JumpStart.com Giveaway

My kids have been spending a lot of time on the computer lately…with my permission! We have been given a subscription to a fun and exciting program from JumpStart. It’s an online game that keeps changing and growing and becoming more and more interesting, or at least it seems that way to my kids.
With our subscription we were able to set up an account for each of my four children, ages 10-.3. They designed their little man to look however they wanted (the one pictured on the right is dressed for Thanksgiving), then they picked a name that consisted of a real name, a color, and an animal. Example “Charlie Black Horse” My younger two kids were not able to play without me but my 10 and 8 year old boys had a blast all on their own. One would play while the other watched. We did have some difficulty at first but I talked with tech support and they were quick to jump in and help me solve my problem right away (the problem was in my computer, not their program). Excellent customer service!
Once you set up your little person, then your head Down Town and choose whatever adventure your heart desires. They have many to choose from such as: Enchanted Sanctuary, Future Land, Adventure Land, and Marine Land (just to name a few). It’s now Thanksgiving in Down Town, so there are many Thanksgiving themed activities for the kids to enjoy.
I love the idea of learning while playing and the computer offers many opportunities for that. JumpStart has proven themselves over and over with their CD-ROM's (JumpStart Kindergarten, First Grade, etc) and now their online site. In Science Land you can learn about anything from Ants to the Solar System. There are quizzes and you earn points for prizes. Over in Future Land you can experiment with how things may be in the future. Playing games earn you money for clothes, cars, skateboards, etc JumpStart Stadium has games on reading, shapes, math and other important skills.
In addition to your online games you also receive 4 Downloadable Games with your subscription. My First Adventure, The Legend of Grizzly McGruffin,Trouble in Town, and Quest for the Color Meister.

The Jumpstart Blog is the place to go to keep up with all the latest and greatest happenings

In the few weeks my kids spent playing, there were at least two new adventures added. One had a Halloween theme, and the other was a Thanksgiving theme. Main Street was decorated for autumn with scarecrows everywhere.  They also have a treasure hunt going on that changes, I believe, with the seasons and/or holidays. Right now there is a Thanksgiving treasure hunt and the leaves are steadily falling. Can’t wait to see what Winter and Christmas will be like.

JumpStart offers three different options for purchasing a subscription:
Monthly $7.99  Yearly $74.99 or Lifetime $149.99 With each of these subscriptions you can add 6 children to the account.

What my kids thought of JumpStart.com

Jordan’s Fav(age 10): “The best part was getting a Mythie from the Enchanted Sanctuary. I played with it, fed it, petted it, put it to sleep, just like a real pet. Now my Mythie (Silver Shark) is all grown up.”
Jordan let me wake his Silver Shark Mythie from his nap and feed him and I tell you, it was pretty fun having this little dog-dragon-like creature tag along with me
Josiah’s Fav (age 8): “Jumpstart Stadium is my favorite part. I enjoy playing Volleyball. Using the arrow keys you hit the balls, but the trick is, you have to tell if the ball is a real word or not. In basketball you do adding, subtracting and other math skills. Football is shape learning and color skills.”
I would recommend JumpStart.com for anyone who doesn’t mind a little learning media style. It was great!

If you would like to win a Free 3 Month subscription please leave a comment here and link this to your blog. Drawing will be November 30!!
Edited Dec 3 CONGRATULATIONS Paula! Winner of a 3 Month subscription to JumpStart!!

  “Disclosure: I was provided with a JumpStart membership at no cost by Knowledge Adventure in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.”

Adventures in Odyssey: Cause & Effect

I’m so excited to share the latest Adventure in Odyssey review. We were thrilled to be given this product because we LoVe Odyssey! My kids didn’t waste anytime diving into this 5 hour long CD set. There are 4 CD’s with 12 different audio programs and they finished them in less then a week I think.
Adventures in Odyssey was created by Focus on the Family and has been around since 1987 and If you’ve never heard them then you just don’t know what you’re missing.  Adventures in Odyssey are audio stories with biblical truths and character lessons built in. You actually begin to feel like you know the characters after awhile. Odyssey is the make believe town and most of the stories begin and end at Witt’s End, a soda shop run by the very wise, Mr. Whittaker. As you can imagine there are several interesting people that hang around Witt’s End.
The latest Odyssey series is called Cause & Effect and there are plenty of mysteries to be solved and laughs to be had. My kids thoroughly enjoyed Wooton’s Broken Pencil Show. They laughed and laughed (and they weren’t the only ones laughing, their Dad chuckled a time or too as well). Opposite Day was another big hit around here. It took me awhile to figure out what was going on when the boys were talking to one another and saying things like “it’s such a beautiful day” when it was actually raining outside. Or telling each other “Good Morning” before they went to bed. They had a good time with that one.
Cause & Effect also covered some serious issues as well. Topic’s included: Secret sins, Fear, Fasting, Friendship, All Powerful God, Trust, Thanksgiving, Responsibility, Honesty, and the true meaning of Christmas!
I would highly recommend this or any other Adventure in Odyssey. You can pick up your copy of Cause & Effect from Tyndale Media Center today. The cost is just $24.99 and it’s worth every cent!


Disclaimer: Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of Cause & Effect,in exchange for my honest review.

TOS Review: Corps of Re-Discovery

The latest product/company up for review in the Pickrel household is called the Corps of Re-Discovery. Until doing this review I had never heard of this family run company. I have enjoyed spending time on their website and learning how Corps of Re-Discovery came to be. Apparently they began to dream of taking their family on a cross country trip in an effort to explore and learn all they could about America (her land, her history etc).

About ten years ago their dream became reality as they embarked on a 14 month trip, spanning 47 states, 20 national parks, and numerous museums. After digging deep into our nations rich history, this family felt a need to share what they had learned using exciting dramatizations and by developing hands on projects to aid children in “re-discovering” America.

They offer numerous products from three main time periods. Here are just a few of the items I found interesting:

American Indian: Moccasin Boot Kit, Leather Vest Kit, and Seneca Lite Throwing Knife

Pioneer and Colonial: Patchwork Quilt Kit, Quill Feather Pen Kit

Frontiersman: Flint and Steel Set, Frontier Craft Pack

The prices for these items vary depending upon what you want.            They start at $1.99 for a Coon Tail                                                                                                              All the way up to $71.92 for a full Frontier Craft Pack

We were given a small coin pouch that retails for $4.99

 

My 8 year old worked at putting it together during a long van ride one afternoon. He finished about half of it before he came up for air. I felt like this particular product was good for him because it forced him to use his small muscles and it helped with hand eye coordination,  which is something we can always use help with around here.

So when your doing your American history lessons and your kids complain that it’s boring, remember Corps of Re-Discovery has everything you need to enrich your history study.

If you’d like to see what other TOS reviewers thought of this company, click here.

**Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I received this product free of charge, in exchange for my honest opinion/review. For more honest reviews from real homeschoolers, visit the TOS Crew website

TOS Review: Buckets-O-Fun

I was very excited when I learned I would be reviewing Buckets-O-Fun because I had already checked out their website and it was full of neat toys that my husband and I could use with our family or with the middle school students he works with at Youth for Christ. They have any thing you can think of from inflatable toys to rubber chickens, water fun to yuck. Yuck! Did I say yuck? Yes, I said yuck! Okay, I'm a clean person, I don't do yuck! My kids on the other hand (3 boys, and the one mud lovin' girl) love yuck, in any form.

So this was a nice review for them, not so much for me :-) I had hoped to use it with the youth at YFC but when I mixed up the sticky yuck I realized it wasn't going to be enough so we just looked at it basically. It was too messy to do anything else with. We needed to be outside but it wasn't possible at that time.

Next we mixed the saucy yuck. It made more than the sticky so there was more that we could've done with it, had we been outside. Again, it was dark and rainy, we couldn't go out. So we just played in it. They enjoyed that. Also there was a short handout that we used to make it more educational. The handout explained polymers, natural and man made.

The sticky yuck was very sticky and yucky (appropriately named) and the saucy yuck was more like applesauce. The boys enjoyed the feel of it on their hands. I wondered if we could add some food color to either of these to make for some interesting pranks ;-)

Included in this review was a game sheet and a FAQ sheet. I reviewed 4 types of yuck: Saucy, Snowy, Sticky, and Chunky. They range in cost depending upon how much you order, and which yuck you order. The price range is from $16 to $400. You can also get a free sample of yuck, just visit their website to find out more.

If you'd like to see what other TOS reviewers think about Buckets-O-Fun, click here.

  **Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I received this product free of charge, in exchange for my honest opinion/review. For more honest reviews from real homeschoolers, visit the TOS Crew website.

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TOS Review: PG Key

I have discovered, thru TOS Homeschool Crew, the neatest device to help protect our children while online. It’s called PG Key, and here’s how it works.  You simply plug it into your computer’s USB port, allow the drivers to load and assign a password that the kids can’t guess. If the Key is removed the computer doesn’t work.   After set up you’re ready to personalize it or just use it as is.  It really is that simple.
If you’re like me I wanted to personalize my PG Key so I added a few sites to block and some key words to block.  I also downloaded my favorites into the list of safe sites. Here are some of the options available:

• Chose to only allow sites that you deem acceptable
• Add additional sites to be blocked
• Block key phrases and/or words
• Set Time Allowances to keep kids from spending all day on the pc
• PG Safe Search, search engine
• Remote access
• Automatic notifications, to let you know where your child has been
• Session Recording

In my opinion the greatest tool would be the session recording. This feature allows you to actually replay what your child has been doing while online. It’s like a surveillance system so you can see exactly where they’ve been and who they’ve talked with, what was said, etc Imagine how beneficial that alone would’ve been for those parents who’s children fell victim to online predators.
Yes this little device can do all of that! And it only costs 49.99 (plus shipping) You can request a free trial by going here. The PG Key has been featured in numerous articles, magazines and newspapers. I would also like to add that the customer support is extremely efficient. I thought I was having trouble after adding some safe sites to my lists and they were there to help me. I really didn’t have an issue, I just hadn’t waited long enough for the settings to go into effect.
Although PG Key is an amazing tool to HELP us protect our children. There is no substitute for adult supervision. You still need to monitor your children and teach them internet safety.  I am not 100% satisfied with the search results that  show up when I type in certain phrases. I will continue to tweak this and see if I can block everything I want blocked, but for now I have to say, it’s not blocking all the filth. My children have certain sites they go to so it’s not much of an issue at this point, but when they’re older and doing research I will definitely want a better system then what I have in place at this point.
If you’d like to see what others are saying about PG Key, click here.

**Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I received this product free of charge, in exchange for my honest opinion/review. For more honest reviews from real homeschoolers, visit the TOS Crew website.

I am the Vine. Abide in Me (Part 2)

25As I explained in my previous post, I recently drifted from my Father and found I didn't have the will to find Him again. There was something standing between us and it was almost like "out of sight out of mind." I know that sounds awful but it truly seems that way sometimes. I'm so weak on my own, I can't even go to Him!

Thank you Jesus, You came to me (again). This time it was through Pastor Mike's sermon. I knew God was telling me, "no matter what you do, where you go, how far away you move, I'm still here. I love you"  In that moment I felt truly special to Him. We are all that special to Him, all the time, but we seem to forget it so easily. Before I left church that day I asked Him to please get me out of bed the next morning, I didn't want to miss my time with Him. He woke me up at 6:30 am on the dot. I practically sit straight up in bed. When I saw the clock I remembered my prayer at church the previous morning. I usually don't remember things, especially when I first wake up, so I knew it was Him, giving me my special wake up call.

Now that I was up, I had to decide what to do for my quiet time. Should I continue with the Bible study I was using but not particularly enjoying, or should I just dive into His Word on my own. I decided I should continue the Bible study (I hate not finishing something I've started) and I'm so glad I did.

Over the next few days God began to speak to me with different verses. I now have a practical plan in place to help me battle some things I've been dealing with in my life. These are issues that I've been struggling with for years and I've felt moved to lay them all on the alter and seek no outside council. I'm usually the type that will ask other believers, read Christian books on the subject matter etc. But I've done that and I'm still fighting these same battles. Here are the verses He gave me:
Psalm 126:5-6
5 Those who sow in tears
    Shall reap in joy.
6 He who continually goes forth weeping,
   Bearing seed for sowing,
   Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
   Bringing his sheaves with him.

I realized that although I've been battling this for quite sometime, if I could just keep sowing the harvest would be joyful in the end. I will rejoice when this struggle ends.

Galatians 6:8
8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Keep sowing---harvest time will come! The tricky part will be to sow to the Spirit and not my flesh, which is my natural tendency. I will need to sow the seed (God's Word) by putting it into practice! I must die to my fleshly desires in order to reap His Spiritual rewards.



John 15:4-5
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.                                                                                                                         5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.


There it was, in black in white! The answer I'd been looking for. Isn't it funny how something you've read 100's of times becomes clear all at once. None of these verses were new to me, but they all became new to me when the Spirit revealed His plan for me to overcome this particular struggle I had been dealing with. I'm so glad He broke it down to me in simple terms. I'm simply to Abide! When I don't know what to do, that word pops in my head~~ abide!

I am the Vine. Abide in Me (Part 1)

Am I the only one who struggles to stay with Jesus on my spiritual journey? It seems I always get distracted by life or selfish desires. I see myself as a small two-year-old following behind her Father in a forest full of interesting and dangerous sights. Always stopping along the way to pick a flower or remove a stick in the way. Sometimes needing to rest I’ll sit down instead of asking Him to carry me for awhile. Then when I least expect it something will catch my eye and off I trot on my own path in the opposite direction of my Father.

This scenario has played out time and time again in my life, but it always ends the same. My Father draws me back to Himself. It happens in different ways each time, but I always know it’s Him calling me back. Recently I followed my own path which lead me to sleep later than usual and miss my quiet time more often then not. It started around the middle of the summer when my normally ordered life became very unorganized and disrupted. I saw this coming and started a personal Bible study to hopefully keep me on track. The Bible study wasn’t the best and for that reason I didn’t really mind skipping it on occasion (too many occasions) for a couple extra winks of sleep.

Pretty quickly I noticed a dangerous pattern in my thought life, but instead of squelching it quickly I allowed it to linger. This is such a dangerous thing to do because as the saying goes “be careful what you think because your thoughts become your words and your words become your actions.” For several months I allowed myself to think more about “me”  and put myself in a higher position than I deserved. I also chose not to recognize my sin nature taking hold of my heart and life. Praying was very difficult and my usually strong desire for God’s Word was becoming non-existent. These are always red flags in my spiritual walk but by the time they’re popping up I’m usually far enough away from my Father to not really care so much. I’ve got a taste of freedom in my mouth and I’m longing to do things MY WAY! I realize there is pleasure in sin for a season and I’m blinded by the allure of the pleasure to come; I’m equally blinded to the consequences my sin will bring once it’s given free reign in my body.

During these weeks, I knew things weren’t right but I felt helpless to find my Father again. My desire for Him was alive, and yet it wasn’t strong enough to snap me out of my haze and bring me to the realization that I was headed for trouble. Does that make sense?  He was there, I knew He was close, I hadn’t gone too far from His path but I couldn’t even bring myself to call out to Him. Looking back to where I was, and where I was headed, scares the heebie-jeebies out of me.

Thank God He called out my name!

To be continued...