Wordless Wednesday
{April 18, 2017}
Laycie Turns 9
{Family Photo}
Wordless Wednesday: Laycie is 9 April 18, 2017 {Wordless Wednesday}
Foundation for Fighting Blindness: Age-Related Macular Degeneration {Informative Post}
Have you or someone you love been battling Age-Related Macular Degeneration or AMD? AMD is an eye disease that causes the loss of central vision. The Foundation for Fighting Blindness strives to bring awareness to AMD and help those who face it’s challenges.
I could never imagine not being able to see but blindness has become close to my heart because it has affected a loved one I have been very close to for many years now. My dear friend found out a while back that he was losing his eyesight and it has progressed until he can no longer see well. It just goes to show that AMD can happen to anyone so when I was asked to write this post, I knew it was something I could truly relate to. Just watching his struggles has made me realize how we take our vision for granted every day.
AMD is not always something that comes with answers as to why it happens. Doctors believe it can be related to genetics, smoking, too much exposure to bright sunlight, and hypertension among many other things. There is no sure answer for the reason this happens at all.
People who have AMD may notice that they have blurred vision. Things like reading or sewing can become difficult. Blind spots may become visible in the person’s vision. The degree of visual loss depends on the type of AMD.
There are treatments available to help treat AMD. Speaking with your doctor would be the best way to determine what is the right treatment for you or your loved one. They can help determine what would be best for you.
To learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration and the Foundation for Fighting Blindness, please stop by their website. There you will find tons of information on AMD and the choices available for treatment. Resources and support are also available on the website.
For additional information, I am including a video provided by Foundation for Fighting Blindness which can also be found on their website.
What Homeschooling Is Like For Us {Homeschooling} {Epilepsy Awareness}
5 Days of Homeschooling with Epilepsy and Other Issues:
What Homeschooling Is Like For Us
One of the BEST things about Homeschooling is that you can make it work for you! You don’t need to follow anyone else’s schedule. You don’t need to do Public School at Home. You simply do what’s best for you and your family.
Homeschooling for us varies throughout the year. Because our schedule is usually crazy with appointments at different times of the day, we have had to learn to adapt things to fit around this. We homeschool year round, which means when the public school kids are at home, we’re usually still having school.
We’re also pretty eclectic educationally which fits right in with the Homeschool Review Crew since we never know ahead which vendors we will be selected to review and which we won’t. We’ve been blessed to be selected for many wonderful items over the years while being a part of the crew and these items have easily been adapted to fit our homeschooling because of our personal style.
We also tend to use materials that allow us to work together as a family instead of individually which can take a ton of time. Things like Apologia for science, unit studies by Amanda Bennett, Apologia for Biblical Studies and Story of the World for history have helped us to have a well-rounded educational experience while allowing us to adapt to the challenges our health issues present.
Unit studies have been a huge blessing because it allows us to often work through subjects of interest instead of following a more formal plan. Many field trips end out our studies to give that hands-on experience my children crave. This is just a fun bonus for all of us.
As you’ve probably guessed, we don’t follow a strict schedule. I feel that learning is most important, not meeting a timeline that my children may not necessarily be ready for. I enjoy watching their little faces when they truly learn something that speaks loudly to their hearts. This is the method we’ve used for years and greatly enjoy following.
This is just a small glimpse into our homeschooling life. We hope you’ve enjoyed it and look forward to sharing more with you! Next up is Homeschooling On The Down Days.
Blessings,
Dana Lambert-Hodge
This post is a part of the 5 Days of Homeschool… Blog Hop from
the Homeschool Review Crew!
the Homeschool Review Crew!
Read more posts…
Why We Chose To Homeschool {Homeschooling} {Epilepsy Awareness}
5 Days of Blogging with Epilepsy and Other Issues:
Why We Chose To Homeschool
I never imagined I’d be a Homeschooling Mom. When Winston was born, I don’t even think I knew what Homeschooling was. In High School, I had planned to go to college at Clemson and major in English and Education. I wanted to be a Middle School English teacher.
This wasn’t God’s plan though. I met my ex-husband when I was 17 and found myself in LOVE. By 19, I was married. At 21, I had my oldest son and at 23, my baby girl was added into the mix. My life was all about being Momma and Wife. Long gone was the idea of being a Teacher.
Then when Emmalee was 3 months old, our life changed completely. Emma began having seizures. Appointments had us traveling back and forth to MUSC every 3 months. MRI’s, EEG’s and blood tests became an important part of our life. It was chaos.
Time passed quickly. Before I knew it Emma was 3 and Winston was 5. It was time to make a decision about school but my Momma heart wasn’t ready to part with either of my babies. I was very involved in online parenting communities (This was pre-Facebook) and I was learning about different educational types. Homeschooling was becoming more widely known, so I started praying and looking into more information.
I found out my then husband’s boss’ wife was Homeschooling their kids so my ex-husband was all for learning more. Prayer led me to finding information in places I never expected. Our dump had a swap place where people left items they no longer needed but weren’t quite trash. It was there I found my first curriculum and informative books on Homeschooling. Then I was in a local thrift store and I found more books on Homeschooling.
These little signs from God were all I needed. We found our local homeschooling association was holding a New Homeschooler class so we attended and learned a lot. I knew in my heart God was calling me to this and I was determined to follow.
Here we are 11 years later, still homeschooling. I didn’t know then why it was right for us but over time, I’ve come to find that there was definitely more reasons than I could see in those early days. Multiple moves across the state of SC and finally into NC. Multiple children with special needs and Epilepsy. Multiple doctors appointments several days a week, hours away from home. Therapies that were required for 3 of my 4 children. All of these things came over the years and showed me that Homeschooling was definitely chosen by God for us for a reason unseen that He knew all the time.
And it’s a choice I’ve never second guessed or wished to change. It’s a choice that has led us to become bonded together as a family. It’s a choice that has given us so much more than we could even have known when we began this journey.
God knew though and He’s led us all the way. We will keep going and seeking his guidance in this, as we have from the beginning. I look forward to seeing where He is leading us on our journey.
God bless,
Dana Lambert – Hodge
This blog post is a part of the 5 Days Of Homeschool… blog hop
from the Homeschool Review Crew!
To read other posts…
Northern Speech Services: Color My Conversation {Crew Review}
Having a child with speech issues, I’m often looking for products that we can use at home for therapy. When Northern Speech Services appeared on the Vendor Information Forms or VIF, I was intrigued and immediately went to check out the product offered. I was excited to find Color My Conversation listed as the choice for this review.
Now I have never personally heard of Northern Speech Services or of Color My Conversation but I was very interested for several reasons. One I have a child who suffers a speech impediment and learning delays due to her Epilepsy and because she is tongue-tied. I have a child who is older, who is shy and challenged in his conversations with others. I also have a child who is just learning to have conversations with others and could use skills to better develop his personal voice. Yes, my children were the real reason for my interest in this review.
Product We Received:
Color My Conversation or CMC for short, was quickly shipped to my door. I was so excited by the colorful box that it’s contained in that I could hardly wait to rip into it! Trust me, it wasn’t disappointing at all!
The box is imprinted with the sky which also grabbed my children’s attention right away. Centered for feature is the product title Color My Conversations in bright, rainbow colors. The version I received was the 2nd edition of the product.
CMC is designed for children in grades Kindergarten through 7th but can be used with any age student who may benefit from the lessons. It is a multi-sensory program developed for neuro-typical children and developmental challenged children, such as those with autism. My children of varied special needs fit this expectation perfectly.
Inside the Kit:
Inside the CMC you will find the following:
12 Stepping Stone Floor Graphics – these have non-skid backs to help keep your child from sliding across the floor.
50 Game Tokens
100 Picture/Emotion Cards – these were a favorite in our house.
50 Dry Erasable Wall Display Cards – anything dry-erase is another household favorite for us.
2 Dry Erase Pens – these are classic black pens but we used our colored ones as well.
CMC Ball
Classroom Poster
Game Board
Cloth Ribbon – approximately 9.5ft in length
Instruction Manual & Music CD’s – the CD manual also includes reproducible activities for printing that go along with the program.
Skills Learned and Topics Covered Through CMC:
Greeting others
Engaging in chitchat or small conversations
Engaging in topics of conversation
Asking effective questions and making effective comments
and much more.
More About CMC:
The program itself is designed to be taught in a 14-16 week period or longer if needed. It can be expanded to cover a year for educational purpose. We reviewed this over a 6 week period which only gave us a glimpse of what the product truly does. Still it was plenty of time to see this product really does work.
Details Details Details:
The game board folds in half to store neatly within the box. It has glossy images on both sides for easily wiping off when needed. One side shows an image of stepping stones like those also included in the box. The opposite side shows images related to different parts of the program.
The 12 stepping stones, as I mentioned above, are rubber with cloth tops in bright colors which are also non-skid for your child to step or jump on as they are used in the program. This extra non-skid touch helps keep the often over-excited child (like mine) from slipping across the floor and getting hurt. I was very happy with these as my children love jumping spots thanks to previous therapy we’ve had in the past.
The ball is yellow and not overly big. Perfect for little hands to hold on to. It’s made with a glossy surface so you can write on it with dry-erase marker.
The 50 game tokens are blue and come in a purple cloth bag for safe keeping. They are octagonal in shape and easy to hold on to for little ones. Jackson loved these.
I really love the 100 picture/emotion cards. They are small in size but the images are awesome. I especially like the happy, sad, smiley faced emotion cards the best.
The 50 dry-erase wall display cards are really awesome. They are in various shapes and can be used on a wall but are small enough to use on a table instead. Jack and Laycie both really liked these.
How We Used It:
It is recommended that you, the teacher/parent, go through the whole CD Manual before beginning the program. This, of course, takes a little time but it’s well worth it to understand the program and how it works.
We began the program at the Beginner Level because I was mostly using this program with my younger two children. The first conversation we covered was Hello and Goodbye. I like that the program also includes learning American Sign Language with the lessons. Learning ASL is something we have enjoyed through our lessons at home in the past.
Because we’re doing CMC at home together, we slowed it down a lot and really took time to have fun and enjoy playing through the lessons. I wanted this to be fun for Laycie and Jackson. It went very well with Jack’s pre-school time and Laycie enjoyed slowing down the lessons as well. I did use some of the more advanced skills covered with my older two kids who needed a little encouragement in speaking out with their voices.
I think the program has worked well for both age groups of my children. I see definite differences in the answers they give me. I see them speaking with one another better. I see them playing these games and using the skills they’ve learned even when we aren’t working on lessons. It’s a beautiful thing to experience when your child opens up and blooms.
Where You Can Purchase CMC:
Color My Conversation is available from Northern Speech Services for $149. This includes everything mentioned above. There are also lesson support videos available for the program as well.
Other Places to Find Northern Speech Services:
Social Media Links:
NSS Facebook: www.facebook.com/northernspeech
CMC Facebook: www.facebook.com/colormyconversation/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/northernspeech @northernspeech
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/northernspeech
YouTube: www.youtube.com/northernspeech
Instagram: www.instagram.com/northernspeechservices/
Read More Reviews:
Disclaimer:
Once Upon A Time Bible Set {Propeller Review}
Once Upon A Time Holy Bible
Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible
Zonderkidz
Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible
Zonderkidz
As a Mom of girls, Once Upon A Time is a familiar phrase in our house. I know growing up, any book I read that started with Once Upon A Time was sure to become a favorite of mine quickly, from Cinderella to Beauty and the Beast. Fairytales are still a favorite of mine and my girls have followed in my footsteps as well.
The Once Upon A Time Holy Bible and the Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible from Zonderkidz, a division of Zondervan, were designed to capture the interest of Fairytale lovers. Only these Fairytales are real and Biblical based for adults and children to enjoy together. The Bible is no Fairytale. Every book within was written Once Upon A Time to tell the story of God’s Love for us.
The Once Upon A Time Holy Bible is simply gorgeous. The cover and images within were designed by Omar Aranda. They are absolutely beautiful. The cover features Once Upon A Time in shiny gold lettering. There is a tree featured as well with beautiful, shimmering glittered green leaves. This special touch gives this Bible the look Fairytales are made of.
Inside there is a dedication page for the person receiving the Bible. There are many illustrated pages as well, featuring verses of the Bible to share the stories within. Each verse is written in storybook form so as to tell the story behind the verse and draw the reader in to want to learn more.
The Once Upon A Time Holy Bible is a complete New International Reader’s Version Holy Bible. The full word of the Bible is included within. Located in the back of the Bible are a dictionary and a list of 92 Great Bible Stories for you to read.
Along with the Once Upon A Time Holy Bible, we were also sent the Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible. This book is a hardback storybook, sharing 33 stories from different parts of the New and Old Testaments. Though the color is not quite as sparkly as the Once Upon A Time Bible, the Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible features gorgeous artwork within created by Omar Aranda as well.
The Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible tells stories of the Bible taken from various verses. At the end of each story is a Happily Ever After featured section which shares a Bible Verse to look up, as well as a small prayer to say and discuss with your child. What a great way to encourage prayer with your little one!
We truly love our Once Upon A Time Holy Bible and our Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible. I chose to give these to Laycie as she’s the right age for them at 9 and she’s been asking for a new Bible. She has greatly enjoyed looking over the images inside with me and discussing the stories for each.
You can purchase your own Once Upon A Time Holy Bible where fine books are sold for $24.99 US. You can purchase your own Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible at Sam’s Club or wherever fine books are sold for $16.99 US.
Disclaimer:
We were sent this bible collection by Flyby Promotions/Propeller Reviews in exchange for our honest opinion shared in a blog post. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. I am including this disclaimer in accordance of the FTC Regulations.
We were sent this bible collection by Flyby Promotions/Propeller Reviews in exchange for our honest opinion shared in a blog post. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. I am including this disclaimer in accordance of the FTC Regulations.
