Archive for Giveaways
Diamond Candles-Review and Giveaway!
Posted by: | Comments
I love candles. They are one of my very favorite ways to relax. I adore soy candles. When I got the opportunity to do a review on a soy candle from Diamond Candles, you can bet I jumped on it.
Diamond Candles are just fun. They are not only great smelling and burn evenly, but they are beautiful as well. And the fun part? They are like the cereal box with the prize in it. Do you remember wanting to be the one to get the prize when you were a kid? This is just like that. Only better. Much better. Each candle has a ring in it that is valued between $10 and $5,000. How cool is that? It’s the cereal box prize for grown up girls.
When I first got my candle, I was thrilled to see how pretty it was in the glass jar. I was even more thrilled when I opened the lid and caught my first whiff of the wonderful fragrance. I was given the Sweety Pea candle. I love it. It smells so wonderful, but isn’t overpowering. I lit the candle and enjoyed several hours of burn time before I began to see just where my ring might be. I had to burn it for several more hours before I was able to remove the foil packet that contained the ring.
I opened the foil packet and found the ring inside of a plastic pouch. And I think it is really quite pretty. I realize this is most likely a $10 ring, but it doesn’t make it any less pretty. And hey…it was my big girl prize. It isn’t every candle that gives you a ring.
Diamond candles explains why they put a ring in every candle on their website. It is really quite a romantic story that you will want to check out. And if you are curious about what some of the other rings that have been found their candles, you will want to check out their Facebook page. Many people share their rings there.
Now, I know you are wanting one of these awesome soy candles for yourself. You want the big girl prize. Well, Diamond Candles is giving away 30 of their candles! I think it would be awesome if one of my readers won one of these special candles. To enter, just follow the directions below.
And if you aren’t a winner or just can’t wait for the giveaway to close? Do what I am going to do…ask for a Diamond Candle or two for Valentine’s Day.
Disclaimer: I received a Sweety Pea jar candle from Diamond Candles for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own and I only recommend products I feel good about on my blog.
Math Mammoth Giveaway!
Posted by: | Comments
Math Mammoth is one of our favorite math programs that we have used in our homeschool. I was introduced to it about three years ago and it was truly a blessing in our homeschool. I continued to use it even last year in 8th grade to fill in blank spots and correct issues that Chandler had with mathematics. I have found it to be wonderful as either a full program or as a supplement to any other math program.
I wrote a review of Math Mammoth in 2009, that you can read here. I also mentioned it as one of our favorite programs in my entry for the Virtual Curriculum Fair earlier this week.
When Maria Miller, the author of this wonderful program, asked me if I would like to give a set away on my blog, I was thrilled! I knew that one of my lucky readers would love to be blessed with this curriculum in their own homeschool. So here is what we are going to be blessing one lucky reader with this next week:
A Math Mammoth Blue Series Package–CD or Download–Winner’s Choice
This is a $95 to $100 Value!!
So what does the Blue Series Package include? How about all of this: (From the website)
A List of Blue Series books
The grade-levels mentioned are recommendations only. The books themselves do not mention any grade levels and are usually usable across several grade levels.
Addition and subtraction books
Addition 1 – grade 1. Addition within 0-10, missing addend, word problems. $3.75.
Subtraction 1 – grade 1. Addition and subtraction facts within 0-10, difference, “more than”, word problems. $4.25.
Add & Subtract 2 A – grades 1-2. Adding within 0-100 but without carrying or borrowing. Word problems. $4.50
Add & Subtract 2 B – grade 2. Carrying and borrowing are explained here, with the help of visual models. $4.25
Add & Subtract 3 – grades 2-3. Adding and subtracting within 0-1000. Lots of mental math techniques included. $5.00
Add & Subtract 4 – grades 3-4. Adding and subtracting within 0-10,000 and lots of problem solving. $5.00
Place value books
Place Value 1 – grade 1. Tens and ones. This book uses a 100-bead abacus, a visual model of base-ten blocks, number lines and a 100-chart. $3.00
Place Value 2 – grade 2. Three-digit numbers, comparing, rounding. $2.00
Place Value 3 – grade 3. Four-digit numbers, comparing, rounding. $3.00
Place Value 4 – grade 4. Numbers till millions, comparing, rounding. $2.50
Place Value 5 – grades 5-6. Numbers till trillions, rounding, scientific notation, calculator usage. $2.00
Clock and money
Clock – grades 1-3. Covers reading the clock, elapsed time, and calendar. $4.00
Money – grades 1-3. Learn to count U.S. coins, count change, and solve problems. $3.25
(Canadian Money) – grades 1-3. Same as above for Canadian coins and bills. $3.25
(British Money) – years 2-4. Same as above for UK coins and notes (pounds and pence). $3.25
(Australian Money) – years or grades 1-3. Same as above but using Australian cents and bills. $3.25
(European Money) – grades 1-3. Same as above for Euro coins and bills. $3.00
Measuring
Measuring 1 – grades 1-3. Teaches all units of customary and metric systems and some conversions. Lots of hands-on exercises with measuring cups, scales, and so on. $4.50
Measuring 2 – grades 4-5. Teaches all units of customary and metric systems and conversions between the units, including the usage of decimals and fractions with measuring units. $4.00
Metric Measuring – grades 1-5. This book contains all the lessons from the Measuring 1 and Measuring 2 books (above) that deal with metric measuring units. $4.50
Multiplication and division books
Multiplication 1 – grades 2-3. Multiplication concept, word problems, and a system to memorize the multiplication tables. $5.00
Division 1 – grade 3. Concept of division, basic division facts by one-digit numbers, remainder, word problems. $3.50
Multiplication 2 – grade 4. Multi-digit multiplication and problem solving. $4.25
Division 2 – grade 4. Long division, finding fractional parts of a quantity, and problem solving. $5.00
Multiplication Division 3 – grades 4-5. Multiplication and division with larger numbers, factoring, primes. $4.50
Geometry & Statistics
Early Geometry – grades 1-3. Playing with shapes, symmetry, intro to right angle, area, perimeter, and solids. $2.75
Geometry 1 – grades 4-5. All basic geometry concepts of elementary school geometry are covered here with lots of drawing-based exercises. $7.00
Geometry 2 – grades 6-7. Geometry for middle school, concentrating on conceptual understanding. $5.80
Statistics & Probability – grades 5-7. bar graphs, line graphs, histograms, circle graphs, stem-and-leaf plots, mean, median, mode, simple and compound probability. $5.30
Fractions and decimals books
Introduction to Fractions – grades 1-3. This book relies almost completely on visual fraction models, and does not go into the most difficult fraction operations such as adding unlike fractions or division. $4.00
Fractions 1 – grades 4-5. About half of the important fraction topics, explained with the help of visual models. That’s how everyone should study fractions! $4.50
Fractions 2 – grades 5-6. The second half of fraction topics. $5.00
Decimals 1 – grades 4-5. Builds a solid foundation to understand decimal numbers of 1-2 decimal digits and some of the operations with them. $4.25
Decimals 2 – grades 5-6. Explaining all of decimal arithmetic, especially all the “trickiness” involved in decimal multiplication and division. $4.25
Fractions & Decimals 3 – grade 6. All of fraction and decimal arithmetic, with larger denominators in fractions and up to 6 decimal digits in decimals. $7.00
Ratios, proportions, percent & algebraic thinking
The Four Operations (with a Touch of Algebra) – grades 5-6. Review of the four operations with whole numbers, order of operations, long division & multiplication, simple equations & expressions, exponents, introduction to functions. $6.00
Ratios, Proportions & Problem Solving – grades 5-6. Ratios, proportions, scaling geometric figures, floor plans, solving problems using the bar (block) model: problems with fractional parts or ratios. $4.00
Percent – grades 6-8. Percent, percentage of number, discounts, sales tax, circle graphs, percent of change, percent of comparison. $3.50
Integers – grades 5-8. Integers, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and coordinate grid problems. $3.75
FAQ
Is the Blue series a complete curriculum?
It is complete in its coverage of topics for grades 1-6, or actually up to pre-algebra.
Please keep in mind that several of the books in the Blue Series cover material for several grade levels in one book. It is NOT organized exactly by grade levels.
Do all the workbooks come with answer keys?
Yes. All of the Blue Series books have answers appended in the worktext.
Interested? I thought so! The contest will stay open for one week. The winner will be announced on Friday, January 20th. Please follow the directions below to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Kids 7-12? Great last-minute gift idea (& giveaway!)
Posted by: | CommentsA few months ago, the TOS Crew had the opportunity to share a review for an online social media site for girls, called Always Icecream. Since the writing of those reviews, the founders of the website have released a new site for boys called Clever Dragons.
=> Both sites are geared toward children ages 7 – 12.
=> They both providing various opportunities for playing and learning. The learning portions include various subjects, such as language arts, math (both basic and advanced), geography, science, music, art, history, computer skills, foreign language, and Bible.
=> Kids love playing the games because they can earn fun rewards like medals (for achievement), virtual pets, and ice cream $coops (Always Icecream) or gold coins (Clever Dragons). These things can be used to access other fun content on the websites.
=> Parents love the sites because they can control the fun. Each week, parents receive e-mail reports with updates on their child’s learning progress. Parents receive a complimentary account, alongside their child’s account, and can use this to enable or disable the “community features” (which enable children to communicate with other members). Parents are also able to customize educational content and reward additional $coops and/or coins for things kids to “in real life” (such as chores and music practice, etc.)
=> Unlike some other social media websites, Always Icecream and Clever Dragons are safe for kids. All content on the websites goes through a moderation process, contains no advertising, and is blocked to search engines.
=> While a large percentage of the children using these websites are homeschooled, homeschooling is not a requirement for membership. The founders are homeschool parents, however, and the educational content on both sites has originated from that personal experience.
Here’s a quick run-down of the features you can expect to find at Always Icecream and Clever Dragons:
- Learning Games and Rewards
- Educational Videos
- Shops and Games to Spend Rewards
- Weekly Progress Report to Parents
- Friends and Profiles
- Comments and Messages
- Entertaining Games and Videos as Rewards
- Social Games like Pet Sitting and Arts Shop
- Moderation prior to being visible to other members
And best of all — Always Icecream and Clever Dragons guarantee your satisfaction. Your child will have fun and learn relevant skills – or you get your money back!!
So, if you’re looking for a last-minute gift idea for that special child in your life, I’d love to recommend a membership to one of these websites. The regular one-year membership price of $29.99 will currently get you an extra 6 months of membership for free (that’s 18 months for the price of 12). You can sign up to join Always Icecream here, or Clever Dragons here. Payment can be made using credit card, debit card, or PayPal.
~~~~~~~~
Guess what? I’m giving away 4 FREE MEMBERSHIPS!
I have one (1) LIFETIME membership to give away,
and three (3) ONE-YEAR (18 month) memberships.
If you’d like to win one of these memberships for that special child in your life,
simply fill out the form information below.
I’ll leave this contest open until
Thursday, December 22nd, at NOON, Mountain Time.
I’ll contact the winners right away, via e-mail,
so we have plenty of time to get those memberships set up before Christmas!
