Bouncy Bands Product Review

I learned about Bouncy Bands while researching for my upcoming Specialtember Giveaway Event at my homeschool group, Schoolin’ Swag. This event will target the special needs families among our 4,000+ members, providing prizes and discounts on some wonderful products and services which address everything from autism to dyslexia to ADHD. Here is the video that caught my attention:

In combing the internet for vendors whose products I wanted to feature for the event, I was drawn to the idea of the Bouncy Bands. I’ve seen firsthand in our own homeschooling experience how movement (the right kind) can actually enhance the learning experience for children.

Children who genuinely need movement in order to stimulate their brains, often opt for unacceptable choices to get out their energy. They make multitudes of trips to the rest room, feel the need to sharpen that pencil down to a nub, rock back on the back legs of their chairs (and we all know how well that goes), tap pencils, stomp feet, or simply go into a stupor from being sedentary, and the brain just says, “I quit!”

While I’m not a fan of having kids sit at desks for very long spans of time, there are indeed periods during our homeschool day when it is necessary. I especially want this to be able to happen successfully when we have any sort of handwriting or copywork to do…assignments which require a solid writing surface for quality performance.

In the past I’ve actually used an exercise ball during school. It helped get wiggles out while doing reading and drill work, but an exercise ball is not the most stable thing in the world, and things often got out of hand. Our school “room” is part of the master bedroom, and we repeatedly had problems with hitting furniture and rolling into things! Periodically, I would opt for “wiggle breaks” where, in between subjects, I’d have our young student get up and dance around to something like “Flight of the Bumblebee”. Trouble is, it was hard to get her to refocus after that. Same thing was true of the trampoline breaks, and the ride-your-bike-for-3-laps breaks, and the do-a-little-on-Wii-Fit breaks.

Enter Bouncy Bands.

I really like this option! The Bouncy Bands come in two different sizes, one for desks and the other for chairs. The installation on our school desk was an absolute snap. Less than a minute, and we were ready for action. They are also available in two colors, royal blue and yellow. Our student liked that she could choose. It made her feel like it was more “hers”.

The day I received our Bouncy Bands in the mail, we were not doing school. We were having a sick day because our little student had the flu. But that did not stop her from wanting to test drive this new product. She sat right down at her desk, and giggled with glee, flexing and bouncing!

I love that this product is completely quiet. You hear nothing at all as the student is able to move and wiggle while working. No more creative excuses for why she needs to get up…yet again. We got our little school desk from a yard sale at our local elementary school. She enjoyed the novelty of it for a day or two, and then quickly grew to hate sitting in it. It was so stiff and rigid. Her work suffered for it, too, as she tried to write on a clipboard while constantly shifting on the couch, or a chair, or a bed. I’m so grateful for this easy solution for us both!

Katie’s review:

“I think while you are doing your school, you can have exercise! It’s pretty cool! It’s really bouncy! I like to put out my extra energy while I am doing my work, and this is very fun! Little kids are so full of energy, and if they have these they can pay attention to their teachers. It’s a really cool idea. I think it’s very comfortable, and I like that you don’t just have to sit there and be still and stiff. Having fun while doing school is AWESOME!”

Another added benefit for us personally is how Bouncy Bands help with test anxiety. Have you noticed your student nervously tapping or twirling a pencil, tapping fingers, jiggling feet and other sorts of behavior? Now we have an outlet for that little bit of nervousness, and performance is improving! As a matter of fact 87% of students reported that Bouncy Bands help them feel calmer when they take a test (and 71% of teachers agreed). Click here to view statistics gathered in a recent 2015 Survey!

This has been a win-win in our home. Actually a win-win-win-win!

My little student sits better, concentrates better, performs better.
My stress level in constantly having to reel her in has decreased a great deal!
In addition to having a set of Bouncy Bands to enjoy in our own homeschooling, I was able to share the second set with a family I know will benefit from them.
I was also given a special 15% discount code to share in my homeschooling group, as soon as this post goes live! Come grab it!!

Thank you Scott Ertl of Bouncy Bands for being such a blessing to our family, for giving me the privilege to review your terrific product, and for passing that gift on to the terrific members of my group!

I highly recommend this product! Click here to go to the site and order. They come with a 100% money back guarantee! What do you have to lose…except the wiggles? 🙂

Fabulous, Free "Not Back to School Summit" at HECOA (with Awesome Giveaways!)

Posting from HECOA Director, Dianne McLean:

GIVEAWAYS!!! Hey everyone, just wanted to remind you that we have weekly giveaways that end every Friday at noon at Home Education Council of America. This is part of our summer Not Back to School celebration!

This week, Unlock Math is giving away a full year membership ($349 value!), Order out of Chaos is giving away student planners ($50 package), PlanitWisely is another planner being given away (full year at $49 value), Homeschool Tracker is giving away a membership ($59 value), Mystery of History is offering their full Volume 1 on mp3 audio ($40 value), Times Tales is giving away some DVD’s, and ABC Mouse a $95 subscription.

How do you enter?? Super easy. Register for Not Back to School (our upcoming FREE online conference with 30 speakers and more than 50 live presentations), and then head to the Celebration Page. All of the giveaways are there on the page!! Enter as many as you would like (it’s all about the “share”), but ENTER. Because someone has to win, it might be you!

If you are familiar with the great giveaway events I’ve had at Schoolin’ Swag, you can look forward to the same quality products and services to be offered as giveaways for this event! I’ve contacted some of my favorite folks to jump on board and join us in offering terrific encouragement and incentives. Click here to get your free ticket for the Summit, and join the fun in the Celebration Room!

Homeschool Product Review: Order Out of Chaos Academic Planner

My sweet friend Leslie Josel, sent me a couple of her beautiful Academic Planners to take for a test drive this school year. I was going to wait until we were actually using them to post a review; but I’m so excited about them that I wanted to jump right on it and get the word out, so folks could get theirs ordered before August rolls around!

The planner is available in four different styles, to suit your taste. I loved the blue kaleidoscope design! The front and back are beautifully colored vinyl…very durable! I love the size of this planner, too…a generous 7″ x 11″ which gives plenty of space to write, as compared to impractical “pocket” planners. It is also 3-hole punched to fit into a binder, if you so wish!

I’ll post some photos here to show you the inside (click to enlarge). This is a great, intuitive organizational tool that is easy to use, without a lot of flipping around…and it teaches the student how to own their school planning!

If you need help, Leslie will hold your hand a little bit!

Write in your subjects and activities once on the left, and they line up with each day's pages! — Write in your subjects and activities once on the left…

Here is a nifty video, explaining the perks of this great tool:

As a perfect accompaniment to the planners, Leslie was gracious enough to include her new book, “What’s the Deal With Teens and Time Management?” What a great pairing! The handy little book covers everything from procrastination (oh boy!) to homework strategies. These are important life skills for your teen! Click here to preview!

Speaking of teens managing their time, while you’re at it, sign up for the FREE Back to School Webinar (Monday, August 17, 8pm EST), targeted specifically for middle and high schoolers, titled “Have You Done Your Homework Yet?”–click here!

Homeschool Product Review: CTC Math

In searching various options for math for our 3rd grader next year, I came across CTC Math. What a great program! I immediately loved how intuitive it is, very streamlined and user-friendly.

Click here to watch a video about how it works (I highly recommend watching this…it is brief, but by the end I think you’ll see why I wanted to jump on board).

The program provides:

1,367 animated and narrated math lessons
A bank of over 57,000 interactive questions
Diagnostic tests
Instant feedback to students and regular reporting to parents
Algebra, statistics, geometry, trigonometry, probability plus more

I love that this program goes at my speed. Rewind, review, pause if you like. Take lessons in the order listed, or choose specific lessons which are trouble spots for your K-12 student.

Screen shot with Katie's opening page and "Speed Skills" window. — Screen shot with Katie’s opening page and “Speed Skills” window.

The teacher, Pat Murray (who’s got 10 kids of his own!), uses a variety of techniques so your visual, auditory, kinesthetic learners can all get a firm grasp on concepts…their way. Students can print lesson summaries to keep in a notebook for review. Lessons are reinforced by online quizzes which increase in difficulty as the student progresses. There are printable worksheets for lessons as well. You can easily view the progress your student is making, and they receive certificates as a reward for their accomplishments.

I’m really looking forward to plugging into this program more thoroughly this coming school year. Wow, how I wish there would have been something like this when I was in Jr. High Algebra. I suffered terribly because I learned one way, and the teacher taught another way…and never the twain did meet. I was too shy at that age to ask questions, so I muddled along, failed the class, and had to take it again in summer school. How different things could have been with CTC math!

Click here to experiment with a free trial!

Note: I received a year’s subscription to CTC Math in exchange for an honest review.

Homeschool Product Review: Auto Upkeep

In searching for material for electives for our son’s freshman year, I came across a website which immediately caught my eye. Our son is very mechanically-inclined, and is just on the verge of being old enough for a learner’s permit, so this was a no-brainer!

Auto Upkeep is a very thorough program, set up to instruct the student about each automotive system, as well as basics on purchasing a vehicle, insurance, and practical points like automotive safety, care and expenses. There is absolutely no shortage of resources in this complete program! There are plenty of web links and books listed for further research.

Auto Upkeep materials include a student textbook and workbook complete with review questions for your student to answer, as well as practical exercises to perform. If your child is a hands-on learner, he or she will not be disappointed, as they are called upon in each chapter to put into practice what they have learned. You’ll get some fluid level checks, cleaning and general maintenance for free!

Also available is a teacher resource cd, including: course syllabus, PowerPoint slides, lab activities, chapter tests, exams and final, and answer keys. For home educators, there is a special homeschool curriculum kit available as well.

Not only have these materials provided our son with detailed information about the things he *thought* he knew about taking care of a vehicle, but they will also be a very handy resource for the future when he wants to go back and remind himself of what he’s learned.

If you have a potential driver in your family, or a student who has exhibited an interest in a career as an auto tech, the Auto Upkeep course would be an excellent investment! Right now there are some excellent discounts going on…nearly 50% off! Click here to go check it out!

Note: I was given the homeschool curriculum kit in exchange for an honest review of these products.

Homeschool Product Review: Hoffman Piano Academy

Our youngest is 9 years old. She is very musical, so I decided to search for some budget-friendly options for her to get some piano and voice lessons started during summer break. I was so delighted when I found Hoffman Piano Academy!

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that all of the actual lessons (100 of them!) on the Hoffman Academy website are FREE! You heard that right. And they are not slipshod or boring!

Our daughter was engaged from the moment I pushed the “play” button. Joseph Hoffman is entertaining and very kid-friendly. Lessons go at a nice, doable pace. Because they are recorded, you can go back and review as many times as you like, you can progress as quickly or slowly as you need to. Lessons are available 24/7, so you can plug in your piano lessons when they fit best in your schedule. All very convenient “perks”!

By the end of the first lesson, our daughter could play a song. What she learned was “Hot Cross Buns”…a very simple tune, but because she could say “I can play a song” it was immediately gratifying to her. A great move on Mr. Hoffman’s part. Even in the very first lessons, children are taught to think in terms of high and low notes and where they will occur on a musical staff later on.

At the end of the lessons, there is a little fun moment for the children to enjoy. Our daughter looks forward to these, and they serve as an incentive for her to stick with the session until the end. Another great, kid-friendly idea!

There are printed materials available for each Unit of study (for instance, Lessons 1-20 would comprise the first Unit). These printable materials support the concepts learned, and review important ideas. I highly recommend purchasing them to accompany the free lessons. They are extremely reasonable, at only $19 per Unit (or you can purchase the materials for all five units for just $85.50 by clicking here). Students learn in this first set of materials how to think in terms of note values, high and low, notes on a scale, and more.

Our daughter looks forward to every lesson with Mr. Hoffman. Click here to get started with Lesson 1!

Click here to sign up for their free newsletter which gives weekly Piano Parent Tips, as well as to receive the 5 Piano Parent Boot Camp emails. You’ll also get some Bonus Materials for Lesson 1, free!

Enjoy!

Note, I received a copy of the printed materials for Unit 1 free in exchange for an honest review.

Homeschool Product Review: Daily Grams

Grammar is one of those things that most students find pretty boring. So, as homeschooling parents, we look for palatable ways to accomplish what we know needs to be done…covering the basics of grammar so that our students can express themselves well. I’m going to tell you about a tool which can help you reach this goal!

I first heard about Daily Grams from a missionary friend who had used it for her children. When we hit a road block with our current program, I decided to finally look into it.

I chose to use the Junior/Senior High version for our son, who is a freshman. He had battled with some reading disability through his earlier school years, so I was looking for something that would keep things fresh but without being cumbersome. Daily Grams did just that.

This level of Daily Grams is set up more as a review of what is learned in earlier grades. There is a worksheet for each day, featuring reviews on basic concepts like capitalization and punctuation (often requiring a re-write of a given sentence which includes some errors). There are also some simple exercises to remind students of the various parts of speech, as well as sentence combining sections which help with composition skills.

The information on a day’s worksheet is challenging enough not to be tedious, and varied enough to keep all of these aspects of grammar well-groomed. The workbook has 180 daily lessons in it…enough to carry a student through an entire school year. The answers are included in an index in the back of the workbook.

In doing these daily review pages, the teacher/parent can make note of skills which are a bit rusty and may require a bit of refreshing. I’ve found this to be a well-rounded, thorough (but concise) review workbook which reminds students of types of letters, types of sentences and clauses, subject/verb agreement, active/passive voice and more. It is not designed to teach a lesson (although some questions may provide a little “retrieval cue”) as much as it is to keep things sharp for the larger papers and projects which will be written during the upper level years.

I would recommend this product for students who have had a solid foundation in grammar. It will be frustrating for a teen who can’t define terms such as gerund or predicate nominative. A good grasp of more than just the basic parts of speech is a prerequisite to using this particular workbook. Check out the earlier levels of Easy Grammar by clicking here!

Note: I received a copy of the featured workbook in exchange for an honest review.

Try a month of "Schoolhouse Teachers" for $1!

I am an affiliate with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, specifically their Schoolhouse Teachers site, which is a fabulous value, and a wonderful help to any homeschooler, but especially those just starting out.

There are over 100 classes available from preschool to high school. Point. Click. Teach. Get planners, ebooks, book keeping resources and great freebies as well! Discounts for HSLDA members and military.

Join monthly for $12.95 each month. GET YOUR FIRST MONTH FOR ONLY $1! One fee serves your entire family. Anyone living in your home can use the site 24/7. There are no per-class or per-child fees and you can cancel anytime. Go to this link to join!

This link provides a video and great info about the services and benefits!

There is so much new interest in homeschooling right now, with more and more things happening in our school systems and more demands and restrictions placed upon them by the government. I really think we are entering the “Golden Age” of homeschooling right now!

PhotoSnack for Your Special Events!

I’m a very busy mom this month. Numerous special events coming up at church, out of town visitors coming, our daughter’s graduation to plan, VBS to organize…the list goes on. I want to tell you about my journey to the land of Slide Show Happiness!

I wanted to put together a little slide show for our daughter’s graduation party. I started gathering photos…hunting through Facebook albums, scouring various folders on my computer, editing, formatting, downloading. All very time consuming things. Then came the equally time consuming quest to find a tool to help me put together this slide show…I’d never done one before. **Cue the ominous music.**

I experimented with downloading programs (and then uninstalling them) in what seemed like an endless, disappointing cycle. Why couldn’t I find a tool that was reasonable, had the features I wanted, and didn’t require a manual and an associate’s degree to get it to work?

After the last attempt, I decided to search one more option, called PhotoSnack. I’d never heard of it before, but I liked it immediately. All I had to do was plug in my email address, and I was ready to play with all the tools and options.

I selected a title and description for my project. I found it was super easy to download photos, either by clicking the “Browse” button, or dragging and dropping.

I just had to click and drag photos to rearrange. On the Customize screen, I chose what type of template I wanted…how I wanted the presentation to look when moving from one image to the next. I chose “Simple Fade.”

Next, I selected a color as background (nice patterns and textures are also available). I could include my own background music or choose from those offered on the site. All of this is tweakable, to get it just right.

The free version of the tool allows you to make a presentation with 15 photos, and you can share your final product on Facebook and Twitter.

Here are the packages they offer:

You can check out examples here. You can “Like” their Facebook page here for special discounts and contests!

In addition to the slide show tool, look at this extensive list of other “Snack Apps” which are available! This is literally your “one stop shop” for online, easy to use apps, for sure!

I don’t have a lot of time to play with all these wonderful options at present, but I did go explore snackwebsites and “pretend” I was setting up a blog. It was very intuitive, with immediate response time, and I had this set up in less than ten minutes:

Pretty neat! You really need to go explore this site!

My graduation slide presentation was very easy to put together, and it has a nice, personal feel to it. Inside of an hour, I had everything customized the way I wanted it. I showed it to our daughter, and she just sat there, hugging the laptop, grinning from ear to ear. It was an effortless gift of time and thoughtful organization to me…to her, it was a loving journey of her life, capturing precious memories that can be shared with all the special people at her celebration.

Thank you, PhotoSnack!

"I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General""

Thursday I was in military mode for our schooling. In case you wondered, this journey is not as easy as it seems. By itself, the concept of schooling at home is daunting…I mean, you are trying to teach your own kids, all day. Enough said. 😉 I share today’s skirmishes to perhaps give someone hope, who is plugging along wondering if they will survive. You will. I’ve been at this over a decade, and I’m still kicking. I was sharing this adventure with some fellow homeschool moms at Schoolin’ Swag today, because being transparent is how we learn, and how we receive the help and support we need:

1pm (after repeated stops and starts): “This has been an uphill, both ways, through molasses in winter kind of week. Lots of “I was just…” excuses for not following through, for walking away from lessons, for getting a million drinks of water, for sharpening the pencil down to a ridiculous nub. Oy. So, I decided to use the spiral notebook approach today and give her more control over her own destiny. lol Handed it to her this morning, with a folder containing her worksheets. And, since it is in print, there is no question about what is being asked of her. If she neglects her work, it’s all her. Yep, it’s “Mean Mom” Day. I’ll letcha know how it goes.”

1:30: “I’ve also resorted to having her raise her hand to step away from her work. Even so, a drink of water is requiring time for digestion, apparently. Yes, I’m trying to keep my sense of humor…though I don’t feel very funny. Ordinarily I am all about having a relaxed atmosphere, being spontaneous, having the cat on her lap for reading etc., but “Today is not that day!”

2:00: “She is eagerly checking off boxes. I have Vivaldi playing for her writing/copy work time, which always makes things happier and more productive. And she got 100% on her spelling, which is a huge milestone for her. So grateful to be finally conquering my insomnia/chronic pain issues so that I can have more stick-to-it-iveness, and focus!”

3:00: “And, for those continuing this journey with me…she’s jumping to check off boxes, but still positively dragging her feet with things she knows how to do, just choosing not to do them. So, we had a discussion about choices…that this is a matter of “I won’t”…not “I can’t”. I apologized that part of this has been my fault…I was so tired, so distracted by health issues, that I got lazy, and she learned to respond accordingly. This is a new day. She was rested, and had a good, balanced protein breakfast. She is hydrated. I have my Jeddy’s Blend in the diffuser. And, we delay lunch yet again (for both of us…she needs to see that her actions affect others), until an item is expedited in a timely and excellent fashion, with a right attitude. These are bigger lessons to learn than times tables…these are life lessons which will shape her adulthood. I’m in it for the long haul, and thankful that I get to do this.”

3:30: “And now we are working on the flash cards…each one requires a fan fare prior to the answer…and periodically it is essential to count the “done” pile and the “to do” pile to ascertain how many are finished and how many are left. Oh, and on occasion there is a little monster in her pocket who needs to converse with her about the problem. And then there is the shuffling. I didn’t pray for patience today… 😉 “

katiedentist — Precocious, curious, bright, passionate, with a strong sense of resolve. Our Katherine. Love her so much.

3:45: “Katie is very bright, a quick study, memorizes like crazy, does educational stuff for her play time. Some of this is tedious to her, I know…but that is the stuff of real life. We all need to discipline ourselves to push through things which are not fun. I think we’ve seen a not-so-great trend in recent years, where kid’s school stuff has to involve stickers, prizes, incentives, and fun fun fun every day. Those kids make lousy employees.”

4:30: “The end of today’s story. We finally finished school, at nearly 5pm. She got all her boxes checked off, and I asked her to draw a picture at the bottom of the page, depicting what the next school day *could* look like with a right heart attitude. She liked the idea…it seemed to give her hope. She finished it, handed it to me in tears, apologized, and sat here in my lap for some time. I explained to her the potential I see in her, but she needs to choose wisely. Reminded her that her school matters to God. All of her choices do. Told her I want so much more for her than the direction her current choices would take her in. Made sure she knew that I want her best work…which may or may not be “A’s”. She’s smiling. All’s right with the world.”

These are teachable moments. Her tender heart always wins out in the end, and I am so grateful that I know that. The Holy Spirit in her life eventually helps her sort things out, when she puts her bellowing emotions aside. So true of all of us, right?

Truly, this is messy parenting. But I would much rather have a child who struggles and understands what it looks like to face and conquer self (for another day, or hour, or moment) , than have a kid who conforms out of sheer fear of discipline, tows the line without any friction, but is not aware at all that there is a battle for her soul going on, even during the mundane responsibilities of the school day.

It was a hard day. It was a good day.

Keep pluggin’, homeschool mom!