Hampton's Corn Maze

We went on a quick adventure on Saturday morning to Hampton's Corn Maze over near Elkland, MO.  We had a great time, it got VERY hot and we did get somewhat lost in the second half of the corn maze!  Here are a few pictures of our fun...

Riding the cow train!

 Taking the "shuttle" out to the corn maze.

Going in! 

 Which way?

We survived.  We were hot, sweaty and hungry! 

Brinkman Adventures - Season 4 {TOS Review}

Do you enjoy audio adventures?  We sure do!  We were excited for an opportunity to be introduced to Brinkman Adventures when we got a chance to listen to the digital download of Brinkman Adventures Season 4!  This has been our first year really getting into audio and we have really enjoyed adding them into car trips!  But, not just car trips!  I was surprised to find both of my girls running around with headphones and iPod listening to the Brinkmans while eating breakfast and doing chores!

What is Brinkman Adventures All About? The fictional Brinkman family, in their amazing audio adventures, meet tremendous people of faith, discover teachable stories, and relive faith-building missionary experiences all based on real-life, true stories!   Over 5 hours of entertainment packed into 12 exciting episodes, 25 minutes each!  
Here are the adventure stories you will enjoy:

37 A Paradise Lost

38 Remember Nhu

39 Aisha’s Fear

40 Heart Song

41 The Crashed Kitchen

42 Crisis In The Congo

43 The Mysterious Palm Feller

44 War of the Raccoons

45 The Five Guys

46 Toughest Man

47 Cambodian Quest

48 What Brings Us Together

Each episode offers distinct characters and sound effect that really bring the stories to life.  You can listen to a sample here!  In Season 4 of Brinkman Adventures you travel from Russian prison to Cambodian houseboats!  Learn real stories about Christian heroes like Dr. Nik Ripken, Carl Ralston, and more!

What We Thought of Brinkman Adventures Season 4: The first episode kicks off with the Brinkmans hosting a Missionary Adventure Camp.  Things go from bad to worse when the dam breaks completely flooding the camp, and trapping campers until a new bridge can be built.  Saving the day, Dad Jack, steps in and makes the camp a go, even in the hardest of circumstances.  When storms roll in things take a turn for the EVEN WORSE when Mom, Susan, goes into labor successfully giving birth to a baby boy in the height of the storm.  As you follow each subsequent episode of the Brinkmans they begin to meet many amazing Christian heroes through flashbacks and story-telling.  


Kayley's favorite episode: The War of the Raccoons... according to Kayley... "Ian Brinkman, invented a Robot named RD that he programmed with his cell phone to do all kinds of helpful things...like lock and unlock doors!  Well, there was a glitch and the family ended up getting locked out of the house...  no problem right?  Wrong!  The robot kept messing with the door and finally their neighbor Patrick uses his knife to jam the door lock allowing them to get in. But, that was just the beginning of their problems.   Well, their neighbor Patrick has been having trouble of his own with raccoons eating the fish in his Koi pond.  He asks for Ian's help in setting up an automatic paintball gun set to a computer to shoot the raccoons when they try to steal the fish...It seemed like a good idea. During this time Ian has been neglecting his chores, one of which includes changing the oil in his dads car.  He does manage to get this done but he forgets to put the cap back on the oil container in the engine.  Meanwhile, RD goes nuts and when Ian keeps trying to give him commands the robot just keeps saying the same thing "In a minute."  This is the same thing that Ian always says while doing HIS chores.  Well, the oil cap ends up causing being trouble and the engine nearly blows up while Dad was on his way to a meeting.  Later, RD keeps misbehaving and ends up shooting paintballs at the police, so the police end up destroying the robot.  Later Ian learned that after his robot and nearly dads car had been destroyed plus he was fined $100 from the police, he learned that he needed to obey right sway."
Maggie's favorite episode:  Aisha's Fear according to Maggie... "It is about a girl, Aisha, who is married to a really mean guy and one time, she burned his food and he beat her so bad that she couldn't cook for a whole week!  Then one day when she was going with a friend, her husband collapsed on the sidewalk.  They found out he had cancer.  Aisha had to take over the store for her husband.  There was a Christian who was a doctor who worked across the street.  Aisha's husband hated him just because he was a christian, but the Doctor helps him and before he dies Aisha's husband becomes a Christian.  After he dies Aisha also becomes Christian and starts preaching."
What Mom thought of the episodes: One thing I really appreciated about the series is, at the beginning they give you a quick synopsis of what is happening in the story...and if it has any intense scenes they recommend to the children to be sure they are listening with a parent if they are under the age of 10.  Some of the stories are pretty intense and may require some explaining for the younger crowd.  
This was our first time listening to Brinkman Adventures and while it would be helpful to listen to them in order it was not necessary that we listened to previous seasons in order to understand what was going on.  They did a great job in the first episode introducing you to the characters and the storyline to be able to follow along without any trouble.

We enjoyed listening to Brinkman Adventures Season 4!

You can keep up with the latest by visiting their Facebook page!

Many of my fellow crew mates also reviewed Brinkman Adventures.  To find out their thoughts you can click the link below!

Thank you so much for Swinging By!

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Hoover Dam {Bucket List}

We knocked another item off of our Bucket List last month when we made a short visit to see Hoover Dam!  We didn't get to spend a lot of time, but we did enjoy the museum and an intimidating look over the edge!  It is huge!  The price was a little steep to visit the museum ($50+ for our family of 4) but it was very interactive and interesting...  Dam tours were not running that day, but we felt like we got a lot out of visit anyway...

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Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks {TOS Review}

Learning how to add and subtract as a young elementary student is hard enough, but couple that with messy handwriting and an inability to keep numbers neatly in columns and you have an even tougher time!  The One Page a Day: Double Digit Math Problem Workbook by Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks has been a great way for Maggie to practice her math facts without frustration!  We were thrilled to get a chance to review a hard copy of the One Page a Day: Double Digit Math Problem Workbook!





About Channie's Double Digit Math Problem Workbook:

Using visual cues, strong dividing lines, colored boxes and a grid-type format, Channie's Double Digit Math Problem Workbook helps the student maintain number alignment for ease of addition and subtraction problem completion.   The Double Digit Math Problem Workbook is designed for students in Grades 1-3 but could really be used for review or drill in higher grades.  The major benefit being:  children can really focus on learning the math and number formation...without the fatigue of trying to write the problems neatly in columns.   Tens and ones columns are clearly labeled and there are 25 double digit problems per page, 50 pages total, front-to-back.  The workbook and pages are nice and sturdy.  Designed to be done "one page a day," the math workbook begins with simple, no carrying, double digit addition, moving on to subtraction without borrowing, then double digit with carrying and eventually subtraction with borrowing.  Toward the end of the book you will find mixed problem sets!  Watch those signs!

What we thought of Channie's Double Digit Math Problem Workbook:
Maggie said "It was quick and easy and fun.  I liked the little squares and boxes because it tells you where to put the numbers."

I found it to be so simple yet so effective...  It makes a great built-in review that stands alone and would really compliment any math curriculum.

Along the same lines, Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks offer a great variety of other workbooks.  For your 1st-3rd graders take a look at Channie's Easy Peasy Cursive Workbook!  A similar grid/box format encourage tidy letter formation making learning cursive Easy Peasy!

You can find out more about Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks by visiting the website or discovering the latest on Facebook!

Many of my fellow crew mates reviewed various products from Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks too.  To read their reviews click the linky below.

Thank you so much for Swinging By!

Super Teacher Worksheets {TOS Review}

Sometimes it is so helpful to have a printable to go along with what we are studying.  But, finding just the right printable is even more of a challenge...  So many broken links out there in the world wide web make finding a free or low-cost printable difficult.  I had mostly given up on finding a great source for subject matter printables and learning materials.  Until now!  We were so excited for a chance to review the Individual Membership offered by Super Teacher Worksheets!   I know you might be wondering why, since I do tend to shy away from "worksheets" but I am here to tell you how Super Teacher Worksheets is more than worksheets!  This website is NOT full of busy work.  Nope!  It is a fantastic resource full of printables and educational materials that really teach.  

About Super Teacher Worksheets:

The Individual Membership to Super Teacher Worksheets offers you unlimited access to thousands of printables, worksheets, games, practice pages, and a whole lot more!  Subjects include: Math, Reading, Phonics and Writing, Handwriting, Grammar, Spelling, Printable Chapter Books, Science, Social Studies including History, Geography and Landmarks, Holidays, and Preschool and Kindergarten helps.

But, really, it is more than just "worksheets!" 

 Super Teacher Worksheets also offers other fun printables like:  Scavenger Hunts (a personal favorite!), Brain Teasers and Games.  With new content being added all the time!

The individual membership gives one user unlimited access to Super Teacher Worksheets for a whole year.  It is inexpensive and economical.  I have NO doubt that I will be renewing year after year.

How to Use Super Teacher Worksheets:

As you peruse Super Teacher Worksheets you click on any worksheet that you would like to download.  CC means that the worksheet is Common Core aligned.  Lang means that the worksheet is offered in both English and Spanish.  The magnifying glass offers you a "quick look" at the worksheet and the little file folder automatically saves the item into your personal "filing cabinet."

From your filing cabinet you can print out your worksheets.  The filing cabinet works great as a holding place for various worksheets as you continue to shop through all your choices!  Have you decide not to use one?  No problem, when you are finished you can delete unneeded items from your filing cabinet!  It makes it super easy to stay organized and not lose track of worksheets you wanted to find and print again and again.

If you can't find a worksheet the that you would like Super Teacher Worksheets also offers a worksheet generator!  Create your own printable worksheets, bingo games, quizzes, flashcards and more!  The worksheet generator can even create word searches, crosswords and word scrambles!  (This is great for hiding spelling and/or vocabulary words!)

What We LOVED About Super Teacher Worksheets:

Since we are studying Early Modern History this year, it was a great fit to do the Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt!  Printable clues to cut out and hide around the house (or classroom) with instructions and a fill-in-the-blank.  It was VERY different from activities we normally enjoy and it was so easy to implement!  And creative! (I hate to admit that I am not very creative).  And we learned fascinating facts about everything from the Mayflower to the modern-day Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

In our science we have been studying butterflies.  How wonderful to find this great Life Cycle of a Butterfly printable to add to our science notebooks!   

We also enjoyed learning about hurricanes as Hurricane Irma battered Florida.  Super Teacher Worksheets offers full packets of materials to help you learn about a topic with corresponding worksheets for students of various grades.  Almost every topic I could possibly want is logically organized on Super Teacher Worksheets! 

You can keep up-to-date with Super Teacher Worksheets by following them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

We have really enjoyed using Super Teacher Worksheets and I plan to use this resource all year long. Many of my fellow crew mates also enjoyed using Super Teacher Worksheets.  You can read their thoughts by clicking the link below.  

Thank you SO much for Swinging By!