ENJOY!
Brandi
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Review: Molly's Money-Saving Digest
I know that I usually post my reviews over at Homeschool Hollow, but since this is a great product for anyone running a household, I thought some of my readers here might be interested in hearing about it.
The folks over at The Old Schoolhouse are starting a new project aimed to help “keepers at home” live more frugally while faithfully serving their families and friends. I’ve had the opportunity over the last couple of days to preview the premier issue of their new monthly periodical, Molly’s Money-Saving Digest and its accompanying website, Econobusters.
In today’s tough economic times, it seems that we could all use a little help now and then with our home finances. Enter Molly Green! Molly is the bargain-hunting, money-saving, frugal-living character who offers advice and encouragement to those of us who could use it. It may seem a bit presumptuous, but I would guess that we could all use it from time to time!
The periodical is in the form of an ebook and will be, in its final form, more than 40 pages long…chock full of great ideas for decorating and entertaining on a budget, finding new uses for old items, child-rearing methods and preparing for the future. There is even a feature called “On Sale This Month” that will point you in the right direction toward common items that stores markdown during certain months. For example, in January stores will be discounting winter clothing items and leftover Christmas decorations…time to stock up for next year!
I have thoroughly enjoyed this first edition of Molly’s Money-Saving Digest. I’m a bit of a frugal fanatic myself, so it was quite fun to read all of the articles, which included titles such as “Feather Your Nest Frugally” about decorating on a dime, “Parenting That Pays” about teaching your kids the 3 R’s (and it’s not reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic!), and a great interview with the developer of PearBudget called “Let’s Get Organized For Fiscal Fitness”.
My favorite piece was this month’s “Begin with the Basics” which featured a great, comprehensive article called “Bread-making For Beginners”. The article includes some history and background information on the art of bread-making, recipes for different types of bread from around the world, and links to online tutorials and ebooks for further study. Bread-making is something that I haven’t quite mastered yet, but it’s only a matter of time. This articles’ tips will help me get there!
Then, after all of this, there are some very handy worksheets included at the end of the digest. They include a home inventory record, monthly expense report, and budgeting worksheets. You can print these and use them in your home, or you can simply use the ideas to create your own that work best for your home and family.
The January 2009 edition of Molly’s Money-Saving Digest will be available at The Old Schoolhouse online store starting on January 1st for only $4.95. In the meantime, you can head on over to Econobusters and get to know Molly Green a little better. There are already some really great articles posted over there to get you right on the road to a more frugally fantastic life!
Blessings!
Brandi
The folks over at The Old Schoolhouse are starting a new project aimed to help “keepers at home” live more frugally while faithfully serving their families and friends. I’ve had the opportunity over the last couple of days to preview the premier issue of their new monthly periodical, Molly’s Money-Saving Digest and its accompanying website, Econobusters.
In today’s tough economic times, it seems that we could all use a little help now and then with our home finances. Enter Molly Green! Molly is the bargain-hunting, money-saving, frugal-living character who offers advice and encouragement to those of us who could use it. It may seem a bit presumptuous, but I would guess that we could all use it from time to time!
The periodical is in the form of an ebook and will be, in its final form, more than 40 pages long…chock full of great ideas for decorating and entertaining on a budget, finding new uses for old items, child-rearing methods and preparing for the future. There is even a feature called “On Sale This Month” that will point you in the right direction toward common items that stores markdown during certain months. For example, in January stores will be discounting winter clothing items and leftover Christmas decorations…time to stock up for next year!
I have thoroughly enjoyed this first edition of Molly’s Money-Saving Digest. I’m a bit of a frugal fanatic myself, so it was quite fun to read all of the articles, which included titles such as “Feather Your Nest Frugally” about decorating on a dime, “Parenting That Pays” about teaching your kids the 3 R’s (and it’s not reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic!), and a great interview with the developer of PearBudget called “Let’s Get Organized For Fiscal Fitness”.
My favorite piece was this month’s “Begin with the Basics” which featured a great, comprehensive article called “Bread-making For Beginners”. The article includes some history and background information on the art of bread-making, recipes for different types of bread from around the world, and links to online tutorials and ebooks for further study. Bread-making is something that I haven’t quite mastered yet, but it’s only a matter of time. This articles’ tips will help me get there!
Then, after all of this, there are some very handy worksheets included at the end of the digest. They include a home inventory record, monthly expense report, and budgeting worksheets. You can print these and use them in your home, or you can simply use the ideas to create your own that work best for your home and family.
The January 2009 edition of Molly’s Money-Saving Digest will be available at The Old Schoolhouse online store starting on January 1st for only $4.95. In the meantime, you can head on over to Econobusters and get to know Molly Green a little better. There are already some really great articles posted over there to get you right on the road to a more frugally fantastic life!
Blessings!
Brandi
Friday, September 5, 2008
A Review: The Schoolhouse Planner
Recently, I was given the opportunity to test drive The Old Schoolhouse’s new digital homeschool planner. I have to say, TOS has done it again…except even bigger and better this time!
Let me preface this review by saying that I am a self-proclaimed “planner junkie”! I absolutely love them and have way more than I will ever need or use! I finally figured out after trying out TOS’s planner that I have so many because not one of them has ever met my needs just right. Many are not designed by someone with homeschooling and all of its intricacies in mind, while others are so rigid that I just can’t seem to “stretch out” in them and get comfortable.
Calling this product a “planner” is not doing it justice. It is so much more than that! I didn’t know what to expect when I starting looking through it, but I was so excited about the sheer multitude of useful items inside! This planner is not just a slew of the same old printable forms and record-keeping sheets. The genius behind this product is that it is also a unit study guide, homemaker’s journal, and overall life organizer!
The planner begins with a fully “clickable” table of contents so that each page can be found and accessed with the push of a button. I love this! I will no longer have to search and search for just the right page! Then, each month of the year is spread out across two pages with large squares for jotting down daily schedules. The second half of the planner is full of great, original forms for homeschooling and homemaking!
The first surprise among many is that each month has its own theme. For example, the focus for the month of September 2008 is “Music Mania”. Each unit provides tons of excellent information pertaining to the theme, including worksheets, craft projects, and direct links within the text to pertinent websites! There are even coloring pages included so you can engage your little ones during your lessons. And in addition to the theme units, there are many great recipes that are fun and easy to make with your children.
The second surprise is just how comprehensive this planner is! The forms in the second half of the planner were obviously created by homeschoolers who understand the sheer amount of things that we have to juggle each day! There are forms for meal planning, housekeeping, children’s chores, babysitter info, gardening and other home projects, budgeting, books read, crafts completed, and even bible study and prayer journal pages! There are places to include photographs of things you have done during the year, a great way to record things for your portfolios!
I didn’t know if I would like the digital aspect of this product, but I have since become convinced that this is the best thing that has ever happened to homeschool organization! It is interactive, easy to personalize, and actually makes record-keeping and planning fun! Plus, because it is digital, I can print out only those forms that pertain to me and put them together in a way that suits me and my family best.
The third and final surprise, and perhaps the thing I like most, is that because of its digital nature, it is fully expandable! I will be able to easily add new forms and new modules in the future as they become necessary to me or available from The Old Schoolhouse.
The only negative that I could find about this product is that I have to use printer ink and paper to print out the pages. However, the positives outweigh this one negative so much that it is almost a moot point. The great thing is, if you like keeping your records on the computer, you never have to print a single page in order to get full use out of the planner.
With all of this being said, and at the risk of sounding like a cheesy infomercial, I just have to say: This is absolutely the last homeschool planner you will ever have to buy! I recommend it with complete confidence that you will love it, too!
Let me preface this review by saying that I am a self-proclaimed “planner junkie”! I absolutely love them and have way more than I will ever need or use! I finally figured out after trying out TOS’s planner that I have so many because not one of them has ever met my needs just right. Many are not designed by someone with homeschooling and all of its intricacies in mind, while others are so rigid that I just can’t seem to “stretch out” in them and get comfortable.
Calling this product a “planner” is not doing it justice. It is so much more than that! I didn’t know what to expect when I starting looking through it, but I was so excited about the sheer multitude of useful items inside! This planner is not just a slew of the same old printable forms and record-keeping sheets. The genius behind this product is that it is also a unit study guide, homemaker’s journal, and overall life organizer!
The planner begins with a fully “clickable” table of contents so that each page can be found and accessed with the push of a button. I love this! I will no longer have to search and search for just the right page! Then, each month of the year is spread out across two pages with large squares for jotting down daily schedules. The second half of the planner is full of great, original forms for homeschooling and homemaking!
The first surprise among many is that each month has its own theme. For example, the focus for the month of September 2008 is “Music Mania”. Each unit provides tons of excellent information pertaining to the theme, including worksheets, craft projects, and direct links within the text to pertinent websites! There are even coloring pages included so you can engage your little ones during your lessons. And in addition to the theme units, there are many great recipes that are fun and easy to make with your children.
The second surprise is just how comprehensive this planner is! The forms in the second half of the planner were obviously created by homeschoolers who understand the sheer amount of things that we have to juggle each day! There are forms for meal planning, housekeeping, children’s chores, babysitter info, gardening and other home projects, budgeting, books read, crafts completed, and even bible study and prayer journal pages! There are places to include photographs of things you have done during the year, a great way to record things for your portfolios!
I didn’t know if I would like the digital aspect of this product, but I have since become convinced that this is the best thing that has ever happened to homeschool organization! It is interactive, easy to personalize, and actually makes record-keeping and planning fun! Plus, because it is digital, I can print out only those forms that pertain to me and put them together in a way that suits me and my family best.
The third and final surprise, and perhaps the thing I like most, is that because of its digital nature, it is fully expandable! I will be able to easily add new forms and new modules in the future as they become necessary to me or available from The Old Schoolhouse.
The only negative that I could find about this product is that I have to use printer ink and paper to print out the pages. However, the positives outweigh this one negative so much that it is almost a moot point. The great thing is, if you like keeping your records on the computer, you never have to print a single page in order to get full use out of the planner.
With all of this being said, and at the risk of sounding like a cheesy infomercial, I just have to say: This is absolutely the last homeschool planner you will ever have to buy! I recommend it with complete confidence that you will love it, too!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
A Review: The Old Schoolhouse Digital Subscription
Wow, wow, WOW! I absolutely love this new way of reading The Old Schoolhouse Magazine!
Now that there’s no mistaking how I feel, I’ll tell you why!
The Old Schoolhouse (TOS) has been my favorite homeschooling magazine for the past 3 years. There is absolutely no other publication that focuses on home education that can compete with this one! TOS is a beautiful, full color publication that is released quarterly and is jam-packed with informational articles, homeschooling news and legal issues, unit studies and lesson plans, art projects, interviews, product reviews, field trips and contests, sample student work, and even a section with all-natural recipes, tips, and information for your home!
Besides being informative and interesting, the layout of the magazine is about as aesthetically pleasing at it could get. The colors are vibrant and there are photos on every page! The articles are entertaining and easy to read. The contributors are homeschoolers just like you and me who really understand the ins and outs of home education. Each issue is about 200 pages long and way more valuable than the cost of the subscription! I always read it cover to cover when it arrives!
Now that there’s no mistaking how I feel, I’ll tell you why!
The Old Schoolhouse (TOS) has been my favorite homeschooling magazine for the past 3 years. There is absolutely no other publication that focuses on home education that can compete with this one! TOS is a beautiful, full color publication that is released quarterly and is jam-packed with informational articles, homeschooling news and legal issues, unit studies and lesson plans, art projects, interviews, product reviews, field trips and contests, sample student work, and even a section with all-natural recipes, tips, and information for your home!
Besides being informative and interesting, the layout of the magazine is about as aesthetically pleasing at it could get. The colors are vibrant and there are photos on every page! The articles are entertaining and easy to read. The contributors are homeschoolers just like you and me who really understand the ins and outs of home education. Each issue is about 200 pages long and way more valuable than the cost of the subscription! I always read it cover to cover when it arrives!
One of my favorite things about TOS is that they feature a one-room schoolhouse on the cover of each issue and they include a page in the beginning of the magazine about the schoolhouse and where it's located. The history surrounding these old schools is enough to peak my interest and I love learning about each one!
Thinking that The Old Schoolhouse couldn’t get any better was my first mistake…it didn’t just get better when the digital version was introduced…it got A LOT better!
I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first. I really love getting my new issue in the mail! I love sitting down with a cup of coffee after everyone else goes to bed and reading it, page by page, soaking in all of the great information, marking sections I want to come back to, and circling products I want to check out with my big red marker. An online version just didn’t sound like it would fit the bill.
Boy, was I ever pleasantly surprised when that first digital issue downloaded and I sat looking at the cover on my computer screen…exactly like if I was holding it in my hands. Then, I pushed the arrow button to turn to the first page and the cover on my screen “flipped”, just like it would if I was physically turning the page. The screen didn’t have to re-load or anything, there was no waiting, it just turned to the next page…and the pages are exactly the same as in the physical magazine! How fun!
The digital version features a toolbar at the top of the page where you can: pull up the contents and quickly click over to any section, see thumbnail views of each page, search for keywords within the publication, set preferences for how you want to view the pages, view the archives, and there is even a “share” tool where you can quickly link to an article or share it with a friend! You can even download an offline version so you don’t have to be online to read it!
I love that I can load the magazine and read it while I’m doing other things online. I can also access it from any other computer, like I did when I went out of town last weekend and was able to read it at the local library. Not to mention that it’s cheaper than the paper version and doesn’t add any additional “clutter” to my already overflowing bookshelves!
The folks over at TOS have really outdone themselves with this technology and I have a feeling other publications will be following in their footsteps. I highly recommend this digital version of the magazine and hope you’ll check it out over at The Old Schoolhouse website!
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