Perfect Gift Idea from PersonalizedCart: Natural Wood Watch Review

I spend so much time trying to find that unique and personalized gift for my family and friends and sometimes it's really difficult when someone doesn't have a lot of hobbies or interests. I can find a ton of things that I would buy myself as I have too many interests. My husband is turning 50 next month and I was trying to find a personalized gift to give him from the children. When I was asked to review a product of my choice from PersonalizedCart, I chose the natural wood watch due to the sleekness of its appearance. The wooden personalized box and how it was presented also sold me on picking this gift.

I'm the type that tries to not only pick the best gift possible that means something but I also enjoy making the gift look fabulous. PersonalizedCart does this for me already and I don't think I could have done a better job with presentation!

The watch is made from natural bamboo and has a smooth cowhide leather band. It's very soft and flexible. It is water resistant and the buyer has the option to have the back of the watch and the wooden gift box engraved for no additional cost! It's extremely affordable too!

We ended up giving the watch to him early for this review and he looked at it and said it looked great! He couldn't wait to open it and put it on. He liked how it fit and was happy it had a second hand as he needs that to take vital signs at work. It's very nice and sleek! The only draw back is it's hard to read the darkened back in some lights. To me, that's a minor drawback and it really does like very stylish. The box was really amazing and I suppose since I'm a wrapping paper nerd, I just loved the presentation of the watch.

PersonalizedCart.com has gifts for weddings, for her, for baby, and for him. There are so many personalized gifts to choose from and here are some of my favorites:


The Photo Puzzle Maker

The Kimono Robe

Custom Baby Blocks

Check out PersonalizedCart.com for your next gift!

New Children’s Animated Musical Movie ANCHORS UP Sails July 24th

Anchors Up is a 75 minute new children’s movie with an adorable little rescue boat called Elias. Elias is a hero when he answers the call to save a boat and is then asked to leave and work for the Big Harbor leaving his friends behind. While working in his new home, he discovers a gang mining illegally and not only are they mining a precious metal but this metal emits electromagnetic waves that affects the weather. Elias experiences what it means to have friends around to help.

My grandchildren and I were provided a screen link to view ahead of time and they were really into the movie! They thought it was funny and it had them enthralled from time to time with good, non-scary suspense. I believe they truly enjoyed it and it’s a fun safe film for your children.The moral of the story is one in which one becomes much stronger when accompanied by others. To me, it helped show the children team work is important in life as well as loyalty to your friends.

The animation is cute and modern with vibrant colors and interesting characters. They enjoyed it and we recommend it as a must see for the fun, the suspense, even a little romance and the animated scenes of the beautiful coastline of Norway.

Anchors Up is co-directed by William John Ashurt and Simen Alsvik and stars Cameron Simpson as the fearless rescue boat, Elias. The character Elias and the Rescue Boat was developed in 1988 by Alf Knutsen and Sigurd Slåttebrekk. The story might seem familiar to many as stories about the little Rescue Boat have been produced in 91 television episodes all around the world.

We recommend Anchors Up! See the Anchors Up trailer:

                Check out my other giveaways her.

You can purchase Anchors Up on Digital and On Demand on July 24th. Click on the link to purchase Anchors Up now.

Progeny Press' Perelandra - eGuide (Interactive) Review

Progeny Press makes earning High School Literature credits easy with high school level study guides such as Perelandra - eGuide. Perelandra is C.S. Lewis' second book in his trilogy Space Trilogy.  C.S. Lewis' Narnia is a favorite of mine which is why I chose this eGuide for my student. The book and interactive eGuide will help the student learn many important skills from famous authors and information such as about the author, research skills, vocabulary words, literary techniques, moral lessons and character values to putting the knowledge to test in writing assignments and activities. Upon completion, the student will have the opportunity to pursue other books by the author or like minded authors and topics. 

If you have never heard of C.S. Lewis' Perelandra, here is a summary of the second book in his trilogy:

A world of seas and floating, multicolored islands, Perelandra is filled with mystical creatures and almost overpowering pleasures. Only two people inhabit this Garden of Eden - the beautiful and innocent Green Lady, and the King, from whom she has been separated. But shortly after Ransom arrives, so does another man from Earth, a man named Weston. Ransom and Weston had tangled before on Malacandra where Weston's mission had been the extermination of the native races in preparation for human colonization. Ransom expects no better in this Perelandrian confrontation. Can Dr. Ransom keep the two original people from following the human race into sin? Full of rich and imaginative description and practical insights into sin and temptation.

The guide is downloadable making it not only quicker to use as there is no wait for shipping but it doesn't require any additional software since it opens in Adobe which is free. It is an interactive eGuide so the student can complete it online and you can grade it online. 

It is broken down into easy to follow sections:

• Note to Instructor
• Synopsis
• Background Information
• Synopsis of Out of the Silent Planet
• About the Author
• Prereading Activities
• Chapters 1 & 2
• Chapters 3 & 4
• Chapters 5 & 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapters 8 & 9
• Chapters 10 & 11
• Chapters 12, 13 & 14
• Chapters 15, 16 & 17
• Essays and Activities
• Additional Resources
• Answer Key

As you can see from the Table of Contents, it's quite robust and it's really an in-depth learning opportunity for your student to dive into an author of this magnitude and one of his best works. To me, I have budding authors in this house to include myself, so having the opportunity to oversea my student's work with curriculum such as this is a thrill. This eGuide is meant to show the student how to better enjoy literature and to notice how each author crafted their stories and how to think through themes and ideas throughout the story. Each section, within the Table of Contents, breaks it down into easy to understand sections that aren't too long or laborious. My students have low attention spans so this allowed us to complete the activities and lessons in a manner more suited for her skill level.

Some of the other things I liked about Progeny Press' Perelandra - eGuide were:

• Suggested use of a dictionary, a thesaurus and a Bible as all three are important books to master.
• The entire eGuide is suggested to take eight to ten weeks for most middle and high school level students. The suggestion is to have the student read the novel entirely during the first week and then utilize the eGuide for the remainder of time.
• Most Christian high schools Progeny Press has spoken to have assigned a one-fourth credit to each study guide!
• All websites noted in the eGuide have been checked to ensure they are safe for our students.
• The Synopsis allows the student the chance to reinforce what they just read in the novel and to ensure they fully understood what they read and grabbed the key points that go along with the eGuide.
• The pages that require student responses allows the student to type in their answers if they opt to utilize the eGuide online which I did like. Interactive guides provide the student more than just a print out which is nice and some students prefer to type in this day and age. Since there are many opportunities to write elsewhere, I was definitely good with this option.
• Each chapter section is usually a combination of two or three chapters that begins with a vocabulary section, questions that challenge the student's knowledge and what they have read, an analysis section and a section to dig deeper. This requires the student to really think about what they read and to interpret what the author was trying to say. This was always a difficult area for me in school as my interpretation always seemed to not be the same as the teacher's. Although I'm not a huge fan of this, I am when it comes to teaching it because there is no escaping this way of thinking from not only high school to college but also within many careers.
• The section on Essays and Activities is well rounded from focusing on Point of View lessons to reading Genesis and creating a list of similarities. It's an array of extra activities that will surely inspire the student to learn more. 
• I found the eGuide was also flexible and I could guide my student around an activity if they weren't really keen on completing it. 

Here is a sample page from Dig Deeper:

Overall, my student did like the eGuide but I think it was too intensive for her as she's 15 but has some learning disabilities from having epilepsy. I am going to retry it with her in a year where I think it will be better suited. I know my robust 11 year old would thrive with this and I will try another eGuide for her to use next. I, myself, really enjoyed it and learned a lot. I would recommend Progeny Press and their interactive eGuides particulary Perelandra - eGuide as there was a lot of pre-work done to write these comprehensive, interactive guides.

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Code For Teens: The Awesome Beginner's Guide to Programming (Volume 1) Review

Today's technology driven world, it's a good idea to introduce students to basic programming skills which is why I was happy to review Code For Teens: The Awesome Beginner's Guide to Programming (Volume 1) from Code For Teens. The field of software engineering is growing very rapidly with almost every industry being touched by a need to have JavaScript personnel or sources. What I liked about this book was the ease in which a teen or an adult could follow along with real practical experience and not have to have a parent standing over them. I was eager to try out the book myself as programming has been an interest with me from my early data management days within the pharma world.

The Awesome Beginner's Guide to Programming (Volume 1) from Code For Teens starts is written to appeal to the student with simple straightforward lessons to learn at their own speed on how to program. My only complaint was the the book itself. For me, a spiral bound book that would have allowed me to turn the pages and it would keep it's place would have been ideal. When programming, one has to be exact and one simple character misstep could ruin the entire code. I needed space to be able to put something heavy down on it to my left so I could accurately copy what was written. Aside from that, I feel it's a great starter book to invoke an interest starting from the 6th grade onward without requiring any parental/teacher assistance. 

The illustrations are geared towards the elementary or middle school student and provides a nice break with words within the pages. There are multiple drills, quiz questions, key points and review sections to ensure the student is retaining what they learn and understanding it. I think the drills are critical for retention as well as understanding the basics behind coding.

Here is a screenshot of creating a Hangman gave at the end of the book my sixth grader was working on:

Overall, I think this is an excellent book in teaching coding. It's easy to follow, allows students to work independently and is taught in a way that makes it fun and engaging. The drills ensure the students are retaining what they learned as if anyone knows coding, the importance of exactness is a requirement. Once they start to learn code, it's really a lot of fun seeing what it can do. The other benefit it aside from the book, all one needs is a computer since they can write code via the existing browser. All my children enjoy video games and this is a great book in introducing the concepts required in moving forward with code. I don't hear often my youngest having excitement towards lessons but in the case of Code For Teens: The Awesome Beginner's Guide to Programming (Volume 1) from Code for Teens, she was more than ready!

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Math Essentials' Math Refresher for Adults Review

When I thought of having the responsibility of teaching math to my children, I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated as math was never my forte. If you are like me and need to brush up on your math skills, check out Math Essentials' Math Refresher for Adults. Each lesson contains a corresponding video taught by a math teacher, Richard W. Fisher, winner of Intel Innovations in Teaching Award. This book is perfect for ensuring one understands the foundations before tackling the harder topics and for me, that was perfect. I started at the very beginning as although I clearly remembered how to complete those initial problems in whole numbers, I did need a refresher in fractions and beyond. 

Math Refresher for Adults allows the user to start where they need to based on the table of contents. It's broken down in logical order for General Math starting with:

• Whole numbers
• Fractions
• Decimals
• Percents
• Geometry
• Integers
• Charts and Graphs
• Word Problems

It's then broken up for Pre-Algebra and Algebra with subtopics to include practice problems, solutions and a glossary.

Every lesson includes Helpful Hints to ensure the student understands the best way to complete a problem. For example, upon reaching a Geometry section, it reminds the student to remember the particular formulas when completing each question. The pages do look busy with a lot of questions and help contained on one page but for myself, it's okay. I used A LOT of scrap paper to answer most questions.

The video lessons that supplement the lessons are very helpful. The author, Mr. Fisher, is easy to understand and presents the lessons in an easy format. He starts out really basic which is good for a regular student utilizing this material for the first time or even a refresher. They are broken into sections so one can skip to the section(s) they need. The online whiteboard helps to visualize as well versus a piece of paper and watching him write each problem. Upon completing the lessons and the videos, I'm going to order Book Two for Middle/High School for my middle child.

This is definitely an excellent course for those that need a refresher for personal or business reasons. It's self-paced and logical in order of presentation. The supplemental video lessons really help in areas that might seem a little foggy as Mr. Fisher does an excellent job presenting the material and encouraging the student along. Since it's self-paced, it also eliminates some of the pressure that a scheduled course might present itself with. I am much more confident in my math skills now and know that my future does not have to be limited by my lack of knowledge with math.

Each lesson teaches the foundation skills required to be successful at algebra. The lessons and review reinforces the topic before moving to the next. As the student progresses, each concept will build upon the other and this curriculum teaches it in an ideal manner for success.

To learn more about Math Essentials, check them out on Facebook. Math Refresher for Adults is only one product available as they also have curriculum for younger students.

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Adagio Tea: Earl Grey Bravo, Irish Breakfast, Dr. Who Rory Williams, Earl Grey Lavendar & Chamomile Review

Disclaimer: I received a gift certificate to sample teas in exchange for my review.

It’s summertime and with summer, comes a lot of iced tea. A true tea lover will consume tea hot or cold and anytime of the year. I’m, surprisingly being half British, am not a tea drinker but my husband is. He had been talking for months about wanting to get a tea pot and start drinking tea again. This was the perfect opportunity to get him on the path to what studies have shown is a healthy path to wellness. Many studies have shown some teas are good for you which is why when I was provided the opportunity to try some of Adagio Teas, I was more than happy to oblige. I surprised him with a variety of different loose leaf teas and actually received some samples. Given that I’m not a tea consumer, I had no idea how to make loose tea but it was easy to do and I was surprised at just how little it takes to make a single cup of gourmet tea. I did select the Glass Mug and Infuser set to get him started.

This was the perfect set as it’s an all in one set up with a convenient lid that when turned upside down, the stainless steel infuser can be tilted to allow all the tea to pour out from the bottom and then be placed inside avoiding any mess. It’s easy to clean and since it’s glass, I can place it in the microwave without worry. The handle stays cool while the tea steeps. The children even have fun watching the tea “dance.” The mesh design kept the tea leaves inside the infuser allowing him a quick delicious cup of tea.

He's writing his thoughts on the Earl Grey Bravo Adagio Tea Blend on one of the kid's placemats :)

He started out with the Earl Grey Bravo tea and each packet contains instructions on how much to use which was good for me since I had no idea. He said the tea had the perfect blending of the citrus flavors and was refreshing during an afternoon of relaxation.

The Irish Breakfast is a hearty blend of black teas from Sri Lanka and India. It had a spicy aroma and provided a good kick to get moving in the morning.

My husband is a nurse and works second shift so when he comes home around midnight, he’s still trying to wind down. Each night, I’ve been preparing a cup of Chamomile for him. He says it works and helps him to fall asleep faster. It’s from the Egyptian Nile River Valley and has an aroma of apples and the soft scent of the floral-sweet flowers.

He’s a big Dr. Who fan so I couldn’t resist the Rory Willams Pond that is a signature blend that has a real kick of caffeine. It’s a nice blend that did pep him up a bit. He did enjoy this blend as well.

Next on our list was Earl Grey Lavender. This was a sweet soothing blend of the fragrance from lavender flowers. It's been combined with Earl Grey's classic blend of citrus and a hint of cream. The Adagio website lists it as blended with black tea, lavender flowers, orange peels, blue cornflowers, natural vanilla and Bergamot flavors along with natural cream flavor. There is a notation that it has a high level of caffeine as does the Rory Williams Pond. This was a favorite of my husband's.

Why choose Adagio?

• There are many many different blends of teas available whether you prefer loose leaf tea or teabags to include iced tea blends.
• Tea of the month club opportunities for the tea lover who likes variety or to give a gift to the tea lover in their life.
• An array of teaware to brew the perfect cup of tea no matter where or the size of the tea desired.
• Gift options range from Father's Day, Tea Samplers, Wedding Favors, Zodiac Gifts, Flavor Trilogy, Loose Tea Gifts to Tea Gifts.
• Tea Pantry provides complimentary products such as honey, tea cookies, tea sugar, tea mints and spices.
• Free shipping on orders over $49.
• Sign up for discounts and specials.

Now when my girls and I think of tea, we think of our British heritage as I'm half English so tea time is time for fun! We also are big fans of Downton Abbey and learned a lot about tea time and the importance of tea watching that show. Having a tea party is a great way to have some summer time fun with your children. Here is one of our's:

Overall, my husband really enjoyed each of the blends of tea. His favorite was the Irish Breakfast Blend. We will be return customers as the process to order was easy and fast and the extra details shows Adagio Teas cares about their customers. The inserts explaining where some of the tea blends originate from was educational not only for myself but also for my homeschool children.

To learn more about Adagio Teas, check out the following social media sites they have:

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Steepster, Pinterest, Tumbler and their tea blog.

Littlest Pet Shop Birthday Cake

My just turned youngest decided she wanted a Littlest Pet Shop cake and themed party. Normally, I would have planned out a pretty nice party but this year, I didn't mostly because she changed her themes at the last minute. She's been exploring film making of late and has been making little short videos for YouTube with various Littlest Pet Shop characters as the actors. This is another fun way where homeschooling can creep in without a child realizing it. She's been making one after another and each one gets better as she learns new techniques and hones in on her script writing.

I mostly wanted to share the cake as my eldest made it for her by hand which I think is the sweetest thing ever!

Bible Study Guide For All Ages Advanced and Beginner Level Review

My youngest is most interested in learning more about the Bible and she has a pretty big influence with her niece and nephew, ages 7 and 3. I usually partake in any offerings of Bible based educational opportunities so when the opportunity to review Bible Study Guide For All Ages, I jumped. I chose both the Advanced (5th and 6th grade) and Beginner (3-K) Levels for this review. 

Advanced level is for grades 5th and 6th which includes:

• Advanced Student Pages
• Advanced Teacher Key
• Bible Book Summary Cards

Beginner level is for grades 3 - Kindergarten and it includes:

• Beginner Student Pages
• Beginner Timeline

There are also two more levels, which we did not review, and they include:

Intermediate for grades 3rd and 4th:

• Intermediate Student Pages
• Intermediate Teacher Key
• Bible Book Summary Cards

Primary for grades 1st and 2nd:

• Primary Student Pages
• Primary Teacher Key
• Bible Book Summary Cards

The program is expected to take around four years to complete but for our review, due to summer, we completed around 10 lessons.

For my oldest, we used the Advanced Level which provides interactive activities that not only challenged her but also taught her a lot about the Bible. Memory drills, referring to the timeline, maps and using her Bible reinforced areas that she may not have been familiar with nor even noticed had it not been for the lessons. The curriculum itself mentions on their website that the Advanced Teacher's Key is helpful for large groups but with one or two students, it's not a necessity. Even though I was only teaching two, I was happy to refer to the Key and was glad it was provided. 

The Bible Book Summary Cards, Children's Songs and the Wall Map and Timeline Sets are not required for the curriculum but they are referenced and I think quite helpful to supplement the learning experience. 

For the Advanced Level, it's broken into four units with multiple lessons per each unit. For example, Unit 1 covers Joseph, Daniel, Jesus' early life and first year of ministry, Adam, Noah, Job, Moses, Joshua and Jesus' last week. Each lesson, one page per lesson, is at a length that allows a student to self learn or can be taught. The entire Bible Study Guile encompasses 416 lessons and is meant for early childhood to adult. It covers both the new testament and the old testament.

The pages are legal size making it a bit odd to store for the next usage. I think the page size is neat for younger students, however. Each lesson is lightly glue-bound allowing the student to easily tear a page out.

Each lesson includes:

• Remember It provides an opportunity for the student to really study the Bible. At the top of each lesson, there is a reference to read passages that correspond to that lesson. The student then can answer each question and check their answers at the bottom of that section.
• Memory Workout helps to reinforce what they have already learned.
• Guess What is like a tidbit or a factoid of information that I feel was made to be fun and/or educational.
• Time Line allows the student to further study the Bible and understand how it fit into the timeline. Many historians will agree that in order to fully understand the historical significance of an event or topic, you really have to know when it occurred.
• Apply It provides another opportunity to utilize the knowledge they learned.
• Get Active encourages the students an opportunity to pray and talk to God.

The Beginner Student Pages are similar to the Advanced Student Pages in the set up. The main difference is they are geared for the younger mind and have more coloring as what child doesn't like to color? 

The way we approached the Beginner Student Pages were to follow the order of each lesson:

• Learn the Basics which referred to the timeline (see the wall cards on the picture above). 
• Sing and Remember and each numbered item has the answer under that section.
• Get Active is just as with the Advanced Student Pages in that it teaches the young minds on how to communicate with God.
• Apply It is the same as the Advanced Student Pages in that it's ensuring the student will remember what they already learned.

The Beginner Timeline

 Both of my students enjoyed the program especially the length of each lesson. The lessons have what I feel is the right amount of information to really study the specific areas of the Bible and encourage retention. This is more than just reading as with each of the activities and practical application, it encourages the student to comprehend and really think about what they learned. The Beginner Timeline, for ages 3-K, includes 34 full color pictures on card stock. Each picture contains a question thus teaching the young student one simple fact about the Bible's major people and events. The Bible Book Summary Cards and fun to use flash cards. Each card has one or more pictures from the Bible that represented a main content or message. When it's turned over, the student will be able to read a brief description of what was on the front. These cards are referred to in the Primary, Intermediate and Advanced Level Student Pages.

Bible Book Summary Cards

Overall, I would recommend the Bible Study Guide as it was educational and it was more profound than just reading passage after passage. It encouraged thinking and independent thought which is important to me. While diving into the Bible, it also taught and engaged them into really feeling they were communicating with God.

All the Bible Study Guide for All Ages products include:

Advanced (5th & 6th grade) - Advanced Student Pages, Advanced Teacher Key, Bible Book Summary Cards

Intermediate (3rd & 4th grade) - Intermediate Student Pages, Intermediate Teacher Key, Bible Book Summary Cards

Primary (1st & 2nd grade) - Primary Student Pages, Primary Teacher Guide, Bible Book Summary Cards

Beginner (3-K) - Beginner Student Pages, Beginner Time Line

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