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Plus-Plus: One of our Favorites from Timberdoodle
This is a sponsored post. I received this item from Timberdoodle in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts and these words and these opinions are, as always on this page and in real and regular life, all completely and totally my own. ________________________________________ I guess I gave this one away with the title. But, to me, Plus-Plus is a lot like Legos – what on earth is there not to love? And in our house – we LOVE Plus-Plus. They’re just so versatile and fun. They are the nearly perfect occupation for playing quietly while listening to our nightly novel. Much quieter than Legos. Any age can be entertained by their…
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Film Making Class: A Timberdoodle Review
This is a sponsored post. I received this item from Timberdoodle in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts and these words and these opinions are, as always on this page and in real and regular life, all completely and totally my own. ________________________________________ Until now, I’ve never tried to count how many years I have been working with Timberdoodle, writing reviews for products, trying out new books or curriculum or projects. A quick blog search reminds me our relationship started in 2016! (And goodness, what a fortunate friendship we have formed over the years.) You can see a whole host of my reviews here and here and there and right here…
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mid-week rambling.
We’re trying to do a little school around here. (Math. History. A couple good novels.) It was sad to start Wildwood with only four students. And – most days it actually kind of feels like just three. Mosely is working and taking dual enrollment classes and only needs a few more credits to graduate so she’s not really in all the table work daily rotation. It’s funny – I’m not teaching at Meadowlark this year and so my daily workload has decreased in that area. And yet. I am struggling with feeling unmotivated. It’s as if when my schedule isn’t bursting at the seams, I somehow have a MORE difficult…
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Q Bitz Solo: A Timberdoodle Review
This is a review post. Timberdoodle graciously sent me a free product in exchange for a review. A review that is always my own, honest and hopefully helpful. _________________________________________ Not everyone in my home loves games as much as Otto and I do. (This is a genetic tragedy I am still trying to get over.) (He and I have been playing Monopoly Deal steadily since Christmas. We’ve kept a running tab and so far he has beat me 34 times.) Because of this flaw in our family dynamic, often I look for games that can be played both with siblings or solo. Q Bitz fits that bill. (I mean, it…
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school planning over here …
I’ve spent the last two days deeply immersed in academic planning. Yes, for my own classroom of students here at Wildwood. And for my classroom of students in the Writing and Literature class I teach at Meadowlark. It’s been pretty exhausting. It always is. But this year it seems extra . . . unsettling. Because we all know (now more than ever) that plans are just ideas we hope get to happen like we wish they would. And we ALL know that plans never one hundred percent travel along the rails we’re laying down, but right now it all feels pretty train wrecked anyway. And I don’t love the act…
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Should I Stop Homeschooling?
For years I’ve said a handful of absolutes about my homeschooling experience. (I do like to speak in absolutes, although I am working hard to remove them from my vernacular. I know they are not helpful, generally speaking.) Two of those absolutes are this: I will make a decision for each homeschool year for each kid on a case by case year by year basis. No homeschooling parent (and no teacher, maybe no human) should make life changing decisions in February. And yet. Here I am, having just spent most of February pondering and thinking and researching and looking into a wide variety of Other Options beside homeschooling for one,…
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Colorku: A Timberdoodle Review
This is a sponsored post. I received this item from Timberdoodle in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts and words and opinions are, as always on this page and in real and regular life, all completely and totally my own. ________________________ Oh goodness – this is a pretty one. And I know that isn’t the goal of this game or product or educational tool. (I don’t exactly know how to categorize this one.) But I’m also saying – it’s so cute. The colors are beautiful. Just look at it. It’s called Colorku. I keep wanting to call it Color Sudoku because that’s what it basically is. If you’ve ever…
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Hey Clay: A Timberdoodle Review
This is a review post. I was given this item by Timberdoodle in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are for sure and for certain my own. The fascination of clay never gets old. (Basically, I’m saying that the magic of Play Dough is ageless.) Like I mentioned in my Plus Plus review, any item – toy, game, educational tool – that can engage all the ages at my house is a big it with me. And although maybe my teens wouldn’t confess to enjoying Play Dough, somehow calling it clay changes its acceptability. Actually, this is called Hey Clay and it’s available at Timberdoodle. This Hey Clay…
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swimming in the deep end
It all feels like it’s already been said. All the words have been taken. The ones about exhaustion and anxiety. About despair and waiting. The posts about overworking and not enough sleep have all been written. Balance – we get it – it’s elusive. Time management – we understand – it’s tricky. Self care – we know – it’s important. I’m a broken record over here. My friends and I, over tea or crepes, through deep sighs and understanding arm pats, we say we hear you, we see you, we ARE you. We’re all singing the same song, paddling the same canoe, weathering the same storms. We are all tired.…
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Mand Labs Lit: A Timberdoodle Review
This is a sponsored post. Timberdoodle was kind enough to give our family this product in exchange for a review. And you know me, the opinions are always my own honest thoughts. More and more, school here at Wildwood is less hands on for me and more independent work for the kids. Especially my high school students. Many of their classes are self-directed. Like all sorts of educational matters, this is both a victory and a loss sort of situation. On the one hand, hooray for work that I don’t have to lead you through. Hooray for working out something in your own mind and with your own skills entirely.…
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this day. this life. some sort of a mood.
We started school this week. Which feels sad now in August but should feel pretty happy come May. I have three high school students. THREE. I feel as if I need to shout everything I say today. It all feels monumental. Or something. I’ve been saying to the kids all day – I’m in some kind of a mood today. I really cannot explain it. The start of school. Am I ready? The stress of high school math. Shoot, of all math. The high cost of education. And I do mean that both figuratively and literally. And don’t even get me started on whether public school is free or home…
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A Reason for Handwriting: A Timberdoodle Review
This post is an affiliate post. In exchange for my personal and honest review, Timberdoodle sent me a free copy of this workbook. ____________________________________ It’s that time of year when every teacher and every parent is suddenly pulling out the calendar and counting down the days. Let’s just make it through, right? Finish strong and all that. But it’s also that time of year when most of us have to make decisions about our children’s education for next year. Ugh. Who designed this system? This systems that says – just when you’re real tired and over and out with the current school year, just when you have given up trying…
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five finds friday (a long winded run down of yesterday and white chicken chili and student success)
I want to humor myself here and lay out the schedule of what Thursday was like. thank you. Prior to 9 am – Wake up. Shower. Make certain kids are all up. Print out papers needed for teaching school. Oversee lunches packed. Create a crockpot dinner. Maybe eat breakfast and see if kids do the same. Make sure kids do chores like feed pets, take them out to the bathroom, get them resettled for their day while we’re gone. Wonder why we have so many pets. 9:30 to 12 – Teach a literature and writing class to junior high and high school students. Kipling. Wordsworth. Spring poetry. Compare and contrast…
