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RSSArchive for the ‘product review’ CategoryRoots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots Winner!Posted April 15th, 2008 by Jen in arts & crafts, blog stuff, carnivals, giveaways, product review0 Comments I’m pleased to announce the winner of my Gardening with Children book: commenter #17, AreWeThereYetMom, your book will be on the way shortly! Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together With Children is sure to delight your whole family! Thank you so much, everyone who left me a comment on that post. Thanks to Laura for mentioning this book giveaway!
My current book giveaway is two homemade books from the Diary of 1 family, for those interested in native plant life. You may leave me a comment on The Child’s Spring Book by this Sunday to learn about these books and enter the drawing.This giveaway actually has a project attached to it - my kids are putting together an Oregon plant/nature book - a cute ziplock-bag-book - to pass on to a child who lives anywhere other than where we live. And I hope that child will then create a book highlighting his/her region to pass on to another child, and so on. It’s a very simple book, so don’t be intimidated to try it! -P.S., our Oregon book will have some child-intriguing extra odds and ends from our property, like these:
One more note about contests: I actually won something!! SmallWorld had a spring poetry contest, and my mom’s poem, Morning, was chosen, and I hear that I have a basket of spring goodies on the way to me, which of course I’ll share with my mom - can’t wait to show you! And those blog carnivals: The Carnival of Homeschooling, the Carnival of Homesteading, the Carnival of Family Life, the Christian Carnival, the Make it From Scratch Carnival. Technorati Tags: children, contest, garden, gardening with children, giveaway, Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots Blog touringPosted March 19th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, product review, sports, the office1 Comment » Oh, the places you’ll go. Dr. Seuss. I’ve been wandering all around. The Christian carnivals, Carnival of Family Life, food blogs, homeschooling blogs, homesteading blogs, BendBlogs. And principled government. Whew, I’ve been to a lot of places, and more to go! Puss ReBoots thinks I rock. Wow, what a compliment! I’m passing this blog award on to: Sometimes I’m Actually Coherent Check out these blogs that rock - I think you might agree. Announcing the winners of my sports products Giveaway: Living For God: New York Giants Rug Congratulations to these blogging winners! Super Bowl XLII Giveaway: Auto AccessoriesPosted January 28th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, giveaways, product review, sports, the office58 Comments »
Super Bowl XLII is set for February 3, 2008 in Arizona, a showdown between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots!! Diary of 1 and TeamMASCOT are hosting another giveaway right here, right now, in honor of this great football tradition! This Super Bowl Giveaway is an auto accessories package for the team of your choice: The Patriots or the Giants of course — and I will even let you choose a different NFL team, because I know those team loyalties run very deep! The package will contain the following three items: 1. An auto emblem: an officially licensed auto emblem made of hard plastic with a metallic finish and adhesive on the back to stick to your car or truck, or any hard surface - refrigerator, RV, door, etc. Measures approximately 3×3 inches and 1/4 inch thick. 2. A sheet of static cling decals: Better than a sticker, remove and reuse these team logo window decorations whenever you like. Each sheet contains five decals with team logos and graphics, of various size and design. Removable and fade-resistent. The sizes of the static clings are: One is 2.5″x4.75″, one is 4.75″x6.5″, two are 5″x9″, and one is 3.75″x19″. 3. A plastic license plate frame: These team logo license plate frames attach easily to any vehicle and feature bright graphics and team colors. The license plate holders are 6.25″x12.25″ and meet the vehicle standards for display of registration tags. These auto tags are made of hard, sturdy plastic. How to win: Simply leave a comment below, and include the name of the NFL team you want for the auto accessories package, and I will randomly choose a winner on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008! I will notify the winner via email on Sunday, Feb. 3. If you are a blogger and would like to have an extra entry included in the drawing, just mention this contest on your blog with a link back to this post. You must have a U.S. mailing address to win this contest. For hundreds of NFL and other team-logo products (NCAA, MLB, NASCAR, NHL, and NBA), please visit my family business, TeamMASCOT.com - support America’s small businesses! This contest is part of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival at Rocks in My Dryer. Head over there for literally hundreds of amazing giveaways all week!! Works for Me Wednesday: Healthy DeodorantPosted January 23rd, 2008 by Jen in health/cooking/food, product review12 Comments »
I used to use a sort of salt rock deodorant before I switched to the Crystal spray. It had basically the same minimal ingredients, but every time you used it, you had to wet it with water to moisten it up enough to roll under your arm. What a hassle. And honestly I didn’t think it was all that hygienic, all that wetting and rubbing. The beauty of this product is that it’s a spray and never comes into contact with your skin, so it maintains purity and can be used by multiple users. The Crystal Body Deodorant Spray contains the following: purified water, natural mineral salts, and potassium alum. That’s it! This product is also fragrance and paraben free. Frankly, if you’re in a real bind, just rub some salt water under your arms and you’ll be okay. Just to clarify, the ingredient alum has a very different composition from the other forms of aluminum in question. Also, note that I’m only addressing deodorant, not antiperspirant, which is a different thing altogether, and I would avoid it. Here’s how the FDA describes antiperspirants:
A temporary plug within the sweat duct? Most people say don’t sweat it, but I think I’d rather. What Wikipedia has to say about aluminum:
Dare you share what works for your underarm odor control? (Or your feet, for that matter. I just read on the back on the Crystal spray bottle that it can be used to eliminate odor on your feet). You can find more Works for Me Wednesday tips over at Rocks in My Dryer! Works for Me Wednesday: Shortening’s not just for CookingPosted January 9th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, health/cooking/food, product review9 Comments »
I have a 24 ounce tub of this shortening that I use daily, and no, I haven’t been making any pies lately. The label forgot to mention how great this is for the SKIN! Since I’m a freak about parabens, PABAs, laureths and other synthetics in my lotions, I have a hugely difficult time finding a lotion or cream I can use with good conscience. (See this list of chemicals to avoid in your cosmetics and soaps). I’m cursed with dry skin, and my kids all suffer from eczema, especially right now, in the high desert in winter, so a product like this is a necessity. I’d already tried rubbing olive oil on my skin with good results, so I naturally tried the Spectrum Shortening, which I had in my cupboard. If it’s good enough to eat, surely it’s just fine for your skin. And only one ingredient, which name I can easily pronounce and understand: palm oil. And, truly, it works just as well as any lotion or cream I’ve tried for dry skin. I like that it’s naturally in a solid state - it has a creamy texture that’s not too messy like an oil. You don’t need to refrigerate it, just keep it at room temperature in the pantry. If you will be using the Spectrum Shortening for cooking, I’d recommend having a separate tub just for the skin. My kids help themselves to the shortening tub and just love getting their sticky little fingers in there and rubbing it on their own skin. So you can imagine I’m not very willing to cook with it after that! The Works for Me Wednesday Master List is Here. Oops, I just realized today is Backwards day, in which you ask a question, not give a solution - oh, well, please just go rub some shortening on yourself, and ask, is this working? Thursday Thirteen: Holiday Giveaway of Sports StuffPosted November 29th, 2007 by Jen in giveaways, product review, the office48 Comments »
To win, just leave a comment below, letting me know which item you’d like to win. You have until next Wednesday, December 5, at midnight, to post your comment. U.S. and Canada bloggers only, please. I’ll have a random drawing and announce the thirteen winners in next week’s Thursday Thirteen! I’m offering free shipping and delivery guaranteed before Christmas. Links back to TeamMASCOT and this Diary of 1 post would be appreciated. Merry Christmas to all, and let your blogger friends know about the Diary of 1/TeamMASCOT Holiday Giveaway! 1. Boston Red Sox Wall Clock 2. Detroit Red Wings 3×5 Flag 3. Detroit Lions Blanket: Woven Tapestry Throw 4. North Carolina Tarheels Stainless Steel License plate 5. New York Yankees 27×37 Vertical Hanging Flag 6. Chicago Cubs Glow Pen 7. Atlanta Hawks Pennant 8. Michigan State Lapel Pin 9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. #8 Trash Can 10. Dallas Cowboys Stainless Steel Water Bottle 11. Texas Longhorns Stainless Steel Travel Mug
12. Oregon Ducks Chrome License Plate Frame 13. New Orleans Saints Auto Emblem Thanks for visiting the Diary of 1 Holiday Giveaway of Sports Stuff! You can visit the Thursday Thirteen meme hub here. Harvest/Halloween Giveaway for Cheerleader or Football Costumes!Posted September 13th, 2007 by Jen in product review, the office2 Comments » Tomorrow is the start of another Diary of 1 giveaway, in partnership with my online business, TeamMASCOT.com. I’m very excited and so thankful to Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer who is hosting this bloggy giveaway for me! Tell your friends and run on over there tomorrow, the contest runs from Sept. 14-18. I told Shannon I wanted to give away two youth College Cheerleader Uniforms, since Halloween is coming up. Then several days later I said to her, wait, I forgot about the little boys! So, I added the youth Football and Helmet uniform sets, which we carry in both College and NFL teams. Shannon and I ended up deciding to choose FOUR WINNERS, and they can choose from either the cheerleader or football costumes. These always sell out, so I chose the earliest blog giveaway date that Shannon offered…good luck to you all! We don’t actually celebrate Halloween at my house, but we do go to a church Harvest Party, so our kids still get to dress up and have a ton of fun. I tell you, the one time I took my kids trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, the people who opened their doors to give out candy were often scarier than the children dressed up like a bleeding brain. My kiddos will all be decked out in these fun uniforms this year. My 6 year old girl wants to be an Oregon Ducks cheerleader, since we live in Oregon, and my husband and I both went to the University of Oregon. My 4 year old girl wants to be a Michigan Wolverines cheerleader, since I’m from Michigan and nearly my entire family still lives there, including my awesome cousin who’s right in Ann Arbor, the heart of Wolverine country! My 8 year old and 3 year old boys want to be Dallas Cowboys football players because that’s Daddy’s team! I promise I will post pictures of them all dressed up! Okay, folks, have fun playing over at the Rocks in My Dryer Bloggy Giveaway! I’ll be in touch with the winners to make shipping arrangements. Break a Leg, er, FingerPosted June 11th, 2007 by Jen in arts & crafts, education, product review3 Comments » In honor of this week’s Carnival of Homeschooling theme of “Fun,” (up tomorrow) this post is about a fun past-time over here, puppet shows.
We began with about a dozen puppets I gathered from various stores, and I’m such a frugal shopper that I found them all for between $1 and $5 - and some free, if you count the socks and gloves. I’m still on the lookout for some reasonably priced little boy and little girl (normal-looking children) puppets, so if you know of a deal, pass it on. I will not pay $15 for a puppet, so don’t bother passing that information along.
Occasionally, I visit the Well-Trained Mind swap board, and that’s where I discovered our first scripts. Thank you, Kristin!! There’s this amazing homeschool mom on a farm in Nebraska, Kristin Greenhalgh, who’s written several Christian-themed Puppet Script books. I ordered every single one, and you can find them here. We’ve performed several of these, and most are perfect for 1-4 children of a variety of ages, maybe ages 6-12. My favorites are The Reason for the Seasons volumes, covering every holiday from Advent to Yom Kippur. I told Kristin many months ago that I’d review her books here, so considered them reviewed: A+. Along with the Seasons scripts, Kristin has written Walking with God, 16 short scripts depicting important steps in the Christian walk. We like “Taming the Tongue.” Her scripts aren’t cheesy or tacky like some I’ve seen, but have very age appropriate dialogue. The third series, Living Like Jesus, includes 20 short scripts teaching Christ-like character traits and virtues. Great discussion questions follow each script, and when I say short, they are 1-2 pages long, perfect for young performers. You may also be interested in some online scripts that you can download for free. Reader’s Theater Editions has dozens of free scripts adapted from stories written by Aaron Shepard and others - lots of myths and tall tales. Reader’s theatre is different from puppet theater, but I’ve easily modified them. My kids especially enjoyed taking to the stage with The Baker’s Dozen. Acting and playmaking is such a wonderful, creative outlet for children. For homeschoolers, consider practicing a play with your own family or joining with another family, and put on a show for friends and relatives. You certainly don’t need the traditional “school play” model preventing your homeschooling kids from putting on a grand production! Peanut Butter on the RocksPosted February 18th, 2007 by Jen in product review0 Comments Serve up the knowledge! Learn your rocks and minerals or your geography or math at the breakfast table.
We love these laminated placemats. The price runs about $3.00 each, and the manufacturer, Painless Learning, makes over 40 different educational designs! Here’s a few that grace our table:
A definite winner - great price and easy to use. These placemats are just handy to have around and I’m a big fan of integrating education into everyday life. These are called “painless learning” placemats for a reason! Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy LessonsPosted February 12th, 2007 by Jen in education, product review2 Comments »
My first product review is, fittingly, on my favorite product: a book I can’t live without as a homeschool mom.
Sample Yes, it really is as simple as it sounds. I bought this book, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, by Siegfried Engelmann, when my oldest child was four and a half. I taught him, along with his five year old friend, how to read, in less than four months, just doing twenty minutes a day. They were at about a second grade reading level when they finished. I’m currently teaching my five year old daughter (who only has one month until she’s done) and also my very bright 3 and a half year old daughter, who is just beginning. I really love that this book stands alone. You don’t need any fancy computer program or flash cards or any other bells and whistles. This book, which I bought brand new at Barnes & Noble for $20, along with a sheet of paper and pencil, is it. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is brilliant. This book, which is the DISTAR reading program (Direct Instruction - parts to whole, logical progression), has been involved in over a dozen comparative studies, including an enormous educational study done by the U.S. Department of Education, and guess what? It outperforms them all. Don’t ask me why every public school in the country isn’t using this system, because I don’t have the time or energy to rant and rave about public education. Do you wonder why I homeschool my kids? Do NOT skip the first 27 pages of this book, which is the Introduction and Parent’s Guide. It’s invaluable, and you cannot teach this correctly without carefully reading that material. You do NOT have to be a reading teacher to teach your child to read, and in fact, you will know more about teaching reading than most teachers out there by the time you’ve gone through this book with your child. I happen to be a former public school teacher, and have my Master’s in Teaching. But I learned nothing valuable about teaching reading in my educational training, not even when I was a reading specialist! There IS a right way to teach reading, and it’s very systematic, and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons lays out the sequence better than I have ever seen. This is a scripted program, and there’s a reason for that. Every detail is covered, right down to how to effectively correct any type of mistake the child makes. You’ve got to understand that this program was tested on thousands of children, and you benefit from all of those trials. So don’t feel like you don’t have the “freedom” to teach how you want; the truth is that you have so much more freedom to have fun with your child, and you can heap on the praise, because your child has received the absolute most effective communication from you (through the script), and will be successful. I’ve seen different educational tools out there that claim to work “like magic.” Well, I don’t think Zig Engelmann has ever made that claim, but I’ll make it for him! My kids all have such differing “learning styles” (what an overused term, sorry) but this book works for everyone. So, if you’ve been cutting and pasting together your reading program for your child, or you’re just hoping he’ll figure it out by reading to him a lot, then this book would seem like magic, because what you’re doing won’t work (at least not well). Siegfried Engelmann, who I had the occasion to see at a teacher’s workshop in Eugene, Oregon, where I was teaching, is also from Eugene. I have absolutely no financial interest in the products I review, I just happened to have taught in the same town where this whole book started. And I also happened to have received my B.A. from Western Michigan University, where he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his educational contributions. And I also happened to have attended the University of Oregon, where he was a professor. What a swell guy, buy his book! |
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I’m not one to go around talking about underarm hygiene habits. But here goes. I finally found a deodorant I really like. It’s 
My gift to the kids this past Christmas was a Puppet Theater. You really don’t need a store-bought model, but I found a sale and we’ve dramatized over this enough to pay for it several times.
Our initial “plays” consisted of bopping the other’s puppet over the head and spiraling into wild screams and laughter. This is all good, but sometimes you want a little more. :-)
