Blog Archives

Recipe: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

11/30/2014

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Field Trip: Royal Winter Fair

11/30/2014

A couple of weeks ago we pulled our international student out of school for a couple of days. We were heading off to Toronto. We spent one day at the Royal Winter Fair and another at the Toronto Zoo. We camped at Valens Conservation Area while we were there.

It was kinda fun, my hubby is a member of a camping site on-line and so he knows alot of camping folks. We met some people he knows and they graciously gave us some wood and came over to our site to share an evenings fire with us. :) As we sat around the fire we had an unlikely guest. My son spent a lot of time trying to convince this feline to come closer and at one point thought to pounce on in order to catch, but I nixed that idea rather quickly as wild cats, bites/scratches not a thought I was willing to entertain. But he had fun coaxing it and discovering he/she was hungry enough to eat most anything offered. As long as one stayed at a safe distance away.

So off we went to the Royal Winter Fair.

We had a lovely day.
I brought home four pieces of smoked fish like a do every year. :) They always have this great northern Ontario section that we love to browse.

We took in the Renaissance Theatre presentation.

Our student is not a huge cheese can but he managed to find some cheese at the cheese tasting that he enjoyed. We wandered the various booths and saw some rather large pumpkins. I liked the look of the different squash they had displayed. The butter sculptures were well done this year as well.

I loved going to the poultry show where I tred to get some good pictures of chickens for my picture frame. I grew up on a farm and one of my jobs was to take care of the chickens. I still really like chickens and would love to have a flock running about.

The highlight was attending the free horse show in the afternoon. This was a speed challenge and had Ian Millar sowing with one of his children, as well as other Horsey People names I recognized. :) It was hard to get good shots of the speed jump class.

It was a good day out. we were tired by day's send. when we got back Jim visited the camp office and asked if we could leave our trailer there next day since one of the brakes was locking up and he didn't want to drag it through Toronto traffic. They were gracious to us and allowed us to do that. Partly because the campground was not busy. :) I will talk about our trip to the zoo in another post. :)

Review: Susie's Hope

11/30/2014

Soft-hearted woman meets untrustworthy dog. Gets injured. Hearts are wounded. A husband worries something fierce. A puppy damaged, soft hearts are taught, healing begins, a law is changed. This sums up Susie's hope.

About the movie: Run time 105 minutes Based on the true story that successfully passed Susie’s Law in North Carolina, which seeks stricter punishment for animal abusers, Susie’s Hope brings to life the inspirational relationship between pit bull attack survivor Donna Lawrence and Susie, a pit bull-mix puppy found beaten, burned and left for dead. Recognizing reflect and abuse were to blame for the tragic attack that nearly claimed her life 10 months earlier, Donna resumes the battered animal and accepts her as family. Together, they learn to heal, love and forgive as they lead a historic effort to seek justice and protection, not only for Susie, but all animals. Starring Emmanuelle Vaguer (40 Days and 40 Nights), Burgess Jenkins (Remember The Titans) and Andrea Powell (Ender’s Game, The Twighlight: Breaking Dawn Saga: Part 2), Susie’s Hope is an incredible story of love, loss and redemption.

I watched this moive one afternoon with my nine year old son. I was fully prepared for questions that my son would raise and we stopped the movie a couple of times to discuss his questions.   I would not recommend sharing this morning with most children under 10 unless they are mature enough to ask questions and accept the answers.

Mom.. Why would someone want to hurt an animal?   That will be a question that is a natural one for children to raise.   A puppy badly injured. Everyone said "this animal has suffered enough, let's help it die" that's how badly this puppy was injured.   It would have been mine response as well, but this puppy touched Donna's life when she needed the time and will to heal after she was so severely injured in the dog attack.   It's not an easy question to answer, and not one that was answered in this movie. We can't understand the motives behind it, but we can understand that at the base of all the hard things that people do that aren't RIGHT is sin.    And this movie allowed me the opportunity to show my son what form that sin can take.

From a puppy being damaged. To a woman scaring her husband badly. To a husband talking harshly.

It also allowed for love to be seen and shown.
A woman showing her fearful heart to her friends and hubby, a husband helping his wife...taking a bold step in helping deal with a her pain and a puppy's pain.   A friend walking at her side. Love for hurt animals.

We see both in this movie.
It's not an easy movie to watch. But it's not a bad one.
I can't say that I enjoyed it, but I did appreciate it.

One thing I was happy about... the injured puppy was obviously a fake puppy. I had to stop the movie to show my son how it wasn't a real puppy lying there injured while people told the story (why would they hurt another puppy mom?!?!?!) To my quick response of : "They didn't son.. see? It's not real".   Oh.. okay then. they are just pretending so they can tell the story right? Yup. And then later showing how they carefully wrapped up a puppy to look like it was hurt.   A happy puppy romping on the grass is not a puppy that the day before was at death's door. It's good to point these things out to younger children.

It was also a good lesson in theatrical makeup and robotics.   :) Seeing as he's interested in such things, it's good for a homeschooled child to see the need for it.

Would I have taken him to see this in the theatre? NO. But at home when I can stop and start a movie.. for sure. He's mature enough to think it through and be angry about it and then happy that things are now changed. :)

I reviewed this movie on behalf of FlyBy Promotions.

Check out and share Susie’s Hero Dog Award Video here!
This website is a GREAT resource for all things Susie / Susie’s Hope related

Review: What's in the Bible

11/29/2014

I have to admit something here, I've been intrigued by Buck Denver's What's in the Bible DVD Series for a while now, so when I was given an opportunity to review the DVD's by FlyBy Promotions I jumped on it. :)   I was not disappointed.

I do have to admit to a little trepidation about how my nine year would take to a DVD with a bunch of puppets in it. Admittedly at first he was skeptical.   As was i. But they won us over. :)

by the end of the DVD my son was saying, "Mom, I would like to see more of these."

Jesus is the Good News is the 10th in the series of "what's in the bible".   You can go on a journey through the Old Testament. This DVD seems to be the start of the New Testament. These DVD's are available through the What's in the Bible website.

So what did I like (and my pastor hubby).   Good teaching.   My son knows much more about the first four books of the Old Testament now and how it all fits together.   We liked the clear teaching.   The teaching contained within this DVD is on task.

What did my son like?   He thought the one guy was kinda stupid ("but mom, I think he is supposed to be, cause then they can answer his questions"), but he liked how it all fit together.   How one guy knows some difficult answers, and another guy is good at asking questions and so forth.

Teaching, music, active interplay between characters.   Puppets or not, it worked. :)

So let's talk abit about what you get in this DVD.
About Volume 10: Jesus Is the Good News!: Run time: Approx 66 min Let VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer and a bunch of hilarious new friends explain the entire Bible to your kids in this groundbreaking fast-paced and fun-filled DVD series. Includes TWO 25 minute episodes: God’s Perfect Timing - Buck Denver and crew learn about the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments and how Jesus arrives at just the perfect time & The Messiah Has Come! - Learn about the life and ministry of Jesus-how He died for us and rose again to launch the kingdom of God in the world and in us!
You can find more of the series at this link.

So you get two, 25-minute episodes which covers Matt, Mark, Luke, and John–plus a few bonus features, including outtakes. On the DVD insert there is a colouring page, a parent's guide of discussion and the reason why this series was developed. To help fit bible illiteracy among children.

The first video covers the 400 year gap between the Old And New Testaments. The second video talks about Christ. Here Phil does most of the talking. We learned about

Jesus heals a paralyzed man to show he has authority to forgive sins.
Jesus calms the storm to show he has authority over nature.
Jesus raises Jairus’ daughter from the dead to show he even has authority over death.

In simplified language children learn about the different Jewish sects, they learn why Jesus was watched so closely by the Jewish leadership, we learned about their hopes and fears. We learned about who Jesus really was...the son of God, part of the Trinity, loved of God.

To get a feel for the DVD, watch the trailer below.

Woodstock Museum and Art Gallery

11/27/2014

We have some friends who live out in Woodstock which is a bit of a drive forus. So about a week back we headed out their to go to the Museum and their art Gallery... A way to do some schooling and visit friends at the same time. :)

They are both fairly small and don't take a long time to go through, and I forgot my good camera so we'll have to make do with cell phone pictures this day. :)

Despite the size of the gallery the children had fun, and we had a nice visit.

They had a nice collection of old organs. Woodstock used to be a major center for organ makers. I recognized some of the names but others were new to me.

This museum is very is very hands on which makes it an excellent place to bring children. From the working pump (don't drink the water) to the scales and other artifacts. An elevator makes it easy to navigate for those unable to take the stairs.

They had a bit of a Christmas display up on the second floor with an area to pretend you were in a train (great for story telling) as well as a "Let's be Santa" chair. Neither of us as families "do Santa" but the children had a lot of run with it none the less. :)

The art gallery had a really nice gift shop that had many items the children were interested. A couple of the paintings attracted out attention as well. All the children seemed to like this painting.

My son was intrigued by this painting. "Mom, why would they make it so small and put this big white thing around it?" "It's kinda a neat drawing mom".

I found myself drawn in by this painting. From a distance it looked like muddy splashes on the ground, but as you looked more carefully... can you see the chickens?

The exhibits change all the time in the Art Gallery, so we may stop in again another time to see what they have to offer us. :) They apparently offer free art classes for children as well. So if you are in the area, it might be worth checking out.

Review: From Sea to Shining Sea

11/24/2014

Are you looking for a way to gently introduce your students (or children) to the history of the United States? Ellis the Elephant may be just the ticket for you. I recently had the pleasure of reviewing From Sea to Shining Sea from the Ellis the Elephant Series. one behalf of the Ascot Media Group.

From Sea to Shining Sea is the fourth in the Ellis the Elephant series.   In these books Callistra Gingrich introduces children to the history of the United States.   This book is written in verse and could easily be read in one sitting. I chose to read it in four sittings with my nine year old so we could talk about the ideas presented.

"The explorers made new friends nearly every day
As natives guided Lewis and Clark on their way.
Soon they added a special friend to their crew,
Her name was Sacagawea, and she helped them get through".

When we arrived at this section it gave me a chance to ask my lad what he remembered about Sacagewea. We had read a book about her last year. it was gratifying to see he remembered something about her. :)

Throughout the book we find images of Ellis the elephant helping out with various duties of the people of Early America. From helping to build a boat to dancing with the natives to discovering new frontiers.   Ellis guides the readers along the way.

It's a great way to get an overall view of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Some the hazards they faced, the reason for making it, the help they needed along the way and so much more.

My Son's thoughts: "The book isn't bad mom. I think it is meant for littler children though."
me: What did you like son?
"I liked the elephant...he liked to do everything that the people were doing".

My opinion:
This book was well done. I liked how the rhyme makes it an easy to read book. The Illustrator Susan Arciero does an excellent job of portraying Ellis tagging along with the people in the book. I loved that their was an excellent resource list in the back of the book covering the different episodes of the Lewis and Clark expedition and the events that followed it. I can so easily see this book being used as an introduction to an in-depth study of Lewis and Clark for older children, or as a shorter history for younger children. Based on what I saw in this book, I would have no issues recommending others check them out. Ms. Gingrich has done an excellent job.

Product Details:
Vendor: Ascot Media Group.
Book:From Sea to Shining Sea
Series:Ellis the Elephant
Pages: 40 pages
Type: US History, Children's Literature
Received: Hard cover copy.

Review: Amazon Burning

11/23/2014

Amazon Burning is written by Victoria Griffith. It contains romance, danger, mystery. poaching, drugs, intrigue and mature themes.

A bit about the author: Victoria Griffith is the author of the award winning non-fiction picture book The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont (Abrams, 2011), which won numerous awards, including the prestigious Parents’ Choice. The book was recently translated into Portuguese for the Brazilian market and was also released in audio book version.

Before becoming a full-time author, Victoria spent twenty years as an international journalist, fifteen of those years as foreign correspondent for the UK’s Financial Times. During that time, she had fun writing on a wide range of topics, including Brazil’s Yanomami Indians, architecture, space exploration, the human genome, and the growth of the Internet. She even managed to fit in some children’s book reviews. Her most terrifying assignment was preparing lunch for Julia Child, who praised the Brazilian fish stew but refused to touch the blackberry dessert. Victoria lives in Boston with her husband and three daughters. She can be found at http://www.victoriagriffith.com/

Story Synopsis: Emma wants to be a journalist. She convinces her father to take her to Brazil for a writing assignment.   Milton Silva has been mysteriously murdered. Journalists around the world want to know why!     An avid environmentalist who spent his time protecting the Yanomami Indians and their land, Milton had scours of enemies and few friends. Who could have killed him and why? Along the way Emma meets Jimmy a man with a medical degree who wants to be a photographer. They discover they work well as a team and set about trying to solve the murder of Milton as well as discovering romance between them.

My Review: I read about four romances a year, I find I don't need to fill my head with unrealistic expectations (even if it does make for a good escape from the world for a while). :) ANYWAYS... my thoughts on Amazon Burning? Well.. The mystery intrigues. Why was Milton killed, and WHO did it?   Was it Souza?   Amoeba? Braga? or Fernando?   Who had reason to kill him? I very much liked that it had a surprise ending.. it was like HE killed him???? Really???   Shocked. I liked this part of the book.

It was also interesting to read about the Yanomami indians and their culture. To see how people used their culture against them...poisoning them and introducing illnesses to them. Destroying their homes in order to use their land for other purposes. The political undertones throughout the book were also of interest.

But overall... It was a not a read I particularly enjoyed.

The physical attraction between them was too... I'm have to admit to not being sure of the word to use.. stilted? predictable? too fast moving? It was definitely far too detailed for my liking.   I liked that the main characters pushed each other to mature into better adults.

It just overall seemed a bit too far fetched and too... let's see how far we can push the thoughts and emotions here on just how bad people can be while adding physical elements I didn't really need to read about.

I would give this one a pass...unless you like steamy romantic scenes.

Product Details.
I received An ebook edition for the purpose of my review.
I reviewed this book on behalf of Astor + Blue.

Five Minute Friday: Notice

11/21/2014

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The rules are simple. Go to Kate's blog. Get the word of the day. Write for five minutes. Link up. Then go back ck and encourage the person (or two) who wrote before you. Easy peasy. Talking 10 minutes out of your day. :) It's NOT scary, it's fun. So give it a whirl this day. If you do... let me know. I'll be happy to encourage you as well. :)

click image to go to source: Heading Home

As you can see from the image above our word today is notice.

Okay... 803 am.   Three Two One GO

Notice.
When I see this word it says HEY!   Notice ME!!!!   See Me!!!   The thing that people want to have is to be noticed...don't you find?
But the question is...should we be asking to be seen, to be noticed?

I sometimes wonder this.
You see I like to be noticed. and sometimes I will do odd things to make sure that folks notice me. But lately I'm becoming convinced that wanting to be noticed is not what we should focus on.

Yesterday my son and I were reading about a missionary whose method of reaching people was by reaching out to others with tracts.   And some days were hard and he just wanted to give up because of how people treated him and the tracts he handed out. But he overtime learned that it doesn't matter how many people disparage him as long as people are reached for the Lord.

I was talking with my son afterwards about how hard I would find that.   And I didn't know if I could do that.   His response made me reconsider.   He said "mom, it would be hard. I I wouldn't want to do all that standing. But mom...he was doing what God wanted him do and that is what is right. I could do that Mom."

So it was less about being noticed but more about doing what God wants us to.

Isn't that what we should focus on?

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Favourites of the Review Year

11/18/2014

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It is that time of year when members of the TOS review crew take the time to mention which of the many reviews we did were our favourites. We call them the Blue Ribbon Awards.

So which ones fit us best?
UberSmart Math Facts.
Veritas Press.
Essential Skills Advantage.
Standard Deviants Accelerate
and Logic of English.
These were the "Work" reviews.

Of the Fun reviews... Maestro Classics and Clued in Kids were the favourite of both mom and son. :)

So let's get on with why these are our favourites. :)

UberSmart Math
What can I say... short focus point... teaching memorizing of math facts and I'm removed from the equation. My son focuses and he memorizes. THIS is a good thing. :)

Veritas press... history. Can't say how much I like this history program. I am learning SO much. My son is learning so much. It's generally fun. Hones knowledge (even with a boy who says.. I don't pay attention to dates mom...and yet aces tests because the dates keep coming back and so he learns them). My goal is to continue with this history program.

Essential Skills Advantage. A Language Arts Program. Free and paid options. Encouraging correct responses.. focused on helping children learn grammar, reading comprehension and more. I like this program, my son occasionally fights it and I have to mindful he focuses...but he's a lad not wanting to do reading work...he'd rather be doing stuff. ... particularly practical stuff he finds more compelling. :) But it works for us. Defined goals, learning happens.

Standard Deviants Accelerate my nine year doesn't raise a fuss. He's always willing to do this program. Why? I don't know. He doesn't get the humour.. he doesn't get everything taught (it's a grade six program after all). BUT this is the program that he will ask to do time and again. It works for him. Their way of doing math... not so much, but the earth sciences program is where it is at for him. :) The nutrition class they have as well is beginning to intrigue. I hope we finish both before our trial period ends. :)

Logic of English. Perhaps not my son's favourite program, but he's learning the continued benefit of it as he gets more into writing his most current story. He's asking all types of grammar questions now and so Logic of English with it's clearly defined rules is becoming such a helpful program for us. So thankful I have their handy printout sheets to make sure I am accurate with what I tell him as well. :) It's slowly sinking in! :)

What can I say about Maestro Classics and Clued in Kids? My son enjoyed them. I enjoyed them. They were simply fun reviews to do. :) They were! Treasure hunts with Clued in Kids.. MOM!!!! I got my 6x's, I figured them out!!! And for Maestro... music and a story... this kind of stuff is right up on son's alley. I want more of them but my library doesn't carry them ... perhaps next year I can have another run at them? :) Now wouldn't that just be grand? :)

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Review: Andi Under Pressure

11/16/2014

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Andi Under Pressure is an Andi Boggs Novel written by Amanda Flower.

This is a fun detective story that my nine year old son thoroughly enjoyed.     I received this book for free in order to give you my opinion on it.

12 year old Andi and her best friend Colin are attending "Camp Geek" (according to her sister Bethany).. also known as Discovery Camp which is a science camp for junior high students.   While at Discovery Camp mysterious events occur...crickets escape, markers disappear, equipment stolen!   Then the worst...an accident with one of the professor's hurt!

What is going on?    Andi and Colin are on the case. What is going on with Polk - is he really a janitor?   And why does Kip the security guard hate him so?

Interwoven into the detective work are personal details about Andi and Colin.    We get to meet Bergita, Colin's colourful gramma.   We see Bethany learn to adapt to her new life in Killdeer and Amelie adjust to parenting her nieces.

It's a nicely written book with short chapters making it an ideal book for junior readers.   Easily understood it drew my son in readily. He laughed over the skunks, giggled over the dog under the porch and generally just wanted to read more and more.

It's an excellent book for children.

My Son's Review: "This is a very good book.   You should read it".

Product Details.
Andi Under Pressure
An Andi Boggs Novel
Written By Amanda Flower
Published by Zondervan
Price: $6.99 ebook. $10.99 hardcover
Pages: 176