Mood:  a-ok

The Ghost of Travels Past: Do you remember this Tim? It was on one of your family's trips to your grandfather's house.

~~~~Mom, can I have another sandwich? Those are delicious. What? Oh, of course I will wait until you pour another cup of coffee for Dad. I just love the smell of the coffee in the car. I can't wait until we stop at the Howard Johnson plaza on the turnpike. I just love the little toys that they have in the vending machines there. Shhhh...David, you remember that we're going to surprise Mom and buy her another blue crystal piece from the gift shop. Don't say anything. I just love traveling in the car. The trucks passing us, the smell of the coffee, my soft pillow. They all just invite...me to...go...to...sle...(sound of soft, peaceful, snoring)~~~~

The Ghost of Travels Present: Ah yes. You've grown up and have a family of your own. Three active boys. Do you recall this trip?

####Boys, calm down! You know how nervous I get when your mother is driving. Why don't you put on another movie? # Yes, I know that you've watched every movie three times, but watch them again. # Joshua, stop kicking your brother. If you guys are good for another half an hour I'll give you something from the goody bag. # Shhh. Sarah! Yes I know we gave out the last thing an hour ago, but we have to stop for gas sometime soon. I'll buy a pack of donuts or something. # Yes, I know it will sugar them up, but if it keeps them quiet for right now I'm all for it.####

The Ghost of Travels Future: Look at those little darlings. Aren't they sweet. Just take a look at what could happen if you bought the Travel Kits Ebook from TOS?

****Okay kids. It's time to open another package from your Travel kit. What? You want to finish your card game first? Well all right. What's Jacob doing? Good, he's busy playing on his new Magna Doodle. You guys have been so good on this trip. I'm so glad I bought that Ebook, Travel Kits, from The Old Schoolhouse****

Well, I do have strange dreams like that sometimes, but that is a matter for another post. In reality, I didn't have a dream about the ghosts of travel past, present and future. And, the idea of giving gifts to kids throughout a trip to keep them occupied is not foreign to us. We have done that in the past. But, I like the ideas in Donna Rees' ebook, Travel Kits, much better than anything I could have thought up.

What are travel kits? They are really neat gift packages that you buy ahead of time and wrap up to be given to children (and sometimes adults) to keep them occupied throughout a trip. A travel kit could have a theme. Perhaps you have a child that likes Western things, so you buy small western items for him or her. Or it may be just some random items that are just fun for that age child. A travel kit can be expensive ~ CD's, DVD's and the such ~ or it can be inexpensive ~ dollar store items. You can even include things, like library books or library books on tape, that don't cost any money at all. Donne Rees does an excellent job of explaining everything and giving wonderful suggestions.

The chapters range from explanation:

• The Plan
• The Presentation and Distribution
• The Package
• The Presents

To elaboration:

• A Little More Detail About Edible Gifts
• A Lot More Detail About Books and Stories
• A Little More Detail About Games

To even more excitement:

• More Inspirations!
• The Payoff.
• Variations of a Theme

And those are just some of the great chapters! The author has thought of everything. She gives suggestions for boys and girls of all ages. She talks about how to give the gifts and how often to give them. She covers ways to use these gifts to keep the peace in the car. She even talks about theme gifts like buying miniature toy pigs from a supply store to be wrapped along with the book "Charlotte's Web". How creative can you get.

But that's not all. She also gives advice for giving Travel Kits as a gift to a family that is going on a road trip or vacation. What a ministry that would be. Inexpensive gifts to families with kids to help the trip go more smoothly! In fact, the official name of this ebook is "Travel Kits - A Simple Way to Bless Others"!

She even gives suggestions for how to bless mom and dad and how to make sure the family remembers this trip for a lifetime. For example - If you buy a book for the family to read aloud along the way, make sure that they take a picture of their vacation and tape it inside the front cover along with everyone's signature and a brief description of the trip. Years from now, that family will always remember that trip and it will bring a smile to their faces when they see that book.

And these are only a fraction of what ideas that are listed in Donna Rees' ebook but you'll have to get it to see what other great things she suggests. Don't fret though. Another great thing about the ebook is the price ~ only $12.45 for this over 90 page ebook packed with fantastic ideas. To order, just click here or on any one of the hi-lighted links above. You can also find out more about what the other TOS Homeschool Crew members thought by clicking here. Happy Traveling!

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was given a free download of TOS's Travel Kits ebook to try out and review on my blog.

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Mood:  irritated

Then, I've had some readers notify me that some links that I posted on a couple of forums aren't working right. I know I copied and pasted them correctly.

To top that off, I have a review due tomorrow that I'm am working feverishly to finish.

I know...Waa, Waa, Waa. But it's tough being a blogger these days. You crack a nail, you spill caviar on your keyboard, then all of this. What's a guy to do . Ah well, tomorrows another day. Life will not end.

By the way. I don't really crack nails when I type and I don't eat caviar! In fact I was surprised that I even spelled it correctly! I am however aggravated about these computer problems!

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Mood:  a-ok

1. Buckaroo Days
2. Our Homeschool Reviews
3. Reed, Party of 6
4. Training Hearts at Home
5. Along The Way
6. I Love Science!
7. Through the Calm and Through the Storm
8. Created for Home
9. Tractors and Tire Swings
10. Guiding Light Homeschool

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Mood:  lazy

If you have been reading my blog the past couple of weeks, you know that we have been extremely busy with ministry and some family matters the past week or two. For that reason, I haven't had time to promote the Men's Monday Meme as much as I usually do.  I know, I know, it's hard to believe that I have to promote anything as ingenious as the Men's Monday Meme, never-the-less I do. So, I have put the Men's Monday Meme on a staycation. No, I'm not going to put my laptop on a lawn chair in my back yard beside a kiddie pool! It just means that I'm going to keep the same question for another week and try to advertise it a little better. Having said that, PLEASE PARTICIPATE. Click here to get to the last question. And, thanks for joining in!

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Mood:  a-ok

When we last left Mr. and Mrs. Homeschooler (Marge and Bert) and their four children Johnie, Debbie, Penny and Danny, Marge had turned from being a "Panicky and Harried Homeschool Mom" to being a "Calm, Organized Homeschool Mom" ~ all by using the TOS Homeschool Planner. Click here to find out how she did it.

Now, however, Marge has other problems. Let's listen in as she talks her difficulties over with her friend Babs.

Scene One - Tired, Down, Homeschool Mom - A Month Before School Begins:

*Ring, ring*

Marge ~ Hello? (sigh) Oh, Hi, Babs how are you doing?

Babs ~ Well, I'm doing fine, honey, but you sound terrible! What's wrong?

Marge ~ Oh, I don't know. I guess it's all of this planning for the new school year. It has gotten so much easier since I bought the TOS Schoolhouse planner last year. It makes life so much simpler. I love it. I just hate the idea of finding curriculum for all of the kids to use. It's so hard to find something to fit all of our different learning styles. I wish that TOS sold a curriculum as well as the Schoolhouse Planner. They seem to know how to make things easy and fun.

Babs ~ Honey, don't you remember us talking about this last year? They do have something like that - the Schoolhouse Planner Monthly Modules.

Marge ~ Oh, I looked at those briefly, but you know I never do well with Unit Studies. First I have to plan them, then I have to find the materials, after that I have to coordinate language, history, and science, then...Oh, Babs, it's giving me a migraine just thinking about it!

Babs ~ Marge! Remember, this is The Old Schoolhouse! They're the makers of the Schoolhouse Planner! You remember...that amazing thing that transformed our lives last year? If I were at your house right now I would bonk you on the head! Has TOS ever let you down before? You really haven't looked at their modules have you?

Marge ~ Well...no...but you know my kids. Johnie likes to do research and write reports, Danny loves to read good books about the things he is learning, you never know what's going to catch Debbie's fancy - you know, since she's in highschool now, it's hard to find things for her, and little Penny...she needs hands on stuff. I just don't know...

Babs ~ Oh Puhleeze, Marge. Here! I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to buy the June Module for you. It's called "Travel the World". I just got done using it with my kids and they absolutely loved it. I want you to use it for two weeks and then tell me what you think. I have a hunch it will transform your homeschool world just as much as the Schoolhouse Planner did.

Marge ~ Oh, Babs. You don't have to do that. I know you are on a strict budget since your surgery last February. You could never afford something like that now. And...HOMESCHOOL IN THE SUMMER? My kids would never go for that!

Babs ~ Afford it?!? Oh, Marge, Marge, dear, dear, Marge! You really haven't done your research. You just let me buy it and tell me what you think in two weeks...and, believe me, you won't have any problem with your kids after they take a look at it. Just trust me on this one.

Marge ~ Well, all right...I'll give it a try if you say so.

Scene Two - Excited Exuberant Homeschool Mom - Two Weeks Later:

*Ring, ring*

Babs ~ Hello Marge? Well, it's been two weeks, what do you think?

Marge ~ Oh! Babs! I can't believe it! My kids actually did school in the summer and loved it! And they learned so much!

Babs ~ See I told...

Marge ~ And the TOS Homeschool Module, Travel the World, has everything. It was perfect for each one of my kids. I couldn't believe all of the links to great websites that they had for Johnnie to use. He just browsed and browsed and learned so much through the online games and sites. He looked them over and then told me which ones would be best for the rest of the kids. I couldn't believe it.

Babs ~ Well didn't I...

Marge ~ And I printed out the module for Danny, and he learned so much just by reading all of the great information from the module let alone the great list of recommended books. He was in heaven! We've had to go back to the library three times in the past two weeks just to get extra books for him to read. I'm so glad that these modules don't cost a lot or we could never afford the gas!

Babs ~ Well I told you that they were inexpens...

Marge ~ And the "High School Expansion" section was just what Debbie needed! She was enthralled by all of the extra things that were included for upper level grades. She's asked me to buy more modules.

Babs ~ So are you going to buy...

Marge ~ And I couldn't believe all of the hands on things for Penny to use. You know with her Asperger's it's hard to find things that will catch her attention and keep her occupied. All of the hands on things that are included were excellent for her. We have the lapbook well underway and the coloring pages were gorgeous. She had so much fun doing them and learned so much.

Babs ~ I knew it would be perfect for...

Marge ~ Even Bert thought the module was great. He really loved the recipes that the kids and I tried out. And all of the kids liked the puzzles and the copywork and the...

Babs ~ MARGE! MARGE! EARTH TO MARGE...EARTH TO MARGE...YOUR RUNNING OUT OF OXYGEN!

Marge ~ Oh! I'm sorry Babs. I guess I have been running on so.

Babs ~ Running on? You've hardly let me get a word in edgewise. Anyway, so are you convinced? Are you going to buy them? Aren't they all that I said that they would be?

Marge ~ Buy them?! I've already ordered all of last years modules for only $83.95. That's only about $7.00 a piece but even at the regular price of $7.95 they are a wonderful deal. And to think you can use them for the entire family! Oh and listen Babs...

Well, at this point I would put in my two cents about this homeschool product, but I think that Marge and Babs have pretty much said it all. Don't you? Of course you can find out more about the TOS Homeschool Module - Travel the World by clicking here or on any one of the hi-lighted links above. And, of course, you can read what all of the rest of the great TOS Homeschool Crew had to say by clicking here. Finally, since this product is something that can be used by homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers alike, I'll close by once again saying...Happy Home Educating!

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was given a free download of the TOS Schoolhouse Planner module - Travel the World to use and review on my blog.

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