Safari Toobs Review and Giveaway

Our continent boxes are coming together nicely.  I'm so excited about the idea of making our learning about other cultures as hands on as possible.  I have a plastic shoebox for each continent and we are collecting money, postcards, and more from each continent.  These animals are a great addition to our boxes.

Safari Ltd actually sent us four Toobs to get started with!  The Land Down Under and Coral Reef, (for our Australia box), Penguins (Antarctica), and Wild (Africa).  The girls had a blast opening them up and looking through them all.  The mom and baby koala and kangaroo were favorites of course.  They are adorable:

The Land Down Under:

Penguins:

Coral Reef:

Wild:

Each Toob contains 10-12 different figures, each with their name printed on their underside.  In this photo, I think I am being attacked by an alligator:

We've already purchased several more sets to use when we study different continents.  I used 40% off coupons to get them at Michael's and Hobby Lobby.  I like that these are tested to strict European standards and are phthalate free.  I can see us collecting animals for the sandbox, to create a farm scene with, and more...

Would you like to win a Safari Ltd Toob?  Check out their website and leave a comment letting me know which Toob you like best.  I'll choose a winner sometime on Wednesday the 19th to receive the Toob they chose.  Be sure to include an email address so I can contact a winner.  If you follow or subscribe to my blog in some way, go ahead and leave a second comment for another entry.  :)

Thanks Safari Ltd!  *Closed, congrats Katy!*

September Stork Stack

Here is our Stork Stack for September:

Tickle Time by Sandra Boynton

Melissa and Doug linking monkey toy

Baberoo organic cotton socks

Baby Paper

Joe Jacket beverage wrap

Its always so much fun to open a Stork Stack and discover the contents!  This month Isaac's favorite is the Baby Paper.  I don't like him sucking on it because I'm not sure what is in it, but its sooo funny to watch him dive for it and crinkle it up.  The Joe Jacket is super cool and will be fun to put on my water bottle.  I think I'm going to save the Tickle Time book for when Esther needs a special treat some day.

We've enjoyed receiving Stork Stacks and think they would make a fun gift for yourself or someone else.  :)  Thanks Stork Stack!

September Update

Oh... hello there, blog!

We just finished up our third week of school.  All four children are fed, clothed, alive, and mostly happy.  The dishes are tamed to a small mountain.  And that my friends, is my big accomplishment in life right now.

School:
We are doing about 90% of the schoolwork so far.  We still need to add in a few things, but the routine is taking shape.  Rosetta Stone Spanish is not installed on my computer yet, I'm working on Lucy's reading curriculum, and there are a few other odds and ends we will add eventually.  (cursive, more art, etc)  Its been nice to start early enough that I feel like we can ease into things and take breaks later this fall when we need to.  The girls really enjoy the busy mornings.

Food:
Lucy and I are still mostly gluten and dairy free.  Actually I am soy free now too.  Once I had everything else cut out, it was very obvious that soy bothers Isaac.  We experimented with adding a bit of gluten to our diets, but are taking that slowly.  At times I get frustrated with our limited diet, but we've kept it up, which is more than I thought I would be able to do.  I have found a few great recipes that we enjoy.

Little Ones:
Isaac is almost six months old!  He's a happy little guy... as long as someone is holding him.  Lucy and Julia are great about sitting with him or singing songs to him when he gets crabby and I'm in the middle of cooking dinner, changing a diaper, etc.  Sometimes four kids seems overwhelming, but just as often I am amazed at how precious each one of them is.

.. and with that, I'm about out of time.  A precious little someone needs to be nursed back to sleep.  Goodnight!

Crayola Back-to-School Giveaway

To help celebrate Back-To-School, Crayola sent us a package of goodies!  (and is giving one away to one of you)  My girls love art supplies, school supplies, and anything creative.

Lucy enjoyed using the Dry Erase board and crayons to write out her spelling words one day this week.  She worked very carefully and planned it out so that each crayon was used to write two words.

The next day Julia used window markers to practice writing lowercase letters.  Lucy got to write out her spelling words on the window.

Another day, we used the Wild Notes journal and special pen for a spelling test.  The pen was not as fluid or as colorful as we thought it might be.  The marks mostly ended up looking dark pink, but we could see hints of color in places.

Our favorite was probably the dry erase board; I can see using that often for handwriting and spelling practice.  We also have yet to use the fabric markers, but I'm sure those will make a great craft.  Thanks Crayola, for making spelling words fun this week!

Would you like to win a Crayola Back-to-School gift pack?  One person will receive a kit containing:

-Crayola Bright Fabric Markers
-Crayola Window Mega Markers
-Crystal Effects Window Markers
-Wild Notes Index Cards
-Wild Notes Sticky Notes
-Wild Notes 1 Subject Notebook

To enter, leave a comment and let me know: What Crayola item are you most excited to try out?  I will close the giveaway and pick a winner on Thursday, August 30th at 9pm EST.  :)  Check out the Crayola website for lots of fun ideas and products. *Now Closed.  Congrats, Kimberly!*

Disclosure: The information, products, and the additional Crayola Back-to-School gift pack was provided by Crayola through MyBlogSpark.