Freebies

It Smells a Little Tropical Around Here…

November 27, 2012 By Thaleia 4 Comments

It Smells A Little Tropical Around Here..

I had recently been researching how to make homemade deodorants and lotion bars. I really, really wanted to make my own lotion bars since they run $5-$7 at a local Farmer’s Market. I cannot afford that to experience lotion on the go that works in any kind of weather! I’ve been searching online and pinterest looking for the easiest and cheapest versions on lotion bars. I already had beeswax, olive oil, vitamin e oil, and some essential oils, but NO Coconut Oil. I had no idea even where to buy it locally besides a pricey health food store 45 minutes away.

I was lucky enough to come across a blogger review opportunity from Tropical Traditions. I was super excited to learn I qualified to receive a free sample to review and a chance to offer a giveaway to my reader’s of some virgin coconut oil from Tropical Traditions.

My personal experience with Tropical Traditions:

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The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

November 18, 2012 By Thaleia 21 Comments

The Ultimate Guide to Charlie

and the Chocolate Factory

Intro & Review:

My children are deprived. They are not allowed to watch Alice in Wonderland or Charlie in the Chocolate Factory (you know the creepy ones with Johnny Depp.) I have to say I am really disappointed in current media’s representation of these two classics since I grew up watching Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory! I really would love to share with my children some of the joys of my childhood.

Well, now I can with Jump Into a Book’s The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Wow, Audrey Press’ and Valarie Budayr’s Jump Into a Book concept is absolutely amazing! You will get to experience a book like no other! Yes, it is digital. Yes, it is media, but the great oldies but goodies are here to stay! This digital option allows for expanded learning before or after reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (I just downloaded the audiobook from our local library!) I know they are going to be very excited to hear the book before we watch the video. After that we will be diving back into The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for even more fun!

Are you ready to become a Book Jumper? What is a Book Jumper you ask? Well, I am not able to describe quite like Valarie Budayr a.k.a “Magic Book Lady” so I’m just going to quote her:

“Book Jumping are stories that reawaken the passionate idea of living inside the pages of a book.” Each story is a gateway into a magical world where stories are not just read, but are also acted out through crafts, games, tutorials, and adventures.”-

How about you? Are you ready to Jump Into a Book? Join me as we take a wonderful journey into The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I am going to give you a peek inside while we explore what book jumping has to offer.

Here’s a small “taste” of the fun we had:

We chose to melt pretzels and dip them into chocolate. We used a slightly different idea than in the book, but still had lots of fun! The kids were begging to do more things with candy so we did. We did candy experiments using Wonka candy. (We will showcase that on Wacky Wednesday!)

They were very interested in learning more so that is why I got the audiobook from the library for us to enjoy so we didn’t spoil too much about the story before going further into The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’ve sneaked a peak and was very impressed with all the ideas and how the book is organized. If you want to try a unit study with a literature base, then The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would be a great place to start.

Want to see how the App works? Here’s a great introduction from The daily App Show:

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this review besides the free pdf copy that was given to us for review. All opinions are my own and are not affected by receiving free product. The links within this post may be affiliate links which would provide Something 2 Offer a small percentage of sales should you click on a link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

TOT SCHOOL: Tot Trays (the basics)

November 9, 2012 By Thaleia 5 Comments

What are Tot Trays?

Where Do You Find them?

I heard about Tot trays from Counting Coconuts and 1plus1plus1equals1 when Lil’ Red was still too young to use them or need them. (Boy, do we need them now! He is a smart little whipper-snapper.) We have been using them off and on.

Tot trays are activities placed on a tray for your children to do. Very similar to Montessori Work Trays, (cute video about 1 1/2 yr olds) but tailored to your child or a theme you want to explore with your child. If you have girls you won’t want to miss Playing House in Maryland‘s tot trays and if you have boys check out The Princess and the Tot’s tot trays.

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Giveaway from The Modest Mom

October 27, 2012 By Thaleia Leave a Comment

Introducing Deborarh & Co.

Fashion without Compromise

You have probably heard about The Modest Mom and her wonderful blog and company. Well, they have grown and are now Deborah & Co offering GIRL’s, WOMEN’s and MATERNITY Clothes in fashionable modesty that you have come to know!

In celebration and to the help spread the word a wonderful giveaway is being offered with
fantastic prizes which altogether would retail over $250.00:

A $50 gift card to Deborah & Co to spend on anything in the store!

A small locket and three charms to build a custom necklace at Origami Owl. ($35.00 value)

A $25.00 gift card to Amazing Grace General Store – You will find lots of kitchen items there!

A Scentsy plug in warmer plus your choice of bar! ($25.00 value).

Happy Birthday To The King-Christmas mugs for the holiday season from Blessings Unlimited! ($21.00 value)

A gift card for $16 worth of georgous hair clips at Lilla Rose.

Lilla Rose logo is property of Lilla Rose, Inc, and is used under license

An 8 oz jar of Jasmine All Natural Face/Body Lotion from Goodness & Grace. ($16 value)

A $15 gift card to Oliver’s Labels – A creative way to label your child’s belongings!

A $15 gift card to It’s A Blessing Etsy Store – Scripture Blessing Bracelets & Gifts.

A plug in warmer from Eclipse Candle Company! ($15 value)

A bar of handmade soap, and a solid lotion bar from Mae’s Soap. ($14 value)

An 8×10 print of your choice, matted to a finished size of 11×14 from Rachel Ramm art studio. ($12 value)

Here’s where to enter:

THE MODEST MOM GIVEAWAY

This post may contain affiliate links for Something2Offer or The Modest Mom Blog by clicking on the product links and purchasing something we may get a small percentage of your sales in return. No additional cost to you of course. Thanks for your support!

Tot School – 10 Ways to Play with Your ABC’s

September 4, 2012 By Thaleia 7 Comments

10 Ways to Play with Your ABC’s

(Disclosure: There are affiliate links within this post. The links provide a way for us to support our site and provide great ideas and content to you! Thanks for your support.)

Just wanted to share with you some simple ABC Tot Trays. I’m sure you will be able to find suitable items lying around your house to create these fun Tot Trays.

1. Magnets and Metal Juice Lids– if you drink frozen juice concentrate or know of some families that do, then ask them to save the lids. Wash and dry very well. Then use permanent marker or vinyl alphabet stickers. The magnetic letters will stick to the lids and make a great matching game.

2. Flashcards– Try to come up with a new way to use them. Say the name of the letter, match a magnetic letter to flashcard or spell the object on the flashcard.

3. ABC and Baseball Card pockets– use a few baseball card pocket sheets and stickers to create an easy match game. Small or flat letters can be placed inside pockets. Larger etter can be placed on top.

4. Sound and Letter Match– small 3D objects (dollar store toys) to represent the letters you have. Some sort of divided tray helps to sort out objects. (I bought mine at a garage sale for .10) You can use foam alphabets or magnetic letters or wooden alphabet for this tray. Use what you have or borrow from a friend.

5. Small ABC erasers and ABC Desk strip (magnetized)– I have a few sets of small abc erasers, probably from the dollar store, that work great with the small deskstrip abc’s teachers often buy in rolls for their classrooms. (I got mine at a teacher’s moving sale!) I used some old business card magnets to make the strip so it won’t move on those metal trays from Dollar Tree!

6. Foam Letter Stamps, Paper, and Metal Tray– I bought these foam alphabet stamps at Joann Fabric and Crafts using a 50% coupon. Princess used these during 1st grade to stamp some of her spelling words. I know Lil’ Red will love the hands-on crafty mess!

7. ABC Wooden Puzzle on Metal Tray– I wish I knew where these wooden puzzle pieces came from. My husband has a larger set from his childhood and we got this set, but are missing some of the pieces.

8. Poker Chips, Stickers, and Magnetic Letters– I made these BEFORE Eldest was born while I was going to college to earn an AAS in Early Childhood Development. They have been sitting in my alphabet box all this time!

9. Chalkboard and Jumbo Letters– This is a small chalkboard bought at a craft store years ago. The jumbo magnetic letters were back from my ECD college days as well.

10. ABC Wooden Blocks and Plastic Animals– Use wooden blocks to spell out the names of animals. For younger tot’s I would use a flashcard or nonmenclature card for them to match the letters. Older tot’s you can help them read the words and match the animals. You can ask the child what sound the animal makes.