Simplecard: Custom Cards

I am so proud of myself for actually getting Lil Pumpkin's birth announcement done before she is even 2 weeks old! Of course, it wouldn't have been possible if Simplecard didn't ask me to do a review of their custom greeting cards and postcards.

What's Simplecard?

Simplecard is a custom greeting card site that makes creating or personalizing postcards/greeting cards easy. Simplecard is a division of Modern Postcard.

Card sizes include:

    * Flat postcard, 4.25’ x 5.7”
    * Greeting card that folds to 4.25” x 5.7”
    * Flat Deluxe postcard, 8.5” x 5.7”
    * Deluxe greeting card that folds to 8.5” x 5.7”

What kind of paper and print quality do they offer?

Simplecard uses:

    * Environmentally responsible card stock, 100% SFI certified
    * State-of-the-art printing press for unrivaled color accuracy
    * UV coating protects color images and adds a sheen

What I Thought:

As a digital scrapbooker, I knew that I would be designing my own baby announcement. If you aren't a digital scrapbooker, there are many template options available that you can upload a photo and insert into the template. In fact, you don't even have to make a photo card---there are pre-made cards for the holidays, moving, save the date, etc. that you can personalize.

I thought that the process of creating the card on the website was easy to do. Once I picked my template, I uploaded my jpeg image and could see right away what the card looked like. I had the option of changing fonts and adding addition photo(s) to the inside of my greeting card and the back. After ordering, I was pleased at how quickly the order arrived. My set of 25 cards came with envelopes in great condition. The color on the cards matched pretty well to what I saw on my monitor when creating the card. Each card is printed on cardstock and has a glossy coating.

For the most part I was very pleased with Simplecard. It lives up to its name--the site makes creating cards simple. I think that by adding a few more non-clipartish options (my preference are templates that look more like real scrapbook pages) and having spec. templates geared toward digital scrapbookers not just graphic designers, would be a welcome improvement  (spec. templates for creating your own designs in PSE would be nice). Overall, I am very happy with my cards and can't wait to mail them out to family and friends.

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Disclosure: I received a set of cards from Simplecard for review purposes only. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Upcoming Reviews

I've got a lot of cool upcoming reviews and a couple of giveaways! I've been working hard at getting everything ready before this new little one arrives. I hope to add a couple of fun surprises too. ;)


I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

Playdough, Park, and Hermie

Wednesday was a spontaneous fun-filled day for us. In the morning my little girls were getting into everything while we were trying to get our chores done, so we pulled out all our Playdough gear. We haven't played with Playdough in awhile so that kept them occupied long enough for us to get some work done. I think the older kids have just has much fun with Playdough as the younger ones. :)

I haven't been feeling well the past 2 weeks, either due to allergies or pregnancy or combination of both--- but I just feel blah all the time. I knew that we just needed to get out of the house and have some fun. Since the temperature was nice, I thought a day at the park would be the perfect outing. We called some friends to see if they could meet us, packed a lunch and drove to the next town to play on their playsets.

For the car-ride home we put in our new video from Tommy Nelson called "Hermie: Who Is In Charge Anyway? A Lesson in Growing Up With God." I received this DVD as part of the BookSneeze program and was looking forward to seeing this new movie since my girls love Flo and Hermie. (I listened to it while driving and then watched it at home) ;)

Who is in Charge Anyway? is about a little flea who learns that God didn't make anyone by accident and that he's not finished with us yet. The lesson is based on Psalm 90:16 "Show your servants the wonderful things you do; show your greatness to their children."

I love that Tommy Nelson has wholesome videos my children can watch. This video flipped back and forth between older snippets from previous movies and the current storyline. This was to show Freddie how God worked in the other characters' lives. My 8yr. old was able to follow the flipping back and forth because she remembered seeing the original movies. My 3yr. and almost 2yr. old had a hard time paying attention to the movie. It seemed a little slow and confusing for them to follow. I was a little disappointed that it didn't hold their attention as well as their favorite Flo movie. Still, the message was good and I think if they were a little older they would have been able to follow along better. This DVD has several other features added such as a trivia game, behind the scenes and sing-along. My 8yr. old enjoyed seeing and using these features. I would probably recommend this video for kids 4 and up. 

So sometimes unplanned days have fun events unfold!




Disclosure: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Friendships for Grown-Ups

I recently read Lisa Whelchel's new book, Friendships for Grown-Ups. I remember growing up watching Lisa as Blair on The Facts of Life, and have been a fan of hers since then. I've read several of her other books and was looking forward to reading this book.

Right away I was drawn into this book because of how open and honest Lisa was in telling about her own struggles with having deep, meaningful friendships. She shared how her childhood impacted how she related to people and in return, how she put up walls and defenses in her life without even realizing it. She talks about her journey of breaking down those walls and learning how to connect deeper with people. I admire how honest she was in recounting her struggles and victories. Reading this book caused me to reflect on the status of my friendships and think about how I could be a better friend. I realized that I have several of those walls up myself.

Besides sharing her story, Lisa also includes several helps such as questions for reflection on each chapter, a prayer poem, practical steps for developing and growing friendships, and conversation prompts. I don't do this often, but I know I will go back and reread this book a second time because I know I missed some good nuggets of truth the first time.


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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Eco-Fingerpaint : Review & Giveaway

 Over the past year, my family has been trying to incorporate more eco-friendly and organic products into our lifestyle. I was thrilled when I found the EcoMom website and store. Here is part of their vision statement:

Founded to address the connection between the health of our environment and the health of our children, EcoMom is committed to making eco-conscious living easy, affordable, and rewarding. By helping women begin to take better care of themselves and their families – with education, support, tools and products - we empower them to take the all important first steps toward a healthier, more balanced, and sustainable lifestyle.

There are so many things in the EcoMom store that have caught my eye--mainly their organic/eco-friendly baby supplies, toys and cleaning products. They have recently started a new program called EcoPass, which allows you to get 15% discount plus free shipping on every order if you purchase an annual membership.

After getting in touch with EcoMom, they generously sent me some of their Gluten Free Eco-Fingerpaints to try with my 3yr. old daughter. These paints are made with all natural ingredients including fruit, plant, and vegetable extracts. The product contains 6 powdered paints and extra containers to mix the paint colors.

These fingerpaints are very different than the gel-like fingerpaints sold in most craft stores. Since there are no artificial dyes, the colors have a nice earthy, muted tone. The texture of the paint tends to be a little gritty and the paint does dry fast on little fingers leaving a powdered residue. My daughter asked to have a towel nearby so she could wipe her fingers as needed. Once she got use to the feel of the paint, she enjoyed creating her little masterpieces.

What I liked:
* I liked knowing the paints are made with all natural ingredients. Knowing these paints are safe to use with children who have gluten allergies is also a big plus.

* I liked that I could mix smaller amounts of paint to kind of help control some of the waste we usually have with fingerpainting. (My daughter likes to have blobs of fingerpaint on plates which lead to waste). Since each color has its own mixing cup, I can make as much as I need.

* I liked that I could make the paints thinner or thicker by changing the mix/water ratio. I like thicker paints, my daughter likes the paint to be a little runny. It was easy to customize preferences.


EcoMom has offered to give a set of these paints away to one of you! And since they want all of you to be winners, they have also allowed me to share a special 15% discount code for your first order. Just use SBBL195 to redeem this discount. (good through April 30, 2010)



Ways to Win:
1. Mandatory: Go to the EcoMom website and tell me one product that catches your eye and post it in the comment section below.

Optional Ways: (You need to leave a separate comment for each option since I use Random.org to pick winners.)

2. Follow me on Twitter
3. Follow EcoMomCEO on Twitter.
4  Become a fan of EcoMom on Facebook
5. Join EcoMom's newsletter


You have until Tues. April 13 to enter!  The winner will be posted on Wed. April 14. Giveaway is now closed!

*I was given the product for review purpose only.. Opinions on this product are mine.

WannaBe™-When I Grow Up I Want to be a Firefighter |Review

The Old Schoolhouse recently sent me WannaBe™-When I Grow Up I Want to be a Firefighter  unit to review. I thought this would be perfect for my 10yr. old son.

Cost: $8.95
Format: PDF file
Ages: K-4th - though I think that it would work best for ages 8 on up.

Here is some information about the unit from the site:

• Discover the history of firefighters and the evolution of firefighting equipment.
   
• Learn what other emergencies firefighters respond to.
   
• Explore the ins and outs of a fire truck.
   
• Pretend you are a building inspector and learn about building codes.
   
• Meet a real-life fireman and hear him describe his job in his own words.
   
• Fall in love with Wilshire, the firehouse dog, who teaches children about fire safety.
   
• Examine the pay scale for firefighters across the country.
   
• Learn about the relationship between firefighters and robots, and build your own robotic arm!

My 10yr. old son was able to work through this unit independently. I was impressed with the narrative. It was easy to read yet contained factual information in an interesting way. Since my son was doing this independently, I did create notebooking pages so that he could summarize each section in his own words. I was surprised that several times he came to me on his own and started chatting about certain firefighter facts. This is not normal for him. :)

While we did enjoy the main e-book, I found that we didn't use most of the activities. I would have appreciated some notebooking pages in lieu of crossword puzzles. We didn't use the copywork pages because he already has other copywork. Both my son and I were a little confused with the robotics section. While we understand the connection, it seemed like it was a bunny-trail in the middle of the unit (though bunny trails aren't necessarily bad). My son did think the information was cool and wanted to know if a robotics unit was available.

My thoughts: I think this unit would be a good fit for 3rd-5th graders who already have an interest in learning more about firefighting. The narrative portion is well-done and would be a nice side-study in careers. This series does not include a weekly lesson plan, so one would need to be created. While the unit is full of ideas, you would have to pull everything together. You could read most of the unit on the computer, but I've found that we work better with a hard-copy.


If firefighting is not your cup of tea, check out the other e-book units in the WannaBe -When I Grow Up Series:

• Veterinarian,
• Chef,
• Military,
• Doctor,
• Police Officer,
• Missionary,
• Artist,
• Pilot, and
• Farmer

*Tristan, from Our Busy Homeschool left a comment regarding a supplemental booklist that works well with the fire fighter unit. I didn't want it to get overlooked in the comment section.
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This unit was given to me for review purposes. No other compensation was given. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

Download N Go Unit Study Australia | Review

 

This past week we started our third Download N Go unit study by Amanda Bennett. Download N Go unit studies are one week themed units that have everything planned and ready to go for learning. We had already finished and blogged about Winter Wonders and Birthday Bonanza, and were excited to try out the Australia unit.

Ages: K-4th

Cost: $7.95 per unit, though there are package options available that reduce the price per unit. Since it is a downloadable product, each unit can be reprinted for other siblings to use, or to go back and do again.

Supplies Needed: Paper, notebook, file-folders (or cardstock) and access to a computer.

Preparation: A weekend to print materials, set up the folder and gather books. Once that is done there is virtually no daily prep. needed.

The Australia unit has been our favorite unit so far. My 2nd grade daughter loves the subject matter and the different types of activities that are included. The unit is laid out so that the student can work through everything independently if they are able. It really is Download N Go! My daughter and I work on the unit together. We pull up the PDF file on our computer since Amanda Bennett links directly to the videos, websites and learning activities for the day (I love this feature!! Takes us directly to where we need to go). My daughter also has her notebook open to follow along with any reading and to complete the written portions. Usually there is a combination of videos, websites, notebooking/lapbooking activities, and read-alouds for each day.

Now that we've done a few, I have a certain set-up that I like to do for each unit. The nice thing is that you can use the unit as-is or tweak it to work for you. I have found that my daughter needs two weeks to complete a unit. This is because the unit is not her only curriculum and she also needs my help moving through things (though she is getting better at being able to do more of it independently).

  

First I print everything out. Then I use 5 color pockets and 10 divider tabs. I also 3-hole punch several sheets of cardstock and place them at the front of the folder. We adhere all our lapbooking elements to the cardstock instead of creating a lapbook.

  

Since the original unit is made for a week, I place all the printables listed for that day in the pocket.

  

Then I place two divider tabs for the days it takes me to complete the one day of the unit. I've found that usually I can evenly divide one day's workload into two.

 

Then behind each day tab I made an assignment sheet to help my daughter and I know what activities we need to do each day. Each day my daughter does her two vocabulary words, and we read at least 1-2 books on the topic together. Sometimes we have additional crafts or projects to do along with working though the unit materials. This sheet is not necessary for the unit, but is something I added to help our day go smoother.

Once a unit is completed, I move all the papers from the white working notebook into a big 3" blue notebook that holds all our completed units. You can find a free cover from The Old School House store. Then I reuse the tabs, pockets and notebook for our next download.

The Download N Go units have been a perfect fit for my 2nd grader. Just the other day she commented on how much she liked doing her special units. For the price, the time it saves me in preparing my own units, and the ease of implementation --we will definitely be adding more studies to our year.

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The Australia Download N Go unit was given to me for review purposes. No other compensation was given. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

The Scripture Lady--Review

I first discovered the Scripture Lady when I was looking for resources to go along with a Wordless Book unit for toddlers/preschoolers. At the time I wasn't able to purchase any resources, but I did sign up for her newsletter, which is full of tips, game ideas and downloads.

Recently, the Scripture Lady asked for volunteers to review her curriculum. Of course I offered! I was able to hear her songs and check out her "Sing a Song and Play a Game" curriculum book. I will definitely be using it with my preschool co-op class.

Overview:

The curriculum is based on 10 songs that the Scripture Lady wrote and has 2 activities plus printables that go with the games. Geared for preschool/early elementary.

Songs:

I really liked the songs. We thought the songs were entertaining, easy to sing along with, and I love that they are based on scripture! The arrangements were fun and I found that I didn't mind listening to them over and over again either. They were easy to teach and remember. Nice quality sound and arrangements. I'll be adding some of her other CD's to my teaching toolbox.

Games:

I like that she included two options for each song. The games reinforced the concept/scripture taught in the song. They can easily been done with small groups and minimal preparation.

I love that I was able to get my young kids moving and learning the Word at the same time. The Scripture Lady is a wonderful resource for teaching the Bible in an active way.

I'm a Girl, No a Mermaid...

I've added a new title to my list of titles-- that of official toy tester. Ebeanstalk, a toy site dedicated to selecting good, safe baby toys recently asked for mom volunteers to test their toys--and of course I volunteered. I didn't really think they'd send me anything, but was pleasantly surprised when they did. They sent me MacKenna Mermaid from Manhattan Toy, who makes great developmental toys. Being in a house with 4 young girls of varying ages, I knew this was the perfect review toy for us.

Target Age: The manufacturer recommends this toy for ages 3-8. My almost three-year old thought it was a "pretty baby", but my 7yr. old was very excited to play with this mermaid doll. There are small parts (the purse and ruffles) that could cause a choking hazard, so I wouldn't purchase this for any child under 3--in fact I'd probably wait until my younger DD was at least 4 years old.

Since my 7yr. old showed the most interest, I let her check out the toy. We've had Groovy Girls in our house before, but never one of the special mermaids. My daughter was captivated by the shimmery fabric, pink hair and the fact that you could take the tail off and the doll becomes a regular girl. She also liked that MacKenna had a neat little shell purse, and that you could remove the arm ruffles if you wanted. For her, the doll was a great catalyst for pretending. Right away she was setting up scenes and mermaid adventures.

Durability and Quality: I thought the doll seemed well-made and looked like it would hold up even with lots of use. I liked that it is a soft-body doll made of velour. It is 13" tall and light-weight. The clothes have Velcro closures and were pretty easy to change (though I occasionally found it trying to get the legs back in the mermaid tail, but DD didn't have any problem). I know my DD will probably loose the purse within a week though ;)

Pros: Fun colors, easy to carry around, well-made, and it is like getting two dolls in one.

Cons: Some of the small parts might get lost quickly. Children under 5 might have difficulty getting the tail back on by themselves.

My daughter has enjoyed this toy and now has the other mermaid dolls on her wish list. I'm pretty pleased myself and will consider adding more mermaid friends to her collection.

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The product reviewed in this article was a sample provided to me by the company. These views and opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.

SpellQuizzer: Review

My kids aren't great spellers. There. I said it. In fact that was the whole reason I went on a curriculum hunt last year before finally picking our current spelling curriculum, which has worked out great for us.

Then recently, Dan Hite from SpellQuizzer (all one word) invited me to try out the SpellQuizzer software. Since two of my kids are motivated by anything on the computer, I figured it was worth checking out. I'm glad I did!

My son offered to help me with this review. He worked through several of the test lists. Then I had him create his own list. Can you guess what his topic was? The funny thing is that I had no idea we even had a microphone. When I told him he needed one, he went to his room and brought it out. He had it just sitting on his dresser!

Next I worked with the software (sorry, no picture as it is hard to type, speak and take a photo at the same time). I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed using SpellQuizzer!

Things I liked:

* Compatible with any spelling program. You can add words directly from your curriculum or make up your own word lists.

* No frills and I like that! No fancy graphics, mazes, or music to distract the kids. They knew they were learning spelling or vocabulary and they stayed on task.

* Easy to use. Once you download it onto your computer, it is very easy to enter new lists or download premade spelling lists from the SpellQuizzer website. In fact, this is a big selling point for me. I showed my son once how to create a list and add words, and he was able to do it on his own. So now that I know he can do it, I can have him enter his own lists, or even create lists for his other siblings.

* No need to be on the internet. Since it is a downloadable program, you do not have to be connected to the internet to use it. This is a nice option to have as sometimes my kids don't have internet access.

* Ability to add voice recordings. This feature really makes it fun and versatile. If I could only show you how silly my son and I were being when doing the voice recordings.

* More than one use. Not only can you record the word and use for spelling,but you can also use it for vocabulary review. I recorded our zoology definitions and then typed the answer in the word bank. Then when practicing, my kids heard the definition and then typed the right answer (I gave them a list of the words to choose from because they were hard to spell for memory).
Oh, and since they have to type the words, they are practicing typing---another skill they need more practice on!

So it is safe to say that SpellQuizzer will be a part of our homeschool toolbox this year. I'm looking forward to implementing it with our curriculum.

**You can win your own SpellQuizzer software by entering my BCCO giveaway

For one more extra entry, tell me if you are a natural speller or not. Leave your comment on the original SpellQuizzer giveaway post (link listed above).