Math Work Sheets

Ever wonder what the overachiever in school did on school break?  I can tell you as I was that kid who always had the answer or ruined the curve by scoring 98% on a test. As a kid I used to play school forcing my little sister to do math problems over the summer. I used to painstakingly write out worksheets for her to complete and then grade them.

My sister should be grateful that we grew up in a time without the Internet and access to websites with printable worksheets. The papers would have been flying!

I was introduced to a great math worksheet website.  www.DadsWorksheets.com
Unlike many printable websites EVERYTHING is FREE.

I am going to be spending a lot of time this summer on this website. No summer learning loss allowed here.  The average child 2.6 months of Math skills are lost during the summer. Only 2 to 3 hours a week in the summer are needed to prevent this summer skill loss. My family is going to use Dad Worksheets to prevent the loss and help us get ahead before the next school year.

Most websites are very focused on a specific learning age.  Dad Worksheets covers a vast set of math skills. There are worksheets from preschool to high school. My teenagers will not be safe from doing worksheets this summer along side their younger siblings.

We will be focusing on the foundation skills to strengthen their Math ability. With Dad Worksheets I will be spending less time looking for worksheets and more time working with my kids.

Fire Kid's Edition Review

I was not paid for this review or reimbursed/rewarded in any way. I am just sharing my opinion about a product I have purchased.

I bought a Kindle Fire Kid's edition for, Nadia, my 9 year old daughter.  This was purchased to replace the Nabi that was broken and unable to be replaced due to the fact that the serial number sticker wore off. My absolute favorite thing about this Fire is that there is a 2 year no questions asked replacement policy.  That means I wouldn't have had to explain any insane way my child may break it. Like the time one of them peed on a tablet... don't ask. Chalk that one up to the dangers of potty training.

I love how easy it was to set up controls to make my child read before being allowed to play. Not that she needs to be forced to read, but some days she needs the nudge to get her reading time done before playing. The parental controls can limit screen time hours as well. As a parent you can also set bed and wake times, leaving the tablet unusable after hours. You can set two different limit settings for weekdays and weekends.

I will be signing up for the Amazon Free Time Unlimited access to continue after our one year of free Amazon Free Time service is up. The access to kids books and videos, just kid's content, is worth the small cost to me. (Less than I pay for Netflix)

At only $99 (when I purchased) this tablet was much cheaper than an Ipad. It has much better kid mode function than the Ipad as well.  Now I can have my Ipad back, just as soon as I get the other two Fire Kid's Editions for my youngest children as well.

Hoover FloorMate SpinScrub Wet/Dry Vacuum Review

I was not paid or provided any rewards for this review of the Hoover Floormate SpinScrub Wet/Dry Vacuum.   My family had killed another floor steamer.  With over half of my house being tile it was an enormous task to clean.  When you add all the pet/kid mess I clean as well it is overwhelming at times.  Bird food and bunny food scattered around cages.  Jello hidden behind the couch because my 2 year old doesn't like the texture.   I was spending too much time cleaning the floor.

With my Floormate SpinScrub I do a quick sweep of all larger object. Why sweep first? Because there was a chicken nugget under the train table.. among other WTF findings after my children picked up.  Then I switch my SpinScrub to Vacuum and finish picking up any dirt or debris.
I almost cried the first time I actually washed the floors with it. It was cleaning my gross grout! I was to the point I wanted our floors professionally steamed.   I've even pulled up gum and other mysterious spots that were here when we moved in.
Once I was done washing the floors I switch it to dry and my floors are dry before I can wrap up the cord.  Which for me means no children's footprints across a newly cleaned damp floor. It's dry before they can even plot to run on it.
Cleaning the machine is easy too!  Everything comes apart for easy washing.  The Spinbrushes underneath pop off for easy rinsing as well as the front hood.  I clean my machine after every use. Dumping the dirty water out without spilling is so easy my kids sometime help me.

My Hoover Floormate SpinScrub Wet/Dry Vacuum has become my favorite household appliance. That is really saying something because I finally have an Artisan Kitchen Aid Mixer as well as a Delonghi Food Processor/Blender both that I have wanted for years.  This amazing product has taken a chore that would normally take a few hours down to a 20-30 minute task to clean the same areas.

I bought my machine off Amazon because with our Amazon Prime membership we got as great discount as well as having it shipped to our house. Hoover Floormate SpinScrub Wet/Dry Vacuum 

OraMD Review and Giveaway!!

I have always hated toothpaste. From the foaming types to the way too gritty, they all make me want to puke.  With a sensitive palate I can not stand the fake flavoring in many toothpastes and after having kids my toleration of certain textures has gone out the window.

Add the years of suffering with sensitive teeth from the time my adult teeth came in as a child to bleeding gums after having children, my mouth was not happy. I was recently offered to try something different. A liquid 3-in-1 toothpaste, mouthwash, and breath freshener with strong antibacterial properties.  With the leading cause of bad breath being bacteria I was willing to give this 100% pure and natural product a chance.  Thank you to Trusted Health Products for introducing me to this product.

I admit, I was skeptical what this little bottle could do for me.   The science couldn't be argued with though. OraMD reduces the bacteria that cause bad breath.  I started with just a few drops on my toothbrush, OraMD was nothing like the toothpaste/spackle experience I've grown to despise.  The taste is very strong the first use but with just a few uses I had gotten use to and actually started to like the strong minty taste.  Compared to my supposed long lasting toothpaste I didn't wake up in the next morning with nasty feeling teeth.  My mouth still felt cleaner.. as if less nastiness came back over night.  
After a week of use I no longer had tender bleeding gums.  I have been enjoying ice cream again as well.  I love OraMD.  I'm not just saying this because they gave it to me free to review. It is now part of my everyday routine and I no longer dread brushing my teeth.    

If you would like to try this product and are not one of the 3 lucky winners of this generous giveaway you still have a chance!  The manufacturer is willing to offer my readers one FREE bottle. They would love to have my readers try out OraMD and agreed to send one bottle FREE if our readers would pay a minimal shipping and handling charge.  They also agreed to include 2 eye-opening reports called 1) “The 6 Hidden Dangers In Toothpaste” and 2) “Why The FDA Requires A Warning Label On Your Toothpaste.”  
That’s a total value of over $40.00.  Click here to get your FREE bottle and FREE reports now.

Another bonus is when you like Trusted Health Products Facebook page you save $5 on your first order as well!

Good luck on the giveaway! I look forward to announcing the winners.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 kids and a messy parrot defeated! The Hoover TwinTank Steam Mop review

With 5 kids and a very messy parrot I always have a mess to clean in my house. One of those kids is a son who is potty training so you can only imagine the type of messes I have to clean.  ::shudder::  Don't try!  5 kids in all his potty training messes are the least of my problems.  From food fights, to oops I dropped the jelly jar in the middle of the kitchen, to just plain dirty little heathen foot prints across every inch their legs can reach.  You can't forget a bird that shakes her head splattering fruit bits on everything or with her refusal to be potty trained as well, leaving worse things on my floor...  .My floor was in a constant state of horrifying mess.  The one thing I have been grateful for is that the majority of my floors are tiled.  I still look back at the time we lived at our apartment that was carpet in EVERY room... even the bathroom  ::shudder:: my kid's don't mix well with carpeting.  Like shag carpeting and tree sap.

Then the condo we lived at that had wood floors in the main rooms.  This is where I was first introduced to steam mops. Sadly it was as much work to steam with as regular mopping.  In less than 3 months I killed one very popular brand one mop I will leave un-named.  I'd rather not slander.. even if their product was disappointing along with their customer "dis"service.

When I was recently given the opportunity to test and review the Hoover Twin Tank Steam Mop, I was excited.  The day it arrived I wanted to take a picture of it still in the box but my quick charge camera would have taken a whole 15 minutes to charge and my hands were itching to get to steaming.

It has two easy fill tanks that keep the specially formulated Hoover SteamPlus Cleaning Solution separate from the water, so you control the amount of solution used with a quick turn of the dial.  No more waiting for the machine to build up steam either.  It was ready to clean in less than 10 seconds at the push of button. There is even a steam ready LED light to alert you when it's time to clean. This Steam mop is perfect for busy moms like me!  I have better things to do than wait around for my cleaning machine to be ready.  The TwinTank Steam Mop comes equipped with a on-demand steam trigger, so you can boost your steam power where you need it.  With a 30 foot power cord so I can clean farther without constantly swapping outlets it saves my sanity.  The intelligently designed triangle mop head gets under my kitchen cabinets easily, against the baseboards and even around the toilet. There is nothing I do not love about this machine!!

The machine came with an 8oz bottle of Hoover 2X SteamPlus Cleaning Solution, 3 Microfiber Triangle Pads( so you always have one ready to clean with), Cooling Tray (to protect your floors during storage and cooling), and a Carpet Glider(to refresh carpets).  

My personal experience with the Hoover TwinTank Steam Mop was amazing. When we moved into our house there were many old gum spots.  I tried scraping but they were so old they didn't budge.  With just a few seconds of steam shot from this amazing machine with the trigger activated steam, all the ancient gum was very tacky and easily cleaned.  I was delighted to be able to steam clean the entire downstairs in less than 30 minutes.  The only drawback was no need to kick my kids out of the house because it left the floor dry within minutes. Ok, that's not a real drawback, but it's the only one I could come up with.

To sum up.. If I hadn't gotten this as a review opportunity I would be begging my husband to buy it for me.

I received a sample of this product to facilitate my review, but my opinions are entirely my own.

K-5 Learning Review and Blogging Opportunity

With all 5 of my kids off for Summer break I was very grateful for the chance to review K-5 Learning.  The oldest two have been using Summer to read through the Hunger Games.  That leaves the 6 yr old in need of something educational to do.  No TV Zombies allowed in this house.

K5 Learning to the rescue!!  

K5 Learning is an online reading and math program for children kindergarten through 5th grade.  This program is designed to be used at anytime from after-school, on the weekend, during the summertime to prevent summer brain drain or along side your homeschooling program. The early years are the key to your child's academics.  Numerous studies have shown that children who do not excel in school by grade 3 are unlikely to excel later in school.

K5 Learning is designed to be a practical tool for busy families and it was perfect for my crazy family.  Within the program there is a strong emphasis based on education not on games and entertainment.  (not that it isn't fun.. my daughter had a blast and begged to "play" K5 every chance.)   It was so easy to use even your 4 or 5 year old could work independently and at their own pace. (my 2 year old was begging and pleading.) With no downloads and 24/7 availability your child can access it anytime.   There are no external links, advertisements or chat to keep your child's experience a safe one.

When your child starts the K5 the Math and Reading lessons are set by grade level default.  To get the most of your experience it is highly recommended to take the online assessment in eight key math and reading skills.  The data collected from the assessment is then used to customize the learning program to suit your child's skill individual skill set.  There are over 3,000 online multimedia activities that are personalized to your child based on their assessment . No more worries that they aren't getting the lesson you select for them.  The free online assessment helps to place your child at their appropriate skill level.  My daughter was very strong in geometry but needed more work in phonics.  Due to all lessons being catered to her skill level she was never bored from it being to easy or frustrated during a lesson that was too hard.

K5 Math is an award winning math program with over 1,200 research based online tutorials and activities.  My daughter loved that the lesson used animated character in real world scenarios.  It helped to build a connection between math and her own personal experiences.  I was surprised to find out that my recent kindergarten graduate was actually at a 2nd grade math level.

K5 Math Facts helps your student develop instant recall of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.  Did you know that the average 5th grader only knows 32% of their multiplication tables!  Instead of learning higher order math skills those students that don't know their math facts will spend their time on basic computations.  Math Fact Matrix displays your student's progress on every single math facts.  Mastery is obtained when the whole matrix is green.  (great visual of accomplishment for your child to see) You can even adjust the time needed to enter the answer for those that are not as quick with the keys.  My daughter enjoyed watching the matrix fill out with each pass through her facts.

K5 Reading program is comprised of over 1,500 online tutorials and activities.  This award winning program is based on the instructional guidelines of the National Reading Panel as well as the best practices employed by teachers and reading specialists.  The K5 Reading program is in use by thousands of US students from kindergarten to grade 5 covering 5 key curriculum skill areas: phonemic awareness, phonics, sight words, vocabulary and reading comprehension.
The reading lessons are all interactive and animated with fun "role model" characters.  With each lesson broken into multiple 5 minute segments with an interactive tutorial, one or more practice segments and finally a quiz.  These short study sessions keep the learning fast and fun.  My daughter's reading went from a subject she struggled with and hated to a something she would beg to do more of.

K5 Spelling helps improve your child's language skills one word at a time.  With immediate feedback on each word spelled.  Correct spelling receives applause and misspellings receive hints on the way to correct their mistake.  You child will always spell the word correctly before moving to the next.  There is automatic word generation (from their 150,000 word database) based on your child's grade level, past quizzes and specific goals.  Any words that were in the past they are repeated in future quizzes until spelled correctly multiple times. Unlike many websites K5 never displays a misspelled word to help imprint the proper spelling in their mind.  Multiple clues to a word are given to help your child absorb the full meaning of the word before trying to spell it, from sound files, sample sentences, definitions and pictures.

It's not just about kid's learning there are great features for parents as well like the online progress reports and ability to set assignments for your child.  Parents can access many online progress reports, quiz results, spelling words learned and progress made on math facts.  Stay up to date on your child's progress and you can watch them excel. As a parent you can also choose from any of the K5 reading and math lessons to assign to your child, as well as spelling words to be studied.  The assignment feature really helped boost my daughter's phonics, which she was struggling with initially because it is no longer taught in our local school district.  I was able to assign more core lessons in phonics

K5 is available on a subscription basis for $199/year or $25/month with great discounts for siblings. Your subscription includes free assessments and unlimited use in each of the four K5 learning programs. You can also get a 14 day free trial!
Contact K5 yourself and get your child on the path to excel.


Website: http://www.k5learning.com
Blog: http://www.k5learning.com/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/k5learning
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/k5learning

Online reading and math enrichment program for kids - | K5 Learning  Let them know I sent you!

I was given the opportunity to review this learning program free of charge for a 6 week free trial for my honest review about our experience with this learning program.   

If you are blogger, you may want to contact K5 Learning open invitation to begin your own review opportunity. http://www.k5learning.com/review-k5

The Treasure of God's Word: Celebrating 400 years of the King James Bible

The Treasure of God's Word: Celebrating 400 years of the King James Bible compiled by Jack Countryman really is a treasure for anyone to own.  Included in this beautifully bound book is the history of the King James Bible, from it's origins, many revisions and historical importance.   Then numerous scriptures are separated into different themes, from God's Blessings to Our Hope.  This makes it the perfect gift for those wishing to better understand the Bible.

I highly suggest this book to people who want to bring scripture into everyday life.  It really breaks passages down into understandable themes.  The excellent overfall look of the book with make it a treasure in any book lovers collection.  With it's leather bound cover, embossed in gold and gilt edged pages, it is a beautiful book.  With the large typeface it is very easy to read.  I learned more about the history of the King James Bible from this beautiful book than from any other source in my lifetime. I would recommend this book for many different people in my life from the very devout Christian to the avid historian and even a grandparent or two.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Clicker Training Hamsters

I am a sucker for animals that need a home. Our African Grey parrot Mezmo is a rescue bird. (He came to us just last December) Mezmo had some behavior problems but after serious clicker training he has changed drastically. It took some work with great guidance from a set of Bird Tricks DVD's I purchased. My only regret was not buying the DVD's sooner.

My youngest sister is moving out-of-state soon and I guess her friend thought it would be the perfect chance to pawn some angry hamsters off on someone. (someone she may never see ever again.) After accepting them my sister realized that there was no way she could take the hamsters on the long move.

In turn our family recently acquired 2 dwarf hamsters with cage and supplies, from my little sister. They are two girl Dwarf hamsters, one is white with pink eyes and the other looks just like the picture. Her friend's kids had stopped handling them as often as they should due to other newer pets in the house, which was why their mom got rid of them. The hamsters are not very well socialized and they will bite. They are very aggressive when treats are given. I think they had also been teased. We are going to try to do clicker training with them. Clicker training is a great trust building activity. It has worked very well with our parrot.

I learned what I know about clicker training from the DVD's we purchased from Bird Tricks. After some research on the web I found someone using clicker training for hamsters as well. Rodents being a food reward type animal clicker training the hamsters will be very similar to the bird. I will just use what I learned from the DVD's and adapt the training for small animals and not a bird.

My goal is to get the hamsters to the point that my kid's can hold them without the hamsters attempting to bite them. As a family, we plan to go visit the nearby pet store this weekend and pick out some new accessories for the hamsters' cage. Our oldest two daughters want to name the hamsters as a family this weekend as well.

Related Articles

• Is a Hamster a Good First Pet? (brighthub.com)

Book Sneeze

As a blogger I recently signed up for a free service called Book Sneeze. It's a great program that gives a complimentary copy of a book for bloggers to become an online reviewer of. In some cases you may even receive advance copies before they even hit store shelves. The bookworm in me was quivering with excitement when I discovered this service.

As part of the program you're not required to give a positive review about the book , just an honest one. They do have a few easy guidelines to adhere to while writing your reviews. When finished you just need to post your review on your blog, the Book Sneeze website and another suggested consumer website. Your reviews must state that you did receive your book as a complimentary copy. (this is due to FCC regulations)

I was very excited to receive my first book and am thoroughly enjoying this unexpected read. I am an avid reader so the Book Sneeze program thrilled me to take part in. Although I can speed read a larger book in less than 2 hours I am enjoying the chance to throughly engulf myself in this book.

Look for my book reviews in the future.

If you are a blogger and interested in trying Book Sneeze just click on their link in the sidebar and sign up. In a few short days you too can also be a book reviewer.