Enjoying the Chaos

Piano is a very important part of our life. I learned to play the piano as a child however, due to bad decisions on my part I still can't play more than a few notes with my right hand. My husband is the same - his Mom can play and arranged for him to have piano lessons. He decided that he would rather play soccer and so he quite piano lessons. When we first got married we decided that it was a priority that our kids can play piano. I was offered a year's Studio Membership  of  PianoWithWillie   from JazzEdge and we have spent the last few weeks incorporating into Boo's piano practice routine. Since moving house a couple of years ago we now live a two hour return journey from our piano teacher. However, the kids didn't want to find a new teacher so instead of having lessons once a week we have lessons every other week and we drive an hour each way. We love our piano teacher but it's always good to have more practice. Boo agreed to review  PianoWithWillie  as

1. This week has been fun. Monday was Memorial Day and it was a nice day off. The kids and hubby got in the pool again, and everyone caught a little sun. 2. On Wednesday my Mom came and stayed, it was another sunny day and the pool temperature rose to above 70. I eventually gave into the kids pleadings and got into the pool. Everyone got a little more sun! 3. Since then it's been raining everyday. I don't think I have seen so much rain since I lived in England. However of course it's nothing like the rain and floods happening in Texas. My heart and prayers go out to the people there. 4. We are nearly at the end of Jam's Knex competition. It's been a long few days! 5. I got a new Kindle Fire this week! I am not quite used to it yet. I used to have a Nexus so it's a little different but so far it seems quite easy to use. Any tips would be appreciated! Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This

Since moving to our new house...can I still say that after two years :) It still feels like that, as we lived in the older house for 15 years! Anyway, we keep our kitchen trashcan just inside the garage door as I hate trash in the kitchen. The only bad thing is that because the overhead garage door is always going up and down with the kids playing outside, and the large trash cans and the little trash cans mixed with hot, humid, summers we can sometimes get flies in the garage. Then mix that with a six year old helping to put the trash out we can end up with one or two flies in the house. I hate flies!!! So I was offered a review of a  Magnetic Screen Door . I liked the concept and so did my husband. So when it arrived we set to work installing it on the garage side of our kitchen door. It's really easy to install (when you have a husband like mine). You peel of the backing of the velcro tape that comes with it and attach to the door frame (making sure that the magnets ca

Captain has been having a blast the last few days! I was sent a  Children's Pro Freestanding Reflex Punching Bag.  In fact at six o'clock this morning he was down in our family room punching away. When I told him that we had the opportunity to review this punching bag he was ecstatic! In fact the day we received notification from Amazon. Everyone has had a go with it, and it works well. We filled the base with water instead of sand. However, if the older kids or hubby have a go I feel we need something a little heavier in the base so we are thinking about what to do to rectify that, because this thing is SO much fun I don't think I am going to be able to keep the older two off it. It's seriously fun! When we first put the set together it took about 10 minutes. We noticed that the bag swirled a little. My husband solved the problem by using a little 'thread lock' on it before bed, and by the time Captain was hitting it the next morning the problem was

1. Well the biggest thing happening in our house has a lot to do with Knex and the competition that Jam entered a few months ago. He made it to the final. If you want to help click on the link above and vote for 'Joshua'. (photo courtesy of Knex) 2. Summer has arrived to the public schools here. My older kids know all about school holidays - however Captain has never been to school so his concept of holidays are very different. He was very excited that we have a long weekend! Basically we do school if Dad is at work. Unless of course we decide to play. The big kids really like this schedule and Captain doesn't know any different so it's all good. 3. Saying that we are planning to do a lot of swimming this summer. The kids of course start summer swim team on Tuesday. However, I am really excited about our new pool pump. We decided to change to a salt water pool. I am not sure how it works as the salt water is changed to chlorine to clean the water etc...but with

There are no words. Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” ©2011-2014 Chickensbunniesandhomeschool. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author Chickensbunniesandhomeschool.blogspot.com

We love movies and documentaries. I love being able to put in a DVD when we are all feeling under the weather and still feel like we are learning something.  FishFlix.com  is a really cool company that sells Christian movies. I was sent two DVDs to review  Flight  and  Metamorphosis . When this review became available there was a list of quite a few DVDs that were available for review. Besides the two that I received to review there are some other awesome titles that are being reviewed by other crew members. Exploring Ephesus - City of Apostles Torchlighters John Wesley DVD Privileged Species Unbroken DVD Legacy of Faith Edition I was thrilled to be chosen to review Flight and Metamorphosis and so were the kids. They actually arrived in perfect timing for the only week we were sick all year. Everyone one was sick, including my Mother in Law visiting from England. So we were really excited and decided watching on of them would be a perfect afternoon activity. Captain

My son needs your votes! He is a member of the  K - Force Squad  for  K-nex  and has been chosen as a finalist for the video he submitted. Please click here  to vote for Joshua - His video is called  Trigger's Trick Shots! He would love your help. His Dad helped him edit the video and he came up with all the shots himself!!! You need a Facebook Account and you need to 'like' K-nex before they will let you vote. You can vote every day. Jam did receive the kits to build for free but had to come up with his own tricks and video! Thanks from all of us!!   Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning

1. I found an old video today that we took at State Fair a few years ago of an egg hatching. 2. We filled the pool this week...just waiting for the heat! 3. Jam made it through to a final selection in a video competition. Voting begins Monday - I will share the details via social media - He would appreciate your votes :) 4. Boo's friend moved town this week - Boo is going to miss her like crazy! 5. We got to catch up with some old friends Saturday night at a wedding reception of a friends son. I am starting to feel old kids I taught in  seminary  are starting to get married. Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Gu

I love books, the more the better and since Captain is really working on his reading right now I love having bright, fun, inviting books laying around for him to peruse. I was offered a copy of  S is for Smiling Sunrise  by  WordsBright . This is a ABC book with a twist. Honestly, it is not full of your regular 'A' is for Apple, 'B' is for Ball phrases. I don't know about you but I have found that Captain really picks up awesome vocabulary when I read to him or we listen to audio books. So why would you settle for a simple ABC book. This book is full of vocabulary and comprehension that speaks powerfully and encourages positive thinking. This is definitely a 'sunny' book. I received - Hard bound copy of  S is for Smiling Sunrise                    FREE RESOURCES                   Free download MP3  here . Free Pre-K Resources Free Teacher Guides for K-3 Free Words Poster Captain and I read this book together. He read the words that he rec

Boo swims A LOT and she also has really LONG hair. It gets damaged easily and so it can also look dry. She loves the look of long silky hair. So when I was offered a bottle of  Cashmere Falls Heavenly Hydration  in exchange for my opinion. Boo was really excited and has been using this regularly. She really thinks it has helped her hair feel softer and silkier. It's really easy to use. You just apply a small amount on damp hair before styling. It has really helped her - constantly stuck under a swim cap hair look a lot nicer. It's made from 100% cold pressed USDA - & European Union - Certified Organic Argan Oil and is produced in the United States. I wasn't afraid to try it as the company backs its product with 100%  money back   guarantee !  Boo absolutely loved the results. Take a look at our before and after pictures. No flat iron was used just regular blow drying! Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affili

1. My husband has fixed our ice machine!!! You may not understand the excitement behind this statement. However believe me the older kids are SO excited not to have to fill and empty ice cube trays anymore. 2. Jam got contacts today. I can't believe he is growing up so quickly. Boo kept on telling him he looks older without his glasses. 3. Captain memorized his first piano piece this week - he is so proud of himself. 4. Last Saturday Jam and Boo ran a local 5K. Dad was supposed to run with them but he hurt his back and it wasn't quite healed yet so they ran together. Jam got 1st place in the 14-18 age range by default because he was the only one :) but he did great completing it in under 30 minutes. Boo beat him by about a minute :) They had great fun and I was proud of all the training they do. 5. One of Boo's friends is moving to another State. She's really sad and will miss her. She made a really cute picture to give to her. I took this on a trip to the Z

I have said before how I enjoy reading Amish books and we live within 30 minutes or so of a fairly big Amish community. I love it, and my favorite store is a little Amish grocery - it's perfect and they are really friendly. Captain always ends up playing a shy game of hide and seek with a little barefoot Amish girl when we go in the summer. I was offered a new book from  Litfuse Publicity Group  called  Called to be Amish  by Marlene C Miller. When I first received it I thought it was a novel and was a little surprised that it was an autobiography. However, I wasn't disappointed as it was really interesting and entertaining. The book starts by telling us about the childhood of Marlene. She grew up in what I would call a very rough situation. I don't want to tell you too much - because this story is really worth reading. Needless to say her Dad cared more about his dogs, and her Mom well she had other interests too. She grew up as the only girl with two brothers and

We have reviewed and enjoyed  A+ Interactive Math  programs and we have also bought a year program too. So when I was offered a chance to review their new  Adaptive Placement Test and Individualized Lesson Plan . I was really excited to try it out. I used this with program with Jam and Boo. The program itself last for three months - so it would be perfect for homeschooling parents wanting to check for gaps or even for public school kids during the summer break! I signed Jam up for the pre-Algebra program and Boo up for the 6th grade placement tests. They found this really easy to use and work through. They actually have been working through this completely independently. The interesting thing is that they have both been using it successfully but in completely different ways. When the child logs in they are taken to a menu page. It opens on a separate screen. As you can see it is very easy to navigate. Let's talk about each button in turn. 1. TAKE ADAPTIVE PLACEM