MyFreezEasy (Homeschool Review)

     

How often do you realize it’s 5 p.m. and you haven’t yet made dinner plans?  If you’re like me, this happens fairly often and you find yourself scrambling to get something on the table. When I cook, I often make an extra meal or two for the freezer, but have never tried out a serious freezer meal prep plan. Frankly, spending half a day or more in the kitchen just sounds exhausting, even if I do end up with 10 or 20 meals for the freezer. MyFreezEasy has taken the freezer plan cooking concept and simplified it greatly. In only an hour, the user can prepare and put 10 meals into the freezer for later use.

I received a MyFreezEasy.com Freezer Meal Plan Membership to try and found that the program has greatly simplified my daily meal preparation!

How does MyFreezEasy work?

A membership to MyFreezEasy provides the user with eight different meal plan options each month: traditional, gluten-free, all chicken, all ground beef, slow cooker, “clean eats,” 20 meal plan, and all pork chops. Each plan includes 5 recipes. Following the plan will yield two meals to serve four for each of the five recipes. Each meal plan includes recipes, shopping lists, and directions for freezer prep. for 5 recipes. A basic monthly membership costs $7 a month or $77 a year.

Although the regular membership offers ready-to-use menus for every taste, the Premium monthly membership ($10 monthly or $95) a month adds a lot of versatility to menu planning, allowing the user to customize serving sizes, customize existing meal plans or even create her own meal plans from dozens of meal options. Just choose your meals and number of servings for each, and the program will automatically create shopping lists, directions, recipes, and even labels for the meals!

 

Our Experience:

The first thing I did was to browse the monthly recipe plans. I decided to try the traditional plan for the month and to also take advantage of the premium membership feature to create my own plan. The meals in the traditional plan for September were Slow Cooker Spicy Mango Tacos, Chicken Fajita Bake, Lazy Lasagna Bake, Slow cooker Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin, and Slow Cooker Spanish Rice. I substituted Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef soup for the Spanish Rice, which my premium membership easily allowed me to do. The recipes I selected with the Build Your Own Meal Plan feature were Baked Crunchy Coconut Tilapia, Corn Chicken Chili, Dutch Oven Italian Chicken and Potatoes, Lemon Dijon Salmon, and Stovetop Taco Soup.

Once a meal plan was chosen, all I had to do was click “print,” and I had a complete shopping list, individual recipes, a freezer prep plan, and even stick-on labels for each dish. Super easy!

I checked my pantry and evaluated what I still needed to purchase from the shopping list, made a quick trip to the store and was ready to start!

 

Even with Emily’s help, it took about 2 hours to get all the meals ready for the freezer. That’s more than advertised, but still pretty good for having 10 meals ready to pop into the oven or slow cooker on a busy day.

The following day, I did the prep for the next set of meals. Again, the process took about 2 hours, including kitchen clean-up. This time, I put one of the two vegetable soup recipes straight into the slow cooker instead of a freezer bag for dinner that night.

Most recipes go into gallon-sized freezer bags, which will stack easily in the freezer, although some recipes require disposable baking pans. (I used regular pans or casserole dishes.) I was able to use quart-sized bags for a few of the meals.

Here are the results of 2 cooking sessions:

I loved the printable labels for each recipe. They include the post-freezer cooking instructions, so there’s no need to look up the recipe or do any guesswork about heating time.

I love having so many meals in my freezer. All I have to do is pull one out early in the day to thaw. Then, following the directions on the label, I just have to put the prepared meal into the slow cooker, oven or stovetop for the specified amount of time and prepare a side dish such as rice or salad. Most of the meals so far have been quite good. I didn’t care for one recipe that included carrots and potatoes. Freezing the raw vegetables, then cooking them, really reduced the quality. I think that if I make anything with carrots or potatoes, I’ll cut them up and add them on the cooking day. The Chicken Fajita Bake and Crunchy Coconut Tilapia were fabulous and I’ll definitely be adding them to the list again. We found that serving sizes were generous, leaving us with leftovers, which we always enjoy for lunches.

Here are a few of the finished meals.

I’m looking forward to preparing a new batch of meals as soon as I finish more of the 20 meals from my overstuffed freezer! MyFreezEasy has been a hit in our home!

Friday Freebie! Super Star Speech Sampler

 

Does your child have trouble pronouncing the /l/ sound? Or would you just like to get a free peek at my Super Star Speech program that helps parents work with their children’s articulation errors at home?  This week, I’m offering my Super Star L Sampler for free. This volume includes teaching tips, picture cards, and practice activities for the /l sound. Please share with anyone you know who might benefit!

 

 

Until November 15, 2016, you can use this link to purchase the e-book format of Super Star Speech: Expanded Edition for only $14 (reg. $21.50).  The spiral-bound print version is available at the Super Star Speech website.

Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers (Schoolhouse Review)

Our latest review product is the Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers by Ian Johnston and Janice Campbell. This handbook is published by Everyday Education, LLC. This amazing tutorial and reference book for student writers is actually two books in one, each with a a different focus.

Part one of the Handbook for Writers is an introduction to essays and arguments. Over 200 pages are devoted to teaching the student how to structure an essay. Campbell emphasizes that the thesis of a good essay must be “arguable.” If the reader, or the population in general, already agrees with the point being discussed, then the paper will be of little interest to the reader.

She then takes the student step by step through the writing of a quality essay from the introductory paragraph through each paragraph. The techniques she teaches are much more rigorous than the writing of a typical three-point, five paragraph essay. She encourages the writer to include paragraphs that define important terms, give background information, and provide detailed examples. She also instructs the student to outline the entire essay, including topic sentences for each paragraph before beginning the actual writing process. I am certain that a student who masters these essay techniques will produce exceptional writing.

Part two includes a more than 200 page Usage and Style guide that includes hundreds of tips and guidelines for grammar and word usage. Each topic is listed in the lengthy table of contents, making it easy to locate information quickly. Topics such as spelling, punctuation, parallel structure, formatting, and APA and MLA guidelines are all covered here.

A page from Part 2: Usage and Style

 

Emily is in love with this book! In fact, she asked if she could write the review herself—I’m not sure that has ever happened. Because she hasn’t been home much over the past 2 weeks, she didn’t get the whole review written, but did type up some comments on her phone and sent them to me from a mission/service trip she is on this week.

Emily’s Thoughts:

Before reading Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers, by Janice Campbell, I was always not the best at writing reports or essays. I always had some strangely worded sentences, or kept saying the same thing. Sometimes I would even wander off the topic . After reading this book, I went back through an essay I had written and edited it, making it so much better. The book taught me how to make the essay arguable and also something that I wanted to read myself many times. Not just something that would be interesting to someone else, but also something that struck me as interesting too.

I've never read a book about writing and gotten so much out of it that it really made a difference in my writing. I feel a lot more confident with the information and tips I have now and it makes me want to use them to see how good of a writer I really can be. Not only will this help me with normal essays and reports, but it will also be very helpful with the writing part of the ACT and college essays. I can't wait to keep reading this book to learn more tips. It has helped me a lot so far, so who knows what it will bring in future chapters!

Debbie’s Thoughts:

We received the PDF edition of Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers for review, and while it is formatted well with a clickable table of contents for navigation, I think it would certainly be worth the extra money ($39 instead of $29) for the print edition. This is a book that you will want to keep on your shelf and flip through for reference and that is so much easier with a print book. (I also tend to forget about my e-books since they are not on a shelf in front of me!) Other than that one drawback, this is a fabulous book for reference as well as actually teaching the process of essay writing.

 

Super Star Speech Inventory Reduction Sale

Do you have a child or acquaintance who needs some help mastering speech sounds? I hope you will take a look at the Super Star Speech program. For the month of October, I am discounting several of my titles.

The first three books in the Super Star Speech series, Super Star Speech, Super Star R & L, and Super Star S, Z, and Sh, originally sold for $18.95 each. Because the content from these volumes has been incorporated into the Super Star Speech: Expanded Edtion, I plan to discontinue these titles when my current stock runs out. Until October 31, the books are priced at only $6.95. For more information or to purchase, please visit the Super Star Speech website.

Let me know if you have any questions!

The Cat of Bubastes Audio Drama (Homeschool Review)

G.A. Henty’s novels are a favorite way for many homeschool families to learn history. These classics bring history to life through engaging stories set against a backdrop of wars and ancient civilizations. Over the past few years,  Heirloom Audio Productions  has converted several of Henty’s novels into high quality audio dramas, featuring well-known actors, vivid sound effects and musical scores. Their latest production is The Cat of Bubastes,  a story of ancient Egypt.

The Cat of Bubastes tells the story of a boy, Amuba, who is captured into slavery in Egypt.

The Cat of Bubastes  2-CD set ($29.97) includes three free bonuses:

• The 47 page The Cat of  Bubastes eStudy Guide and Discussion Starter for families who would like to expand the educational value of the story
• A printable poster featuring of 1 Chronicles, 17:20
• An MP3 download of  The Cat of Bubastes.

The audio drama is also available in sets of four (for sharing with friends or family) or as an MP3 download without CD’s.

The Cat of Bubastes follows the story of a boy named Amuba who is captured into slavery in Egypt, then purchased to be the slave and companion of a boy his age who is destined to become a priest. His adventures include exploring tombs, saving a girl from a crocodile, helping to cover up the accidental killing of a sacred cat, and subsequently fleeing for his life. Even Moses, the prince of Egypt, makes a “cameo” performance!

Although we have enjoyed all of the Heirloom Audio Production stories that we’ve listened to, Emily and I both agree that The Cat of Bubastes is our favorite. The plot seemed easier to follow than some other Henty stories featuring lengthy battle scenes where the storyline was carried by crashes and shouts rather than dialogue.  the storyline moved quickly, keeping us on the edge of our seats at times. It was certainly educational with the focus on Egyptian life and traditions, but families will choose to listen to it over and over just for fun. I would recommend this drama for all ages. Even younger elementary-aged children would enjoy the story, although there are some deaths of major characters that could be disturbing to sensitive children.

Study Guide:

The PDF study guide that accompanies the Cat of Bubastes audio drama provides parents of younger children with discussion material to help their children understand the story better. Alternatively, the guide can be used as written assignments for older children, expanding the story into a fuller study of Egypt.

The guide includes several components:

• Listening Well questions assess comprehension of the story.
• Thinking Further questions require the student to think about the events, culture, and principles in the story and  analyze them or to relate them to modern times.
• Defining Words include a list of the more difficult words in each section for students to look up.
• Expand Your Learning is my favorite section! These fascinating tidbits of information teach more about related concepts, from dung beetles to hieroglyphs to ancient Egyptian diet. Although we didn’t spend much time using the study guide for this audio drama, I had Emily read through these sections.
• Bible Study exercises are located a at the end of the guide and consist of lists of Biblical truths (“Throughout Scripture, God wage was against false gods and the demonic powers behind them.”) and several references to support each premise.
• The guide concludes with Historical Background Information about the story. These pages discuss early Egyptian civilization, the stories of their gods, and how their beliefs influenced their life practices.

The study guide is an excellent resource for families who want to expand the Cat of Bubastes into a fuller literature or unit study.

We have previously reviewed Heirloom Audio’s  With Lee in Virginia, In Freedom’s Cause, and The Dragon and the Raven, so visit these links to read about these exciting dramas or visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more about The Cat of Bubastes.

Connect with Heirloom Audio:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeirloomAudio
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeirloomStories
Google+: https://plus.google.com/b/114534826166314080647/114534826166314080647
Instagram: @HeirloomAudioOfficial

 

Creative Scheduling

It’s easy to get into a rut. Do you study math, language arts, history and science every single day? Sometimes it is more successful to pull ourselves out of that traditional school mindset of every subject every day at the same time and experiment with some different scheduling ideas.

Why might you want to arrange your school year differently?

• To allow more time to really dig into a subject. Sometimes, there is an advantage to having a long block of time to spend on research, hands-on projects, or even read-alouds without the pressure to “get to the next thing.”
• To alleviate boredom. Staying with one routine day after day, year after year can be dull. When a student’s schedule changes from month to month or even day to day, it can keep interest higher.

What are some ways to schedule creatively?

• Block scheduling. When my children were in elementary school, we did unit studies or topical studies for history and science. I found that planning was easier for me and that all the subjects actually got done if we alternated history and science. Although we continued to do math and language arts daily, we might spend 8 weeks studying the solar system. Then we’d immerse ourselves in the Middle Ages for 6 weeks, and so on. 

This year, Emily spent the first 6 weeks of school studying human anatomy and physiology. We used a Great Courses video series, notebooking, research, and a Moving Beyond the Page unit. This was an intensive study for which she’ll receive a  full semester’s credit. During that time period, she had a lighter load in some of her other subjects and we didn’t start some subjects, like Spanish, until her human A&P course was finished.

• Schedule variations within a week. One method that is gaining popularity in public schools (and that has always been the practice in colleges) is to study different subjects on different days. Math might be scheduled for Monday through Thursday. Science might be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and History might be on Tuesday and Thursday. This allows for some variety from day to day and gives the student longer blocks of time to focus on a subject.
• Combining subjects. This is one of my favorite ways to both save time and to make education more meaningful. Once your children are reading fairly well, they don’t necessarily need a full language arts or English class. It is so easy to combine language arts into other subjects. Use science vocabulary as spelling or vocabulary work. Assign your children biographies or historical fiction to read. Not only will this enrich their history lessons, but the assignments do double duty, counting for two subjects. Have him write reports about what he is learning in history or science and skip those end-of-chapter questions. You can still use a spelling, vocabulary, or writing curriculum as needed, but you don’t necessarily need one every day or even every year. Of course, unit study curricula are great for combining multiple subjects, from science to art.
• Daily scheduling. Want to start small? If you always begin your day with math, surprise your children with a read-aloud or art project first thing. Take a walk or go to the park for a break mid-morning. Little surprises or daily variations can keep routines from becoming dull. Keep in mind that your children may need to do math or harder subjects earlier in the day when they are fresh, but there is probably still some room for variety.
• High school credits. I’ve found myself doing a bit of creative bookkeeping as I award my daughter’s high school credits. She has some subjects, such as critical thinking and art that she does as she has time, depending on what else is going on with her other subjects and extra-curricular activities. Although she did both of these subjects last year, I didn’t feel that she had yet earned a half credit for the courses. She is working on art this summer to finish up a credit. She’ll complete credits for critical thinking and logic next year. I’ll just put them on her transcript in the year in which they were completed.

What ways have you found to schedule creatively?

The Pray-ers (Homeschool Review)

 

The Pray-ers / Book 1 Troubles, written by Mark S. Mirza, and published by CTM Publishing, Atlanta, is a novel that follows the lives of three Christians, Epaphras, a first century contemporary of Paul, a nineteenth century preacher, and a modern-day new believer. As the reader follows the lives and struggles of these men, she “meets” the angels and demons that are assigned to respectively encourage and to tempt each man.

The purpose of The Pray-ers is not only to entertain, but to give the reader explicit instruction in the art and practice of prayer. As one character teaches another about prayer, about discerning God’s will, and about leading lives that honor Him, the reader also learns the lesson, and witnesses the characters growing in their faith. As Mirza states in his Preface, “I want you to learn prayer. I don’t just want you to learn ABOUT prayer.”

The book is also a look into spiritual warfare. The three demons refer to God as the “Holy Enemy,” follow their human charges around, and strategize how to tempt them into sin or how to distract them from practices such as sincere prayer that will cause the humans to follow God rather than practice sin and selfishness. The demons fight and compete among themselves, demonstrating the results of rebellion against God. This aspect of the novel reminds me of C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters. Meanwhile, three angels encourage the lead characters, occasionally even appearing to them. The appearance of the angels strikes fear into the demons because they realize that they cannot effectively fight God or His messengers. I find it fascinating to think about the spirit world around us and enjoyed this aspect of the novel.

Throughout the novel are footnotes for scripture verses that reference the stories, passages, and principles that are being taught. The reader could use the book as a Bible study by looking up each verse or could easily ignore most of them, just researching the few that provoked more interest.b

I found The Pray-ers to be both imaginative and instructional. Unfortunately, it was also in need of some serious editing. I found the wording to be awkward and repetitive and the book was littered with punctuation errors, spelling errors, and incorrect word usage. Because of this, I found it difficult to read and found my self frequently either editing passages in my head or rereading sentences that didn’t make sense the first time through. It was also a bit too preachy. I felt that the characters did a lot of “lecturing” each other in order to convey the message to the reader and this felt awkward in a novel. I was best able to follow the story by skimming, which certainly wasn’t the author’s intent. Perhaps with some revision, the story could better reach its potential.

Connect with Mark S. Mirza and the Pray-ers:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePrayersNovel/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThePray_ers @ThePrayersNovel

 

CurrClick Fall into Savings Sale

CurrClick started their Fall into Savings Sale today, featuring hundreds of e-products for homeschooling at 80% off.

My printable learning games are included in the sale, most at only 70 cents! If you’re studying American history, geography, ancient civilizations, planets, animals, or plants this year and are looking for a fun way to supplement your studies, be sure to grab a few games this week at their lowest price ever!

Glacier National Park

Enjoying a cold day in Glacier National Park…

Yellowstone Adventure

Roosevelt Arch—the original park entrance

Morning Glory pool

 

 

 

We encountered quite a few bison bulls wandering along the roadsides.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s fun taking a vacation with a cousin!

    The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

(My niece was quite indignant that they copied the title “Grand Canyon” from the real Grand Canyon.)