My 3.5 year old has been asking me to teach her her ‘numbers’.  By thatshe means that she wants to start learning basic phonics!  I blame our LeapFrog DVDs.  She’s now learned that “A” says, “Aaaah!”  And she’s very excited!  So, we’ve been doing some StarFall, watching The Letter Factory, and pointing out letters that she knows that we find around us in print in our daily lives.  I’m pretty sure that Kaelynn was around the same age when she initially expressed a desire to read – maybe a tiny bit later, and we’ve been taking a relaxed approach to reading with her.

After learning her basic, short sound phonics we had to wait until her ability to blend kicked in at around 5.5 (she’s now 6.5), and she’s now reading well for grade 1, but still needs me beside her to prompt her with rule reminders, and point out certain rule ‘triggers’ like silent letter e’s, vowel teams, and some consonant teams.  It’s exciting to see her progress though!  She read “Tory called the animal doctor.” a few days ago – I was so proud of her!  So it now seems that I have two on our relaxed, learning how to read program, and we’re officially heading into multi-level schooling territory!

I’ve had a dark, round, semi-raised mole on the back of my right hand for as long as I can remember.  A week ago it was seeming bit more raised than it has in the past, but it now seems back to normal.  I’m keeping an eye on it in any case!  When I read a post about mole removal at this site featuring Beauty Articles that you can republish, I got to wondering…

Have you ever used a safe, non-surgical method to remove a mole?  What did you do and how did it work for you?

The extremely cold, cold spell has certainly passed.  Not only has it enabled us to come to the city as I mentioned previously, but it’s also bringing some weather change related illness with it.  I’m not sure where this bit of folk-wisdom originated from, but our family holds that when drastic weather changes take place it increases the likelihood of illness.  When we go from -32C to -7C I think that counts as a drastic change.  Maybe that’s why I had the very beginning of a sore throat yesterday – thank God for high doses of vitamin C though! Others in my extended family haven’t been so fortunate, and have come down with another round of what seems to be the flu – again!  This really has been a difficult winter for illnesses here in Alberta.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Club House. All opinions are 100% mine.

My husband absolutely loves gravy.  In his mind, any meal can be salvaged with a liberal slathering of the salty, brown, fatty sauce.  It definitely comes from his childhood – gravy is a comfort food.  But, as a vegetarian from the time I was 12 to the time I was in my mid-twenties, making gravy isn’t something I learned to do very well.  To be honest, drippings kind of freak me out – they can be chunky, and greasy and…yup, it’s the vegetarian past coming back to haunt me!

Sure, I can pull it off, but it’s not…super-good.  Does making gravy stress you out?  It does for lots of women – particularly around big holiday/family meals.  My mom always thinks something is wrong with her gravy (too salty, too thin, too thick etc.), even when it’s great!

Club House gravy has gravy mixes that you can add your own roast drippings to for a tasty gravy.  You can find some easy to learn tips in their gravy tips video.  When you sign up at their newsletter sign-up and contest entry form, you’re automatically entered to win a Club House Gravy Gift Pack that will give you the tools you need to make gravy any time – even if you don’t have the greatest drippings on the block!

…nature documentaries!  In the past month we’ve watched a few different documentaries that feature a lot of footage of wildlife, and my 17 month old absolutely loves them!  Well, truthfully, everyone in our family is  fan of nature documentaries (well, sometimes my 3-year-old wanders off), but her level of excitement is adorable!  When the animals come on screen (particularly babies!) she squeals, dances, points – it’s so sweet.  Home educating is without doubt, a lifelong journey, and it begins at birth!  Nature documentaries have always been a favorite of mine – watching animals in their natural settings is absolutely fascinating, and we can catch a lot of variety on our television screen without having to travel around the world!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of CAA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Our old truck is pretty dependable, but when she breaks down, she REALLY breaks down, and that’s why I love our AMA/CAA membership.  Here in Alberta when you join the CAA, it is under the name AMA (not entirely sure why), and with your membership they cover all sorts of emergency situations.  They’ll unlock your door if you lock your keys in (we’ve used this), tow you for free (have we ever used this), and even bring you gas if you run out (haven’t used this…yet).  If you use their services even once, the membership will be well paid for.  A membership also grants discounts across the country on attractions, hotels, and shopping, travel planning, free maps, insurance (if you want it), registry services, and much more!

We’re faithful members now – we did let our membership lapse once and had to pay for a tow – never again!  We actually get the plus membership because we live in the country and sometimes need LONG tows.  If you live in the CAA South Central Ontario region you can buy a CAA gift membership for only $64 (+GST) and get a free CAA Radio Flashlight!  Parents – get this for your adult children – it will keep you from worrying, and if they’re wise – they’ll love it!   For regional offers from CAA Niagara and CAA North and East please visit your local club’s website.

A Quick Note:

We’ve actually changed our offer!  New subscribers now receive periodic free copywork lessons in a variety of styles by email AND subscriber only discounts on new titles AND a free $5 coupon for nearly ANY title on our website!  This way you can choose what you’d like to receive for your free lesson!

We now have a free copywork download available at Bogart Family Resources for anyone who signs up for our email newsletter!  Just sign up on the home page and you’ll automatically receive a free download of Copying the Hymns: All Things Bright and Beautiful, Traditional Style ZB Manuscript, Level 1, a 15 lesson Christian devotional copywork book that includes the lyrics of “All Things Bright and Beautiful” along with related Bible verses (KJV)!  If you’d like to share your thoughts with us after downloading it, we’d love to hear from you .  Enjoy!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Jones Soda. All opinions are 100% mine.

Jones Soda first hit the market?  I’m totally dating myself here, but it was so avante garde when it first came out, and really, it continues to be a perennial favorite amongst those who’re looking for something a bit different in their bubbly beverages.  Cane sugar soda pop, glass jars, ever changing quirky photos – I think it appeals to our happy child hood memories of Happy Pop.  Ah Happy Pop.  Those were the bucolic days of childhood.

I have quite a few family members who really have a thing for Jones Soda, the first one who comes to mind is my younger sister Allison.  When I learned that you could order up personalized myJones custom sodas, she’s the first one who came to mind!  I think she’d love something like this for wedding favors – except, I don’t think she’s planning a wedding at the moment .

So, failing that, I’d have to go with a cute picture of her doing Tae Kwon Do in her official uniform, and pick Green Apple as a flavor (one of her faves).  I’d call it “I’ll Kick Your Apple”.  Heh.  I don’t have a picture of her to share here (and I doubt she’d want me to), but here’s a cute pic just for fun.  After all, he’s pretty big, and could kick a lot of apple himself if he weren’t such a softy.

Are you a Jones Soda fan?  How would you customize a bottle (or six, or twelve)?

Our cold snap is FINALLY over…for a few days at least, it’s only -7C here today!! Praise God for small mercies! So, we’re planning on heading back down to the city for another go at my mom’s bathroom. (Hi Mom!) It should be fairly safe for us to leave the house and the animals here in such balmy weather, and it’s warm enough that we feel safe taking the trip with the little ones along . Family policy here is no traveling with the children if it’s colder than -25C.

We’ve been making some exciting progress with our new business while we’ve been house-bound, Larry’s chugging right along on our first lapbook now, and I’ve finished two new short copywork books this past week, one will be free, so watch for details here soon! But, now it’s off to the city, but no worries – I’ll be posting from there (I love my laptop!!)

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Wheat Food Council. All opinions are 100% mine.

With the vast majority of North America’s population living in urban areas, so many of us are far removed from the agricultural cycle, and a true understanding of how food production takes place.  I know that this was the case for me when I lived in the city – I had vague, pastoral ideas about agriculture, but just didn’t realize how things REALLY worked!

There’s a fun new website called How Wheat Works that is sponsored by the Wheat Foods Council; it’s an interactive, online experience that guides users (your children!) through a four day course that takes only a few minutes today.  Moving through the growth, harvest, milling/baking and the grocer’s aisle, participants can virtually grow, harvest and mill their own kernels to create their desired wheat food.  Additional extension activities are provided such as preparing wheat-based recipes, exploring wheat grown in their area through our state wheat commission member sites and viewing harvest videos from “America’s Heartland.”

For the little ones, there’s even a link to a “Just for Kids” website at wheatfoods.org with online recipes, games and quizzes.

And the even more exciting news, is that for each online participant, the Wheat Foods Council is donating 2 lbs. of flour (up to 90,000 pounds) to Operation Homefront, a non-profit that provides assistance to needy U.S. troops and their families.

So, if you’re interested in learning about wheat as it’s actually grown today in a fun, and interactive format – now’s the time!