A little help for the homeschoolers

As a home school mom, I have had many challenges. One thing I have found is that there are different learning styles for each child. All children want to learn, we just have to find the correct way to teach that child. Many of the children today are used to high-tech toys, such as computers, ipods, etc. As parents and teachers we want to sit them down to what they call “boring” books and try to teach them. This is okay, if it works. But you have some children that want the excitement of high-tech in learning.

This can be a great challenge to many teachers and home school moms or dads if you don’t know the benefits that are available to you through online teaching. One such website I have visited recently is KC Distance Learning Inc. I visited this website to see how it works and if it would benefit me in teaching my teenage daughter. My daughter loves high-tech gadgets. She loves learning in different areas. One day she wants to learn in the car, the next it might be out in the open at the park. This can make it very difficult if we have to pack up all of the books for the day and head out. I can see where KC Distance Learning can be of great benefit if you have a daughter like mine. There would be no need to pack up anything but the computer!

In doing my research while reviewing KC Distance Learning I found two statistics that were very intriguing to me. In a recent survey they found that 58% of online students get more help when they fall behind vs. 40% in traditional schooling. Also the same survey found that online students have more interest in attending a 4 year college after graduation than students in traditional school. 78% vs. 67%. Even taking into consideration that home schooling is different from traditional schooling, these statistics are eyebrow raising. I know that the students of today live in a faster pace world and enjoy learning in different ways, that is one reason I decided to look into KC Distance Learning.

I can also see the benefits of KC Distance Learning in the traditional school setting. If a child is struggling to keep up in class or is excelling to the point that they are bored in class, KC Distance Learning can help in both situations. I can see this website helping those that just can’t seem to “get it”. I can also see this site helping those that are wanting more but traditional school isn’t providing more learning opportunities to keep them interested.

We can all see the many changes in technology over the past few years. I can see online schooling through websites like KC Distance Learning becoming one of the most sought after ways of learning in the near future. This type of learning is going to be essential as our children’s generations become more and more high tech.

Overall, I think this website can be beneficial to the home school family, those that are struggling in traditional school and those that are excelling and bored with traditional schools. KC Distance Learning also can benefit those that want to continue their education even after they are out of high school. I think this is a great website for any teacher, mother, or dad to look into if they have a child in either category.


I recieved a $20 gift card in exchange for the time I took to review this website.  No other compensation was recieved and all opinions are my (Anita) own.  See full disclaimer for more details.

Micielo Winner!

The winner of the ipod / iphone cover from Micielo is.....Jgmulligan, who said, "love the Mr T shirt!"

Thanks for reading the So Mommy blog everyone!

Don't forget to enter the "All Tied Up" giveaway HERE!

CSN Stores Review...Coming Soon!

I have been a fan of CSN Stores since I found out about them about a month ago.  They have over 200+ stores to help you find EVERYthing (ok, almost everything) that you could possibly need from lights to cookware to bookshelves to kid stuff.

CSN offered me a $40 gift card to use to get an item to review.  Any ideas on what I should choose?  They have so many things that I'd love to have, I'm having a hard time deciding.  Here are a few things that I've seen and liked:

KidCo PeaPod Travel Tent($57.95):  http://www.csnstores.com/KidCo-P101-KCO1007.html

Child's Gliding Rocker ($61.95): http://www.csnstores.com/Storkcraft-06550-138-KD1481.html

Papagaya Rocking Chair by Lambs and Ivy ($88.00) http://www.csnstores.com/Guidecraft-G85401-EZ2025.html

Trimmer Cookware ($44.99): http://www.cookware.com/Trimmer-SC-SS004-TRI1031.html

Farberware Cookware ($69.95): http://www.cookware.com/Farberware-71237-FBR1148.html

My Baby Sam Lamp Medallion ($60.00): http://www.csnstores.com/My-Baby-Sam-LP157-MBS1083.html

My Baby Sam Lamp Paisley ($60.00): http://www.csnstores.com/My-Baby-Sam-LP151-MBS1055.html

All Tied Up Review and Giveaway

I recently came across “All Tied Up,” and I just loved their selection of shirts for kids. The owner was gracious enough to let me pick my favorite to review, so I picked the Minnie Mouse shirt. It's such a cute, girly shirt that I just loved it when I saw it! She even puts your child’s name on most of the shirts for FREE!

The shirt came “all tied up” in a cute little bag with a pretty ribbon, perfect for gift-giving (VERY quick shipping aslo). Sydney said “awww” as soon as she saw it. Sydney gets so many compliments when she wears this precious little shirt. The Minnie Mouse is embroidered with bright pink thread onto a good-quality t-shirt with a pretty little bow sewn onto her ear. This shirt has been worn and washed several times and still looks just as great as the first time. I do always lay it out to dry, but I do that with all of our handmade clothing.

I would recommend “All Tied Up” to anyone! The shirts are great quality and would make a great gift for any kid! They have a large assortment of shirts, so I'm sure you could find one perfect for the child in your life. As with most Etsy store owners, contact her if you have a special request, and it's likely that she can help you out!

Here are a few pictures from the Helen Keller Festival where Sydney showed off her beautiful shirt!

GIVEAWAY
"All Tied Up" is offering one reader their choice of shirt with a name put on it! 

How To Enter:
Mandatory-MUST be done or other entries will NOT count:
Visit "All Tied Up" on Etsy HERE and tell me which shirt you would like and what name you want on it.

Extra Entries:
(1 entry) Share this giveaway on Facebook
(1 entry) Follow All Tied Up on Facebook HERE
(1 entry) Blog about this giveaway and leave the link to your post
(1 entry) Follow So Mommy on Facebook HERE or Google Connect

Giveaway will end Monday, July 5th at 5 p.m. CST.  Winner will be drawn by a random number generator.  If winner doesn't respond within 48 hours another winner will be drawn.  "All Tied Up" is responsible for shipping prize to winner.  Please see full disclaimer for more information.

We Love Abby!

We received “The Tails of Abbygail: Dreams Come True” from the Producer, Terri Lynn. 'The Tails of Abbygail” is a DVD mini-series created to help inspire children ages 2-10. This DVD is about a Jack Russell Terrier, named Abbygail, and her adventures with her friends.

In the first episode, “Dreams Come True,” Abbygail learns the importance of water safety and about stranger danger. This is a fun way to help your kids learn about these important topics. These episodes use real pets to tell the story- don't worry, none were hurt in the making of the film! You can meet them and read their stories HERE.
Sydney is only 16 months old, but she loves this DVD. I decided to let my niece, Katie, who is 3 years old watch it to see what she thought about it, and she also loved it. I think the fact that it is told in a storytelling way helps keep kids interested. Most kids also enjoy seeing the real animals interacting together. The movie is about 30 minutes long.

You can visit Abbygail on Facebook HERE or at http://www.weloveabby.com/.

5 DVD set + 7 Posters available at http://www.weloveabby.com/ NOW!

Aloha – How about a Hawaiian GIVEAWAY?

I know you were all hoping it was a trip to Hawaii...and maybe one day I'll be able to offer that as a giveaway, but not today....What I have is a VERY unique company called mi cielo ("mi cielo" means "my sky, my love"in Spanish) that offers items for almost any age range! They have cute clothing at mi cielo and ipod / iphone / gadget cases at the sister store HERE.  All items are created and hand-stitched with 100% love by the owner in Hawaii. She uses felts in 28 different colors every day to create something original.

The owner sent me an adorable t-shirt for Sydney to try. Sydney LOVED that it had a flower on it (they are her favorite things right now). I love that it has a hand-crafted design. The design is made from felt and sewn on. Sydney has worn this shirt SOO many times, and it has been washed SOO many times, and it still looks great. I even (accidentally) dried it the last time instead of laying it out to dry...and it still looks great! People always comment on how adorable it is.

Here are a few more of her creations:

Guess what?? The giveaway is NOT a kids shirt! It is one of the ipod / iphone cases from the gogo gadget store! I think this is a great way to keep your phone or ipod safe and un-scratched! It will hold many different phones or other devices, but it is the perfect size for ipods.

Here is a picture of the one up for grabs. It is pink with a felt sewn on picture of Princess Leia from Stars Wars. Don't worry if you aren't a Star Wars fan...I'm not, and I would still use it! Click HERE for specifics on this case.

HOW TO ENTER:

(1 entry) Visit mi cielo HERE or the gogo gadget store HERE and tell me what your favorite item is
(1 entry) Follow So Mommy by Google Connect – Click Follow on the right hand side of the page
(1 entry) Share this giveaway with 3 friends – Please be honest
(3 entries) Buy something from mi cielo HERE or from her gadget store HERE

Giveaway will end Monday, June 28th, 2010 at 5 p.m. Winner will be chosen by a random number generator and contacted via email. If winner doesn't respond within 48 hours another winner will be drawn.

**I was given above mentioned t-shirt in exchange for my honest review. See full disclaimer for more information.**

Book Review-The Adventues of Bible Buddy

I chose the book The Adventures of Bible Buddy because I thought it would be a book my granddaughter would enjoy.

This book is about a little dog named Buddy.  His mom reads him daily devotions and teaches him lessons from the Bible.  One particular adventure Buddy has requires him to turn the other cheek.  His mom had taught him this lesson from the Bible and Buddy finds it is very hard to turn the other cheek, but he knows it is the right thing to do.  Throughout the book Buddy asks the child what they would do in his situation and it gives space for them to answer. There are several illustrations in this book of Buddy himself.  This is a cute book and I think it would be great for children grades 1-3.

I, Anita, received a complimentary copy of The Adventures of Bible Buddy as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team.  Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.