FINDING NEMO returns to theatres for the first time in 3D September 14th, 2012!

I am so excited to see this release coming out!  Our family just loves Disney and everything related to it.  From the movies to the parks and everything in between.   We are looking forward to seeing this one and hope you will enjoy the movie trailer until you too can watch Finding Nemo 3D in your favorite move theater!

If you are interested in learning more about Finding Nemo 3D, you can like their FB Page at http://www.facebook.com/PixarFindingNemo

Disclaimer: I received promotional material from ©Disney in order to promote the new release of Finding Nemo 3D. All material is copyrighted and I have been given these materials for promotion purposes only.

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A Mile in His Shoes, from the directors of Angels in the Outfield stars Dean Cain and Luke Schroder, is a film based on the book “The Legend of Mickey Tussler”. This movie is an inspirational story about the journey of Mickey, who has Aspergers Syndrome as well as an amazing gift, and a coach of a losing minor league team. Looking at the movie cover you would think it is just another inspirational story of a sports team but this one goes beyond just a sports story and as the synopsis of the movie cover states it is a “film that celebrates faith, determination and the power of friendship.”

As far as being family friendly, this movie is mostly that. However, there are some minor scenes that you may what to consider moderating for your younger family members which is why the film has a PG rating for some mild thematic elements. Still I would recommend this movie despite the few non-family elements in an otherwise family-friendly film.

For more information about A Mile in His Shoes, I suggest you check out the following links:

Website: http://www.watchgmctv.com/video/mile-his-shoes#biography
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Mile-In-His-Shoes/270101973014772?sk=wall
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev2T0BFetH4
Dove Foundation Review: http://www.dove.org/reviewmasterframe.asp

Now on to how to win your own copy of the A Mile in His Shoes DVD. You can enter via the Rafflecopter entry options below and a winner will be chosen after 1/26/12.

(more…)

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In our area we started selling Girl Scout cookies. The weather has been wonderful and all so un-wintery until the day we started selling cookies. It was the most cold and snowy day so far. So my daughter and did what every Girl Scout needing to sell cookies does.. we went out in the cold. For 2 hours we went door to door and although hardly anyone was home we still manage to sell about 20 boxes of cookies. Not a whole lot but enough to get a start on my daughter’s goals.

I am so proud of my troop, I lead a homeschool troop, they decided to ask people to buy cookies to donate them to the military through Whole in my Heart military support group as well as giving some of our profits to a charity that helps kids who are ill. I am hoping that our troop does well so that everyone can benefit.

Needless to say I am still feeling the cold of yesterday evening and though not looking forward to going on later today but I am proud of my daughter’s commitment to her personal goals.

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     provides a series of movie guides named Z-Guides which leads you through a study of a movie which is set in a specific historical time period.  Each guide focuses on a specific movie release and not only do you learn about the movie details  but the historical period associated with it while developing research and critical thinking skills.

Now on to the specific Z-Guide that our family has used.  We selected the Z-Guide which studies the 1938  movie, The Adventures of Robin Hood, which starred Errol Flynn.  We have started watching older movies lately so this was perfect timing for our family.  Most of the movies covered by the Z-Guides can be found either though your local library or through Netflix as well various movie rental places.

Each movie guide begins with a topic overview detailing information about the time period that the movie takes place then moves on to the movie synopsis.  It is suggested that you answer specific movie questions while watching the movie.  We started by reading through the questions before the movie started to get an idea of what to look out for during the movie.  My daughter is not good at quickly writing down answers so she tended to stop the movie at places in order to write down an  answer.  The 32 page movie guide which is geared toward high school students is set up to be completed within a week.  It is suggested that your student completes 2 activities per day with a total of 10 main activities.  For the Robin Hood movie guide we covered the following topics though various types of activities:

- Medieval English history (learning about about King Richard, Prince John, and the feudal system)
- Ethnic Conflict
- Chivalry
- Civil Disobedience

Beyond movie review questions, some of the other activities include researching answers to history questions centering around the main topics, some creative writing exercises,  word find , an activity that requires creating an action plan and following through with it,  a worldview activity that has your student examine their views and beliefs, a physical related activity, an activity that focuses on the art of film-making. and questions for a  family discussion.  You are also provided with a list of additional resources for you to explore and finally the answers so that you can check and grade your work.

Going through this movie guide was a learning experience in itself for my oldest as she has just started learning to do her own research and had to struggle a bit when searching on the internet for answers to some of the question within the guide.  The movie guide, though a challenge, was a good activity for her.  She began to develop better research and critical thinking skills as a result of working on our chosen Z-Guide.

You can learn more specific information about the Z-Guide for The Adventures of Robin Hood by going HERE on the Zeezok website.   To view the other Z-Guide movie options you can visit the Z-Guide to the Movies page at the Zeezok website,

You can view a sample pdf of the Z-Guides HERE.

The Z-Guide for The Adventures of Robin Hood  can be purchased  for 12.99 as a single license download version or you can buy it on a physical CD.  Classroom or co-op license can be purchased for $49.99.

For other products from Zeezok you can visit their website at https://www.zeezok.com/.    Zeezok even sells copies of the  individual movies through their website in case you want one to purchase.

This was our second Z-Guide that our family has used and we have been happy with both of them.  To find out what my fellow TOS Crew members had to say about this guide as well as others from Zeezkok Publishing please visit our Crew Blog post.

Note: I received a download copy of the Z-Guide to the Movies for Adventures of Robin Hood for  free as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew in order to provide an honest review for my readers.

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I went to public school when I was growing up. At my high school we had several paths we could take for our curriculum, I chose the college path and a foreign language was required for it. I ended up taking French and wished I had taken Spanish. Needless to say I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to review Homeschool Spanish:  A R.E.A.L Curriculum for the Whole Family. I have tried a few Spanish curriculums in the past but none of them had really clicked with my kids.

What I received from Homeschool Spanish was the download version of their curriculum which included  the book, a 179 page activity book, a series of audio files, an answer guide and a daily curriculum guide. The book contains 10 different units. Each unit centers around a theme such as greetings, colors, sports, etc. and contains vocabulary, educator tips, grammar tidbits. The activity book has pages such as word searches, crossword puzzles, fill in pages as well as others. For each unit there is an audio file that goes along with it so that you can hear the words and phrases pronounced correctly and can practice along with it.

The whole philosophy behind the R.E.A.L. curriculum is one that is geared to a homeschool environment rather than towards a classroom one so that parents can learn along with and guide their children inlearning the language through a daily routine. It uses a conversational approach in which to build a foundation for learning the language.

What I liked about this curriculum was that it contained ideas and tips so that you can choose what and how to use what is provided which makes it less burdensome and more fun. There is a guide you can use and tips for ways to learn the material in each unit.

I printed each unit off in advance and we started by going over the vocabulary for the first unit. We listened to the audio file and practiced repeating the words and phrases on our first day. I printed off the activity pages that went along with the unit and gave both my daughters their own copy. I allowed them to work through it both on their own and to work together as a team. I found that my children were trying out the words they had learned that week with each other at other times throughout the day and was very encouraged to see them doing so. I found that this curriculum seemed more of a relaxed way to learn Spanish when compared to some others I have tried with my kids. They seemed to enjoy the program and not feel as stressed about learning Spanish. Personally I liked that it did not require a lot of preparation on my part and was very easy to use as well as providing a lot of variation to keep our lessons interesting.

R.E.A.L. Spanish stands for RELAX, ENJOY, ASPIRE, LEARN SPANISH. I found this to be entirely true for our family and although we have not made it through all the units yet but I plan to continue using it as part of our weekly plans.

  REAL Homeschool Spanish can be purchased either as a download or as a hardcopy. The download bundle can currently be purchased for $49.95 without the curriculum guide or with it for $59.95. The hardcopy without the daily curriculum guide and which includes the audio files on 2 cds costs $89.95.  The hardcopy bundle with the daily curriculum guide can be purchased  for $99.95.   You can purchase any of these bundle options  on the REAL Homeschool Spanish website HERE.

The REAL Homeschool Spanish website has samples of the curriculum that you can view by going HERE.    In addition, you can also visit their website for cultural links to aid you and your family in adding a cultural experience as you go through their curriculum.

To learn more about R.E.A.L. Homeschool Spanish please visit the TOS Homeschool Crew blog to hear what my fellow crew members has to say in their reviews.

Note: I received a download copy of the REAL Homeschool Spanish bundle for free as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew in order to provide an honest review for my readers.

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My daughters have always loved the Disney Princesses.   At one point I started painting a princess mural on my daughter’s bedroom walls but somehow only managed to get Snow White done since that was my youngest’s favorite princess at that time.  Now she loves Rapunzel and Tiana the best.  Me, I still love them all.  We frequently watch the movies over and over again.   Currently we are switching over our DVDs to blu-ray versions so that is something we are working on doing when they come out.

Here is a collage of the Snow White I free-painted awhile back.

My daughter now wants me to paint Rapunzel and Tiana on the wall too.  Not sure when that will get done though.  Should I do it even if I am not sure how long she will still want princesses in her room?  Hmmm maybe I will finish her room in Disney princesses for this new year…    I already have plans to convert our kitchen into black and red and white with Mickey as the theme.  Still considering whether or not Ariel will become my theme for the main bathroom.  Something under the sea perhaps?

Well if you love Disney, can’t live there then the next best thing is to bring Disney into your home!.  Would love to add working light fireworks to my living room ceiling.   Kind of like they have at the Disney store but maybe just with lights instead of flatscreens.. Hmm well I will post pictures when I get things done..  But for now I will dream on the possibilities.

For Christmas, our tree was mostly Disney except for our train and lighthouse ornaments.  Here are a few pictures of our latest Disney additions to our tree.

 Have a Mickey Fantasmic New Year!!

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     Invasion by Jon Lewis is a science fiction book that centers around three teenagers, Colt, Oz, and Danielle who get caught up in exposing a conspiracy and an invasion by aliens.  The storyline involves portals which exist between our world and other alien worlds, a secret military organization that protects normal citizens from aliens, and a conspiracy involving a large corporation.   The story itself is refreshing because it does not contain anything offensive either in its language or content.   It is very appropriate for both teens and adults.  As an adult I enjoyed reading this story.   I could be critical of some of the content that really did not seem to be needed in order to further the story but all in all it was a delightful light science fiction story that I would recommend.  As far as containing Christian content or themes, it really doesn’t beyond mentioning that Colt attends church with his grandfather at some point in the story.   I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series to find out what happens next.   I am including the story summary as provided by the publisher so you can get a quick view into the story itself.

Story synopsis from the publisher:

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We have a whole week together so this week we have not done school but have been spending time together playing games.  But next week I am planning on changing our homeschool stuff around.  I want to do more hands on stuff and do things a little differently.   I know New Year’s come with the expectation that people make resolutions and plans to change their life so I guess it is no wonder I am thinking of doing that with our homeschool plans.

I guess I would like to know if any of my readers have any plans to change about their homeschooling for this new year.  I’d love to hear from you!

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I have to say the most recent trip to Disney when we had the counter service food plan was great.  It was nice not having to worry meals and snacks while we were there.  It also gave us the chance to sample food we normally would not have had if we had to purchase food as we went along.  We loved the churros, various desserts, the Chinese food we had at Yak n Yetis, Dole Whips and of course Mickey Bars.  Mmmm.. We could spend time at Disney just sampling food…

The next best thing to being at Disney for food is to get a cookbook and make some of it at home.  After I got back from our trip in September, I bought the Cooking with Mickey.  I highly recommend this cookbook.  I have already made several recipes form it and all of them have trned out fabulously.

If you are going to Disney anytime soon I highly recommend getting a dining plan.   It takes out the stress of having to worry about paying for meals while you are there.  I also suggest that you plan on what places you would like to eat at before you go to Disney because otherwise there are so many fantastic options that you may waste valuable Disney time trying to make food decisions.

I will add pictures soon of some of our food adventures while at Disney!

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As I sit here getting ready to watch Polar Express with my family I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Christmas is all about families. God sent His Son to be born on earth so that we too could become part of God’s family through his gift of salvation.

If you do not know Him make it your priority to come to Him this year and be a part of the family of God. He is waiting to hear from you. If you already know Him then strive to know Him even better this coming year!

Merry Christmas and God Bless!

Luke 2:11 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

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