FREE Chalupa Cravings Box from Taco Bell TODAY!!!

If you have the Taco Bell app, you can pre-order a Chalupa Cravings Box for FREE and pick up through the drive-thru today only!!! 

This is a $5 value meal that includes a chalupa supreme, a beefy 5-Layer burrito, a crunchy taco, cinnamon twists, and a medium drink! 

Now that’s a freebie!

*** Be aware that the extra site traffic on both the website and the app have caused both to crash.  Many customers are reporting they can’t utilize the deal, as you must be able to order in the app.  So double check the functionality before heading out the door.

My Square Foot Garden Success

In my first year here in TX, I picked up a cheap Aerogarden Ultra at a local overstock store.  It was cheap because it didn’t have a box or instructions and had intermittent electronic issues, but mostly, it worked fine.  I bought the special seed pods that create miniature plants and had myself a little salad garden with lettuce and tomatoes in my kitchen.  But what I really wanted was a full-blown square foot garden like I’d always had in VA.

So last year, which was 2 years into living here, we came up with a solid plan for a garden and spent our Mother’s Day building it as a family.  The irrigation system was the key to success.  I had a great harvest last summer and fall, so I knew we’d implemented a great setup.  In fact, this summer, I’m still harvesting strawberries and kale from last year’s crop, which is still going strong!  I cut back the dinosaur kale, and it quickly grew monstrously large and abundant all over again.  My strawberries are way more productive this second season than in the first, also.

This year, I wanted to use seeds to start my own garden plants indoors instead of picking up plants from the local nursery, so I ordered a seed starter tray that overlays the top of my Aerogarden.  It turned my 7-pod system into a 50-pod seed starter!  The early part of the year was really chaotic at my house, so I got my seeds started a bit late.  But germination is so fast and easy with the Aerogarden system that I quickly made up for lost time.  I planted in late March, and 27 days later, I had already begun transplanting into the garden and still had this left growing in my Aerogarden.

The tomato plants quickly got so tall that I could no longer raise up the light hood, which meant they, too, were ready for transplant! 

It’s been 3 months, and I just transplanted the final 2 pepper plants into the garden.  They were so lush and green and already had peppers and many blooms growing on them!  Taking them from a hydroponic environment into soil in the scorching TX sun is always a big shock to the plants, so I make sure I turn on the irrigation system right away to give them a good soaking.  This really helps with the transition.

So here is what my garden looks like today.  I’ve got squash, zucchini, strawberries, bell peppers of all kinds, green beans, three kinds of tomatoes (cherry, Roma, and 4th of July hybrid), kale, cucumbers, lettuce, and the herbs I planted last year (rosemary, Italian flat-leaf parsley, and chives).  It’s going strong!  We just make sure we water it for half an hour every day.  Again, the irrigation system was the key to success!

I’m very pleased with how well my square foot garden has worked out here in TX.  My neighbors warned me that it was difficult to grow much, and that while plants might be green, they don’t produce because of the harsh sun.  But we seem to have overcome that obstacle!  I’m looking forward to a great harvest this year.

Exclusive Digital Sale @ WriteShop!!!

WriteShop.com offers incredible writing programs suitable for your homeschooled children of all ages from elementary through high school.  Choose from the WriteShop Primary, Junior, or the original series to best suit your children’s needs and skill levels.

My middle schooler with ADHD was delayed in beginning formal writing instruction, so the WriteShop Junior series is perfect for him.  We completed WriteShop Junior Level D for 6th (read a previous review I wrote), and we’re starting Level E on Monday for 7th grade.  We’ll wrap up middle school with Level F next year for 8th grade, and then I believe he’ll have a strong foundation and the confidence to begin writing in public high school.

As an affiliate of WriteShop, I have an exclusive sale promo code for my readers that you can only get from me.  Get 25% off ALL DIGITAL DOWNLOAD products at WriteShop.com with code QUARTEROFF throughout the month of June.  That’s right!  This code will expire on June 30th, so shop now!

The Return of Bountiful Baskets

Have you ever tried out Bountiful Baskets?  It’s a produce co-op where you can order locally grown fruits and vegetables each week and pick them up on the Saturday delivery day.  You can order on Mondays or Tuesdays for pickup that same Saturday.  There’s no obligation whatsoever, so you can choose to order or not order each week, as seldom or as often as you’d like!

They have been expanding to various states, and a lot of site locations have been added.  I used to participate in it at a site that was conveniently just about 15 minutes away from me.  I quit for a while when I was following a specific nutrition plan and needed a particular list of items for my meal plans, and when I tried to order again months later, my pickup site had been eliminated!  There wasn’t a participating site close enough to me for quite a while.  Periodically, I checked the site location list to see what new sites were being added.  This week, low and behold, I noticed a new pickup site just 20 minutes away from me, so I decided to order again.

Each order starts with a “Conventional Box,” which consists of about 50% vegetables and 50% fruit.  Now what exactly comes in each box is a bit of a surprise.  It’s all seasonal items, so you generally get whatever is in season in the region where you live.  I usually check their Facebook page for recent photos posted by customers of what they actually received in order to get a good idea of what might be coming the next week.  Many states have their own state-specific Bountiful Baskets Facebook page, so search for that if you want local updates and posts.  (If you live in TX, here is our Facebook page so you can see photos and comments by local customers).

Then there are a number of special “add-on” boxes available that you have the option to add to your basic order.  The cost is always listed for each add-on box, and they also give a basic description of what types of things they hope to include in that box.  It’s usually pretty close to what you actually get, so you can get a good idea of what to expect by reading the description before you order.  You can’t order an add-on box without ordering a conventional box, though…the conventional box is the basic requirement before you add on any specialty boxes.

The very first time you order, you have to pay a $3 basket fee.  But once you’ve paid that, you never have to pay it again.  That’s because under normal circumstances, they sort the produce into baskets that the site manager has to maintain for the distribution day.  The fee ensures there are enough baskets for all the customers who use the site.  You would select the appropriate baskets and transfer the items to your own container, leaving the baskets behind for your next order.  But due to the pandemic, they are practicing contactless pickup.  Now, you drive up into a line of vehicles to wait your turn, and someone loads your order into your vehicle in produce boxes. 

This week, I got the conventional box plus the “Summer Snack Pack” add-on box, which is mostly fruits and a couple of snacking veggies for my kids to enjoy. There’s also a small processing fee of $1.50 on every order.  All told, my 2 boxes of goodies cost me $33.50. Here’s what I got!

Conventional Box $18

Summer Snack Pack $14

Everything was fresh and delicious.  I was really pleased!  With 3 heads of loose leaf lettuce, we decided we’d better have a salad bar for dinner tonight, so we did.  Yum!  Those carrots were huge, and my youngest son and I snacked on one of those right away.  They were very good.  I was happy to see so many fresh green beans (I love to roast them with garlic and olive oil) and 2 bags of sugar snap peas (my kids love to dip them in ranch dressing)!  There were 2 whole bags of apples plus a couple of loose ones, so maybe there’s an apple pie in our future…sounds good to me!

If you haven’t give Bountiful Baskets a try, go ahead and check their site and see if they have a pickup location near you.  If they are in your state already but aren’t quite close enough to you yet, keep checking back regularly, because new sites are added all the time.

Since it’s a co-op, everyone who works at the distribution site is a volunteer.  They request that customers sign up to take a turn now and then at manning the distribution site.  That’s what keeps it going!  And spread the word to your friends and neighbors.  Sufficient orders and cheerful volunteers are what keep each site on the list of participating locations.

Here’s to eating more healthy, fresh, local produce!

REVIEW: Mastering Logic & Math Problem Solving by The Critical Thinking Co.™

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

I had never used this kind of product before, so I was looking forward to reviewing Mastering Logic & Math Problem Solving by The Critical Thinking Co.™

WHAT IS IT?:

Mastering Logic & Math Problem Solving is a workbook designed for students in grades 6-9 to sharpen their critical thinking skills in logic and problem solving using math. This 180-page workbook not only provides plenty of problems to solve, but it also includes full answer keys, problem-solving strategies, and even bonus activities at the back of the book.

This workbook can be purchased for just $17.99.

OUR EXPERIENCE:

Holden is 12 years old, and he was just finishing up 6th grade when we started using this workbook.  We thought it would be a fun thing to do together before school in the mornings, and we were right!  These critical thinking problems were just what we needed to get our brains warmed up for the day and get us thinking outside the box just a little.

The book starts out by explaining what problem solving is all about ,how to use the book, and some strategies on working through the problems. 

There are a variety of problem types in the book.  It starts off with multicultural logic problems and then breaks that down into “Crossing the River Problems” and “Kin Problems.”  We tried some of each.

 

Chapter 2 went into “Fun With Classical Brain Teasers.”

Chapter 3 had “Number Theory Problems.”

Chapter 4 had “Problem Solving with Sets.”

Chapter 5 included “Ratio, Proportion, and Percent Problems.”

When we got to Chapter 6, I realized the book was going into “Algebra Word Problems.”  From this point and beyond, the math was too advanced for Holden, as he is just beginning Pre-Algebra for 7th grade, so he was not able to complete any problems in the remainder of the book.  However, I did do the first page in this section and talk through the process with him just so he could what kinds of things he’ll be learning in our new school year. Additional chapters cover geometry, more algebra, probability, and topology, plus some bonus activities in the back following the answer key.

Neither of us had ever used critical thinking products before, but I have to say that we enjoyed it very much!  Particularly, we found the logic problems to be very challenging at times.  We just had to approach them a little differently than we would normally think about things, but once we got the hang of that, we were on a roll! 

We worked on them together to see who could solve them first.  If Holden ended up having to give up or was just way off base with his answer, I’d begin talking him through it with little hints, and then he’d usually pick it up with just a little help from me.  Then we’d have a good laugh about how “sneaky” the answer was and move on to the next challenge.  It was lots of fun!  We’re both pretty good at math, so we found the math problem solving a lot easier for us than some of the logic problems.

I really liked this workbook.  I think we will continue to use it for its brain teasers to get our minds awakened before starting our school day.  You really do need to train your mind to think outside the box sometimes.  This book has been a great help with that, and I highly recommend it!

Check out what other Crew members have to say about various products from The Critical Thinking Co.™ by clicking the banner below.

REVIEW: Math Shed and Spelling Shed

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Kids can always use resources to practice math and spelling skills, so we decided to check out Math Shed and Spelling Shed for review.

WHAT IS IT?

Math Shed and Spelling Shed are great resources for supplementing your math and spelling curriculum with easy-to-play online games that help sharpen your child’s skills.  In Spelling Shed, you can even customize the experience by adding your own teacher-created spelling lists that students can play in the games, and you can even assign them with due dates attached.  By using the Hive feature in Spelling Shed, students can even play with friends!  An easy-to-understand teacher dashboard helps you see your child’s progress.

These math and spelling games are primarily for students in elementary school, but they can also be used for older students who need to improve their times tables or who just want a new way to practice their customized spelling lists. 

You can purchase an annual subscription to either Math Shed or Spelling Shed for 1-5 students for $24.95/year.  If you subscribe to both Math Shed and Spelling Shed, you get a 15% discount!

You can also sign up for a FREE 30-day trial to these games without a credit card to see if these games are a good fit for your child(ren).

OUR EXPERIENCE:

Holden is just starting 7th grade, and his math and spelling skills are mostly above grade level, so he’s on the older side for these programs.  But like many kids, he hasn’t quite mastered his times tables to the extent that I’d like, and he can always use to improve his speed in answering those types of questions.  In addition, since I can customize the spelling lists, he can also make use of the spelling games using his own spelling words, so we were happy to try this out.

 

The games in Spelling Shed are somewhat limited in that there are just 3 types of games to play there.  All of the spelling games offer 4 levels of difficulty:  easy, medium, hard, or extreme.  The basic game says the spelling word out loud and has you click on or type the correct letters to spell the word at the easy or medium level.  The hard level says the word and just has you type it out without the benefit of having letters to choose from.

There are 2 bonus spelling games called Bee Keeper and Missing Word. 

Bee Keeper is a hangman style game that has you guess letters in each word.  When you correctly guess a letter, it appears in the word where it belongs.  When you incorrectly guess a letter, you lose a bee.  You win by completing the word correctly before running out of bees.

Missing Word shows (and reads to you) a sentence with a missing word, and you must click the appropriate letters to spell the missing word or simply type it out within the allotted time.

In the Teacher Dashboard, you can customize your spelling lists if you choose.  Adding words is easy, as you just type them in, separating each word with a comma.  Then you can assign the list with a due date in order to create specific assignments.

In Math Shed, there are 4 regular games students can play plus 2 additional activities.  The main games have a number of options you choose from.

The Number Bonds game lets you make a selection and then choose from easy, medium, or hard levels.  Easy and medium levels give you number answers to choose from while the hard level has you enter the numbers directly.

 

The Times Tables game lets you make a selection and then choose from easy, medium, or hard levels.  The difference in levels works the same as outlined above.

 

The Powers of 10 game lets you make a selection and then choose from easy, medium, or hard levels.  The difference in levels works the same as outlined above.

 

The Add or Subtract game lets you make a selection and then choose from easy, medium, or hard levels.  The difference in levels works the same as outlined above.

 

The last section that says “More…” gives you 2 additional games.  Those are Year 4 MTC and Negative Numbers.

 

The Year 4 MTC gives you some instructions and then proceeds into the game.  It appears to test full mastery of times tables set against a 6-second timer.  A quick response is required to beat this game!  This is where I aim for Holden to demonstrate mastery.  He could definitely use to improve his response time.  He hasn’t yet achieved enough speed to beat this game, but I think with time and practice, he’ll be able to take some pride in being able to master this one!

 

The Negative Numbers game introduces students to working with negative numbers in basic equations and works just like the other games.

Teachers receive a separate login that allows you to view student progress and customize spelling lists.  You can even assign what you want your students to work on!  The initial setup of your students is simple and very intuitive, and you can assign custom passwords they can remember.

All in all, these programs provide a wonderful option for students to practice their skills in a colorful online setting that provides a simple game-style format.  The only downside is that the games aren’t all that creative, and students might quickly tire of the repetitive style.  But for students who like to beat the clock or compete with friends, this could be a real bonus to supplement your spelling and math learning. 

I mentioned that Holden is on the older side for these games, but he can still benefit from what they have to offer.  Although the gaming style itself isn’t up to his expectations for what he thinks of as a true gaming experience, he didn’t balk at using the games to practice for about 15 minutes each per day.  The extra practice will do him good in the long run, and really, that’s all a homeschool parent can ask for!

Take a look at what other Crew members have to say about Math Shed and Spelling Shed by clicking the banner below.

FREE SHIPPING on Any Order @ Oriental Trading Company!

Starting today, you can order anything from Oriental Trading Company with FREE SHIPPING, no minimum, using code OTCFS20. 

This offer is only made once in a long while, so take advantage of it while you can!  Remember that you can get teaching supplies, craft supplies, educational posters, and party supplies…you can even get supplies for Vacation Bible School for the summer!  Take a look around and see what goodies you can find. 

This free shipping offer is good through June 13th.

Happy Shopping!