Categories
Homeschool Reviews

Student Lesson Planners

One of my intentions as a homeschool teacher was to prepare them to be self-directed learners.  This would help them be able to take any course or syllabus and learn on their own.  I intentionally tried to prepare them by teaching them basic study skills and having them use their own lesson planning book. In their junior and senior year it was very easy to begin giving the kids their own lesson planning book.  You can spend money on very nice planning books.  There are numerous types all over that you can purchase.   I just made a template with columns and squares using Office, which gave us the exact number of squares we needed per week.  I printed out the sheets that we needed and punched holes in them.  Then, we added them to a notebook. Now, each kid had their custom planner.  Adding each class and assignment in pencil, they could see what was to be done.  They took pride in checking off their assignments.   This took the load off of mom/teacher nagging about lesson completion.  It encouraged maturity, too.  It prepares kids for college self-directed learning.  There won’t be a mom there asking, “have you done your homework?” I noticed there was no transition for my youngest when he went to college, concerning his homework or completing things on time.   He knew how to schedule and plan his work.  I’m so glad now that he was prepared.   Lesson organization and keeping up with assignments is one of the many things that high school students need to learn before they graduate from homeschool.  This is a life skill that is important whether or not they decide to attend college. @2017 copyright Lisa Ehrman

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Reviews Uncategorized

Migraine Glasses From Theraspecs

I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company. Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.  My migraines started in my forties and intensified for a year, before leveling off.  The worst migraines were triggered by flickering florescent lights.  Those were the ones that made me throw up and get a shot at the doctor’s office.  I learned after that to run out of any room with flickering lights.  But, I also avoid florescent lights if I can.   Most people can’t avoid them, because they are everywhere.  If you have migraines or have light-sensitivity, you need a way to protect yourself from this awful pain.  Theraspec offers an answer!  I was one of the very lucky ones who was chosen to review a pair of glasses from Theraspecs! The style I selected is similar to the Haven, but is not available now.  They have many beautiful styles that come in and outdoor lenses.  They also have wrap-around frames that go over your prescription frames.  Children’s frames are available.  You can even send in your personal frames and they will make a custom prescription for you. Theraspecs can do many different custom glasses for you.  They can do any prescription and can also make the color extra light or extra dark.  Sometimes people know that their trigger for light is very sensitive and want to block out most light.  You will know what works best for you.  Theraspecs will work with you to get the perfect custom pair. Some people need a pair that works for specific lighting, such as, their job lighting.  If your office job or work place has lighting that bothers you or brings on migraines, Theraspecs can relieve this awful pain.  They are also very good for staring at computers.  I am very sensitive to computer light.  Because I blog and am using the computer all day, I turn my screen down to the lowest setting.  The light still bothers me.  These Theraspecs glasses really help my eyes to relax and feel great.  There is no glare, either.  I love them! Theraspecs are designed to wear when using computers, and are tinted lighter than sunglasses.  When you wear them indoors, people can still see your eyes.  The outdoor Theraspecs are designed to be worn in bright sunlight and can block more light than great-quality sunglasses.  Both indoor and outdoor glasses will block UV rays.  These powerful glasses were started by research that helped a woman fight her chronic migraines.  After Kerrie had tried everything to stop her headaches, her doctor advised that certain light wavelengths were causing the pain. Florescent light pulsing seems to cause the most pain and it took a while to find just the right glasses with just the right tint to stop her pain.  But, when they did, Theraspecs was born.  For Kerrie, the wrap-around frame kept the light from entering the sides of her eyes.   It’s important to try them for a while.  Some people get immediate relief and some people need more time to find their level of pain relief.  When I tried the Theraspecs glasses, I immediately felt my eyes relax.  My eyes always feel strained and tired.  I have many floaters and the beginnings of cataracts.  My eyes are also dry from auto-immune disease.  They stay blurry, too.  These glasses caused my vision to be better and less blurry.  My eyes just felt better. Since my migraines aren’t chronic anymore, I didn’t have one during this time of review.  That’s a great sign.  My other headaches are tension, and caused by neck pain from scoliosis.  I love the Theraspec glasses and would encourage anyone with light-sensitivity or migraines to try them.  There’s nothing to lose, because of the money-back guarantee.  You’ll love these top-quality Theraspecs! @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman

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Home Homeschool

Why I Pushed My Kids To Succeed In Homeschool

Award

A book could be written on this topic.  My first clarification is that my children were five years apart in age and above-average in intelligence.  Wait, I don’t say this to boast.  I believe that every child can succeed to the best of their ability.  Because of poor health and miscarriages, I couldn’t have my children close in age.  So, I wasn’t able to teach them all together.  Each child needed their own books and separate plan.  Though there were bumps along the way, I can’t complain about any learning disabilities.  I’m very thankful to God for my children.  God knew that my health was going to be bad, and that would be enough stress. My husband and I are both teachers and we wanted our kids to attend college, so we planned to have them prepared as much as possible.  Although I’m not able to teach math or science classes at the high-school level, I found ways to help the kids learn these subjects.  I’m really terrible at math, and knew that I couldn’t give them any help.  When they reached pre-algebra we always used a DVD Math program and a tutor.  Sometimes the tutor was 2-3 times per week.  This really paid off, because our youngest is a math major in college and doing well. Our older two have done or are doing graduate school.  My main objective with homeschooling was to have them prepared for anything God might call them to do in their adult life.  I didn’t want them to be held back by a second-rate education.  So, we tried to make sure they took all the courses (as much as we could). Extra-curricular activities were also available.  They could only choose one thing at a time.  This was fun, because they tried a lot of things: many different sports, musical instruments, voice, ballet, theater, and more.  Nothing really made them want to become a professional in any of these areas, (and they weren’t that talented).  But, it’s great fun, helped them make friends, wonderful exercise and they learned skills they can always enjoy! Because we’re a Christian family, we studied the Bible.  Our kids memorized Bible verses and went on Mission trips and Youth retreats.  They earned trophies for their years of Bible memorization. We participated in standardized testing each year, which made college entrance exams much less frightening.  Putting high standards in front of your kids is good for them.  How will they know how far they can go if we don’t expect a lot from them?  Of course, I would never expect more than they could do.  I’m always pleased with kids when they do their best.@2016, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Categories
Homeschool

Homeschooling And Dual-Enrollment

Homeschooling and dual enrollment: it seems to be all the rage now. We’ve tried it in our homeschool in the past. It was successful as far as the grades went. Our student received all A’s in their classes. But, I don’t recommend it to anyone else. Here are my thoughts on the subject. And, yours may be totally different. Dual enrollment can help your student take a high school course and earn college credit at the same time. This occurs when the student signs up for a college course in a general studies course, such as English 101. Now, if I use this class for an example, here’s my problem. If Johnny is a high-school senior he would normally take English 4.  For my student, in English 4, he studied Grammar and Composition 4, as well as Literature 4. This was a very rigorous course, that prepared him well for College classes (not just English, but for all of his writing assignments in other courses). So, he is better off with a tougher class in High School (IMHO). Dual enrollment also takes your student out of the high school environment a year or two early and places them with college-aged students. Your homeschool student may appear mature (you’ve raised them right), but they are not as mature as the 19-22 year-olds on the college campus. My choice is to give them all the time possible before they’re plopped down into a campus with thousands of students who’ve just left mom and dad! It’s not about trust, but it’s a totally different atmosphere. 16-17 year olds aren’t ready for college. Are they ready at 16 to face professors who may want to subtly change their worldview?  You may think that three to four years won’t change them.  But, what if you’re wrong?  These are just things to consider.  We decided to let our children grow up a little longer and live with us during those questioning years.  I would rather them be at home when they have questions.  We’ve had some very interesting family talks, and I bet you have, too.   Why rush them? They have their whole life ahead of them. Those advanced courses in high school are more important than taking English 101 or College Algebra for Sr year. Let them take the highest math and science courses or more electives, instead. You may disagree with me, and that’s fine. After graduating my three children, this is just my opinion. And, it’s certainly shown true in their SAT scores. How about you? @2015, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Categories
Recipe Reviews

Viva Labs Ground Flaxseed Review

flax

Disclosure: Affiliate link included. Product received in order to review. If you’re going to add Flaxseeds to your diet, you’ll want to make sure that they are certified organic and non-GMO.  The best reasons to add Flaxseeds to your diet are to provide the following health benefits: ·       Flaxseeds can help to protect your heart.  Flaxseeds contain phenols, that have clinically been shown to boost your heart’s health and promote good cholesterol levels.  ·       Flaxseeds can help to improve your digestive health. I was offered a bag of Viva Labs Ground Flaxseeds to review.  Their crops are grown in Canada and are certified organic and non-GMO.  Their crops are not heated at all.  This is to preserve the omega-3. In order to review the product, I decided to use the Flaxseed in a couple of recipes and see how it tastes.  Here are the recipes that I used. West Coast Trail Cookies from Allrecipes.com You can use the recipe online, but I changed it quite a lot.  Here is my version. 1 1/2 Cup organic flour 1/3 Cup Viva Labs Ground Flaxseeds 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 teaspoons salt 1 Cup, softened Soy-free Earth Balance 1/2 Cup brown sugar 1 Cup organic Coconut Palm sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract  2 Cups oats 1 Cup chocolate chips 3/4 Cup shredded coconut 1/2 Cup chopped walnuts Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 2 cookie sheets.  You’ll want to start each batch on a cool pan. Whisk together flour, flax seed, soda, and salt in a bowl. Beat together Earth Balance, brown sugar, palm sugar in a bowl and then stir in eggs and vanilla.  Now, add flour mixture to that until just combined.  Fold oats, chocolate chips, coconut and nuts into dough just until evenly combined.   Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.  Bake about 8-10 min.  Transfer onto a wire rack to cool. These are absolutely delicious!!!! Another wonderful recipe: Oatmeal Bars Mr Food.com Here’s my version: 3/4 Cup Earth Balance Soy-free 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup 1 teaspoon Baking soda 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla 2 Cup Oats 1 Cup Organic flour 1 Cup organic Coconut Palm Sugar  1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Use Earth Balance to coat a 13x 9 inch baking dish.   Melt 3/4 C Earth Balance and syrup over low heat or in microwave. In a large bowl, stir together the Earth Balance mixture, baking soda and vanilla. Mix well. Add oats, flour, sugar, and chocolate chips.  Mix well.  Press all into the 13 x 9 pan.  Bake 12-18 minutes.  Cool.  Then, cut into bars. Oh, so yummy!!!! I look forward to adding Viva Labs Ground Flaxseed to many more recipes, such as breads and other baked goods.  The Flaxseeds were provided to me at no cost.  I was not compensated for my opinion, and my opinion in this review is 100% my own.  I highly recommend Viva Labs Ground Flaxseed, based on my enjoyment of eating it. @2016, copyright Lisa Ehrman

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