Taking Care of Home Archives - Look! We're Learning!

How to Save Big on Homeschool Field Trips with FieldTripZoom!

December 15, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

I’m a homeschooling mom, which means I love, love, love taking my kids on homeschool field trips. There’s just one little teeny tiny problem: It’s expensive!

I’ve found lots of really great frugal field trip places in Atlanta that we’ve visited often, but other than those, it can be tough to afford really educational outings, especially as my kids get older and learn about more complex topics.

So I was excited to learn about FieldTripZoom – a virtual field trip service that offers streaming homeschool field trips you can watch from your home! Talk about a homeschooler’s dream come true!

Read on to see how we’re using FieldTripZoom to make field trips affordable for our family! Plus, learn how to score a 10 percent discount on an annual membership for you and your kids!

Disclosure: I received this product in exchange for this post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. (Affiliate links are provided here for convenience. For more, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Why Homeschool Field Trips Can Be So Expensive for Families

I’ve only attended a handful of live homeschool field trips since our last child was born and there’s a good reason for it: MONEY. As I browse available programs in our area, most of the sessions that look really educational are based on a ticket price per child.

That might work if I only had one or two children, but four? Take a modest field trip price of $10 per child, multiply it by four, and now we’re looking at $40 just to get in if there’s no charge for parents.

Unfortunately for us, most of these field trips are held at locations on the side of Atlanta that is exactly opposite where we live. Which means I have to factor in an additional tank of gas and pack a lunch. By the time all is said and done, I’m looking at $80 – for a one to two hour field trip. That’s a bit steep on our budget.

Needless to say, I’ve passed up a lot of homeschool field trips over the years.

How FieldTripZoom Makes Homeschool Field Trips Affordable

How does FieldTripZoom help me save on homeschool field trips?

With FieldTripZoom, I don’t have to shell out a separate ticket price per child and I don’t have to fill up on gas again that week just to drive across the city to an awesome program. I can just sign on to my FieldTripZoom account, join the virtual field trip, and watch with everyone!

For example, these are my four relaxing in the living room and watching a field trip about nutrition. My boys each have toys (which would probably be a no-go in a real-life program) and my preschooler is listening in too!

As the presenter asked questions, the kids got to get up and answer them via chat. They were actually arguing over who could answer each one! When we’ve attended field trips in the past, they’ve been a little hesitant to participate, but at home they were ready and willing!

This was a really great session, because the presenter talked about the importance of nutrition and how it is distorted by the food advertising industry.

This is where I had Tigger sit up and take notes. As a middle schooler, we’ve been really working with her to learn how to think critically about what she sees and hears. This information really reinforced that.

And when we got to the section about exercise, I nearly jumped for joy. (I’ve been trying to coax her into a more active lifestyle for months.)

On FieldTripZoom, you can see the entire program schedule for the academic year and decide which ones you and your kids would like to attend. They’re conveniently listed by grade level, so it’s easy to spot which topics are a good fit for your kids’ age ranges. But be ready to sit down and scroll a while: There are over 300 annual programs to choose from!

The Nutrition program was geared toward several grade levels. But I also wanted to choose a few programs just for Tigger, who’s in sixth grade this year, so I signed up for a few programs for grades 6 and up only.

This one on the Civil War – presented by the University of Virginia – was absolutely excellent. It was a truly informative presentation about how the Civil War got started and why the Confederacy lost.

Talking about American history can be a little dry, especially for active kids like my middle schooler.

But look at her face! She had so much fun participating in the discussion and learning more about this topic! And we never even had to leave the house.

Benefits of Virtual Field Trips for Homeschoolers

As we’ve attended these sessions, I’ve come to value some other benefits of virtual field trips for homeschooling families of all kinds, not just big families on a budget like us.

This virtual field trip was a trip to Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington. We got to follow the host as he walked us through the market, introduced us to local vendors, and talked about the history of the place.

If I had tried to tour a place like this in person, I would have spent most of my time corralling my youngest, telling my oldest to pay attention, and trying to keep my boys from touching things.

Since we were attending virtually with FieldTripZoom, though, I didn’t have to worry about any of that! The kids just laid on the floor and watched. We talked about what we saw and heard and it was as no-stress as can be.

Now, hang on, because I’m about to really blow your mind. 🙂

We’ve even attended one of our homeschool field trips in the van. I had signed up for a FieldTripZoom virtual field trip hosted from the Alaska Sea Life Center, a place we’ll probably never visit in person, and I didn’t want the kids to miss it.

So I downloaded the Zoom app, signed on with my unique session link, and the kids watched as I drove!

It doesn’t get much better than that! And with the traffic we deal with in Atlanta, I will definitely make use of sessions when we’re “road-schooling”.

So the big question is: How much does FieldTripZoom cost? And I’m actually going to tell you the answer: $49.95 a year. That’s it.

For that price, you get access to as many of the virtual field trips as you want for as many kids as you want on as many dates as you want. It’s an incredible deal for homeschooling families, particularly those that have multiple kids.

And now – through December 31, 2016, save TEN PERCENT on an annual FieldTripZoom membership with this promo code: 01336. Here’s a handy image you can refer to when ordering.

Do you have questions about FieldTripZoom that I haven’t answered here? Still not sure if it’s a good fit for you? Let me know and I’ll do my best to fill you in based on our experiences! In fact, we have another field trip scheduled for this Friday, so I’ll have even more to share afterward. 🙂

To learn more about FieldTripZoom and all the programs that will be available for virtual homeschool field trips this year, follow the company on social media!

How to Decorate a Playroom for Less

August 10, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I love shopping for my kids’ room. But – let’s be real: I’m not made of money! So I’m always searching for the absolute best bargains I can find for kids’ furniture, decor, and toys.

And that’s just one of the reasons why I love Groupon! I can get awesome bargains without having to buy stuff I don’t actually love.

Here’s how Groupon can help you decorate your child’s playroom for less!

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine.

Image c/o: style67 / depositphotos

How to Decorate a Playroom for Less with Groupon Goods

I’ve been a Groupon user for years. I initially started using the site to buy museum memberships and event tickets for the family, and I loved the bargains we got. But I was super excited to see the launch of Groupon Goods a few years ago, because it meant that I could get the same great bargains for things we’d need for our home!

Since we’re homeschooling four kids, we often need to buy kids’ furniture, toys, educational materials, and other supplies. And when I browse Groupon Goods, I find great deals on all those items!

For example, here are some of the deals I’ve personally seen recently:

A kids’ table set with four chairs for $35.99
A toddler bookshelf for $19.99
An open cube storage cabinet with fabric bins for $149.99
A kids’ play rug for $14.99
Kids’ wall mural stickers for $13.99

That means you can decorate an entire playroom for under $250! Now, that’s my kind of budget! 🙂

Be sure to visit Groupon Goods often to snag the newest deals! And learn more about special sales by keeping up with Groupon on Facebook and Twitter!

Save at Your Favorite Online Retailers with Groupon Coupons!

May 18, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I love shopping at Groupon. I get awesome deals on local entertainment, restaurants, classes for my kids, and more! Depending on the time of year, I can even snag some great vacation deals, which is always helpful when you’re trying to take a family vacation with kids, right?

But now there’s another way to save when you shop at Groupon: Groupon Coupons – discounts you can use at your favorite online stores! Here’s how to grab your savings right now!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

Image c/o: Wavebreakmedia / depositphotos

How to Use Groupon Coupons to Save at Your Favorite Online Retailers!

To get started, visit Groupon Coupons to see which of your favorite retailers have coupons available. Personally, two of my favorite online shopping destinations are Kohl’s and Macy’s, so I was thrilled to see that both have Groupon Coupons available right now!

What I really love is that I can easily see the current deals, grab the coupon code, and even share the deal on social media for all of my friends to see! Plus, I can order and have my stuff sent to my house or shipped to my local store. Easy peasy!

To learn more about Groupon Coupons and start saving at your favorite retailers, visit Groupon Coupons or follow Groupon on social media:

How to Create a Spring Cleaning Plan of Attack

March 21, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Ah…spring cleaning. To quote a song from an episode of Rocko’s Modern Life, “It’s a sick, disgusting job, but it’s gotta get done!” Pretty much.

I hate cleaning, which is one reason why I outsource most of our housework to my kids. But I generally get excited about the idea of spring cleaning. The actual chore, though, is not one of my favorite pastimes.

This year, however, I’ve actually managed to get some stuff done! And I did it by creating a spring cleaning plan of attack. (Yes, I’m basically saying that spring cleaning is war. It’s either the germs or me.)

Here are the three tips I used to tackle spring cleaning this year!

Image c/o: odua / depositphotos

How to Create a Spring Cleaning Plan of Attack

Clear the clutter.

One of our biggest problems was that we simply had too much stuff. When I see clutter, I can’t even visually get past it to see what else needs to be done. That stuff had to go. The book “Simple: 30 Ways to Declutter Your Life” gave me a nice motivational kick-in-the-pants to get started.

So I gathered up a ton of our board games and sold them at a consignment sale. Then I had all the kids go through their closets and try on all their clothes. What didn’t fit went into grocery store bags and into the clothes collection boxes in our area.

I also had a lot of stuff that needed to be filed or shredded. I had the kids sit on the floor and separate the things to be filed according to category. Then I could just put each category away at once. The shredding I took care of myself.

Once all of that was done, I could finally start thinking about the actual work of cleaning.

Divide and conquer.

Now it’s time to divide your house into individual areas that you can reasonably complete. Our house isn’t large, but the thought of cleaning the WHOLE thing from top to bottom is a bit too much for me.

So I think “Kitchen”, “Living Room”, “Bedroom”, etc. And, depending on how much has to be done, I might divide it even further: “Sewing Table”, “Bookshelf”, “Ridiculously Junky Kitchen Drawer”. (You know you have one.)

Tackle one zone at a time.

Alright. You’ve got your decluttered home. You’ve got your territory marked. Time to get to work! Do one area at a time and focus on one task at a time.

So, if you’re working in the living room, you might do all the surfaces, then the windows, then the floors. Or if you’re cleaning your bathroom, you might start with mirrors, then walls, surfaces, bath, and finally toilet. (Unless you’re the kind of person who wants to get the toilet out of the way first. Which is genius.)

And that’s how I managed to actually spring clean my home this year! For more homemaking tips, follow my Taking Care of Home board on Pinterest!

What’s your spring cleaning plan of attack? Share your tips in the comments!

How to Spring Clean Your Life

March 3, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Spring is nearly here, which means that spring cleaning is nearly here. I’m not a fan of housework, but I love spring cleaning. The weather is warming, the air is fresher, and it’s a great time to declutter and simplify. I’ve been decluttering my house for the past month and it’s starting to look…somewhat like a house again.

But, this year, I thought: I really need to give my whole life a good spring cleaning and that’s what I’m going to do! In this month’s edition of the Monthly Goals linkup, read how you can spring clean your life!

How to Spring Clean Your Life

I started reading the book Simple: 30 Ways to Declutter Your Life a few weeks back and it’s been a really great reminder of why it’s worth it to make your home into an actual place where humans can relax and live. (Mine had pretty much become a diner/storage unit.)

That’s when I realized that my life itself has kind of become a hoarder’s paradise too. My email inbox is super dee duper full. (Actually, all three of them are full.) My housework schedule is too hectic, since I do have four children who can help. And I’m training for a marathon, but I’ve been filling my belly with actual junk. Mostly because I’m too busy to plan a good meal.

So it’s time to simplify and declutter every part of my life, which is what I’m doing this month! If you want to spring clean your life (simplify it and remove the junk), check out my goals for March!

My Life Goals for March 2016

As I did in January and February this year, I’m setting a new list of life goals for the month of March. And, like in those previous months, I’ll be setting one for each part of my life.

Family: This month, I’ll be working on teaching my kids to cook. I’ve outsourced almost all the housework, except this. Now’s the time.
Finances: I need to develop a solid budget for our necessities and include a fixed amount for “fun” stuff. “Nickel and dime” spending really adds up if you’re not careful.
Fitness: I’ve started eating wayyyy too many carbs lately – and not the healthy ones either. Time to go back to eating clean at least once a week.
Work: This one is going to be the hardest of all. I’m actually going to attempt to empty my work email inbox. As of today, there are 1,665 messages in it. Yikes.
Home: Kids just grow like weeds, don’t they! One week, you buy them new clothes. Then you have to do it again the next month and before you know it, you have clothes they haven’t been able to wear in years! All of the kids’ clothes that don’t fit are getting out of my house THIS MONTH.

Get more home decor and maintenance ideas from my Taking Care of Home board on Pinterest!

An InLinkz Link-up

3 Tips for Keeping Laundry in Check

February 9, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Is laundry taking over your house? If it is, you have my utmost sympathies. I can stay on top of just about everything in my life…except laundry.

For some reason, it just seemed to pile up higher and higher until I was reduced to scrounging around in the bottom of the dresser to find something clean to wear.

But I finally found a few tips for keeping laundry in check that are really working for our family! Check them out below!

Today’s Tuesday, which means it’s also time for the Laugh and Learn linky! We’ve chosen our favorites from the last linkup and we’re sharing them with all of you today!

3 Tips for Keeping Laundry in Check

It’s remarkable how quickly a clothing hamper can turn into Mount Laundry. But when you have several kids living in your family, you’re going to go through a lot of clothes each week.

We have four kids aged 11 and younger. Needless to say, there are a lot of dirty clothes by the weekend. But I HATE spending my weekends doing laundry, so I had to find another way to get it done. And that’s how I came up with three tips for keeping laundry in check! Read them for yourself at Thinking Outside the Sandbox!

3 Tips for Keeping Laundry in Check – Thinking Outside the Sandbox

And for more homemaking tips, check out my Taking Care of Home board on Pinterest!

Homeschooling: what to do when you want to quit

Linky ahoy!
This week we have some great links to share with you. We are very excited to bring you another great opportunity to linkup with us!

Welcome to our 69th week of Laugh and Learn – Home & Family Linkup! Laugh and Learn Linkup will be open by 6 am every Tuesday morning.

New: We have decided to expand our linkup to home and family categories! You are still welcome to share homeschooling or parenting posts with us. That will always be part of the #LaughLearnLinkup!

Each and every week, all of the hosts will pick one favorite post to be featured on the next week’s linkup. All of your links will be shared on three blogs.

We are also sharing the top four posts on Pinterest: #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites}. It’s added exposure for your awesome content!

Reminder: Please share this linkup! You can help us build a great family, home, parenting, and homeschool group.

Laugh and Learn Linkup was created by Tina from Los Gringos Locos. We want to thank her for this opportunity and send her big hug on her new adventure.

Your Fabulous Hosts 😉

Selena

Selena is a writer and a homeschooling mom to four kids, including three with ADHD/SPD. Selena and her husband, Jay, are committed to teaching their children at home and loving every minute of it! You can read about the family’s homeschooling experiences at Look! We’re Learning, written by Selena!
Find Selena at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Google +
Instagram

Sarah

Sarah lives in Kentucky, USA, where she and her husband homeschool three children. Sarah writes for and about, families with special needs. She hopes to provide support and encouragement to all special needs parents in the homeschool community. Visit Sarah at Dedicated Homeschooler.
Find Sarah at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter

Haley

Haley hopes to encourage stay at home moms. She wants to help them learn how to make an extra income, to stretch a budget, to make crafts, and other useful information. Haley always has updates on the kids, and their funny antics. Visit Haley at Haley’s Vintage Finds & Deals.
Find Haley at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
Twitter
Google+
YouTube
Stumble Upon

Most Clicked on Link

Selena’s pick for this week…

Note from Selena:

These are some great tips! We’ve been considering an allowance and this will really help us decide how to go about it.

Sarah’s pick for this week…

Note from Sarah:

We are studying medieval times for history this year, and this is a nice little resource I’m sure we’ll enjoy using.

Haley’s pick for this week…

Note from Haley:

This is so cute. I love the how you can use this for counting, addition, or even multiplication.

Your post was rocked!

To show our appreciation we have super fun badges for you!

Just go to this page. We also have a fun badge to show you linked up with us!

Thanks to everyone who submitted a post. Please check out the post above by clicking on the image. If you enjoyed these picks as much as we did, please share them also!

Have you joined our Pinterest Board yet?

Follow Tina Ernspiker’s board #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites} on Pinterest.

Now give us your best posts!

An InLinkz Link-up

How I Cut My Family’s Phone Bill in Half!

December 21, 2015 by Selena Robinson 17 Comments

My husband and I have not had a home phone line in nearly seven years. So it goes without saying that our mobile phone service is super important.

Unfortunately, it was also super expensive – especially on our budget.

I started seriously looking at our bills a couple of months back and one of the places I desperately wanted to save money was on our monthly phone service. But I just couldn’t figure out how we could do it. We each need a smartphone and we need unlimited talk.

Enter Total Wireless.

When I first saw the signage on display at Wal-Mart, I was extremely skeptical. (I had heard some unpleasant things about Straight Talk, another Wal-Mart product, in the past.) But after a few weeks of hemming and hawing, I decided to take the plunge and try Total Wireless.

Guess what?

It cut our family’s phone bill in half. That’s a pretty big deal.

Read on to see how using Total Wireless has worked for us! Oh – and let me add this – this is NOT a sponsored review. I haven’t received anything in exchange for this post and I paid for these products and services myself. This is a truly honest Total Wireless review. 🙂

1/14/17 – Read to the bottom for my report on the service since this original post!

Total Wireless Review - Look! We're Learning!

Total Wireless Phone Unboxing

Before I share my experience with Total Wireless service so far, I want to give you an idea of what to expect when you purchase a Total Wireless phone and a monthly plan.

I ended up getting an LG Ultimate 2 – it was $59.99 and it had great reviews and the features I wanted, including a front-facing camera.

As you can see on the inside cover, you can choose from several monthly phone plans when you subscribe to Total Wireless. We went with the two-line $60/month plan, since it allows us to share data and have unlimited minutes and texting.

Inside the phone box, you’ll find an instruction manual and an activation card. It’s EXTREMELY easy to activate your Total Wireless service, by the way. All of the instructions are on the card, plus the website walks you through the process.

A Total Wireless monthly plan card looks like what you see above. You can purchase it online, along with your device, or as a standalone card at a store.

Rather than purchasing a new card each month, we bought our initial card and then signed up for monthly auto-refill. Doing that gives you a tiny discount as well.

Also – the phone is returnable (within a certain amount of time). The monthly plan card is NOT. So keep that in mind.

And here are the contents of my phone box. The phone comes disassembled, but you only have to insert the battery and replace the back cover. After that, you just turn it on and follow the onscreen prompts. Easy peasy.

Total Wireless Review

As of this post, we’ve had service with Total Wireless for a month and a half. In that time, I have to say that I’m pretty satisfied so far. If you use the Internet a LOT when you’re away from home, though, it might not work for you.

~~Right now, the company only offers 3G service.~~ HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT: Total Wireless now offers 4G LTE service on select phones!!!! So if you choose one of those phones, you can stream on the go like everyone else. 🙂

If you choose a phone that only has 3G capabilities, when you’re away from a WiFi signal, you can’t stream video, you can’t download new apps, and you can’t use some services without SERIOUS delays.

Having said that, I’m almost never away from a WiFi signal. So that has not posed an issue for me. If I needed on-the-go Internet, I’d probably decide not to use Total Wireless. If 4G service becomes available, though, then this will become a non-issue. (Again: NOW available as of January 2017!)

For us, saving 50% on our phone service has been worth it. And scoring a good Android device for a reasonable price didn’t hurt either!

Total Wireless Review Update

Updated 1/14/17: We’ve been Total Wireless customers for over a year now and we’re still extremely satisfied! I just purchased one of the Total Wireless devices that is 4G LTE capable – a ZTE Citrine LTE – for $29.99. It’s great. I had to do a long indoor run on the treadmill for three hours a few weeks back and I totally watched two episodes of Sherlock while I did it. 🙂

We’ve never had any serious issues with phone coverage or service and, since we’ve signed up for the automatic monthly billing service, we get a $5 discount on our monthly plan. So we’re paying $58 a month for TWO monthly wireless lines. It’s awesome.

How do you save money on your family’s phone bill? Do you have any thoughts or questions about our Total Wireless review? Let us know in the comments! And stop by the Total Wireless website to see if the service is available in your area!

Check out some of our other posts while you’re here!

To get even more ideas for frugal living, follow my Saving Money for Families board on Pinterest!

Love to Read? Get Free Kindle eBooks with eBook Arrow!

December 4, 2015 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of eBookArrow.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

There aren’t many things I love in this world. But books are near the top of my list – the very top of my list.

I bought an Amazon Kindle way back in 2011 and that thing has truly become my partner in crime. I keep it bedside and I fall asleep with it every night. When I wake up in the morning, it’s usually tucked away under one of the piles of covers. I’m amazed I haven’t cracked the screen by rolling over onto it.

Naturally, since I love my Kindle so much, I also love getting Kindle eBooks. What I don’t love is spending a lot of money on them.

I mean, the entire selling point of eBooks was that they would be cheaper than print books. Sadly, though, this is not always the case. As a result, I have drastically cut down on the number of Kindle eBooks I get each month.

But – I just learned about a site that features cheap and free Kindle eBooks every day! Even better, I can browse the listings through a single email, instead of wading through the thousands of Amazon titles.

Read on to see how to score cheap and free Kindle eBooks everyday in just three easy steps!

Cheap and Free Kindle Books from eBook Arrow

eBookArrow.com is a daily Kindle eBook site that features cheap and free Kindle titles available for download. Now that you’re there, you only have to complete three steps to start getting your daily list of Kindle titles!

Step 1: Choose your favorite genres: When you first visit the site, you have the option to choose your favorite eBook genres, including mystery, romance, science fiction, and more. You can even choose titles for children and young adults – perfect for creating a reading list for your kids!

Step 2: Enter your email address: Once you enter your email address, you get subscribed to eBook Arrow’s daily eBook email featuring titles for the genres you selected.

Step 3: Confirm your email address: Click the link in your confirmation email to confirm your email address.

When that’s done, you’ll start getting your daily email of books to gorge on. Even better, you can browse the current deals while you’re waiting for your first email to come in. (I’ve already grabbed four myself.)

To get started building your Kindle library with cheap and free Kindle ebooks, visit eBookArrow.com today!

8 Resources for Learning the Times Tables

October 30, 2015 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Are you an educator or parent with a frustrated child who is attempting to memorize the multiplication tables? Read on!

Hundreds of kids have learned their times tables in an hour using a very fun & easy to understand animated video. The Times Tales DVD is a two-part video series that uses stories to teach multiplication to kids. The videos use cute, simple stories that provide students with a “memory peg,” allowing them to quickly recall otherwise abstract multiplication facts. As students progress through the video, they’ll learn multiplication without even knowing it! It’s that easy!

About the Times Tales DVD – What is included?

Animated video comes on a DVD
CD includes printable worksheets and flashcards

What Educents customers are saying about Times Tales:

“Fun and effective! Did in 2 weeks what other curriculum didn’t do in a year!”

“My kids did NOT want to like this when I first opened it up, but they ended up liking it a LOT! They kept trying to “figure it out” so it took a while for my 2nd and 4th grader to just relax and watch the stories. We followed the recommended pace, and in 2 weeks this DVD solidified what other methods could not do for them in a year! Even my 3 yr old shouts out the answers to some of the quiz questions! Of course she doesn’t understand what she’s learning yet, but when her time comes, learning her multiplication facts will be painless and easy 🙂 Definitely recommend this program to anyone who has stressed over drilling boring multiplication facts into their kids! You WILL Love it! :)” -ML

“I can’t even imagine how many less papers my 5th grade teacher would have had to grade if we had this in my elementary school! We did multiplication drills every single day during our 2nd semester! Using this DVD really beats that.” – Celena J.

Times Tales Animated DVD & Printable Worksheets

Times Tales teaches kids the upper times tables without rote memorization. Students can simply follow along with the entertaining story. As they progress, they’ll be guided into associating the stories they’ve learned with real math. You can always find the Times Tales DVD at a discount on Educents.com!

More Activities to Practice Multiplication:

This hands-on activity uses legos to reinforce multiplication facts. Source: SchoolTimesSnippet

Early Multiplication: Grouping with Legos by School Time Snippets – Kristina and her son practice multiplications using Legos!

Multiplication Rap DVD – Kids discover what multiplication is all about, learn facts through 12, and practice skip counting.

Multiplication Clever Catch Ball – This colorful ball is an interactive way for kids to practice multiplication facts outside or during an organized classroom activity.

Visual way to teach multiplication to your student. Source: Lemon Lime Adventures

Patterned Multiplication Circles by Lemon Lime Adventures – Dayna and her 7-year old use this visual way to learn multiplication. This math craftivity is fun for all ages!

Musical Math with Sue Dickson’s Songs that Teach – This program makes memorizing the facts easy, sure, and fun with catchy songs that allow students to master the facts in no time!

30 Multiplication Facts Printable Worksheets – This low-cost packet includes 30 printable worksheets, 143 flash cards, six vocabulary word cards, and a multiplication chart.

A+ Math Multiplication Unit – Build a strong foundation in math with A+ Interactive Math’s multiplication unit.

How I Feed Our Family of Six for $500 a Month

August 24, 2015 by Selena Robinson 7 Comments

My husband and I set our grocery budget at $500 a month. The only issue is: we have four children. 🙂 So every month, I work hard to make sure we can get our groceries for $500 or less (preferably less).

As homeschoolers living on one income, we simply cannot afford to eat out often. But I don’t have time to make a lot of our foods from scratch.

Nevertheless, we still manage to feed our family of six for $500 a month. Read on to see how we feed a family of six on a budget!

How I Feed a Family of Six on a Budget

1. Stick to a budget.

The key word in “on a budget” is budget. We’ve had to be hardliners about how much money we’ll spend on groceries each month. Each month, I stick to $500 or ($110 per week). If I have extra at the end of the month, we splurge on a little something.

To stick to the budget, I cannot go shopping without a list. And I cannot go shopping with children who beg for everything in sight. So I always make sure to get at least one “treat” for them, even if it’s a bag of generic graham crackers. That usually keeps them satisfied.

2. Use a list of “go-to” meals.

This tip isn’t even really about sticking with our budget. This one was born out of my frustration with not knowing what to make every night. 🙂

I started with a list of seven dinners that I know my family likes (and that fit our budget), then I tried a few more until I had fourteen. Now I have a list of 28 “go-to” dinners that I know fit our budget and are easy to make and my kids will eat. (Fish and grits, red beans and rice, and beef stroganoff are staples around here.) I don’t have to stress about what to make and I don’t have to worry that I’ll break our grocery budget.

3. Buy in advance.

If I see an awesome price on meat, I just buy it right then, even if I’m not cooking something that uses it that week. That’s what freezers are for, right? I can’t stock our freezer too much, because it’s small, but when I have meat or fish up there, I can generally find an inexpensive meal to use it in.

Do you have any tips for how to feed a family of six on a budget? Share them in the comments!

This post is part of the “Feeding the Homeschool Family” linkup from iHomeschool Network! Click on over to read even more meal ideas from our fellow bloggers!

Renewing Your Home and Your Homeschool with Family Fun Friday!

January 15, 2015 by Selena Robinson 7 Comments

Hi everyone! Welcome to another edition of Family Fun Friday! We loved last week’s posts and we’ve picked our favorites to share with you all today!

I also wanted to share a simple decluttering plan that I’m doing in 2015: Declutter 52! As a mom with ADHD, it doesn’t take much for me to get overwhelmed. And I’ve seen lots of great decluttering plans for the entire year. But, honestly, I’m at a point where seeing something that spells out the next 52 weeks makes me hyperventilate…lol.

So, I’m doing something quite a bit simpler. Want to hear more? 🙂

Image: Joseph Helfenberger / Dollar Photo Club

Declutter 52

Here’s how Declutter 52 works:

You get rid of one bag per week.

That’s it. One bag. Each week. We can do that, right?

There’s only one special rule: If you bring home a bag (buy something new), you have to get rid of three bags that week. The goal is to get rid of old stuff, not just replace it!

I’ll be sharing my Declutter 52 images on Instagram, so if you join, feel free to do the same!

And now….this week’s edition of Family Fun Friday!

I’m not homeschooling right now, but I’m busy gathering ideas and inspiration for when we resume learning at home. I definitely want to think outside the box this time around and avoid falling into the same old stale routine. So, if you’re looking to add a spark into your homeschooling schedule, I’m happy to feature some great ideas for renewing your homeschool!


Monica created Family Fun Friday and blogs at HappyandBlessedHome.com where she shares free preschool tools and printables, encouraging words for moms, and ideas for having fun together as a family. Follow: Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Twitter /Google + / Bloglovin’/ Instagram. Monica will feature Family Fun Posts.

Selena is a homeschooling graduate and a veteran homeschooling mom to four super special kids. She blogs at Look! We’re Learning! about unit studies, foreign language, and homeschooling with ADHD. Follow: Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Instagram / Twitter. Selena will be featuring homeschooling and kids’ crafts.


Herchel enjoys blogging about parenting, organizing, crafting, and having good old-fashioned kid fun her blog Scrggbug Corner. Follow: Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Twitter /Google +. Herchel will feature organizing and family fun.

Britta was a military kid and is a military wife, now living in the high desert of Arizona and far, far from her New Orleans family. She happily homeschools and writes about the intersection of God’s Word and her world at Britta Lafont ~ Everyday Holiness. This year Britta wants to find that sweet spot between getting more done and enjoying the process. Britta will feature Delicious Recipes. Follow: Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram.

Christin blogs at illuminate. As wife to her high school sweetheart and mother to three premature children, she’s learned that God is the Perfect Party Planner and sometimes the unexpected is the greatest gift of all. Follow: Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Instagram / Twitter. Christen will feature Inspirational Posts.

Special Guest Co-host! Nicolette Roux blogs at PowerfulMothering.com sharing simple and easy art, crafts & activities for ages 0-5! Learn through play with free printables and occupy the littles with no sew quiet books. Explore kitchen play with taste safe sensory alternatives. Nicolette is the author of Rice Play, 99 Fine Motor Ideas for Ages 1-5 as well as The Blog Planner. Follow: Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Email

Here are my favorite posts for this week!

1. We’ve made DIY play dough, but I love to get new recipes, especially for sensory play! Teaching Mama has a great Peppermint Cocoa Cloud Dough recipe which sounds wonderful!

2. If you’re teaching world history to your kids, make it fun with these free World Explorer Printables from Write Bonnie Rose!

3. One of the goals of homeschooling is to help kids learn how to play and work independently. Caroline Nixon has some great suggestions for encouraging Independent Play in Children!

4. Are you feeling like giving up on homeschooling? Before you do, check out this encouraging and heartfelt post from Science Kiddo “The Week I Gave Up on Homeschooling!”

5. Science is not one of my favorite subjects to teach, so I love any post with tips for teaching science. The Sunny Patch has a helpful look at how to teach about Rocks and Minerals using an Interest-Led approach!

6. Learning comes in all different styles and finding out how our kids learn is the key to homeschooling success, especially in the long run. Mimi and the Grands provides a great tutorial on how to create a Multiple Intelligences Lesson Plan!

Were you featured? Grab the Family Fun Friday button below!

Stop by to see what my co-hosts are spotlighting this week!

Bloggers are invited to share their best family-friendly and mom-inspiring posts in the link-up below.

Link guidelines:

Link your post.
Link back to the link party.
Follow your host(s).
Spread the word. Share and pin your favorites.
Mingle! Bloggers love comments.
Grab a button.
If you link up, you permit the hosts of Family Fun Friday to use your pictures/ideas as part of future posts and/or social media.

Family Fun Friday is a growing link-up with over 200 bloggers sharing their posts each week. Each host shares her favorites from the week before, increasing your chances of being featured. Co-hosts will also be pinning their favorites to a community Family Fun Pinterest Board. This link party opens up at around 4 pm EST on Thursdays.

Please be aware that by linking in Family Fun Friday you give our hosts permission to use your images to create a collage for our features. We may also use the collage to promote Family Fun Friday through our individual social media accounts.

Seasonal Skirts: My Favorite Long Skirts For Fall

October 22, 2014 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We live in Georgia, so it always takes a little while for fall to actually reach us down here. But we’re having highs in the low 70s and the leaves are changing (finally), so I’m excited to share in the fall edition of the Seasonal Skirts linkup!

We’ve already shared our favorite skirts for spring and summer. Today, I’m sharing my favorite long skirts for fall!

If you’ve been keeping up with these posts, you already know about my love affair with the clothing website Soul Flower. Three of the four skirts in this post came from there. Just so you know. 😉

If I had the patience and the skill, I’d sew a patchwork skirt like this for every day of the week. While I could probably learn the skills to make this, though, I doubt I’ll ever have the patience…lol.

Top: Goodwill

Skirt: Soul-Flower.com

I know that green does not really match this skirt, but I always wear this top with it. I’m not sure why. This skirt is a drawstring one that’s finally getting loose (yay!). I’ll probably add some elastic to it, so I can keep wearing it.

Top and skirt: Soul-Flower.com

Okay, you might be able to tell by looking at my smile in this picture, but this is my favorite fall skirt of all. In fact, this skirt is probably in the running as the favorite skirt in my closet period. I don’t think they sell it anymore, but it’s called the Falling Leaves skirt. Which is appropriate because fall leaves were the inspiration for the colors. If anything happens to this skirt, I might actually cry.

Top: Kohl’s

Skirt: Soul-Flower.com

Surprise! This one, like the last outfit in my summer post, is not actually a skirt. It’s a maxi dress. But maxi dresses often have low-cut necklines or a strapless bodice. So, I just got a denim-colored long-sleeved top and I wear that over it.

Top: Old Navy

Maxi dress: Thrifted from a clothing swap

This post is part of the Seasonal Skirts: Fall Edition linkup! Stop by to see the long skirts for fall our fellow bloggers are modeling!

DIY Bedroom Curtains for Kids’ Rooms

July 28, 2014 by Selena Robinson 12 Comments

Confession time: I am a fabric hoarder. I bought several yards of home decor fabric a couple of years ago with the intention of making DIY bedroom curtains for the kids’ rooms and…the fabric just sat there and sat there. Part of me was afraid that I’d mess up the fabric and I’d never be able to find it again and then part of me was just plain old lazy. 🙂

But I found a really simple DIY bedroom curtains tutorial on Pinterest and that helped me get my sew-jo back!

Keep Reading…

How to Reuse Old Candle Jars

April 28, 2014 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Do you have a bunch of old candle jars just sitting around the house? Turns out – you can actually get some use out of them after your candles melt!

We had several candle jars that we’d already used, but the jars were so well made that I hated to throw them out. Pinterest to the rescue again! I found a great tutorial on how to reuse old candle jars from A Homemakers Journey and got to work.

I was pretty skeptical that the method described would work. I mean, look at these things. They look like they’ll never be any good again.

But I followed the instructions carefully, which included heating them to melt the wax.

After I got the wax out, I washed them thoroughly.

Gasp! They look like actual glasses!

And that’s what I got! I ended up with three glasses. In fact, those two larger glasses are basically tumblers.

The largest candle jar became a manicure in a jar gift for Tigger. 🙂

And the teeny jar got repurposed into a paper clip holder. By the way, this whole process took me about 30 minutes. Not bad at all!

So if you like buying candles, now you’ve got another reason to go get some more! 🙂

This post is part of the Spring Pinterest Flips and Flops linkup from iHomeschoolNetwork! Click on over to see some of the Pinterest fails and successes our fellow bloggers are sharing!

Seasonal Skirts: My Favorite Modest Skirts for Spring

April 23, 2014 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

Hi everyone! This year, we’re sharing in a new quarterly linkup called “Seasonal Skirts: A Guide to Feminine Dress Throughout the Year!” I’m excited to share in this linkup with 10 other bloggers, including Dusty at To the Moon and Back, Erin at For Him and My Family, Laura at Raising Soldiers 4 Christ, Kyndra at Sticks, Stones, and Chicken Bones, Mrs. Warde at Sceleratus Classical Academy, Cynthia at Cynce’s Place, Melissa at Life Off the Paved Road, Dawnita at Fogleman Forerunner, Hilary at Our Homeschool Studio, and Annette at In All You Do!

This month, we’re focusing on our favorite modest skirts for spring. Now, I don’t wear skirts exclusively. In fact, I own quite a few pairs of Old Navy jeans. 🙂 However, we spend so much time in our Bible education work that I end up wearing skirts on most days.

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