TOS CREW Review: Homeschool Spanish

We have been working on our Spanish this year... and I was so excited when I was offered the Homeschool Spanish Curriculum to review... with younger kids (preschool/ kindergarten)... it is not always easy to find a foreign language program that keeps their attention.... Homeschool Spanish is perfect for the entire family...little ones and all...

One of the great things about Homeschooling your children (and others...)... is that you can choose curriculum and subjects that are fun and interesting... one of the things that I incorporate into pretty much each subject is song...I know--- shocker... from handwriting to geography...I like a song for everything... that being said... the first thing I noticed about the Homeschool Spanish curriculum was that it included a fun "greetings" song... that pretty much sold the program for me... it was a natural fit for us...

This is more of an immersion program.... and fear not... if you cannot speak the language (as I can't)... you can still teach this appropriately...as they have sound files and pronunciation help available to you!!! (as part of the program)...

Another awesome aspect of this program is the amount of prep needed for the lessons... virtually none... it is a fantastic time saver... everything is organized for you!!!

REAL Homeschool Spanish has 10 units. Each unit is made up of vocabulary clusters. There are 33 vocabulary clusters and 15 Idea Sections each with 3-4 activity sections along with audio files of native speakers from Mexico using the vocabulary.

This program comes as either a hard copy ($89.95)
OR a digital download ($49.95 which is how we received it).

The Bundled product includes:

• Book (the actual text)
• Activity Book (worksheets and such)
• Answer Book (for the worksheets)
• Audio Files (mp3 format)

You can also order a Daily Curriculum Guide for $9.95
that gives you a short daily idea to keep on track.

We LOVE LOVE LOVE this program!!!!!

*As a member of the TOS Crew review program I was given a free copy of this product to review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. To see what other members of the Crew thought click below:

Whatcha Making Wednesdays.... A holiday tradition.... Clone of a Cinnabon

Welcome back to Whatcha Making Wednesdays... unfortunately last week I had some technical difficulties (no internet)...but yay! we are back... Christmas Morning I make Cinnamon buns... (actually I prep them the night before and bake them Christmas morning)... my pictures didn't do the ooey gooeyness justice....so I am posting pictures of some of our other holiday festivities...



Our Elf delivered some holiday jammies...

Our elf snuck one of our Christmas cookies....

Ryleigh and Braeden in their special Jammies Christmas Morning...

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup margarine, melted
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
• 
  
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 
  
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
3. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

*recipe was found on allrecipes.com*

If you have a baking/cooking (etc.) activity that you have done with children and would like to share... please link up!!!! We are always looking for fun...and yummy recipes. If you do link up...please try and visit someone else's entry and share some comment love...

For a Reminder of the Guidelines to Link Up...Please visit here

Whatcha Making Wednesdays.... Sugar Cookies

Welcome to Whatcha Making Wednesdays! This week the kids had their Holiday Parties and both classes made Sugar Cookies with frosting and sprinkles... A perfect way to end our year :-)

The kids had fun choosing which shapes they would make their cookies...Frosting the cookies... the kids used safety knives to frost them...Adding some sprinkles...

Ryleigh's finished cookies...

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
  
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 
  FROSTING:
• 1/3 cup butter (softened)
  
• 3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in milk and vanilla.
• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool.
• Frost cooled cookies..... and decorate!
  

If you have a baking/cooking (etc.) activity that you have done with children and would like to share... please link up!!!! We are always looking for fun...and yummy recipes. If you do link up...please try and visit someone else's entry and share some comment love...

For a Reminder of the Guidelines to Link Up...Please visit here

What we have been up to....Christmas Activities....

So.... it has been a while since I have updated with any school time activities besides baking... apparently working has taken up a bit of my free time.... no worries though.... it takes away from blogging...not teaching... here are some of our Christmas activities that we did during school (or otherwise) over the last month.... over our break I will attempt to get some posts together showing the more academic activities that we have been doing... stay tuned!!!! And... as per usual.... a plethora of pictures are below....

Ryleigh and Braeden decorating our tree after Thanksgiving...

Mosaic Advent Candles:
K4 made these very pretty Advent Candles...

Adding the mosaic tiles...

Working on adding the wreath to the bottom of the candle...

The girls with their advent candles...

Abstract Christmas Trees:
In K4 (plus Braeden...because he didn't nap)... we made Abstract Christmas Trees..... they used fun painting technics...and added different shapes (sponge paint) for ornaments.... and finished with some glitter glue for tinsel...

Painting the tree...

Making sure everyone else is on task....

Finding the decorating process very funny...

The finished abstract Trees....

Button Wreath Ornaments:
Both classes made button wreath ornaments.... stringing white, red and green buttons onto a pipecleaner....and making a circle....

Working very hard on their projects in Tot School....

Inspecting their work...

Working on their ornaments in K4...

Handprint Angels:
The kids made shape/ handprint angels.... it is neat to see Braeden now completing some of the crafts that I have done with Ryleigh in the past...

Gluing on the Triangle (body), Circle (head) and Oval (hal0).....

The finished Angels...

Handprint Christmas Trees:
We also made these Handprint Trees.... I didn't take pictures during this project as it got slightly dice-y at times!

A finished tree...

Gingerbread Ornaments:

Working on their ornaments...

Whatcha Making Wednesdays... Sugar Cookies:
Every week I host a link up for kid friendly cooking/baking/ recipes... this week we made sugar cookies...

Ryleigh decorating her cookies...

Aunt Laura with Andy and the kids.... Ryleigh is tired of posing for pictures at this point....how cute are the matching shirts though? I got them from Missy Prissy Bow Boutique...

Ryleigh and Braeden...hugging it out before the Holiday Party begins...

Santa came to visit our neighborhood with his Firetruck....

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

Some of the Books that we read to go along with our activities:

• The Donkey's Christmas Song by Nancy Tafuri
• Jingle All The Way ~ Interactice Storybook and Story Buddy Jingle Pup
• Corduroy's Christmas (Lift-the-flap Books) by Don Freeman and B. G. Hennessy
  
• Corduroy's Merry Christmas Shaped Board Book by Don Freeman and Lisa McCue
• The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights) by Jan Berenstain and Mike Berenstain
• The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear (First Time Books) by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain
• The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore and Jan Brett

Where I am linking up:

For more great stART posts check out A Mommy's Adventures!
For more fun projects check out ABC and 123... Red Ted Art ... JDaniel4's Mom... and
To see what others did this week check out Tot School at 1+1+1=1; Preschool Corner at Homeschool Creations; Mom 2 lil Posh Divas and the Weekly Wrap-up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Whatcha Making Wednesdays.... pigs in a blanket....chocolate cake

This week the kids made Pigs in a blanket.... so super easy...and yummy!!! Basically we take a Pillsbury croissant dough triangle and a piece of American cheese .... and wrap it around a hot-dog .... bake in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes....

I unfortunately did not get any good pictures of this activity... so... I thought I would share pictures of Ryleigh baking a cake two years ago.... when she was Braeden's age... It is a little strange for me to look back at them and see all the stuff that I let her bake... and be so hesitant to let Braeden do it now.... here she made a Chocolate Cake (dairy free...as I was nursing Braeden and he couldn't have dairy)...

Ryleigh stirring some Flour...

Pouring in some oil and water...

The finished cake...I let Ryleigh pick out which cake pan she wanted to put it in :)

If you have a baking/cooking (etc.) activity that you have done with children and would like to share... please link up!!!! We are always looking for fun...and yummy recipes. If you do link up...please try and visit someone else's entry and share some comment love...

For a Reminder of the Guidelines to Link Up...Please visit here

Whatcha Making Wednesdays ..... Cupcakes!

Welcome back to Whatcha Making Wednesdays! This week in K4 we actually made plain ole' cupcakes...from... a ... box... gasp! There was frosting involved...but still... not too terribly exciting from a blogging perspective... The girls still had fun and enjoyed frosting the cupcakes themselves...

The girls stirring in their ingredients... Baking Wednesdays always sparks lively chatter from the girls in K4... ;-)

If you have a baking/cooking (etc.) activity that you have done with children and would like to share... please link up!!!! We are always looking for fun...and yummy recipes. If you do link up...please try and visit someone else's entry and share some comment love...

For a Reminder of the Guidelines to Link Up...Please visit here

TOS CREW Review: ARTistic Pursuits..... The Way They See It

"The Artistic Pursuits program presents both the expressive and the technical aspects of art in an age-appropriate manner. Children are curious and expressive from the start. We work with those interests to teach them to observe more closely. Skills develop as each child observes nature and enjoys the process of creating. Using ARTistic Pursuits, a child carries art tools to locations which both inspire and are chosen by the child." ~from the website

I was given Artistic Pursuits- The Way They See it... a book for every parent about the art children make... it is for Preschool children ages 3,4 and 5....

This book was directed toward understanding your child's art, helping them gain skills without drawing for them, and lots of informative parent pages designed to show to encourage creativity. It has 29 Projects allowing your child to explore art.... (so fun!!!)

We already had all the supplies needed for this book (markers, watercolor, finger paint, crayons, etc.)... and chances are you do too!!! The target age range for this book was 3-5...but I found that it worked really well with the 2 year olds as well... We really liked that they had so many project ideas for the different kinds of media... it was very helpful!

After researching more about this curriculum, I am very excited to purchase the K-3 Books...for Ryleigh (and Braeden)... the way the information is given to you is amazing!

Artistic Pursuits offers books for every grade level....

You can purchase the curriculum by PayPal, Credit Card, Check or Money Order. And they have a No Risk Satisfaction Guarantee For Individual Orders. Each book is $42.95 and the art supply kits range from $45-$92.

To contact them:

Artistic Pursuits Inc.
2626 East 109th Avenue
Northglenn, Colorado 80233

Phone: (303) 467-0504

alltheanswers@artisticpursuits.com

I really liked their customer service... before I even received the book in the mail... an intro letter was sent to me with a list of supplies that I would need for this book... (the list is also on the webpage)... this way we were able to start right away!

*As a member of the TOS Crew review program I was given a free copy of this product to review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. To see what other members of the Crew thought click below: