Typing Instructor for Kids *Review*

Since we are still in our temporary apartment  we don’t have all that much to do. We have run out of most books already and keep us entertained by the local parks, boardgames we have brought and a little bit of school work here and there. The other day I saw a great gold deal though through the “A” place and could not resist. I have had this Typing Instructor for Kids Platinum 5
typing program  for the kids on our lists for a long, long time, but always thought it was not good to add something to our agenda. Now seemed a great time though. Especially since both kids had complained about their typing skills just the day before again while skyping with their grandparents…

Once we received it the girls were excited to try it out.  The installment was super easy and fast, and no problem even with the recently Windows 10 update.

There are many worlds to explore and levels to beat. Once you have beat certain levels/ words (by beating the accuracy and words per minute challenged ) you get closer and closer to the castle. Letters are being introduced slowly that in each level the kids can concentrate on the new letters. They can play more challenging games before advancing to the next level to get a higher accuracy as well.

My little one was excited to get closer to the castle, trying to cheat (by typing with one finger and just finding the letters quickly) but after telling her a few times that, that wasn’t the “right way” and point of the game she surprised me each time when I looked, that her hands were placed correctly !

I love that I can check on their progress and that each one of them can sign in with their own name and with that have their own accounts.

All in this is a really great beginners program that gets kids excited for typing on the computer. We have had so many incidents when my daughter has gotten mad over her typing skills that I have been wanting to find her something for quite some time. There are so many fun activities on the computer for them to do, but when typing just a single word, takes you “forever” it takes the fun out of it.  The lighting deal that day had the program for about $10 and the normal price is $17.99. For $10 it was amazing and very, very worth it. Would I buy it for the normal price ? Yeap, I think so. After a week they are still excited about playing it, and they have made a great progress in a short amount of time.

Any Cons ? The instructor voice is a little annoying and repeating with some of the instructions. It has bugged me a little, not the kids.

Other than that, I have not found anything yet 😉

Happiness projects.. ideas to think postive

What do you guys all think of happiness and positive thinking projects ??

I have done quite a few and first at the thought of this I just thought, ugh not again. Thanksgiving is coming up and everyone will be doing, “what I am thankful for” again. Not that there is anything wrong with it, I think it is absolutely important and wonderful to focus on these things and pretty much more important than ever, in this fast-moving world.  So on a second thought, I thought “why, not”. I am in a new area, my options on what we can do during the week are limited and I need to focus on positive things, after all this is what we wanted and there are so many amazing things here to be thankful for, right now and right here. I need to let go of the stress and worries, things I can’t change right this second and just have to wait another few weeks. As hard as some of this is for me, it needs to happen before I drive myself crazy.

So, what have your favorite “happiness” or, “positive thinking” projects been ? Does anyone have a specific idea, a new twist on things ? I might just go with the normal, once a day picture since it is hard for me to upload any from my big SLR camera right now. Making things as easy as possible is definitely something that increases my happiness 😉

let me hear your ideas…  🙂

Pretty please,

XOXO

Playmobil another review.. the modern luxury mansion

While we don’t have many toys and things in general here at the apartment right now, we notice pretty fast what things we miss the most and what not so much. Clearly on the top of my list are books and many, many things in the kitchen. Also my bed, specifically the mattress lol. For the kids it’s surely some of their toys, some more than others. But on their top list are clearly their Lego sets and PLAYMOBIL.

While going through my email list I stumbled across a newsletter and was delighted to see that one of our favorite sets is finally available in the US. My mom supplies us with the newest things very often directly from Germany and since we are all a little (or a lot) playmobil addicted we often just can’t wait until they come out here. So last year when we visited Germany my daughter fell in love with the newest Playmobil house, but she patiently waited until Christmas a few months after until she received it.

We love Playmobil for so many reasons.

1. My siblings (10 years older than me) already grew up with it. I have played with it all my life, 30+ and I have many sets and pieces that even my own kids now play with.
2. The quality is outstanding ( the above statement should clarify that 🙂 )
3. The details are amazing !!!
4. They always come out with new, wonderful, sets that you can add-on to anything prior.
5. Imaginary toys are simply the best, and there is no limit to your imagination !!

When I was little I spent many, many hours just playing away. Creating stories about anything you could possibly imagine. Family lives, castles, knights and princesses, pony farms, zoos and hospitals.. anything exists in Playmobil and it really is unlimited fun !

If you have never owned anything Playmobil, don’t be surprised to get a box of many pieces upon arrival. You do have to put them together (adult is best) yourself and if your child is very impatient you might want to do it a night before. It’s a fairly easy process though and depending on the set, done relatively fast ! Unfortunately I don’t have access to many pictures right now, but I just could not wait to share these exciting news with you 🙂

You can find it on amazon here ( affiliated link )

Our picture do contain a few extra pieces that are not included in the original set. There are many other sets available for different houses and you can mix and match any way you like 😉

Thankful for unexpected opportunities

When we started this journey to the North West we knew little what to expect. I kept an open mind to new things in general, especially when it came to our new home and the actual area we would be living in. Texas was very busy, fast paced, things would change in the matter of a few days in the community. You had to adapt quickly to fit in. Here in Oregon things seem a lot slower, in all accounts, and honestly that was one of the reasons why we wanted to come here.

Now that we have picked a house, I am starting to think about ways to arrange everything inside. I have shared some pictures of our new place online and had somewhat mixed reactions, on the size of it. It is about 700 sq feet smaller than our old one, and even though that might not seem like a lot to some, it will make a big difference. It will be time to let go of some things.

I have wanted to downsize a lot in the recent years. Two years in 3,200 sq. feet are enough to fill it up completely (especially when you just started homeschooling). When we moved in we had so many empty walls, and empty rooms we had to buy more things ! We had to buy things just to fill up the house. Some of those areas hardly ever got used. That favorite chair in the formal dining room, that ended up as a play/reading room, got used more by our cats than any of us. Don’t get me wrong I loved our last house for many reasons, but it never really felt cozy and warm. I loved the upstairs, where once again literally every corner had a touch of “us”. The kid’s school room was our favorite hang out room.. their art was displayed all over the room. We had big and small discussions there, made big and small projects, birthday cards and letters for family members. Tears were shed and lots of laughter was shared. My favorite room for sure, the room we lived in the most. The kids had their library in the closet, it was small with just a small area to lay in, but you were surrounded left and right by huge walls of books.. it was perfect…

But the room was all the way upstairs and far away from the rest of the living areas. The kids often even felt lonely upstairs, and that was the reason we had created the extra reading/play room again downstairs… yeah you see where this is going..

So yes I am okay with downsizing just a little. Less time to clean and more opportunities to be creative on how to use certain areas (which equals trips to IKEA , just sayin’). I love IKEA and every time I try to get away from it, I figure out everything else just DOESN’T work for us and IKEA is JUST US.. so don’t fight it.. lol.

On another issue, I think deep down I know that this house will be right for us.. and I mean the 4 of us. I have had many thoughts and sleepless nights over maybe having another baby and I still can’t say 100% no, never again, but deep down I think this just might be it.. and life is pretty awesome with my little family just the way it is. It is still kind of hard for me to think this chapter could close once and for all… after all I did bring our stroller with us again 😉

But we will see how things work out. I have shared some great articles by other bloggers on homeschool room ideas on our facebook page and also on my pinterest account..  ! I will share more of our own once we get there !