For many of my followers you may not know that I have another blog where I share about my Family, Faith and Homeschooling.  If you haven’t checked it out yet please do, I have this contest going on over there.  www.angelarichter.com

I received such a fun box of goodies from Carolina Pad. Just in time for back to school planning. As a homeschooler I LOVE school products, I could spend hours in the aisles of back to school sales just taking it all in (I know totally pathetic but I bet many of my readers are the same way, LOL) I received a calendar, pens, pencils, a couple of different notebooks and folders. They all came from the collections I mention below. I truly LOVE all of these collections, they are colorful, vibrant and fun! My children were excited too, yelling that one is mine-to tell you the truth I don’t want to give them UP! But I guess they are for the student, LOL. However they are stylish enough for student and adult. I really like how the pencils are made with real quality and the pens are fat and colorful, very easy to hold. The products are sturdy and have easy to tear off paper.

You can purchase the Carolina Pad products at Walmart and prices range according to item. The prices rang from $2.50 to $4.00 generally.

Rising Sun

Free Spirit

Eye Candy

Peace Out
Rock On

Graffiti

I like what Carolina Pad core value system is:

Our core value system defines who we are and guides what we do every day:

Build brands that meet the needs and wants of today’s consumer.
Anticipate and exceed consumer expectations.
Strive for design excellence in every product.
Deliver products with superior functionality and value.
Foster and encourage innovation, creativity, and teamwork in our company.
Promote a healthier and safer workplace, community, and environment.

I’m so excited that I get to give a box of goodies away, you will get one item from each collection like I did.   Just go to Here to my other blog to enter.

This bank is so wonderful, it divides savings, spending money, donate/tithe, and investment (this would be perfect for college, car, or something really big they may want or need in the future). When my kids get money now at allowance time or for gifts we take the money and divide it among the categories. I try to make sure I have small bills when we do this. The banks come in many colors so finding your childs favorite is not hard. We have a blue, pink and green one.

If you buy a kit it is 39.99.For $21.99 you may purchase additional student materials consisting of a piggy bank, workbook and coloring/activity book.

I have a homeschool and family blog at http://www.homeschoolingandlovingit-angela.blogspot.com I am giving away a planner and 10 magazine subscriptions there.  Come over and check it out!

We are currently reading the Blue Unbrella by Mike Mason. We received it recently to review through Mamabuzz. The book is an adventure/mystery that leaves you in suspense at every turn. We are really enjoying the book, my son who is almost 11 and can’t wait until the next night when we read. I will tell you that there is some darkness in the book-some of the characters are dark people and there are some scenes that would be graphic for younger children who it may scare so if this bothers you or your children you may want to skip this one but if your children are older and you love a good adventure story this is a good one. This story also has many spiritual lessons (really GREAT ones) and leaves your heart feeling good. We are not totally done with it yet but I can’t wait to get to the end to see what will happen. You will get into this book just as much as your child if not more so.

Enjoy a free
excerpt of this book at Mike Mason’s website.


The Blue Umbrella, by Mike Mason from David C. Cook on Vimeo

This book was given as a complimentary copy to Mama Buzz Reviewers by David C. Cook and Mike Mason, for blog tour and promotion purposes

I was so excited to find out I would be receiving Draw and Write Through History to review. The book Creation through Jonah was on my homeschooling wish list this year but I ran out of money and couldn’t buy it. I just LOVE how God blesses me that way! We are doing Creation to the Greeks with My Fathers World so this is the perfect art program to go with that. They also have 3 other art books that cover everything from the Vikings and Middle Ages to American history (Pilgrims and such)Their website is beautiful and will tell you about each book in detail. We are studying pyramids right now and there is a great lesson on that so I thought I would share some pictures of us using it for you. The book takes you step by step so even if you don’t feel like your an artist you can draw these pictures. I have never felt confident in my drawings and I LOVE doing this with the kids, for the first time I feel like I can draw something. If you love Charlotte Mason type of education where you keep notebooks on your studies, you will love to add this artwork to your history/Bible and even geography notebooks.

Now maybe I’m biased but that is one GREAT pyramid, don’t you think?

This is what their website says:

Take an exciting journey through time as you draw and write your way through history!

text-book method, your students will retain more of what they have learned by drawing and writing about each time period.

The book is 12.99. Well worth it! Thanks so much to Mamabuzz and Draw Write Through History for this opportunity!

Sleepy Sun by Mari Hanson. The book is 14.99 on amazon.

We were so excited when we received the book Sleepy Sun in the mail to review. What a delightful bedtime story with beautiful illustrations. My 2nd grader and K student LOVED the story. It tells the story about the sun and all its adventures doing the day and how it is getting sleepy now that the day is ending. They did such wonderful job with the pictures, they are warm and inviting and capture the kids attention. It was a great suprise to see the author had signed it, the kids LOVED that! If you are looking for a great bedtime story to add to your list, you have to add this one.

Thanks to Mamabuzz and Mari Hanson for providing this book to review.

Here is a review from the Old Schoolhouse Magazine for Sleepy Sun

The author

These educational activity kits help children practice and learn the sight words, necessary for reading and writing. Children color a graphically designed sight word and “find” the hidden word.

If you have a child in your house that LOVES to color and is learning to read you have to try Word Wall Words. This is such a wonderful concept! Your child colors a common site word and colors the background. It makes the word pop out, after you color the word there is a list of questions to do with your child such as “use this word in a sentence” , you will be teaching vocab., spelling, and reading in one. The kit comes with an idea sheet that gives you ideas how to make a book out of the words, a keychain, and much more. This would be a GREAT idea for the workboxes if you do them. I have been using them in my workboxes. This product is a 2008 iParenting Media Best Product of the Year Award winner and Mom’s Choice Award winner. We are really enjoying this product. I love it when you can use an educational activity that your kids love to do. The only con I could think of is when you have a child that hates to color, this is probably not for them but if you like to color (like I do), this would be a great activity for you to do with your child to encourage them, share a page and talk about it together. I have one learning to read that LOVES to color and one that doesn’t so me coloring with her really helps.

A kit is 19.95 and you get 100 high frequency words. They have a 1st and 2nd grade kit.

You can find some images here and here.

Thanks to MRMClassroom and Mamabuzz for providing this product for review and for this opportunity!