Monday, October 29, 2012

My life in review

Ok last week I reviewed a character curriculum and this week I'm doing a review of my life. I like to take a look at what I've been doing every few months and decide whats working and whats not working and needs to be changed.
 
  Oh where do I start? I know.. lets start with whats not working.. this computer for starters is a piece of junk because it shuts down at anytime it wants to and is missing keys. So it makes me want to pull my hair out when I'm using it. Not much I can do about that though because my budget doesn't allow for a new one. Next....my calendar that I made for the kids yeah not working either. I guess I'm just not that structured.  I want to be but I just can't. So I took it down. Maybe I'll just hold on to it and try it again in the future. OK what else??? I had to change the Princesses curriculum because it was so not working. She is just not a workbook kinda girl and now I'm leaning more on visual learning techniques. All the boys did great with Abeka but its not for her. I've been going back to basics with her and adding a lot of hands on things. Speaking of the Princess, her room was not working for me either. So I changed it around a bit, purged some of the toys and clothes and bought a few new totes for organizing and now it's under control. I could write a whole post on that alone. I have a few others projects just like that one that need to be tackled.
 
   Alright enough of that. Whats working for my life right now. Notice the right now part of that sentence. That's because I know that whats working for me now... might not work for me three months from now. My morning calendar routine is the first thing that comes to mind. Loooove it! It has saved me so much time having everything up and ready in the morning. I don't have to go over each thing individually with each kid and we've made it into our routine.. so the kids know what to expect every morning. This is what my dining room area looks like. We do most of our school here.


My other favorite thing that has been working is this folder. It has 8 slots inside and I labeled them Monday-Friday and then I keep things like reading books and completed worksheets in the other ones. Every Friday I reload it for the following week and I'm all set to go.


Next is my exercise routine. I'm just happy I've been able to be consistent with it. I just completed three months of Chalean Extreme. I really wanted to add some weight training to my routine and I'm so happy I did. I really see a difference in muscle definition in my arms and back. I also lost some of the fat on my abs. This week I'm starting Insanity and that's a 60 day program. I'm hoping that when I'm done I'll have lost the last bit of weight I want to take off. That'll bring me to January and then I'll be starting my marathon training, which goes till race day at the end of May.

So that's all for now. Hope your all having a fantastic fall....my favorite time of year by the way. Have a blessed week!

Friday, October 26, 2012

We Choose Virtues Review

A few weeks ago I was chosen to review "We Choose Virtues". Maybe you've came across them online. We choose virtues is a set of tools to help aid in developing good character traits  in young children ages 3-11. It's designed to be used for a brief amount of time everyday. This can be done at home by a parent or in school by a teacher. It can even be used as a conversation starter at dinner time. The idea is to imprint these characters in the child over several teachable moments found in your everyday life experiences.

There are 12 characters that are covered:

1. Attentive
2. Content
3. Gentle
4. Kind
5. Diligent
6. Forgiving
7. Obedient
8. Patient
9. Perseverant
10. Helpful
11 .Self-Controlled
12. Honest

I really loved how each character began with "I am". For example: "I am" Kind.



 The characters are adorable and the cards are vibrant in color and made of quality material. There are several products offered that range from posters and flashcards to entire teachers kits.You can check out all the different products here http://www.wechoosevirtues.com/shop.  There are also some freebies offered on there site to go along with materials. There is a  Family-character-assessment. and a Kids-memory-verses-bible-hero es-and-truths list.


You can find there current promo codes here https://www.facebook.com/wechoosevirtues

I made the cards into part of our morning board routine. The kids were very excited about adding something new. In addition to the cards I added a Bible hero or Truth and a memory verse that went along with the character of the week.






I also have the opportunity to share some of these awesome materials with one of you. I'm giving away a set of "We Choose Virtues" Flashcards


To enter to win, please leave me a comment stating which virtues that you think are most important for a child to learn and an email address for me to contact you if your chosen. I'll post the winner on November 5th.