Five Question Friday

 

 

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1. If you had a weekly newspaper column, what would you name it?

Monica’s fabulous advice  … LOL, I crack myself up!!  

2. Who is your mentor/inspiration?  My mother, she is an amazing and strong person.

3. What is your wake up beverage of choice? Coffee!!!  Most definitely.. Pumpkin in the fall is awesome!

4. Would you wear your mom's clothes?  Actually my mom doesn’t have horrible taste.. I would wear some of them!

5. When you were a kid, did you put posters on your wall? If so, what were they of?  I think I did… Lol.. I remember a cat one, and maybe one of a movie… but they are vague in my mind.

Monkey Quest Review & Giveaway

My family was recently given the chance to try out a new game in the online world over at Nickelodeon called Monkey Quest. Seeing that I call my kids, monkeys.. I thought, how fitting to have them try this out!

In our house as a rule, me or my husband tries out a game before we allow the kids to play.. Just to see what it is like. We feel more confident and secure that way, knowing what they are playing. Of course this is not an issue, since my husband Monkey Dad loves to play online or video games.

Here is a little bit about Monkey Quest...

• Geared towards kids 8-12
  
• Takes place in the land of Ook
  
• Can play for free
  
• It’s a cooperative game
  
• Fun!!!
  

Monkey Man has loved playing it, and thinks that it is very cool!

Since Monkey Dad was the one who played it the most, I had him assist me in this review... Here is what he had to say:
Monkey Quest is a very easy game to set up, no download at all and also very easy to set up a membership, although you do not need one to play at all.  I actually played for 5 hours before activating the membership just to see if it was something I would play or recommend to others for their children. It had a lot of fun playtime even without the membership. The game is definitely suited for children although some adults may find it a pleasant game to play if they like a more childlike game environment. Without a membership there are some areas that are not available to go to, but you can purchase access to those areas without getting a membership.
Once you purchase a membership, you are rewarded with a few instant perks, some extra bananas (the currency of the game) a bonus item, and most importantly access to areas for free while you are a member. Weather you are a member or not the environment is very child appropriate. You are not bothered by any kind of bad language or inappropriate behavior, like some games, and the game is designed to be cooperative, in such that some of the quests are made to be done by two or more people.
As far as game play goes, Monkey Dad (he plays a lot of different types of games) says that it is very well done, with decent graphics and smooth scrolling. It has a wide range of ways to change how you Monkey looks with both equipment and items that are just cosmetic ( he says you can get sideburns or a beard if you want). The game has a very easy leveling system that is used to determine which quests you can take and what items you can use or equip. It also has a very easy to use crafting system, in which you can get recipes to make both items to wear and items to use.
We are positive this is a game our Monkeys and Monkey Dad will be playing quite a bit.

Giveaway:
One of my lucky 3 Crazy Monkey readers, will have the chance to win a $25 Nickelodeon Game Card (which can be used for a 3 Month Membership)






* I was given game card, and reusable bag in exchange for my honest review from MomSelect & Nickelodeon. All opinions are 100% mine and my monkeys.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. What do you do at the first sign of a cold? Will you get a flu shot this year? 

 I start drinking lots of Orange Juice, and vitamin C…    I don’t usually get the flu shot, I just have my kids get it.  

2. What advice can you give about how to conquer fear?

Not much, I have been trying to get over some fears myself. I keep reminding myself that not all fears are worth being scared of. Yeah, that’s it!

3. Share two good things about your life right now.

Umm… Homeschooling is going really good!

I really enjoy fall! Yup, that’s as exciting as my life gets.

4. A hot fall fashion trend in 2011 is a return to sixties style...tunics with pants, shift dresses, pencil skirts, cinched waists, bold prints, high necklines and short lengths to name a few. How does this fashion trend fit with your wardrobe and personal sense of style?

I don’t really have a fashion sense. You find me in jeans and a t-shirt most of the time.

5. Were you involved in scouting as a kid? How about as an adult?

I was not in scouting as a kid..

But I have been a Girl Scout Leader for 6 yrs now… Sense my niece was in it, and now my own girls.

I have also been a Den Leader for Cub Scouts a couple yrs. This year, I have been let off the hook, my Husband is taking over for me!!  

6. Apple, pear, plum, pumpkin...your favorite fall flavor?

I love apple, and pumpkin! Depends on what we are talking about. Love Apple Pie, Crisp, Bread, Muffins, and Cider…

I also love Pumpkin Coffee (from Dunkin Doughnuts, YUM) , bread, pie, and muffins.

7. What characteristics do you think are essential in a good teacher?

A good listener, patient, kind, caring… Wanting to be there, and not just their for a job.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

We have a lot of great field trips coming up! We are having a great fall so far!

Simple Woman’s Daybook:

 

 

 

 

 

FOR TODAY

September 12, 2011

Outside my window...  It is a beautiful day outside. I love fall personally, so this weather is gorgeous! Love the cool breeze, and sunny days!

I am thinking...  Wow, my heart aches for all those that had family members that died 10 yrs ago yesterday. Hoping they all find peace, and a way to honor all those who gave their lives to save ours.

I am thankful for...   Great people that know the true meaning of being a hero… or just helping to save the world. I wish there was more of them in the world.

From the learning rooms...  We had a better week… We had a great impromptu Field Trip that you can read about here..  Today we are going to have a picnic with our local Homeschool group… and later this week we are going on another Field Trip. You can read all about our days here..

From the kitchen...  Not really sure… we are down to our last stuff in the freezer and fridge. Tomorrow is shopping day… I need to get a move on making my Menu Plan… Didn’t do it last month, it was not fun, guessing what was for dinner every night. What are you having???

I am wearing...   The season has changed once again, so I’m back to wearing jeans, a t-shirt and sometimes a sweatshirt. Still working my flip flops though!   

I am creating...  A Menu Plan, a baking list for this week, curriculum, I think that is it…

I am going... To be very busy this week.. Cooking, and doing school.

I am reading...   Nothing much right now… Got a stack of 5 books, for when I have a spare minute. Plus we are listening to the “Red Pyramid” Audiobook. (I am really enjoying this one)

I am hoping... This week goes smoothly… School continues to go well.. and we get all our stuff done this weekend, so the house will be pretty much ready for winter. I’m starting to stress over things I need to get done. That is my nature… (I’m a stressor)

I am hearing...   The kids doing their chores and getting ready for the day. Discussing what to wear for our friend Lisa to take their pictures today. Can’t wait to see them!

Around the house...   I have so much laundry to do, dishes, veggies to pick, floors to vacuum, its never ending!

One of my favorite things... Spending quality time with my family and hearing the giggles of my little monkey’s..

A few plans for the rest of the week:   Homeschool Picnic, Girl Scouts, Library, Bugmania Field Trip, Doc appt, Cooking, and having fun with my Monkey’s.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Picture I took the other day… while playing around…  

The Homeschool Mothers Journal:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my life this week…   It was crazy as usually, trying to get a few things done, and ready before the start of all our extra curricular activities. Trying to keep up with the produce in the garden, canning stuff, and preparing before we start canning apples.   

In our homeschool this week… It was a busy week… Things went much better this week though. We finished our 6th week, and are preparing to start our 7th! Time has flown!

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

We find keeping a schedule helps a lot in our house. Things go much smoother, and we don’t have as many disruptions.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… This week we are starting back up with our Girl Scout Troop. We are going to go on another field trip to the State Museum for a “BugMaina” event. Going to bake a bunch of stuff for a bake sale we are helping with to raise money for an old schoolmate of mine. She has cancer (after beating it in high school) and is also a single mom to two Autistic Children. We are very happy to help with this event. Plus my mom’s church is having people come help finish our shingles on the house, and bring in the rest of the wood (so we are baking goodies for them to eat while they work)

My favorite thing this week was… Our family field trip to the Museum… we had so much fun. It was nice to have a day with the family… (we really haven’t done that much this summer)

What’s working/not working for us… Our schedule seems to be working really nicely for us.. and we can even work in field trips without to much of an issue.  

Questions/thoughts I have…  How is everyone else’s year going so far?? Do you take a very long break around the holidays?

Things I’m working on…  Lesson plans for the next 8 weeks… adding some new subjects. (we are very excited about one of them)

I’m reading… Not much the last few days, I have been very busy with stuff around the house.

I’m cooking…  Tonight is my Chicken Stew.. (YUM)

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

A picture I took on our Hike yesterday…

TOS Review: Big IQ Kids

 

 

Looking for some help for your kids with Spelling? Do you have a child that struggles with remembering their words?  Try Big IQ Kids which won the TOS 2011 Blue Ribbon Award!

 

Big IQ Kids is a free online site, that your kids log into and do daily assignments, and tests for vocabulary and spelling. These lessons are not extensive and time consuming. They only take on average 10-15mins a day. The best part, they send the parent an email to keep you up to date on their progress.

 

To answer your next question.. yes you can merge this with your current curriculum. You can customize your child’s work, or you can use Big IQ Kids pre-loaded lessons.

It has 40 pre-loaded lessons for K-adult..or you can load your own words, and it will generate a week’s worth of lessons, quiz’s and tests. I was not a huge fan of the lists they had, they didn’t seem to flow well. Therefore I put our own in. Monkey Man & Middle Monkey are two different kids when it comes to spelling. Monkey Man has a hard time with sounding them out, and getting the correct letters, so he has to work a bit harder during the week or remembering them. We do a few things like sentences, puzzles, and word tiles, but he still fights me to learn them sometimes. Not anymore… He loves getting on Big IQ Kids and doing the lessons they have for each other. Best part? His Spelling test scores have come up drastically!   Middle Monkey while she doesn’t really need the extra help to do good on her test, she still enjoys the lessons, as an incentive.

On their Premium site they also offer Math and Geography. Math is not a bad struggle here, but we still have our days when we could stand to strengthen our skills. Monkey Man, doesn’t enjoy learning the multiplication tables, and so this is a great way to do it, without the torment. One feature I really like… is that you can go in and edit the settings and choose how much of a certain thing you want them to concentrate on. So like for Monkey Man, I have him doing 25 questions of just single digit multiplication to help strengthen those numbers.

For Middle Monkey its focused more on double digit addition and subtraction.. cause she doesn’t like the whole carrying numbers. Am I saying the tears are completely gone now?? No, but they certainly are far and fewer between. Which is always a plus!

 

Geography is really cool too. They start with having you pick a state and learn about it. Gives you facts and then the child has a multi-choice quiz at the end. Each day it asks you where states are and helps you to find them. Monkey Man really enjoys this feature as he is a geography fanatic. Middle Monkey has really retained a lot of the capitals too. I think this is a great fun tool, to help just reinforce the memorization of them.

 

 

So to recap.. as a parent my favorite parts of this program …

1. You can use it with any curriculum you are using.
   
2. You can edit the difficulty and what you want to focus on for all subjects
   
3. You can add your own words for spelling
   
4. It emails you a progress report each day with what they need help in, or what they have mastered.

Each day when they finish each category they get a coin. The coin can be used to play fun educational games for extra incentive as well. They get to form a Big IQ Buddy. So they can make it resemble them!

 

 

Looking to try it out? You can use the Big IQ Kids Spelling absolutely for FREE.

To add on the Math it is a Monthly fee of $9.99 or a yearly fee of $49.99 (which breaks down to 4.17/month) 

To add on the Geography it is a Yearly Fee of $39.99 (which breaks down to $3.13)

If your child is struggling in any of these, I truly think this is a great addition to any curriculum to help. The cost can be a bit steep if you have more than one child, but it is absolutely worth it!

Both of my Monkey’s say “They LOVED this program”. 

You can find Big IQ Kids on Twitter and Facebook.

Check out what more TOS Crew are saying about Big IQ Kids..

* I was given a free membership in exchange for my honest review.

 

TOS Review: Time 4 Learning

 

We really enjoyed this program. My monkeys were super excited when they discovered what this was. Apparently when we lived in Florida, and they were attending public school, they used this program in the classroom.

After looking around on the Time 4 Learning, I have to say I was pretty impressed with it. There is so much for the kids to do on it. 

 

For younger grades which is where Little Monkey & Middle Monkey fall under K-3rd. They have Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies.  Once you click on one of those, there are lots of choices. Such as Math has 18 lessons to choose from, and then from there they have another 8 or more to choose from and your test. Once your child has completed a lesson, it will say completed on that spot.  You can see a complete overview of all the curriculum here.

 

For the higher grades.. 4th-8th like for Monkey Man. They have selections such as, Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies, just as in the younger ones, but far more advanced. In like Science some of them ask you to do work aside from just answering questions on the computer. Like for Monkey Man he had to look up different types of scientist and pick 4 and tell what they study.  There is not as many categories for them to pick from, but they the lessons are a bit longer and more in depth.

I really thought it was a great program, and wonderful to use through the summer, so they don’t forget.. Or to use as a supplement. My monkeys really loved this program, and said “It made learning fun.” 

 

Another great feature is that you can go in and check their progress. It tells you the lesson that they were on, the date and time of which they did it, what their score was, and how long it took them to do the lesson.

 

Time 4 Learning can be accessed from anywhere you can get an internet connection. It has lots of lesson for K-8th to work on. It works well for kids with learning disabilities cause they can work at their own pace. It has more than 1,000 interactive animated lessons. Another bonus is you can use it as a core curriculum or you could just use it as a supplement.

 

You can subscribe to Time 4 Learning for $19.95/month for the first child and $14.95/month for each additional child.

For more TOS Crew Reviews head over here…

*I was given a one month membership in return for my honest opinion as part of the TOS Crew.