My First Official Review!

Guess What?! - I have been chosen to be on the 2010 Review Crew for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine!

So, from time to time - I'll be posting some reviews of curriculum they send to me. I do NOT get paid for this, and these are my opinions only... (Matt was delighted to hear I had found a job - but slighly disappointed to hear I don't get paid).

My first product is:

The Old Schoolhouse Travel Kits - A Simple Way to Bless Others by Donna Rees

E-book.

Available online from : http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/

Cost: $12.45

I was so excited to get this ebook! The timing was perfect, since my family was about to leave on a 15 hour road trip. Let me clarify... 15 hours, in a passenger van (3 rows deep...), no DVD player, and 8 children - ages 1 -12. See why I couldn't wait to dive into this book?!

This 93 page book did not disappoint! It has chapters covering everything from the basics, presentation and distribution, making gifts for others and even suggestions for snacks and how to prepare your vehicle for the trip. It is full of useful inspiration, testimonials and how-to's.

I especially enjoyed the chapter on presentation and distribution. Individually wrapping those "goodies" may be more time consuming before you go...but, they love the un-wrapping along the route! Be sure to keep those garbage bags handy!

I found so many new ideas for making our trip more enjoyable: games, snacks, stories. But, one of the truly great chapters expanded the usefulness of this book past just "travel". You'll want to be sure to check out the chapter "Variations on a Theme" - just to see what I mean! I'll be using those ideas all year around.

For anyone planning some travel with children this summer, this is a must-have resource.

Here's a couple of testimonials of my own... aren't they cute!

Be sure to check out all the reviews available on The Old Schoolhouse Review blog at: www.homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolcrew

Family Camp 2010

Sam got Baptized! My biggest moment of Family Camp... my wonderful, almost 13 yr old son being baptized in the river by his Dad! I had major tears of joy... and such a full heart!

We had an awesome time - and I'm happy to report that I've been delivered from the temptation of EVER tent camping! Heat, snakes, floods (not while we were there - thankfully) but - I guess I'm way too much of a suburban girl to go for that kinda of suffering...'er family togetherness.

We also won an award - "My family's bigger than the Tufu's"... I was starting to wonder when another family with 6 kids won the "big family award"... But, we were "next"! They even had a golf cart just perfect for us...

Memorial Day 2010

We had a wonderful Memorial Day! We went hiking at Petit Jean Mountain State Park. It was breathtaking (in more ways than one...)

The view was amazing, and Matt keep the children on their toes by climbing out to the very end of the drop off. When did my children develop a "sense of caution"... they never seem to use it when I'm watching!

After a nice lunch, some more hike, and a downpour of rain - we went home for a nap. (yes, all of us :-)

Naptime was done too soon, so we loaded up and went to the Pool. It's a great family place, it feels like you're stepping back in time... it's old-fashioned fun - just like it was when I was a kid (except we never went to pools - I just dreamed it would be like this!)

We splurged on the family season pass, so I sure the kiddos will want to go everyday!

Happy #15 Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to the Best Husband in the whole world!

I am so blessed to be married for 15 YEARS to an amazing man! You make my life so rich and wonderful.

Here's my top 15 reasons I'm glad I married you...

15. You are an amazing father (and you have "goals").

14. You make me laugh.

13. You never remember some things (hey, it's our anniversary - by the way), but you never forget others (who won bobsled in the 1920 Olympics...)

12. You read great books - and play Authors! (want a game?)

11. You visited the Corn Palace as a kid, and were as disappointed it was just a "building" as I was.

10. Sleeping with Darth Vader can be kinda adventuresome.

9. Grill Baby Grill!

8. You work harder than ever to take care of all of us.

7. You give great backrubs.

6. You're so patient with me and my OCD.

5. You love God more than you love me.

4. You're great at finding new houses online (let's not try that again for awhile!)

3. Our kiddos all look like you (with a little red here-and-there).

2. You go to homeschooling confrences with me for "romance".

1. You bring out the best in me, and everyone around you.

I love you more each year... Happy Anniversary Wonderful Husband!

Essie's ONE!

How did one year fly by so fast?! I would never have believed all the changes that could happen in just one short year...

From Minnesota to Arkansas, pregnant to NOT (for those of wondering... really - NOT), from 7 kids to 8 kids, from cold to hot, from full to empty and back again.

Wow - to just consider the handprints of God all over our lives. Truly, it is Grace and Glory in the most mundane of minutes.

Happy #1 Essie! And many, many more! We had a wonderful celebration - Matt grilled up a masterpiece (Whole Hog just lost their #1 status...) He actually can give these southern BBQ fans something to talk about! Our new friends helped us celebrate, and life is good.

Spring Break

We had visitors in March!

First, my dear friend Pam came for a "girls weekend". We had a wonderful time reliving stories from the past.... Respect the vest Pam! We had a great time visiting Hot Springs, had tea parties, and wonderful husband grilled a feast for us. It was a major refreshing, at just the right moment. Thanks Pam!

Then, the Paider Pack came for Spring Break. They arrived on Palm Sunday (Happy Birthday dear Selah!) just in time to get in on the ground floor of..... BENTZ PLAGUE 2010!

Yes, we were cursed with another round of the yuck! I think anytime we have over 10 people in our home, we all get sick. This strain took out 16 of 17 people in it's wake. (Luke is the sole survivor!) The Lysol Fogger is now in production.

Hightlights of our wonderful time included, Selah throwing up onto Essie (who was buckled in her carseat...) did I mention this took place in the Church lobby right after the service?

Mr. P spent his first full day in AR on our bathroom floor... don't even ask!

Seth P. threw up on me during the middle of the night, but - I have a sick mind and actually considered it a "priviledge" that he loved me so much (therapy costs too much, so don't even bring it up!)

Josh B. made a mad dash for the bathroom - missing the easily cleaned tile floor by only inches... (You've got to be kidding me!)

Several others had the milder version and just wished we could throw up, but never got to.

And, Matt P. lost a retainer at Whole Hog - so, the vacation fun just kept on going....

I bet we won't see visitors this way again for a long while! But, I had a wonderful time while they were here and miss them all terribly! On the bright side, I got alot of laundry done, considering it was "vacation".

My First Curriculum Review!

Curriculum Corner
By Renita Bentz


For this Months review, I picked a Unit Study. Specifically, I choose to review a “Download N Go” by Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. I picked “Expedition Australia”.

Frist, for those of you who haven’t heard of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine– I STRONGLY encourage you to check out this magazine! In addition to a printed magazine, they have a wealth of information, inspiration, curriculum and an online store as well. It’s a curriculum lovers paradise! I promise you will find some real gems there, go to www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com and check out what they have to offer. (They even have a online Homeschool Expo upcoming… their freebies are more than worth the price of admission – and you can attend in your jammies!)

Back to the review, Download N Go units are in ebook format. You can pick and choose from many different topics. We choose to “Expedition Australia”. The unit is organized into a 5 day format. But, we used it a bit differently – let me explain. The weather in AR was beautiful in March (especially for a MN transplant!) and it was just too nice to do “real school” – don’t you agree? So, instead of scrapping school altogether – we worked through this unit together. We covered one “day” per week. The units are designed for “K-4” – but we easily integrated a Pre-K – 6th range of students. I think these units are the perfect solution for either a committed unit study family – especially if mom is short on time, or just to add some educational “spice” every now and then.

The unit is well organized. Each “day” – we studied a different feature of Australia, learned a new Australian word (who knows what a “nappy” is – just ask our baby Esther!), checked out the time and weather around Australia, and focused on an Australian animal (one of our favorite parts) each “day”. I was able to just pick up the computer (lucky we have a laptop!) and open the ebook and go! I loved how simple it was to dive into our subject – without any prep on my part. The ebook is filled with clickable links that make it super easy to work with. At the end of the unit, we had completed a lapbook with information on all the things we had learned! (I love lapbooks… maybe I’ll talk about them next month!). There were plenty more suggestions for additional activities and book suggestions (if we had wanted more…). To celebrate completion, we plan on cooking up an Australian feast on the “barbie”. One highlight for us, we saw a “Digeridoo” on American Idol – and, we even knew what it was!

This product is affordable at only $7.95 per unit. Check out www.downloadngo.com to see the topics. There are also several options to save money with packages of units. With plenty of topics to pick from, you could become the unit-study-mom you’ve always wanted to be – without all the prep-time-you-never have! I think we may have had one of our best months homeschooling this year – I guarantee, it was one our funnest!.