As the weather's finally getting nicer and I'm starting to think about summer I realized that I never made my spring bucket list. Sigh. Oh well I guess I will just go ahead with my summer one.
This is a work in progress. Emma will only be doing a few weeks of camp this summer so I need lots of ideas to do with the girls.
1. We are going to join a pool this summer since the girls like the water so much.
2. Backyard camp out.
3. Plant a garden (probably container gardening since that seemed to work the best last year).
4. Do the Delaware State Parks challenge (posted about this before) again this year. We are aiming for the 1st place prize this year!
5. We have season passes to Dutch Wonderland, a fun amusement park for young kids in Lancaster, PA. We hope to go there at least once a month.
6. Emma has been wanting to have a lemonade stand so we will be doing that.
7. Annual beach vacation to Wildwood, NJ in August.
8. Bike riding at the park and around our neighborhood. We have already been doing this--the girls like to explore the pond in our neighborhood. Hopefully we will have baby geese to watch grow again this summer.
I'll add updates and pictures as we complete things. Stay tuned.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Friday, April 4, 2014
Monthly subscription boxes
We have been receiving several monthly subscription boxes for the last few months. So I thought I would give my opinions on them.
Magic School Bus (http://theyoungscientistsclub.com/)
My daughter loves the Magic School Bus books and science so I thought this would be a hit with her. Not so much. The first month she was into it but after that her interest fizzled out.
There is a different theme each month and about 10 experiments relating to that theme. Most material is included along with directions. The experiments, for the most part, are very quick and easy to do.
However, many of these experiments do not work at all. For the magnet theme, the magnets (which were needed for every experiment) were missing completely. The company did quickly send some when I emailed. The lodestone was not magnetic at all as it should have been so that experiment didn't work. In the human body one, the lung experiment was a complete failure. This month the theme is bacteria and fungi and after about a week the agar solution has still not gelled which means we can not do several of the other experiments. We have yet to try the yeast experiment but I'm not very confident that will work and Emma doesn't have much interest in doing it.
Overall, I would have better luck using a book and coming up with my own experiments, which is what I did before getting this kit. Emma seemed to enjoy doing science experiments more when I did that then she does with this subscription.
Above is the magnet kit. The lodestone experiment that didn't work is shown and the directions. The bottom picture is the homemade compass, which Emma did like making.
Little Passports (http://theyoungscientistsclub.com/)
When you first subscribe to Little Passports you get a cute suitcase, a nice world map, and a passport. Each month Sam and Sofia travel to a different country and bring your child back a letter with a game on the back of it and a souvenir from that country. Also included each month is a map sticker to add to the map, stickers for the passport and suitcase, and a boarding pass (with a code to access more activities on their website).
I have had mixed feelings about this subscription. Each month it comes in a rather small manila envelope. At first Emma didn't seem interested in it but now after a few months she has started looking forward to seeing where Sam and Sofia have gone. Some months the souvenirs are better than others. For example, for France it was a small plastic camera with rotating pictures. The girls both liked it but me not so much. For Egypt there was a nice pyramid that Emma had to crack open with the included tools to discover a mummy. Even though the pyramid was small this took Emma a surprisingly long time to do and she actually stuck with it! It also came at the perfect time as we were studying ancient Egypt in SOTW.
One thing that would make this better is if they included real pictures of the locations instead of pictures with Sam and Sofia in them. Also there is only a one page paper with the letter and a game or two on it. A little more meat would be nice. Plus the games are a bit advanced and not very interesting for Emma so I usually end up doing them.
Citrus Lane (citruslane.com)
Because I didn't want Abby to feel left out, this subscription box is for her. This is an eco friendly/natural box which is why I chose this one. Citrus Lane is by far my favorite monthly subscription box. Every month there is a high quality toy (Plan Toys cutting fruit, Melissa and Doug puzzle, Green Toys pot, etc.). There has also been a nice, hardcover book, plate, bowl, lotion, snacks. There is usually 3-4 things in the box each month. I have liked almost everything that has come so far. Abby played with last months' puzzle set for a long time and she usually isn't interested in puzzles. The boxes are geared for your child's gender and age from infant to preschooler. My only complaint is that occasionally there are household or mommy items in the box and I would prefer that everything be for Abby. But otherwise I love Citrus Lane and highly recommend it.
Ecocentric mom (http://www.findsubscriptionboxes.com/box/ecocentric-mom/)
This box is just for me! There are three choices from this company--mom box, mom-to-be box, and baby box. I have only been getting the mom box so can't comment on the other two. It is full of both sample and full size beauty products, health, household items, and snacks. All are eco friendly/natural (again, why I picked this one). Some of the recent things I've received are laundry soap samples, granola bars, lip balm, etc. It's a great way to try and discover new products. Discounts and buying info are included in the box as well. Most of the things I have liked although there have been a few food items I'm not to sure about and some beauty stuff that I will never use. Unlike the others, this box only comes every other month. So since I've only received a couple so far I'm still undecided on how much I like this one.
If you are interested in subscription boxes, one site I recommend with listings and reviews of them is: http://www.findsubscriptionboxes.com/box/ecocentric-mom/.
*We pay for these boxes ourselves, all reviews and opinions are my own, and I am in no way compensated by the companies.
Magic School Bus (http://theyoungscientistsclub.com/)
My daughter loves the Magic School Bus books and science so I thought this would be a hit with her. Not so much. The first month she was into it but after that her interest fizzled out.
There is a different theme each month and about 10 experiments relating to that theme. Most material is included along with directions. The experiments, for the most part, are very quick and easy to do.
However, many of these experiments do not work at all. For the magnet theme, the magnets (which were needed for every experiment) were missing completely. The company did quickly send some when I emailed. The lodestone was not magnetic at all as it should have been so that experiment didn't work. In the human body one, the lung experiment was a complete failure. This month the theme is bacteria and fungi and after about a week the agar solution has still not gelled which means we can not do several of the other experiments. We have yet to try the yeast experiment but I'm not very confident that will work and Emma doesn't have much interest in doing it.
Overall, I would have better luck using a book and coming up with my own experiments, which is what I did before getting this kit. Emma seemed to enjoy doing science experiments more when I did that then she does with this subscription.
Little Passports (http://theyoungscientistsclub.com/)
When you first subscribe to Little Passports you get a cute suitcase, a nice world map, and a passport. Each month Sam and Sofia travel to a different country and bring your child back a letter with a game on the back of it and a souvenir from that country. Also included each month is a map sticker to add to the map, stickers for the passport and suitcase, and a boarding pass (with a code to access more activities on their website).
I have had mixed feelings about this subscription. Each month it comes in a rather small manila envelope. At first Emma didn't seem interested in it but now after a few months she has started looking forward to seeing where Sam and Sofia have gone. Some months the souvenirs are better than others. For example, for France it was a small plastic camera with rotating pictures. The girls both liked it but me not so much. For Egypt there was a nice pyramid that Emma had to crack open with the included tools to discover a mummy. Even though the pyramid was small this took Emma a surprisingly long time to do and she actually stuck with it! It also came at the perfect time as we were studying ancient Egypt in SOTW.
One thing that would make this better is if they included real pictures of the locations instead of pictures with Sam and Sofia in them. Also there is only a one page paper with the letter and a game or two on it. A little more meat would be nice. Plus the games are a bit advanced and not very interesting for Emma so I usually end up doing them.
Citrus Lane (citruslane.com)
Because I didn't want Abby to feel left out, this subscription box is for her. This is an eco friendly/natural box which is why I chose this one. Citrus Lane is by far my favorite monthly subscription box. Every month there is a high quality toy (Plan Toys cutting fruit, Melissa and Doug puzzle, Green Toys pot, etc.). There has also been a nice, hardcover book, plate, bowl, lotion, snacks. There is usually 3-4 things in the box each month. I have liked almost everything that has come so far. Abby played with last months' puzzle set for a long time and she usually isn't interested in puzzles. The boxes are geared for your child's gender and age from infant to preschooler. My only complaint is that occasionally there are household or mommy items in the box and I would prefer that everything be for Abby. But otherwise I love Citrus Lane and highly recommend it.
Ecocentric mom (http://www.findsubscriptionboxes.com/box/ecocentric-mom/)
This box is just for me! There are three choices from this company--mom box, mom-to-be box, and baby box. I have only been getting the mom box so can't comment on the other two. It is full of both sample and full size beauty products, health, household items, and snacks. All are eco friendly/natural (again, why I picked this one). Some of the recent things I've received are laundry soap samples, granola bars, lip balm, etc. It's a great way to try and discover new products. Discounts and buying info are included in the box as well. Most of the things I have liked although there have been a few food items I'm not to sure about and some beauty stuff that I will never use. Unlike the others, this box only comes every other month. So since I've only received a couple so far I'm still undecided on how much I like this one.
If you are interested in subscription boxes, one site I recommend with listings and reviews of them is: http://www.findsubscriptionboxes.com/box/ecocentric-mom/.
*We pay for these boxes ourselves, all reviews and opinions are my own, and I am in no way compensated by the companies.
Curriculum for next year
I've finally decided what curriculum I'm going to be using for Emma next year. She will be doing 1st/2nd grade in the fall.
Language arts:
First Language Lessons
Bob books (she is able to read 3 of them so far completely by herself!)
Lots and lots of reading!
Homeschool coop
Math:
Muqion Math or Math U See
Life of Fred
Homeschool coop
History/Geography:
Continue with Story of the World Volume 1 (we are having a lot of fun with this)
Little Passports monthly kits (review to come)
Science:
R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey (Life)
Magic School Bus monthly science kits (review to come)
Spanish:
Continue learning at the homeschool coop
Music:
Will learn piano and have drum circle at the coop
Art:
Coop
Art coloring books and Usborne art sticker books
I think that about covers it for Emma.
For Abby I am going to start letteroftheweek.com with her.
Language arts:
First Language Lessons
Bob books (she is able to read 3 of them so far completely by herself!)
Lots and lots of reading!
Homeschool coop
Math:
Muqion Math or Math U See
Life of Fred
Homeschool coop
History/Geography:
Continue with Story of the World Volume 1 (we are having a lot of fun with this)
Little Passports monthly kits (review to come)
Science:
R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey (Life)
Magic School Bus monthly science kits (review to come)
Spanish:
Continue learning at the homeschool coop
Music:
Will learn piano and have drum circle at the coop
Art:
Coop
Art coloring books and Usborne art sticker books
I think that about covers it for Emma.
For Abby I am going to start letteroftheweek.com with her.
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