Apply Now to Join the 2018 TOS Homeschool Review Crew!!!

To apply, just click the image below!

October News

October has been a pretty great month for us here in TX.  The kids and I headed out on one of the final days of the Texas State Fair to see what all the fuss was about. 

We saw a great acrobatic show, a kind of silly one with Extreme Pogo stick athletes (didn’t even know there was such a sport), and another one featuring cowboys and a demonstration of how they round up steer.  That one had an award-winning lasso expert…he put on a pretty amazing show.

We tried some different foods, but nothing extreme.  Of course, we got to see the statue of Big Tex overlooking the fair.  Overall, we were pretty disappointed, though.  It definitely wasn’t anything impressive.  I thought everything was bigger in Texas!  Actually, the size of the fair was pretty large…but it seems the main focus is the food.  They had some pretty bizarre offerings, I must say.  It seems like there were miles of food stands all lined up.  The trouble is that there was far more food than there was exhibits or shows.  To me, that’s just not the main focus of a state fair.  I wanted to see giant, award-winning pumpkins and adorable animals.  I saw some horses and some hogs and lots of cattle, but that was about it.  Now I can’t attest to the rides, as we did not visit the Midway.  But that’s not what draws me to the fair anyway.

Perhaps we’re just spoiled by the Virginia State Fair.  It’s a lot to live up to.  I loved the fancy chickens, the adorable bunnies, the baby chicks hatching under brooders, and the adorable ducklings with their cute antics of sliding down the little slides into the water.  I miss the giant pumpkins, the tractors on display, and the tons of amazing shows and exhibits.  It was easy to make a mini-vacation out of the Virginia State Fair.  But honestly, I’m not sure I’d ever go back to the Texas State Fair, and that’s saying a lot considering that I had 3 free tickets!  It really wasn’t even worth the $15 parking I had to pay.

********************

The next piece of news for October is that my oldest son, my firstborn, finally landed his first gainful employment!  He’s been putting in applications in recent weeks, but since he’s never worked before, he wasn’t getting any calls for interviews.  Then out-of-the-blue, his phone rang with a request for an interview for Sonic.  He went the same day, and the hired him on the spot as a carhop!  He started the very next day by attending orientation, and then he started training on the job on Monday.  It really only took a day for him to learn the ropes, and then he pretty much completed his first week on his own.  Hooray for Hayden!

                            

Heading out for his first day                    Returning home in uniform

He mostly enjoyed it until today when he got *that* customer who ate half her food and then sent it back three times because it wasn’t quite right or wasn’t hot enough, or whatever.  Basically, it sounded like a professional “I’m gonna complain until I get my food for free” type of customer.  You know the one.  It kind of bummed Hayden out a bit, because she ended up complaining about him to the manager, saying that he argued with her about whether or not the food was hot (he actually just informed her that he watched them re-make the food in front of him, fresh out of the fryer!).  I told him not to take it personally…there’s a bad apple in every bunch.  His till ended up short, too…lesson learned about forgetting to sign out after each order.  I suspect there’s an overage on someone else’s till as a result.  Anyway, he’ll get the hang of it!  He likes having a routine and the ability to earn some money for himself. 

Go, Hayden!

********************

Halloween is just two days away.  The kids just had a two-week break from homeschooling…our old fall vacation time, only we didn’t go on vacation this time!  Instead, we just enjoyed the time off and took care of errands and such while we had the extra time. 

Haylee just turned 13, so she is technically too old to trick-or-treat, but since this is our first Halloween in Texas, we figured Holden would be more comfortable if she was going door-to-door with him, so we told her she could do it this one time.  She was very excited!  LOL.  I picked up a Mad Hatter costume for her today at the thrift store.  It’s so cute, and it has an adorable little mini-hat with it.  Holden hasn’t decided if he’s going to wear his king costume, his minions blanket sleeper that has a decorative hood, or his Darth Vader blanket sleeper with the cape and face mask again.

Haylee and I opened up the Halloween decorations and did a little decorating out front this evening.  We put a cling door cover on that looks really cool, some hanging ghosts, a pumpkin garland, a trick or treat welcome mat, some clings in the window, some signs, and I’ll put my trick-or-treat flag out tomorrow in place of my fall one.  I’ll try to add a photo tomorrow in the daylight.  I made up candy treat bags on Friday.  The neighbors say there aren’t many trick-or-treaters or even homes giving out candy around here, so I just made 25 goody bags for the kids who do come by.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Schlotzsky’s Treat on Halloween

If you have kids and you live near a Schlotzsky’s restaurant, you might want to stop by on Halloween to enjoy a meal.

On October 31st, all you need to do is purchase one adult entree and bring your kids in their costumes, and you’ll get up to TWO FREE KIDS’ MEALS along with your purchase.  What a treat for all!  (One coupon per person per visit…code 605.)

I received this information in an email because I’m a Lotz 4 Me member (the store app), so check your local Schlotzsky’s to verify participation.  This is a great deal!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

REVIEW: Weave Your Word in Me – Part 1 by Kid Niche Christian Books

We enjoyed reviewing the unique bible and prayer study called Weave Your Word in Me – Part 1 by Kid Niche Christian Books.

WHAT IS IT?:

Weave Your Word in Me – Part 1 is a bible and prayer study curriculum for tweens that contains 36 lessons based on the Lord’s Prayer.  It requires only a bible, a pencil, and a dictionary. 

This program is fully compatible with six major translations, including King James Version (KJV), English Standard Version (ESV), New King James Version (NKJV), New International Version (NIV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), and  New American Bible Revised Edition (NASBRE).

Through these lessons, your child will learn how to dig deeper and focus more fully on the meaning of the words in the Lord’s Prayer.

This program is available for just $20 and comes shrink-wrapped, 3-hole punched, and ready for your binder.  There is also a Part 2 available for $20 with an additional 44 lessons, as well as a combo set of both parts that includes all 80 lessons for $30 (the best value).

OUR EXPERIENCE:

When I received this program, it was hole-punched and ready to drop easily into a binder.  It even had a full-color insertable cover already made to slide into the front of my binder for easy identification.  It also included information about the extra resources available on the website to enhance our lessons.  The links found there included activities such as videos, art projects, and puzzles related to the lesson content.  We especially enjoyed the news video about the Aurora Borealis that was seen in Scotland, which complemented lesson 2!

The curriculum begins by laying out a 9-verse poem called My Whole Self Before YOU, which conveys a rhythmical prayer modeled after the message of the Lord’s Prayer.  Then it gives a line-by line comparison of portions of it, showing how it is an everyday translation of the prayer.  I particularly liked this comparison, because it helped me to feel confident that the program was centered on conveying the meaning of the actual words of the bible in terms that a child could understand without straying off on someone’s own personal philosophy about the bible.  Then simple instructions are provided on how to proceed, though the program is highly intuitive.

Each lesson is 1-3 pages in length.  You begin by reading designated bible passages, and the student answers simple questions about those passages in a variety of formats such as fill-in-the-blank, underlining the correct answer, or true and false responses.  Along the left margin of the page, there’s a box which highlights the key verse of the prayer poem that is being studied in that lesson.  I really liked that the questions go beyond obvious answers by ending with more probing questions that require the student to think and reflect more deeply.  For instance, in lesson 4, Holden learned about how sometimes, God answers our prayer by expecting us to wait a while.  Then it asked Holden to think about two reasons why God might want us to wait.  This was a good opportunity for us to discuss the topic further.  We talked about how waiting allows us to rely more fully on God, to be patient and wait for His timing, and how God knows if it’s not the right time for us to receive what we’re asking for in prayer.

At the end of each lesson, a short prayer is shown in a box, and the student is expected to fill in the blanks in the prayer with information they learned in that particular lesson.  The student is instructed to then say the prayer aloud to God.  Here is Holden reading the prayer at the end of lesson 5.  So cute!

I really liked that the lessons were concise enough to keep the attention of my 9-year old with ADHD.  It can be challenging to keep him focused long enough to finish his work, so it’s important not to stay on one subject too long.  One of these lessons could easily be broken up over the course of the week by answering just a couple of questions a day, or we can sit and complete a lesson in one sitting if we prefer.  Either way, the 36 weekly lessons are enough to keep this study going for the school year.  And the full-color pages and large font size are easy for Holden to follow.

I really enjoyed the discussions that we had.  I felt like it gave me an opportunity to have some insightful conversations with Holden.  I even showed the program to my husband and talked to him about how much we were enjoying it and how much I appreciated how well the program communicates the importance of prayer as a means of drawing oneself closer to God, and in turn, drawing God closer to you.  I told him that I wish someone had taught me as a child how important prayer is in your relationship with God.  Unfortunately, that was something I didn’t fully comprehend until I was an adult and already a Christian.

If you have a tween in your house and you desire to bring them closer to God by understanding the power of prayer, I would definitely recommend that you give this program a try!  If you have an independent learner who is capable of looking up bible verses on their own, then these lessons could easily be completed independently, as the answer key for each lesson is provided at the back of the materials.  But for us, I wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunities it provides for meaningful discussion, so I enjoy doing the lessons alongside Holden.

Check out what other Crew members have to say about this awesome prayer study by clicking the banner below.

$1 Hot Dogs @ Sonic Tomorrow!!!

All day tomorrow, October 18th, you can stop by Sonic and get an All-American Hot Dog or a Chili Cheese Coney for  just $1! 

$1 DOGS ALL DAY OCTOBER 18

Includes 6-inch All-American or Chili Cheese Coney

FREE Scary Face Pancake @ IHOP on Halloween!

If you have kids ages 12 and under, you’ll want to stop in at IHOP on October 31st to get them a FREE Scary Face Pancake between 7 AM and 10 PM! 

They will receive a buttermilk pancake with whipped cream, strawberries, mini Oreos, and candy corns on the side so kids can make a cool face on their pancake. 

Stop by so your little ones can enjoy their “scary” treat!  No purchase required.

Enjoy!

National Taco Day Freebies & Deals!!!

Tomorrow, October 4th, is National Taco Day!  Take a look at some of these freebies and deals lined up just for you on this special day!

• Taco Cabana:
  Get a  FREE Fajita Taco with e-club sign-up
  
  
• El Pollo Loco: 
  Get a FREE entree when you join the Loco Rewards Program and download the app
  
  
• On The Border:
  Get 50-cent mini tacos!
  
  
• Del Taco:
  Get 2 FREE chicken tacos when you sign up to receive emails
  
  
• Chuy’s: 
  Dress in a taco costume and get a FREE taco
  
  
• Taco Bell: 
  Get 1 crunchy taco, 1 nacho cheese Doritos Locos taco, a cool ranch Doritos Locos taco, and 1 fiery Doritos Locos taco for just $5
  
  
• TacoTime:
  Get a coupon for $1 off tacos on their website
  
  
• Beef ‘O’ Brady’s:
  Get 2 tacos & chips and salsa for $5.99
  
  
• Taco Bueno
  Get 8 beef or chicken taquitos, 8 crispy beef party tacos, 4 large chips, and 5 large dips for $15

Happy National Taco Day!