Wordless Wednesday: Homeschool Gym Outside the Box

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Marriage Monday: An Introduction

Today's post is linked up to Chrysalis Cafe and Marriage Monday. Of course, I didn't follow directions and had written a totally different blog post. Thankfully, I have more time to clean it up. You'll have to come back in two weeks for that one. Today, we are just introducing ourselves to each other and our readers. If you want to read some my thoughts on marriage, you can click here.


Since we are on the topic of marriage, if you haven't read Ann Voskamp's post The 4 Minute Marriage Habit, please do. It will bless you much more than my post. Anyways, here's my introduction:


I am…..a Christian, a wife, a mother, a blogger and a friend.
I want…..my whole family to know salvation.
I have…..one husband, four boys, and three brothers.
I wish…..for more girls in my family.
I hate…..noise.
I miss…..my skinny self.
I fear…..God.
I feel…..hungry most the time.
I hear…..too many appliances right now.
I smell…..everything, it's a curse.
I crave…..quiet.
I search…..for lost things too often.
I wonder…..when things will change.
I regret…..not taking more pictures and videos of my kids.
I love…..my husband.
I ache…..when I sleep too long.
I care…..about new Christians.
I always…..procrastinate.
I am not…..organized right now.
I believe…..God can heal marriages.
I dance…..rarely.
I sing…..in church.
I cry…..when I read books.
I don’t always…..read directions.
I fight…..exercise.
I write…..instead of doing housework.
I never….finish everything I plan in a day.
I listen…..to audio books when I deep clean.
I need…..about 30 hours in a day.
I am happy…..most of the time.


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Z-Guides to the Movies~ The Green Berets, A Review

As a member of the TOS Homeschool crew, this year I am reviewing many homeschooling products that I have received for free. I am not paid to say nice things about the products, but I am obligated to use the product and share my honest opinions with you. In today's review, our whole family, minus the Little Guy used this product together.

What is a Z-Guide?

Z-Guides are a great way to enhance your history, geography and/or English lessons using activities centered around a motion picture. The product I received is in a download format, giving me the freedom to print the pages we need for our study. The guide includes a synopsis, historical background, review questions, and numerous activities pertaining to the movie. You can read more about Z-Guides here. You can see my past review of the Z-Guide, The Count of Monte Cristo here or see a sample of the Z-Guide here.

Z-Guides to the Movies ~ The Green Berets, A Review

Paperboy chose The Green Berets starring John Wayne for our next Z-Guide. A quick word of caution; let the kids choose together. Random and I were not crazy about this movie. A war movie would not have been our choice. My difficulties in following the movie were relieved by the synopsis in the guide, it cleared many things up for me.

Because I am an honest blogger, I have to say this was one of my toughest reviews to do. Not because I did not like the product, I love them, I own five Z-Guides. It is because the movie associated with this guide bothered me. The similarities between Vietnam and today's Iraq situation are too close. My heart was broken thinking of all of the deaths and the end results of each conflict. But since this isn't my political blog, I'll get back to the Z-Guide.

Things I loved about the guide:

• The Movie Synopsis was very thorough. I missed many of the key points of the movie. The author does a fantastic job in the description.
• The 25 Review Questions are open ended, requiring detailed answers. A few of them stumped me, but thankfully they provided an answer key.
• The Compare and Contrast exercise was challenging and thought provoking.
• The Worldview Activity is an import activity to keep the dialogue going with your children about moral choices. 

Things we could have lived without:

• The Crossword Puzzle, asking the same questions orally worked for our family.  Crosswords are loved or hated, it reminds me of busywork. 

Zeezok publishing has created an incredible product for those who want to spice up their history lessons. The guide gives parents the tools they need to create an interesting week long discussion of a historical event using a movie. Because the ugliness of the war, mature scenes and intense propaganda of the movie was difficult for me, the grown-up, to follow, I recommend The Green Berets and it's Z-Guide for older high school students who are studying the Vietnam War.

You can purchase this guide and many other Z-guides at Zeezok. They come in an e-book format or a CD version for $12.95. Many of my other Crew members reviewed other study guides. See their reviews here.




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Wordless Wednesday...Midlife crisis?

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Thrifty Thursday Homeschool Style: Selling Your Used Curriculum

If you have noticed on the top corner of my blog, there is a new bright yellow sign. I've linked up my homeschool supplies that I am selling. In my purposeful new year, I am taking a deep look at the homeschool supplies and asking what's the point of keeping this? Will I eventually need it? Do I really need so many books? Can I make enough selling it to be worth my while? My buddy Sharon and I have teamed up forces to rid ourselves of this extra baggage.

I have a little experience. I have been doing this on and off for about 9 years. I used to be the customer, but now I'm the sales lady. I have only been ripped off once. More on that later. I began selling and witnessing on eBay years ago.

Ten things I have learned about buying and selling homeschool books online:

1. My favorite places to sell are homeschoolclassifieds, Amazon, Well Trained Mind forums, and Ebay. There are pros and cons to each site.
2. Homeschool Classifieds is the easiest to shop. They list things by publisher and alphabetically. The sellers are given feedback and it is free to list items. There is a limit, but you can earn credits by posting local field trips or activities. You hammer out the details after contacting the seller. They also have a curriculum wanted section. I do contact shoppers about their wanted items. I find 70% of the time they are not willing to pay enough for the item to make it worth my time, effort and shipping fees. If I after selling, I end up with a few bucks, it would be more ideal to donate it at our local used homeschool sale.
3. Amazon can be very simple, but they take a larger commission. What I love about Amazon is that you enter the isbn # and they already have a photo, reviews and prices of the book. Some items list high there so I always check first. They deposit money into my bank twice a month. Their system is easy to navigate.
4. Ebay is the best place to sell Teaching Textbooks and other choice curriculum. Just do a completed listing search and see what the going prices are. Math-U-See sells high there too. I chose not to do eBay this week because I don't want to post pictures and write ads. Check prices there if you are buying and selling. Be sure to watch out for high seller shipping charges, my pet peave.
5. The Well Trained Mind forums can be a great place to buy. Unless you post frequently, it takes a while to post 50 conversations and be eligible to post in their for sale forum. That does weed out the scammers because you can check out the sellers posts and see if they are really homeschooling. They have an extensive wanted list also. Anyone can view that.
6. If your local homeschool group hosts a sale, that is a good place to start shopping. I have found that I end up pricing things low or giving them away because I know the families. I do however have the chance to swap with others or share why I loved or hated a curriculum. It is a lot of effort pricing and preparing the books.
7. Postage can eat your profits really quick. I will give you an example of how I just took a hit. I usually ship items media mail to an US address. The price is between $1.70 and $5.85. I just sold some blocks which do not qualify for media rate and shipping was over $15. So after paypal fees and shipping, I only made about $20 for an item that cost me over $45.
8. Paypal fees. Paypal does take a small handling fee from transactions. I think it's better than waiting for someone to mail a check and wait for it to clear. But consider adding and extra buck or two if you accept paypal.
9. As a strict policy, I do not deal with selling or buying anything out of the country. The only deal that went sour was from our fine neighbor to the north. I was out fifty bucks. Now, that being said, if a deal sounds too good to be true, it may be a scam. Also, when posting a looking to buy ad, be careful. Dishonest people scan the ads and offer crazy deals. It doesn't always happen, but be careful. In my communications with buyers or sellers, I use my blog site in my signature. That way they can read who I am and know, I'm a little odd, but not a thief.
10. Buying used curriculum can be a great way to save money. I have tried expensive programs, decided I hated them and resold them easily. Make sure they are from a non-smoking, non-pet home in case you have allergies or just serious sensory issues like myself. 

I'd love to hear your tips or experiences in buying or selling online. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them in the comments.

Happy Thursday!

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