do not use a computer based curriculum and my girls are not on the computer during school hours. However, if you are looking for a program to help monitor the use of computer time and content then I highly recommend LanSchool for your family.

To see what my crewmates thought of this product click here.

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I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Crew and as such received a copy of LanSchool software 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 .

Teacher in-service…

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Today we had a teacher in-service while I am battling a fever. Last night I felt as if I was breathing fire with my high temperature. McKenzie is on the mend with her runny nose but  Montana is still under the weather with her bronchitis, more to come on our ordeal in the ER late Saturday night/early Sunday morning.

ER trip

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Can I just say that I am not a fan of ER’s, period! Montana and McKenzie have both been battling a cold since Wednesday. McKenzie was just a yucky green discharge from the nose and a little cough here or there. Montana however, got the full deal, croup cough, runny nose and she lost her voice by Friday evening. By late Saturday night, just as we were about to start family movie night I noticed she was having trouble breathing.  That all too familiar wheezing sound was coming through her little barking cough.

So off we went to our local ER. This was our very first trip to this ER and prayerfully our last, I will drive the extra 20 minutes to the Naval Hospital as long as it is not life threatening. Yes, it was that bad!

The night started off with the receptionist having an extremely bad attitude with everyone who crossed her path. It was very clear that she did not want to be there on that Saturday night and she was taking it out on everyone who needed care.  The triage nurse then proceeded to tell me that my child had a fever of 100.6. Okay!?! She didn’t have a fever when I left my house 20 minutes ago nor at any other time and that is not a high fever at all. And if your that concerned with it then give her a dose of Tylenol.  Then she went into a whole speal of whether or not she had asthma. I politely explained to her that Montana does not have asthma, my oldest daughter does so it runs in our family. Marie was diagnosed with asthma and pneumonia so I was concerned. She could care less.

So, we proceeded to sit in the waiting area with all the other people needing care. There was lots of commotion, loud voices of mothers yelling at there young children, drink throwing etc. After about an hour and a half of waiting the receptionist called me back up because she needed to check me in, WHAT!!!??? Why have I been sitting here unchecked in???  I should have left right then and there, but it was 1045 P.M. at this point and Montana was sleeping.

We waiting another half hour before being called back into a room, where our nurse left us in a frozen tundra of a room for over an hour! Montana was so cold that I had her bundled in the thin sheet and gown that was provided, but because of her fever (that she still had no medicine for) she was sweating buckets. Me on the other hand, I was a popsicle. I fell asleep and banged my head on the wall.

Long story short, Montana ended up having to have two nebulizer treatments to get her oxygen levels stable and a chest x-ray. The x-ray showed no signs of pneumonia, for that I was grateful. She does have bronchitis though so she is on a round of Amoxicilian to fight off the germs. What an eventful night!

We’ve been Bean Boozled…

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We got this package of Jelly Belly beans last year after McKenzie was born from our dear friends the Morgan’s. We sure do miss those guys! Well, it’s taken us that long to get around to tasting them.

The package has a caution warning: “These jelly beans may look alike but they could not taste more different from each other. Think you can tell them apart? WE DARE YOU!”

As part of our family night tonight each person picked a bean.  

Rotten egg or buttered popcorn?

rotten egg!

 

black licorice or skunk spray?

black licorice, yummy!

 

Ear wax or Cafe Latte?

Cafe Latte!

 

Cafe Latte or ear wax?

 

ear wax!

 

Top banana or pencil shavings?

 

Top banana!

 

moldy cheese or caramel corn?

moldy cheese, YUCK!!!

We only did one round of beans but we have plans for the extras for Madison’s upcoming 10th birthday.

Sharing their love

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Want to know why these two are so  happy?    It’s because they just delivered birthday presents to their friend, A, who lives across the street.

On Friday while the girls were supposed to be doing their school work, I found them making birthday cards. They knew it was payday and they decided that they were going to purchase presents for their friend using their monthly commission. I was very pleased to hear of the plans to bless and surprise their friend. Usually we purchase birthday gifts out of the family account, but they insisted about using their own money they earned. So, last night we counted up the money and split into our 10-20-70% categories respectively.

This morning they were eager to head out to the local store to make the purchases. Little Montana didn’t get to accompany us because she has the croup cough and she lost her voice, poor girl! But we know our Montana and picked something special out for her gift.

When we returned from shopping the girls quickly wrapped the gifts and then headed on their way across the street. That’s the birthday girl in the pink shirt, doesn’t she look surprised!

It blesses my heart that my girls think of others before themselves and that they are learning to give unselfishly. Way to go girls, I am so proud of you and your kindness!!!

A new fiscal year

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  Image credit: thinkbudget.com 

October 1st already?!? Where did the time go? With the arrival of the new fiscal year I am starting a new budget. With anything new, it’s going to take time to get it right. I have already been doing a version of the 10-20-70 % budget, where you tithe 10%, save 20%, and spend 70%. I fell off the budget wagon and from this day forward am picking myself up and starting anew. I am going  to really buckle down and make our dollars stretch and work better for our family.

                                                image credit: blog ebates

I have been using coupons at my local Farm Fresh and have been saving a great deal. I budget $400.00 every two weeks for groceries and household supplies. This amount doesn’t include diapers, as I have a separate diaper fund. For the last two weeks of shopping I have saved $73.39 (31%) off my bill! I was blown away at the check out line as the number owed kept dropping as my cashier, Charlene, swiped my coupons. Charlene is a great lady, we got off to a rocky start but now I look forward to chatting with her each week. Now, I just need to decide if I should go on Mondays where I can double my coupons up to 99 cents and get a 5% military discount or go on Wednesdays and double my coupons up to $1.00. I am thinking of sticking to Mondays but my Mondays are crazy days with the amount of running around we do. Hmmm…

     When we made the move East last year my girls had to give up their Rainbow swing set. We loved that swing set and have many fond memories playing on it. So, I plan on using my grocery savings, our upcoming garage sale earnings, and any other extra money to put towards replacing their swing set. 

                                                      Madison & Mikayla

Of course they have spied a bigger model, but as long as it has swings and a clubhouse I know they will be pleased as punch. My goal is to have $1500.00 funded by Spring and then use some of our income tax for the rest. It’s a hefty goal, but I know it is attainable with a little leg work and hard work. You know, I guesstimate I was spending around $30.00 a month on soda, another reason to give it up.

On another note can you believe there is only 84 days until Christmas!  84 DAYS!!!