FastTranscripts.com - GIVEAWAY

Are you wondering about creating a transcript? 

How would you like to take the worry out of creating, updating, storing, and sending your student's transcript? What if I told you that you totally can! Yes, friends! No need to worry about any of those things anymore.

FastTranscripts.com enables you to track your high schooler's courses via online record keeping, and then helps you produce an official transcript from your homeschool with an auto-calculation feature to determine yearly and cumulative GPAs.  

Sounds pretty awesome, doesn't it?

So what does FastTranscripts.com cost?

Annual - Single Student Retail: $16.00 HSLDA Member: $12.00

Annual - 2+ Students Retail: $30.00 HSLDA Member: $24.00

Lifetime - Family Retail: $110.00 HSLDA Member: $96.00

Want to try it out?

FastTranscripts.com is currently offering a 30 day free trial (no credit card required).

One lucky reader will win a 

1 year license for a single student

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Legal Disclosure: No purchase necessary to win. Void where prohibited.  Winner will be selected by Rafflecopter and will be notified within 48 hours of the contest’s close. Facebook is not affiliated with this giveaway and the act of liking a Facebook page is not required to win.

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My Student Logbook ~ Review

There are days in which I wish my daughter was a bit more organized with her homeschool work and daily activities. She is 11 years old and has had a bit of a hard time keeping on top of it all. That is why I was so excited to be able to review a dated My Student Logbook from a wonderful company owned by a homeschooling family called, My Student Logbook.

What is My Student Logbook?

My Student Logbook is designed to make homeschool management as simple as possible. It is a wonderful spiraled logbook that students can use to log their daily chores, academics, and any other daily activities. It is very easy to set-up and is pretty much maintenance free. It is ideal for 2nd grade and up.

My Student Logbook can come in a dated version or an undated version.  It has many different covers to choose from. We picked the Butterflies and Roses cover. My daughter absolutely loved the way it looked.

In the front of the logbook is a page that includes set-up instructions and also a page that shows how My Student Logbook can be used to create high school transcripts. Even though that is something I don't need at the moment, it was fun to read through the process and make mental notes for the future.

How did we set up and use My Student Logbook?

There are only four very simple steps to setting up the logbook. I was very pleased with this. I figured that since my daughter was going to be using it, that she should set it up. She gladly did and was able to do it with ease.

The first step to using the logbook, is to tear out the checklist page and cut along a line that is indicated. The second step is to fold the checklist on a fold line. The third step is to wrap the folded checklist page around the first page in the calendar section and tape the left side. The last step is to write the chores, assignments, and activities on the checklist page. I chose to write the list for my daughter. After completing those super easy steps, it was ready to be used. Super simple and super great! After each week is completed, all we had to do is turn the page and slip it under the checklist. I loved not having to rewrite everything week to week. 

My daughter used the logbook everyday and thoroughly enjoyed being able to place a check mark in the box after she completed an activity. I could sense a real sense of accomplishment from her. I heard "Look Mom! I'm finished!" more than once.

Also, the back of the logbook includes other pages such as an all about me page, prayers and goals, bible verses memorized, books read, projects and activities, test records, and year highlights.  We really thought this was a great extra. It was nice to be able to have an area in the back for my daughter to keep track of all of those wonderful things.

Why we love My Student Logbook?

I have seen my daughter struggle many times trying to keep her schoolwork, chores, and activities in order. We have tried many different charts and planners for her, but honestly all of them seemed to fall through. Even though we seem to keep the same routine day after day, I still heard on several occasions "Mom, what do I need to do next?"  My Student Logbook has changed this. It has truly been such a blessing. By using this logbook, my daughter has no longer had to ask me what's next. She has been able to navigate though her days checking off her daily tasks and also knowing exactly what is next. I hope this doesn't sound bad, but it has been such a huge relief. It truly has taken a burden off of me and allowed me to use my time in a different manner. 

What does My Student Logbook cost?

You can currently purchase My Student Logbook for only $15.00.

If you are looking for a great way for your child to record their assignments, activities, and chores as well as keep a record of their homeschool year,  My Student Logbook may be what you're looking for!  I love it so much, that I will be purchasing more for my other daughters.

Want to connect with My Student Logbook?

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MyStudentLogbook

You Tube -- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMxzpy91vov8a8nDpyp2ihQ

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Click Below to Read More Reviews From The Schoolhouse Review Crew

The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner ~ Review

I recently had the opportunity to review The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner from The 7 Minute Life.  What a fantastic tool for organizing your life. I'm so happy to be able to use it. I've seen many planners in my life, but I've never quite seen anything like The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner.

What is The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner?

The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner is a 7.3" by 8.5" physical spiraled planner for adults that allows you to set priorities and stick to them, learn to avoid interruptions and distractions, master unfinished tasks, and declutter your mind and life.  

How did I use The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner?

When I first received it, I was a bit anxious about it. I wasn't quite sure how it was going to work for me. I quickly learned that it was truly unlike any other planner I had ever came across. Not in a bad way either. I found that it challenged me to want to make changes and stick with them by planning and taking actions. 

There is a wonderful and very helpful introduction included at the beginning of the planner. This section allowed me to understand the goal of The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner and what planning could do for my life. It also explained each section of the planner and how to easily get started using it. 

I learned that by spending 7 minutes a day with  The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner, that it would enable me to 

• Define my values
• Discover my purpose
• Set written goals
• Monitor my physical health
• Get rid of clutter in my life
• Have a daily plan of action
• Track my progress

I must admit, I was excited, because all of it sounded wonderful, but I still wasn't quite sure how it was going to work for me.

One of the first things the planner did for me, was challenge me to prioritize what values are most important to me.  I was able to place a check mark next to the values that were important to me and then narrow them down to a top 10. 

The next section challenged me even more, by asking me to write what my purpose in life is. I did write it, and I must admit, it felt great to write it out. 

The next sections in the books allowed me to write out what I love to do, my strengths, rewards, mental clutters, personal, work, financial, and life goals. I was also able to write out unfinished tasks, home repair information, and connections. There is even a grocery list included. I enjoyed writing all these out. I have goals, strengths, and mental clutters. We all do, but I never realized how much more came to me as I began to write them down before my eyes. I had barely made it into the planner and I was already feeling like I was accomplishing something huge. I finally began to see how it was going to work for me. 

The planner also includes an annual calendar at a glance, 90-day calendar worksheets, and a monthly calendar at a glance. The planner is not dated. I didn't mind though. I actually liked being able to fill the dates in as needed.

My favorite and most used section of the planner is called "daily progress report". In this section I was able keep track of my daily water and food intake, which was much needed. I was able to list daily contacts, unfinished tasks, what I spent, appointments, and five things I would do before 11. The five things before 11 was my absolute favorite. I found myself actually getting way more accomplished before 11 a.m. than I had before using the planner. It was exciting! Just writing them down and then doing them, left me with a wonderful feeling. I was able to focus on accomplishing the things that were important for my family.

There is also a voice mail area. I didn't really need a voice mail area, so I used that spot to write notes about our daily homeschooling activities and goals. It worked great for me.

The back of the planner has an area for notes and also includes an exercise progress report. I haven't used this yet, but plan on using it soon.

Final Thought

I found The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner to be a fantastic tool for organizing my life. It challenged me to write down and act upon goals and decisions. Like I stated before, it truly is unlike any planner I have used before. It's motivational and inspiring. It got me thinking and acting in a much more positive manner and that is always a wonderful thing. I highly recommend this planner to anyone wanting to prioritize, organize, and simplify.

How much does The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner cost?

You can currently purchase The 7 Minute Life™ Daily Planner for only $24.95. 

Want to connect with  The 7 Minute Life?

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/The7MinuteLife

Twitter - https://twitter.com/allyson7minutes

Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/the7minutelife/

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+AllysonLewis7/posts

You Tube - https://www.youtube.com/user/AllysonLewis

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Click Below to Read More Reviews From The Schoolhouse Review Crew

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Review ~ Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms

I recently had the opportunity to read  Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms written by Mary Jo Tate and published by Apologia Educational Ministries.  What a wonderful book! It's 288 pages are filled with inspiration. I found this book to be not just for homeschooling moms but moms in general. I know that every mother out there has probably at one time struggled with balance in life. This book had me evaluating how I was spending my time, helped me set appropriate goals and showed me practical ways to deal with inevitable interruptions. I was also able to fill out an great pre-book self evaluation. The questions were wonderful and challenged me to really be honest with myself. By the time I was finished with the evaluation, I was ready to start reading through the book's 16 chapters to find balance and ways to flourish.

The author, Mary Jo Tate, is a single, homeschooling veteran of four sons, and successfully runs a home business. In this book she shares her story of how God provided for her and helped her move forward, find balance and flourish. She shares what she has learned on her journey through her inspiring, encouraging words and practical, real-life principles. I found this book to be a true blessing. Mary Jo Tate has a gift of writing in a way that not only helps the reader understand but inspires one to make changes to flourish themselves. 

As I started reading this book, I reflected onto my own life. I started thinking about the many times I have struggled with finding balance, wondering how I was going to get it all done. One of the first things I remember reading that really, really jumped at me, was when Tate stated that the short answer to the question, I'm sure every homeschool mom hears - "How do you do it all?" is a simple I don't, and I redefine "it all." I pondered that! Redefine "it all."   I sat for awhile wondering what it meant for me. Reading on I read - Nobody does it all. Four simple words that really seem so simple, but in reality how many times have I, along with many others, truly thought we had to do it all! There always seems to be this and that, this and more that's. It sometimes gets to be so much, I want to just crawl in bed and come out for dinner, but then who would cook dinner, ha!  I loved reading that in order to flourish, we have to change our mindsets. Mary Jo Tate does a marvelous job showing ways to change mindsets and redefine "it all."  

I loved how she detailed three main categories that circumstances fall into. 

•  Irreducible Facts - Things you can't change
•  Non-Negotiables - Things you won't change
•  Preferences - Things you can change and are willing to change. 

Reading these really helped me put things in perspective. Since I can't change or won't change many things, I was reminded that changing my attitude towards them would benefit my life. I am choosing to move forward with this better attitude and looking forward to prioritizing and changing the things I can. 

I also want to add that at the end of each chapter is a great little area called - Take Action. In this section questions and step-by step exercises are presented. They really helped me reflect and start a plan of action. I think somethings I was able to say "I'm doing okay in this area" while other things inspired me to honestly want to take action. 

My favorite chapter in this book was the What Do I Do Next? Chapter. In this chapter Mary Jo Tate presents seven essential planning tools. So many times I will read very encouraging words that will make me want to make a change, but am left wondering well that was nice, but what do I do now or how will this work for me. I didn't feel this way with Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms. I felt that each step and idea was laid out in a way that was doable. I also loved how Mary Jo Tate added that if it was overwhelming, to feel free to tweak them to fit our situations. 

The book also includes customizable planning forms and special chapters for single moms and families who have a home business. While some chapters didn't pertain to my situation, I still found them to be very encouraging and a wonderful read.

Every time I would read something and have a "ah ha" moment, I would place a sticky to mark it. I finally realized that perhaps a highlighter would also work, because I seriously would probably have a sticky on each page. I was truly amazed at the amount of encouraging material. I loved it! I needed to read it and I feel blessed that I was able to. I know that this is a book that I will come back to time and time again.                                                                                                              
I believe Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms would benefit all mothers. I hope that if you are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or perhaps just need a little balance in your life, that you would pick up a copy of this book. I believe you will be just as blessed by it as I was. 

What does  Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms cost?

You can currently order a copy for only $15.

In my opinion this is a wonderful price! The amount of encouragement and real-life principles in just the first chapters alone, make it worth it to me. 

Want to connect through Social Media?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlourishAtHome

Twitter: https://twitter.com/maryjotate

Click below to read more reviews from the Schoolhouse Review Crew   

Homeschool Clutter Confession

As I sit here and type this I have piles of laundry that need sorted and put away, dishes overflowing, dust bunnies to tackle, and piles of homeschool clutter everywhere. Is this normal? Yep, I suppose every mother has dealt with it. Do I like it? No! Am I going to tackle it? Yes, eventually. 

I've always felt that homeschoolers have a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to organization. There are literally homeschool books and papers strung all throughout my house. I even found last weeks vocabulary assignment in a bathroom counter the other day. I'm pretty disorganized and I'm not to trilled about it. Oh sure, I remember the days of organization. Those were the days before children and homeschooling. I don't want to go back to those days. I absolutely love homeschooling my children.  What I do want is my organization back though. I've read through article after article about doing this and doing that and honestly they're not helping. I have however devised my own little list.

1) Gather it all up and burn it. C'mon it's a great idea, the clutter will be gone and then I could cry over all the money lost. Okay, so not such a bright idea.

2) Gather it and have a bonfire. Oh, I already said that. Well it just seems so easy.

3) Donate it all. Yeah, that's another catch 22. On one hand, I could make someone pretty darn happy and then on the other, I would need some of it.

4) Gather it, sort it, donate what I don't need and organize the rest. Oh! Do I have to? It's the best option, the smartest it seems. I'm just not motivated to do it right now. Oh, but I did just realize, I could have a bonfire with the trash pile. Yep, that's a win!

You know the thing about all this homeschool clutter that amazes me the most though? I feel so blessed to have lots of homeschool books and such. What? I know I just said I wanted to burn it all. I don't really want to burn it. I'm actually very thankful that I have resources to teach my children. It's great for me to look at all this mess with a different perspective and it might just make me tackle it sooner.

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I’d love to hear your organizing ideas. Leave me a note in the comment section and let me know what things have helped you stay organized. 

Organizing Made Easy

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From your iPhone you can store the names and photographs of an unlimited number of items and assign them to a container, search for containers and items and much more! Organizing has never been so easy.

I'm thinking this will work great for all of our homeschooling items. I'm not sure how many misplaced items we have had through the years, but labels like this would have made things so much easier.

Be sure to try out these amazing labels today.

Happy Organizing!

Classroom fun!

She is loving Starfall.com in our newly organized school room

Okay, so a couple months ago I so-called organized our school room. Well I organized a bunch of junk is what I did! Keeping things, thinking how I could not rid myself of them, in fear of "maybe" needing them. Yesterday, I stepped in and finished the job! I rid the school room and for that, I'm feeling relief! How things can weigh a person down! They saying of Less is More, is so true in my case.  I hauled out bags of trash and my suv is filled with things to donate. I was keeping empty boxes in hope of turning them into art projects. I can get empty boxes anytime, so why was I keeping them! I moved things into nice little spots. I love it! I'm truly happy with it the room now. 


Last year we pulled up carpet to find hard wood floors. We haven't got a chance to sand them down and make them beautiful again. I can't wait until we are able to tackle that. Also can't wait to pick out paint and make this room a fun and bright color. For now I will find peace in what I have. I find it a blessing to even have this space for a school room. 


Many Blessings!
Jennifer

Fantastic Friday!

I woke up ready to accomplish the day. Little did I know how wonderful it would turn out to be. To begin with, I started this morning with a much needed tidying up of the girls rooms. Then we went to our accountant and had our taxes filed. Woohoo! Glad that is taking care of. Came back home and prepared lunch for the family. While we were cleaning up after lunch, there was a knock at the door. My husband answered, and to my surprise my mother had sent me flowers! AWESOME!!!!!!!  They are so beautiful! I luurrrvvveeee em!  Awhile later my mil came and picked up my oldest daughter for a day out. (I just spoke with them, and she is having a blast!). The other girls helped me make strawberry muffins and we played in the snow. I love days like this. Ya know, days where everything seems to fall perfectly together. :) Fantastic Friday!

Organizing Keepsakes

Love keepsakes! For Christmas my mil bought each of my girls a box filled with shower gel, lotions, and lip gloss. The girls were eager to open the items and discarded the boxes as trash. I proceeded to pick up the trash, while everyone was admiring their new found goodies. When I came a across those boxes, I knew I had to re-purpose them into keepsake boxes. They were just to darn cute. So I got my paint out, and starting painting their names, and adding a few extra touches. I love them so much and it's nice to be able to have a special place for their ribbons, certificates, & pictures.

 

Organizing our Homeschool Room

UPDATE: November 2013 (At Bottom)


2011 - 
Well it's been a task, but it's almost there. I tackled the schoolroom. This is a room, that seems to always be "in need" of some organization. I struggle with trying to keep this room tidy.  I still have things in the room that I would like to tackle, but I'm going to tackle them little by little.  :) Homeschooling is super fun, but trying to store everything has proven to be difficult. I find items strung about the house most everyday, and having a home for it all will most definitely help. I have organized a writing/math area for the girls. Most days we just gather around the kitchen table. Having children in different grades has at times been difficult to focus on tasks. I'm hoping with these new "special" areas that more work can be accomplished.  

                        Many Blessings,
                              Jennifer






Update: November 2013 - Wow, it has been a while since I've seen our schoolroom look like the pictures above. Well since 2011. I was looking through old posts and came across this one. It is amazing the change this room has made in 2 years. I decided it was time to add an updated picture. As always this room is forever changing to accommodate our needs.