Product Review~Super Bright Glow Stick Bracelets

All kids like glow sticks, and I bet a lot of adults would admit they do too!  I recently had the opportunity to review a set of 100 Super Bright Premium Quality Longest Lasting Glow Stick Bracelets.  Of course, when the package arrived, I had my 12 year old son wanting to get into it immediately! 

These glow sticks are 8" long premium quality, long lasting glow stick bracelets.  They are non-toxic and CPSIA compliant.  They are guaranteed fresh from the factory, and have a two year shelf life if not activated.   They will glow super bright for 8 to 10 hours before starting to fade out.  Once they start fading, they may continue to emit some light for up to 36 hours.

The sticks come straight, so you can create more than bracelets if you wish.  We received blue, green, yellow, orange, and pink.  They come with 100 connectors, so you can use your imagination to create all sorts of things! 

First, my 12 year old son and 3 year old grandson tried them out.  They had so much fun making bracelets, necklaces, hats and connecting several to make a long whip.  The next week was my son's birthday party.  I brought out the Glow Sticks when it got dark, and those boys were entertained for hours!  They made all sorts of things!  They were all covered with them on their arms, necks, heads, ankles, and waists!  They had a battle with whips too!  Here is a picture from the festivities:

I found the glow sticks to be durable and long lasting.  When activated, the colors were bright and lasted many hours. If you want to keep your kids and their friends entertained, order your own pack of 100 premium quality glow stick bracelets at Amazon.



I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Children's Book Review~Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical Times & Author Kindle Giveaway

Treasury of Bible Stories: Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical Times, written and illustrated by Kelly Pulley, is part of the Magnificent Tales series, which are rhyming Bible stories with clever art and clear lessons for the entire family to enjoy.  I've always believed that children will retain more information if they are entertained and drawn into something, and this book accomplishes that. 

Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical Times is a 351 page hardcover with bright, colorful, engaging illustrations on every page.  The small amount of text on the pages make it perfect for beginning readers.  Although this book is aimed toward 4-8 year olds, I believe younger and older children would enjoy it as well.  My grandson Daniel (3) and son Chad (11) both have enjoyed several stories in the book.  The fun illustrations are their favorite. 

There are twenty Bible stories in Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical Times, from 'Tricked by a Snake' (Adam and Eve) to 'He Has Risen' (The Resurrection).  The stories all rhyme, which makes reading them aloud especially fun!




Read more reviews of Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical Times here.  You can purchase your own copy at the author's website. 

Part of the Magnificent Tales series, Treasury of Bible Stories: Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical Times will delight children ages 4–8 with rhyming Bible stories pairing spiritual truths with playful illustrations.

Enter the Rhythmical Rhymes Kindle Giveaway 9/15 – 10/12.

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle HDX
• Treasury of Bible Stories by Kelly Pulley

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on October 12th. Winner will be announced October 13th at Kelly's blog.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit Kelly's blog on the 13th to see if you won!

 

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed here are my own.

Product Review~LumenX EZ Grip Bike Light

 

My 11-year-old son Chad rides his bike a lot, so I was very interested in reviewing LumenX EZ Grip Bike Lights .  I never let him ride around our neighborhood once it gets dark, because he doesn't have lights.  Now he does, and we both are loving them!

The set consists of two high quality dual energy efficient LED lights, white for the front and red for the back.  The lights are super bright, with 90 lumens and provide up to 150M safe use.  The white light has four modes and the red light has three modes, which range from constant light to faster strobe light.  The lights can last for up to 25 hours in constant mode and 130 hours in flashing mode.  It is super easy to attach, my son did it on his own in a minute.  Here is a picture of the rear light in my hand, so you can see the size:

I was impressed with the small size and quality of the EZ Grip bike light.  Also, it attaches very quickly and easily.  It is advertised to be used with any type of bike, but my son switches his from his bike to his electric scooter in a flash, and even put one on each of his rollerblades the other day!  So, the LumenX EZ Grip Bike Light is a big hit at our house and I feel that my son is safer riding now!

You can purchase your own set of EZ Grip Bike Lights at Amazon.


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Wordless Wednesday~My Little Monkeys

Wordless Wednesday~A Trip!

I took Chad and Daniel to San Diego to see my parents.  More pics to come soon!

Wordless Wednesday~Summer Fun!

Product Review~Learning Success Program

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

 Does your child struggle in  school?  My youngest does.  He has dyslexia, and it makes every subject a struggle.  Learning Success is an at-home program you can do for 15-20 minutes a day, 3-5 days a week. 

There are 16 basic core skills that help our children learn.  Typical learning difficulties, such as ADHD and Dyslexia to name a few, are often a weakness in two or more of these core skills.  The exercises provided in this program help to strengthen these core skills. 

How does it work?  Each day, you are sent an email with an exercise to download and sometimes a video to watch.  Ive been receiving the emails for a few weeks now, and my son is loving these exercises because they are fun!  They involve movement and fun exercises that are games to him. 

According to the website, it can take up to three months to see results.  I already see that my son is getting better and faster at the exercises.  I'm excited to continue working on this program through the summer while school is out. 

For more information and to purchase the program, visit their website at http://www.learningsuccessblog.com/ .

Visit Learning Success on  Facebook.








I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Wordless Wednesday

It's not the clearest picture, but I love this one of Chad reading to his nephew Daniel.

Wordless Wednesday~Easter Egg Dyeing!

Wordless Wednesday~Hungry Hippos!

Book Review~Navigating the Explosion-You are Not Alone

When I was born, I went from the hospital to a foster home, and then was placed with my parents at two months old.  My older brother was also adopted, and I had several cousins who had been adopted.  So, adoption was a very normal thing in my life.  When I married, both my husband and I had hearts for helping children in need.  Over the years, we worked in a group home for troubled teens, I did home daycare, and my husband is now a social worker working with at-risk kids.

 We began doing foster care about ten years ago, with the only intention of helping kids and giving them a safe, loving temporary home-NOT adopting.  Well, that went right out the window with our very first placement!  We adopted Chad when he was three years old.  Since then we've had other foster children, but no more adoptions.  Chad is no different to me than my other children-he's all mine, just as I always felt I was with my Mom.  He was meant to be with our family, as I was meant to be with my adoptive family.  God has his plans for our lives. 

Was fostering and adopting easy?  No. There have been times of frustration, and times when you feel alone, that you feel nobody understands what you are going through.   Adoptive mother Allison Schumm has written a book that helps mothers through this incredible, but complicated, journey. 

This is a picture of Allison's amazing, beautiful family. Wow!  In Navigating the Explosion-You are not Alone, Allison shares her story and thoughts, and shares several letters written by adoptive mothers.  The chapters in the book are:

*The Call
*The Wait
*The Honeymoon
*The Groove
*The Future
*The Others

The book is full of relevant information that will also touch your heart.  I felt so understood after I read it. Even if you aren't a foster or adoptive parent, this book would be a valuable read so that you can understand and support others. 

To learn more about Navigating the Explosion-You are not Alone, including where to purchase, visit the author's website.  Here is Allison Schumm's contact information:

www.schummexplosion.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/schummexplosion

www.twitter.com/schummexplosion

www.pinterest.com/adoptedtwice

https://plus.google.com/+AllisonSchumm/posts

 

Thank you to Allison for writing such an important book. 

 

 

Giveaway and Book Review~The Sparkle Egg

Easter is just around the corner.  I've recently reviewed a wonderful book that teaches children about the true promise of Easter.  The Sparkle Egg was written by Jill Hardie and illustrated by Christine Kornacki.  It is a beautiful hardcover book with gorgeous full-color illustrations on each page.

Here is my 11-year-old son Chad reading The Sparkle Egg. In the story, Sam tells a lie and has to deal with his guilt afterward.  Through making a sparkle egg, he learns of God's grace and forgiveness.  Chad was glued to this story-he is at an age where he does stretch the truth occasionally.  I have a feeling it really hit home for him! 

At the back of the book, the author tells readers how to make their very own Sparkle Egg. 

The Sparkle Egg is published by Ideals Books, who puts out wonderful, quality books for all ages. To learn more, visit their website at http://www.idealsbooks.com  and their Facebook page.


GIVEAWAY!!!

One The Loose Screw reader will win their own copy of The Sparkle Egg!  The winner must live in the US or Canada.  Check the disclosure below for the sponsor's rules on winning one of their prizes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Wordless Wednesday~Ice Castles

 

 

Wordless Wednesday~Winter at the Lake

Review by Jeff~Beaver Creek Lodge Snowmobile Rentals

 

 

 

I normally would not be writing a review on my wife's blog but since she wasn't able to experience this snowmobiling experience first-hand due to her multiple spine surgeries, she asked me to give it a try. Here it goes.

Recently, our family (and our daughter's boyfriend, Dean) took a short trip to Bear Lake, Utah. While there, we visited the Beaver Creek Lodge in Logan Canyon and rented a couple of snowmobiles. It was such a positive experience we thought it would be nice to tell the world (or at least the followers of “the Loose Screw”) about it.

 

 

 

Now it's been over 25 years since I've been on a snowmobile so I wanted to make sure that we had a safe time. The professionals at Beaver Creek Lodge took the time to thoroughly explain all of the features of the machines and ensured we had properly fitting helmets.

 

 

 

With over 300 miles of scenic, groomed trails to choose from the crew at the lodge provided us with our options and a map of the area. Once we felt equipped to go, we jumped on our Ski-Doo Summit 600 REVs and away we went. 

The snowmobiles were well maintained, and looked brand new. These things could move! I was actually surprised on how much power they had. At one point, my 11 year old, Chad, had to say, “Maybe not SO fast, Dad”.

 

 

 

Beaver Creek Lodge offers full and half day rentals for either their Summit 600 REV and Summit 800 XP REV machines. They also offer lodging and horse back riding packages. The staff was very friendly and accommodating.  For more information visit www.beavercreeklodge.com.  We had such a blast, we will definitely be returning!

 

Wordless Wednesday~Tree Trimming!

Chad, Alyssa, and Alyssa's boyfriend Dean trimmed the tree this year.  Here are some pics:

Wordless Wednesday~My Loves

Left to Right: Daniel (2), Nick (22), Chad (10), Tulip (2), and Alyssa (18)

Wordless Wednesday~First Day of School

Besides our oldest who is not in school, this year we have a 5th grader and a College Freshman!

Wordless Wednesday~Feeding the ducks in the canal behind our house!

 

 

Linking up at Only Passionate Curiosity:

Schoolhouse Crew Review~Scaredy Cat Reading System Express

For the past several weeks, Chad and I have been reviewing Joyce Herzog's product Scaredy Cat Reading System Express.  Joyce Herzog offers many educational and Christian products, as well as educational services. Her Scaredy Cat Reading System is a mastery-based Phonics program that can be used for all students, even those with learning difficulties.

Chad is dyslexic and struggles with reading.  This past year he has improved quite a bit, but is still a few years behind.  I am always happy to try new programs with him, so that he can find what makes sense to him.  Joyce's reading program has three different levels you can purchase, and then the SCRS Express, which we tried, has all three levels condensed for the more advanced learner. This Express level would also be great if you feel your child may have some gaps and needs to brush up on the rules in reading.  I thought with Chad's age, the Express system would be the best choice for him.  Included in SCRS Express is:
*Teacher training section
*Two multi-use boardgames
*All the stories, word lists, and sentence lists
* The story of Lettermaster mini
*Using Lettermaster as a teaching tool
*SCRS Rules Songs CD

SCRS Express is available for $30 at Joyce Herzog's store.  Download a sample of the SCRS Express here.

The teacher training section has suggestions of different ways to teach the material, ideas for games and use of the word lists.  The Story of Lettermaster is a fun way to get kids to learn rules of letters and spelling.  Chad thought it was very entertaining.  There is also a DVD version you can purchase.  Chad's favorite part of the SCRS Express was playing the board games.  We would take turns choosing a word from the word list, and if the other person spelled it correctly they would roll the dice and move forward.  Here he is in the middle of a game:  

Overall, we both liked this program.  It was very flexible.  We spent about 30-45 minutes 3-4 times a week using it.The teacher training section took a few times of reading over before I felt ready to start the program-it has a lot of information in it!  The only part of the program Chad did  not like was the song CD-we just have a small handheld CD player, and the songs sounded muffled and hard to hear. I'm not sure if it was the CD or our player. Chad has definitely mastered words he did not have mastered before, and I see an improvement in his reading.  This summer, we are going to continue with the SCRS Express program.

Be sure to check out Joyce Herzog's website to see all it has to offer!  Click to read more reviews on the products from Joyce Herzog that the TOS Crew reviewed.