RocknLearn Science DVDs

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.




I received Rock n Learn Science DVDS in exchange for honest review. The DVDS are available in life science (first link), earth science, human body, and physical science. My kids have focused on the life science so far since it is what both was learning in school last.

 The life science DVD focuses on photosynthesis; parts of a plant; animal groups; the butterfly life cycle; , plants and animal cells; food chains and food webs; and genetic traits. The DVD is recommended for grades 3-8.

The videos are available in DVD format and Amazon video format for rent or buying.

Learning to Read DVD Set

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.

I received the Learn to Read DVD collection, in exchange for honest review from Tomoson. I wanted the collection to help my kids learn new words plus help my great niece start her journey to school. She knows her ABCS but she doesn't know S is the first letter of her name. If you ask for the first letter, you get her age.

For my kids, we started with the sight words dvd before we touch any of the more complicated phonetics dvds. The DVDs will be more so for Kalen since he picks up on words and phrases quicker than Brad.

You can purchase the DVDS using the link above. The dvds are prime eligible

Animal Trackers Club Product Review (Tomoson)

#AnimalTrackersClub

A photo posted by Stacie D Wyatt (@sdwyatt1980) on Nov 11, 2014 at 6:18pm PST

I received an Animal Trackers Monthly Box, in exchange for honest review from Tomoson. Animal Trackers is the first subscription box, I have reviewed for children. I thought about Kalen when I applied for the box.

Animal Trackers Club is designed for kids 3 to 6 years old.

Kalen is in preschool for children with developmental disabilities. He has taken an increase in learning since he started school. He wants to play on the computer, my tablet, and he wants to look at books more.

The kit came with activities and trinkets in a zebra theme. I received magnets, foam animals, animal cards, stickers, pencils, magic noodles, in a collectible lunch box to store the items in. I was definitely impressed with the amount of items included.

I also liked the ability to choose which toys in the box for Kalen to play with, based on his abilities. Kalen can also choose which ones he wants to play with. One day, he may want to play with the foam animals, provided he doesn't eat them. The next, we may work on the animal cards. The animal cards come with a card showing the back and front of a few animals, such as a zebra, lion, and a hippo. You also receive a card, listing the different ways to play with the cards, such as matching the fronts and backs or matching colors.

You can sign up for a monthly, 3  month, 6 month, or 12 month plan. Each month, you will receive the following:

1. A foam Mask
2. A play figure
3. Animal information cards
4. Magnets
5. Photo cards
6. Learning activity
7. Art Activity
8. Cover and Ring for Animal photo collection
9. Lunch box

The plans start at 11.95, not including shipping and handling. 

#animaltrackers #productreview #tomoson #perfectchaos

A photo posted by Stacie D Wyatt (@sdwyatt1980) on Oct 10, 2014 at 9:59am PDT

#animaltrackers #perfectchaos #productreview #tomoson

A photo posted by Stacie D Wyatt (@sdwyatt1980) on Oct 10, 2014 at 9:57am PDT

#animaltrackers #tomoson #productreview #perfectchaos #animaltrackersclub

A photo posted by Stacie D Wyatt (@sdwyatt1980) on Oct 10, 2014 at 9:50am PDT

#animaltrackers #productreview #tomoson #perfectchaos #animaltrackersclub

A photo posted by Stacie D Wyatt (@sdwyatt1980) on Oct 10, 2014 at 9:39am PDT

#animaltrackers #productreview #perfectchaos #tomoson #animaltrackersclub

A photo posted by Stacie D Wyatt (@sdwyatt1980) on Oct 10, 2014 at 9:30am PDT

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

I survived the first full week of school

This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links and Images.


School in Spring ISD started on August 25th, but I was on vacation (Cruise to the Bahamas. Post coming soon) and did not get back until Tuesday, the 26th. Brad started school on Wednesday, August 27th. I had already notified the bus driver, who came by with the paperwork with bus times,  about our vacation.

Kalen;s bus drivers did not show up at my house with his bus information until I left for Miami. I had notified the same bus driver, who came by for Brad, about Kalen, but a situation happened.

Another bus driver (Kalen's Regular Driver) showed up on Friday and my uncle (who is not my son's guardian or power of attorney) told them we would not be back until next Friday, the 28th. I found this out on Sunday, as we was returning from the trip.

I don't know how someone let the uncle override the parent's instructions of the bus starting on the 27th, so after a few phone calls, Kalen started on August 28, 2014. I got Kalen up and dressed at 6 am for nothing.

I was not sure what to expect this year. I was praying Brad had new teachers. I also knew this would be Kalen's first full year of school. He needed school supplies and new uniforms. He needed new shoes. Brad was ok since I buy his clothes with the adjustable waistband from the uniform store. The clothes grow with him until the waist can not be let out any more.

Kalen's teacher (Love that Jamaican) sent home paperwork and other documentation, the first day he started. Brad's teacher did not send anything home until almost a week later. I saw he had the same teacher as last year and my heart dropped. He will also have her again next year.

Time to put Brad in private school because public is not going to work until high school. Of course, I have not gotten any notes home since school started, so I assumed Brad was behaving and performing well. I got my first phone call home today and I am still pissed.

Anyway, I still have not gotten used to getting up at 6 am. I do it because I have to but I have not had much sleep . Kalen gets up first. His bus comes between 658 and 715. Brad's bus comes at 819.

I also have to work on my thesis this month. Due in three weeks. Each week, we have to work on 1-2 chapters and publish at the end of week 4.

I need all the alone time, I can get while the kids are at school, of course this is not the case. Last Monday, (first week of the last class), my mother kept coming in here to use the computer. Then on Tuesday, she asked me to mop the kitchen, which can take two hours. Wednesday or Thursday, Kalen had a heart doctor appointment (took some beautiful Cloud pictures though).

I did finish the rough draft of the acknowledgements, bibliography, table of contents, introduction, and literature review though. Thank you for Labor Day, which gave us an extra day of work. This week, I am working on methodology and results, which requires an extensive look at my analytics since publishing the multimedia portion (share, like, comment, schedule :-) please) .

Brad's new bus pick-up time is still close to his old time (830) last year. On the other hand, Kalen's school changed times. I used to have 4 hours free and now I have less than 3. Kalen's bus came at 730 am in May and he did not get home until 130ish. He gets home at 1130 now.

I was not notified of the time changes until I was working on some homework and Kalen walked in the bedroom before noon lol. Glad I have other people authorized to get him off the bus.

Good news though: Kalen now has homework. I also found some cute little shirts from Ruum on Amazon since Wal-mart said the Garanimals Khaki and polo-like shirts won't be back until next year. I am still looking for a red shirt and one more color, which I forgot.

He also needs new Khaki or Denim pants or shorts-maybe 2-3 more, just in case. and a Belt. If you know of any stores, within a reasonable price range for a 3 year old (10 bucks and under, let me know)

Next, Kalen got a minor cold. I got a call home from the nurse yesterday, asking if I (, who has no car) would come get him for a cough. Of course, by the time, I checked the voicemail and called them back was after Kalen got home. I checked the nurse's documentation and it said minor colds and coughs are ok to send a student to school with. So, why was she calling me lol?

Hopefully, this week will go better. Even though Brad will miss Friday for his psych appointment.

On a good note, I got a blender in the mail for review yesterday and got paid for a study yesterday :-)

No ESY this week for Brad (And I am not happy about it).

Brad is in extended school year (ESY) for the summer. Because he is special needs, Brad will attend until August 7th, 2014, then school starts back on the 26th or 27th. The family has a Carnival Cruise planned for a few days before school starts back. This should be interesting because I never cruised with children before, let alone sisters, and my nephew. I have done dinner cruises, casino cruises, and big cruises with Carnival and Royal Caribbean.

For the next cruise,  I am contemplating Royal Caribbean again since they won an award for Autism-friendliest. I am also contemplating Norwegian since they depart from Houston, in addition to being a Nick Cruise.

I had no idea he was approved for ESY until the bus driver called the night before with pick up and drop off information. I missed the last ARD/IEP meeting of the year because Kalen had a doctor appointment. Next time, I am checking the reschedule box. His final ARD/IEP arrived a few days before finding out he was approved.

The IEP said ESY was suggested but not approved. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to ship him off for 4 hours a day, 4 days per week, but I don't like surprises.

Brad was very happy to get on the bus. He has had no problems since. Especially with three new medications added to his regimen because of his behavior at his regular school. Brad is still having issues at home, but not at school (and I hope it stays that way). I have been getting good notes home from his teacher.

ESY started a week or two after school ended. Now they are getting a week-long break. which irritates me. I need my 4 hour break. I need a break from Kalen too. I was hoping his school would call as well with approval. Brad needs stability and there is nothing more stable than a special needs classroom. (at least I think lol).

I have no idea what to do with him at all. No Car. No Bus Line. I still have school work to complete. Kalen has a WIC appointment. He has had a lot of meltdowns since Thursday. He had a doctor's appoint the other week. The doctor added tegretol permanently. He had prescribed my favorite, carbemazepine after Brad's last blowout at school.

Brad was allegedly humping the tables and chairs. He also hit teachers, staff, and students. Dr. G also added Hydroxysomething to help Brad sleep since Clonidine doesn't always work. 5 medications and the boy still acts out. Part Autism. Part ADHD. Part Puberty. Part Teenager.  Yay me.


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Yesterday and today, I sent my children off to school in the rain.

Yesterday, well for the past two days, it has been raining in Houston, Texas. We have been under Flood Watch/Warning for two days as well.

Yesterday, I got up at 6 something, later than normal because Kalen (aka Midget) kicked my phone on the floor. I got him into the bath and dressed quickly, and we headed downstairs to catch the bus. Kalen's bus comes at 7:19 a.m.

Since Kalen is 3, I have to walk him to the bus and pass him on to the bus aide. The bus driver, asked me about why I didn't call my child out of school, like the other parents did?

Because my children do not have a choice in their education. They will get up for school, by me. Take a bath, with assistance, and get on the bus even if I have to drag them to the end of the drive way.

That is how is was when I grew up. I loved going to school. I loved graduating high school. I loved my cap and gown. If you didn't go to school or church, you couldn't go anywhere else. I didn't go anywhere but still just in case, I went to school.

I got myself up. Dressed myself. Woke my mother up so she can get the other two sisters up. Walked to the bus stop. Went to school. Repeated for four years. On the rare occasion, I would walk the hour to school. Took the bus the same distance. The school was 5 minutes by car, so sometimes we got a ride.

If my brats are not sick or do not have a doctor's appointment, they will be at school. A little rain, a thunder storm, or a flood warning isn't going to stop them. The bus comes to their driveway, a bell man helps them with their bags and seats, and the chauffeur drives them off either 5 minutes away for Brad and 15 minutes away for Kalen, all for a free public education. :-). They both get breakfast, with Brad getting lunch, since Kalen goes half a day. I get three hours free each day (in my head of course) because my great-niece and mother still bugs me. I still have to clean and exercise, and eat, I think.

My niece, on the other hand, goes to school when she wants to. She gets her self up for school around 6 a.m. If she goes to school, she leaves the house before I have to wake Kalen and Brad up. If I get up and she still here, she chose not to go to school or hoping someone would give her a ride over 20 minutes away, unless there is traffic. No accountability. Her mother does not wake up early to make sure she goes to school. Her aunt is not getting up an hour early either. Dealing with special needs kids is hard work. Her education. Her pending graduation.

Yesterday, after getting Kalen on the bus, I got Brad bathed and dressed. Got him downstairs. Bus arrived. Looked to the left, looked to the right, my teenager took his backpack back upstairs. Ran back upstairs quickly, got his backpack, dragged him to the bus, and off he went, in the rain.

This morning, there was no rain until two minutes before Kalen's bus arrived. The rain poured down hard. I quickly ran upstairs to get my umbrella and carried Midget to the bus. By the time, Brad's bus arrived, the rain stopped.

Today, I slept for 2 hours, where I had a wonderful dream, I forgot to get Kalen off the bus. .Woke up quick, tossed on a dress, and ran downstairs 10 minutes before Midget's bus arrived at 11:30.

So to conclude, On Rain, On snow, On Sleet, on Hail, if the bus is a-running, to school, my kids are a-going. LOL

Udemy Martial Arts Course and Giveaway (Tomoson)

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

I reviewed Udemy's Martial Art Course, in exchange for honest review from Tomoson. Udemy is an online course site, similar to Cousera or Open Learning. You can learn new skills at your own pace. Udemy offers a Martial Arts course for children.

I wanted to review the course for my kids, in addition to my niece and nephew. They  need lots of discipline and activities to get out of my hair (and I have very little). The course is also the internet's first Martial Arts for Kids Massive Open Online Classroom.

About the Course:

The course will teach children respect, discipline, physical fitness, and coordination. The course comes with 13 classes and a handbook. The course teaches self-defense art of Shou' Shu' Kung Fu.

The lessons are in video form, which works well for visual learners, such as myself and my kids. The first few lessons teaches formal and informal salutes. Students will also learn about uniforms, basic stances, locking elbows, and then they will practice various exercises. Students can also take notes while watching the video on the right side of the screen.

I loved the first lesson, which discussed salutes. The instructor focused on how to show respect using a salute versus showing disrespect. You never want to show disrespect. You show respect when entering a room or to say hello to someone. The children in the video looked disciplined also.

Giveaway

Enter below to receive the Martial Arts class for free on Udemy. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Learning Success Product Review and Giveaway (Tomoson)

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.




I reviewed the Learning Success Program in exchange for honest review from Tomoson.

About The Learning Success Program

The Learning Success Program is at-home lessons for your child. The program teaches 16 basic core skills for children with learning difficulties such as ADD/ADHD and Dyslexia.

The course arrives daily via e-mail with exercises to print out and complete with your child. Results can vary from a few months to a year.

I wanted to review the course for my kids. Both kids are special needs and have learning disabilities. What I like about the program is I can print and choose, which lessons will work best for each kid. The course also recommends laminating the sheets to save printer ink and paper. The first lesson discusses materials, you will need for the course.

Some of the things, the course teaches hand-eye coordination, tracing, and patterns. I went through each lesson sent so far and printed off the ones, which would best fit my children based on their abilities. Some lessons, I felt was too difficult, such as a few where a child was required to talk.

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Hot Dots Reading Set Pre-K to 2 Product Review and Giveaway (Tomoson)

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

I reviewed the Hot Dots Jr Reading Set for Pre-K to 2, in response to a campaign on Tomoson. The product was created by Educational Insights.

The set came with two books and a Hot Dots pen. I wanted to review the books because my youngest is starting preschool for developmental disabilities next year. He needs to learn some words, other than eat. :-)

The sets are available for $24.95 on EI's site. The site also sells a beginning phonics and science set for $14.95. I may buy the beginning phonics next month. Giveaway link is after the pictures. 

Giveaway: Ends in 18 days. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Order Out of Chaos Academic Planner Product Review (Tomoson)

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

I reviewed The Academic Planner from Order out of Chaos through Tomoson.

I wanted to review the planner because I can get unorganized when I don't write things down. I have a calendar and a planner, but if I forget to write it down, I am in trouble. Each Planner is $19 dollars. The planner comes in three styles: blue kaleidoscope, white out, and grey stripes. Check out the video for more information.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

PowerMyLearning Review (Sverve)

I reviewed PowerMyLearning, in exchange for honest review from Sverve. This is a sponsored post. I wanted to work with PowerMyLearning because my oldest child learns better via the computer and visual aides. Even though Brad is home-schooled, he still needs additional help learning. I have to find different methods to help him learn new things. I also signed Kalen up for an account. Kalen is starting to show an interest in the computer, other than trying to break the keyboard, mouse, and the printer. I bought him a little laptop, to teach him 6 things: A, B, C, 1, 2, and 3. Kalen starts school next year. He will be in Head Start and a Pre-school for kids with intellectual disabilities.

PowerMyLearning is an educational website for educators, parents, and children. The website provides games and activities for children. The parents can monitor the children's progress through the parent account.

You do have to create a separate account for each child, as well as the parent. The children's account needs to be created first. Then, create the parent and add each child's user name. The website then sends a request to the child to connect parent to child.

Also, the kids accounts don't require an e-mail to sign up. They will need their username, password, city, state, and birthday, in addition to school name.

I did it backwards. I created my account first, thinking I can add my children through the parent account, similar to a few other websites. Then, to add your child, it asks for a user name. Can't have a user name if your child does not have account. So, I went to create Brad and Kalen an account. Logged back into mine and added his user name. The website then said it will send a request to Brad to add me as his parent (which is a good thing and a bad thing. What if the child does not want you to track his progress? I definitely recommend the parents setting up all the accounts. ). The process will take a minute for parents with multiple kids.

Then, you log into each child's account, click on their name towards the top, and go to account. There are two options. Link the accounts or select, not my parent. (Another reason, I recommend the parents set up the account).

The website has over 2000 activities in subjects, which include:

1. Math
2. Science
3. Language Arts
4. Art and Music
5. World Languages
6. Social Studies
7. Your Life
8. Technology

I played with the games at first to see how easy or hard they are? Do the games require a lot of clicking? Do the games require a lot of comprehension? You can select games based on subject or grade level. I started at Kindergarten because both kids need to learn the basics. Kalen starts pre-k next year and Brad is in the 6th grade, but still needs the lower grade basics, such as counting, learning numbers, and ABCs. For Brad, I may mix it up a bit, letting him work on activities ranging from K to 6th to see what he can and can't do. For Kalen, I am going to help him prepare for school next year. Kalen will be attending two schools: head start and the school for developmental disabilities.

One game I liked, is Energy City, created by the Jason Project. The game is more for advanced learners. It is a partial city builder game and part strategy. You complete missions, while also keeping the city from running out of money and energy. It teaches kids how to conserve energy.

Damn Teenagers

What do you do when you see a teenager doing something stupid? Do you say something, hoping they would change (because they probably wont)? Do you tell their parents? (and they probably won't listen and accuse you of lying, even if you have proof).

Some teenagers today, think they have all the answers, but their solutions are stupid. Don't want to listen. don't want to do their homework. Don't want to go to school. Some want to get high, do drugs, and have lots of sex. but not always fond of the side effects of sex (STDS, KIDS, and EMOTIONS).

i was a good teenager. I went to class. I loved ROTC. i did my homework. never got detention, suspension. no trouble on my academic record. I was an average student, who did not talk to boys, until I was 18, and far far far far away from home. Then the trouble started, but I had my high school diploma. nothing more gratifying than being dressed in an elaborate gown, with a diamond-shaped hat, with tassel, walking across the stage, and being handed a diploma. YIPPEE COW YAH. More kids need to take my educational example. the rest...we leave it at education