Super Bowl Sunday is upon us!

My husband and I are hosting our 2nd Annual Super Bowl Party on Sunday! Normally, that would just mean cleaning the house and fixing good eats. This year however, it means that I am completely cleaning out the bookcases in order to get rid of one - so our guests can actually see the TV from the "schoolroom" half of the basement. Last year I just moved the bookcase out of the way (actually, Mr. D moved it because it was entirely too heavy for me!)  This year I just want to get rid of it. This is good motivation to take care of the last "de-cluttering" frontier that I have been avoiding!  Culling the bookshelves is such a hard chore for me - what if I need it later?  What if I want to read it again?  What if it becomes irreplaceable and I miss it?  However, wanting a clutter-free home is becoming more important to me than hoarding books.  It is still kind of painful though!  ;-)

After I finish this project, then it is take care of some homework for my college classes, do some freelance work for TOS and then start fixing good eats!  What kind of good eats are you planning for your party?  Is anyone else taking on the crazy project of re-organizing 4 days before their party, too?!



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We Choose Virtues "Virtue Clues"

I was so excited when our family was chosen to review the "Virtue Clues" from We Choose Virtues!  I don't know about things at your house, but there are never an end to the opportunities to help my children learn how to use their virtues - like Patience, Contentment, Being Helpful, Forgiving and Obedient.  There are plenty of opportunities for me to put into practice those same virtues - Patience probably being at the top of the list! We Choose Virtues was born out of Heather McMillan's desire to help children and their families learn and exhibit strong character in their lives.  She recognized that without good character, many children will not make it far in their pursuits.  She started creating cute catchprases to help children easily remember what was expected of them - and to help them instill lasting change in their life by using their virtues daily.  We Choose Virtues has many tools for school and families that help parents and teachers instill this lasting change in their student's and children's lives.

We received the "Virtue Clues"($5.99) which are a business card sized reminders of the different virtues taught by the We Choose Virtues Program.  They are full color sturdy cards and packaged in a cute little plastic sleeve for storage. We also received the Teacher's Handbook, Coloring Book and Family Character Assessment sheet.  We Choose Virtues offers packages for both the family and school settings with a faith-based option that includes scripture teaching along with the virtues.  The program is meant for ages 4-18, however the drawings and coloring books are more appropriate for the younger set.  My older daughter didn't particularly appreciate the cute pictures, but she did like the catchphrases.  My younger children really enjoyed the cute illustrations and the easy to remember catchphrases!  

  

The catchphrases are my favorite part of this program.  They are short and sweet and easy to remember.  When on of the children was not exhibiting a virtue that we wanted to see, it was easy to say "I find things that need to be done and I do them!" for the "I am Helpful" virtue.  There are also reminders of what we are not "I am NOT...selfish, lazy or unwilling to serve, and I don't have to be asked!"  The first part is such a positive reminder of what we want our children to be - very affirming, which I love.  The second part is a nice way to remind our children what we do not want to see, but also in a positive way.  I tend to be a "no" and "don't" parent, so having affirming words to remind my children on what our expectations are is wonderful!  Instead of just saying "don't do that" I can quote the catchphrase that is so much more positive!

  

I have really enjoyed using these Virtue Clues, so much so that I am excited about purchasing the full size cards and the Three Rules poster - Obey, Be Kind and Be a Helper!  This program with its colorful illustrations and cute catchphrases has been exactly what I have been looking for to help our family exhibit the virtues that are so important for growing good character!

Be sure to stop by the TOS Review Crew Blog to see what my Crewmates had to say about their experience with the Virtue Clues from We Choose Virtues!

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**Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

The After Pics -

And, it is DONE! This room has been cleaned out several times since we've moved here, but I've never been able to completely finish it. Or, I will finish it and then we find out we are expecting another baby and have to turn it back into a baby's room. Or, we end up with company coming or something comes up and I just take the few remaining boxes and shove them back in there until later. As you all may know - "later" never seems to happen!!

So - here it is!  This is looking from the door into the far right corner of the room.  Those big black things are speakers that we have listed on Craigslist.  Please, please let someone buy them soon!!  I managed to consolidate a 12 bin cubby of sewing supplies into those few plastic shoe boxes on the bottom shelf.  The other shelves are all school supplies - notebooks, lined paper, glue sticks, 3-ring notebooks etc.  The black totes to the left of the sewing table are what remains of my extensive Creative Memories scrapbooking collection.  I pared it down to the essentials.

And this is the other corner of the room.  I eliminated a 2ft. shelf and cleared off a 3ft. shelf.  I was able to put my paper cutter on it with a cup for pencils and scissors.  My sewing machine is out where my daughter can use it.  The table is cleared off for scrapbooking and cutting fabric.  It's a miracle!  The opposite corner of this room is a blank wall and closet.  I emptied 3 huge rubbermaid bins of fabric and consolidated them into one small 3 drawer cart in the closet.  The rest of the junk in these rooms has either been trashed (4 huge bags!) or in boxes ready to go to Goodwill or has been given to friends.  I am getting ready to sort bookshelves in the school room, next so I am hopeful that I'll be able to move some of those school supplies to cubbies in the school room.  It feels so good to be able to walk into that room *and* have a table to start a project on.  Like getting those thousands of pictures I have in boxes into albums.   ;-)

Whew!  I am so glad that project is *done*.  Now, I can go through one last bin - the one with the supplies to create the "perfect" home management binder.  That is todays project and then I have to start paying attention to my college classes!  I feel like a huge weight has been lifted.  My whole house feels lighter now!

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The Great Craft Room/Baby Room/Stash & Dash Room Clean-Out has begun!

If I know one hears from me by later tonight - please send in a search party!!

I am going into territories unknown.  The room that has become the catch all room from all of my other organizing projects.  The room that we set stuff that we don't know what else to do with.  The room that has been the craft/babies room.  In short - the junk room!

Normally, I would *never* post such revealing pictures of our home for all the world to see - but I know I can't be the only one who has such a space.  A place that just begs to be taken care of but looks so monstrous, it is easier to just walk on by.  So, in an effort to be encouraging to other pack rats like myself - I'm going full disclosure on this mess!

Classes start tomorrow - so give me a couple of days to give you the "after" pics.  If you don't hear from me - then send me an email and urge me to get the job finished already and post some pictures!!

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Maestro Classics: "The Story of Swan Lake"

Last year our family was blessed to receive Maestro Classics "Peter and the Wolf" to review.  We have listened to it more times than I can count since we've received it. This year I was so excited to receive Maestro Classics "The Story of Swan Lake" to share with my children!  Maestro Classics strives to produce enjoyable and educational musical selections for parents and children to enjoy together.  My children and I have listened to Thaikovsky's "Story of Swan Lake" in instrumental form many, many times, so they immediately recognized the music.  Maestro Classics version however is narrated by Yadu, so they were able to hear the story behind the music this time.  We have listened to this version as we've worked on various projects around the school table.  This gives my children opportunity to be listening and doing and then we have a chance to talk about what we have heard.  These CD's have been a wonderful way to add Music Education and Appreciation to our homeschool in a way that is easy to do! The CD's are available as an mp3 download for $9.98 or as a CD for $16.98.  The activity booklet comes as a pdf download if you purchase the mp3 version.  

After listening to the narrated version of "The Story of Swan Lake", Bonnie Ward Simon tells the wonderful story of Tchaikovsky's life.  She shares about his other famous works and how he came to be one of the best known classical music composers of all time.  This has been a great way to learn more about the composers behind the music for my children's music education!

Later, there is a Speed Metal version of Swan Lake, which at first was jarring after hearing the orchestral version, but it was really well done and kind of reminded me of Mannheim Steamroller.  Then we talked about how classic music can be arranged differently to reflect our modern way of life with instruments that weren't available in times past.  That some music is timeless and can be enjoyed generation after generation. 

Stephen Simon, the conductor for "Swan Lake" then takes a few minutes to give some musical education about the different kinds of music used in a ballet - the part that will be danced to and the part that will help tell the story.  This has been another excellent way to share how music works and why things were composed the way they are!  Then there is a vocal ensemble that sings a song "Tchaikovsky Wrote a Great Ballet" and then the children are encouraged to learn it and sing along.  We had a great time with this as well!  There is a little activity booklet that is included with each CD with dot-to-dot's, information on different instruments and crossword puzzles.  

Maestro Classics has an entire collection of CD's for you to enjoy with your children.  They say they are for ages 5-12, but we all enjoyed these selections!  Even Little Bit would stand in front of us and pretend he was conducting while we listened, so these have value for all ages in my opinion.  I learned quite a bit about music, too, as we've listened to these CD's.  I am writing more of these down on my wish list for curriculum next year, since these are something that will be enjoyed by all of us!  

I highly recommend these for your homeschool, they are professional produced with excellent sound and have great educational content as well as just being fun to listen to.  

My Crewmates also had the opportunity to review "The Story of Swan Lake", so be sure to stop by the TOS Review Crew Blog to see what they had to say about their experience!  Oh, and be sure to "Like" Maestro Classics on Facebook, too.  They are getting ready to do an awesome giveaway to a lucky Facebook fan!

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**Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.