Koru Naturals: creams and soaps from New Zealand (Review)

As I mentioned recently, sometimes the TOS Review Crew gets some fun stuff to review that isn't curriculum related. You may recall my review for Koru Naturals back in March. This time Crew Members all received Manuka Honey Propolis Soap, Skin Clear Cream , and one of the following:

• Emu Oil and Blue Tansy Oil Cream, 
• Argan Oil and Sandalwood Hair Tonic, 
• Emu Oil Shampoo and Emu Oil Leave-in Conditioner, or 
• Manuka Honey and Manuka Oil Facial Cleanser and Manuka Honey, Tamarind and Manuka Oil Facial Toner. 

My box came with the Emu Oil and Blue Tansy Oil Cream

Because I have arthritis in my thumbs due to an old injury, I was interested to see how the Emu Oil and Blue Tansy Oil Cream would work for me. I can always tell when I'm over-doing it because the area around the joint where my thumb meets the wrist tend to get a little bit inflamed. This thankfully doesn't happen on a daily basis, but often enough that the opportunity to try something that might help seemed like a good idea. :)

As you can see on the label, the cream includes Emu Oil, Blue Tansy Oil, Aloe Vera and MSM. I had to look MSM up to see what it is...  Methysulfonylmethane is a chemical that occurs naturally in plants, animals and humans, and is used for chronic pain relief among other things.

Here are my thoughts, right off the bat~ this cream rubs in well, is smooth and not oily. I have to say that the scent strikes me as a little odd, simply because it is a mix of so many different essential oils and extracts... 21 additional essential oils and extracts to be exact. When I looked up a number of them (I didn't look them ALL up), I discovered that many of them are helpful for fighting inflammation and pain, which explains their use in this cream.

While I can't say it took all my pain away (eh... I have missing cartilage), I felt that the cream was beneficial in reducing general inflammation. I specifically didn't "massage" my hands, but gently rubbed the cream in to see how it worked, and I think there was definitely some relief.

Alright, on to the products we all received...

Out of the box~ the Munuka Honey Propolis Soap smells SO good~ very strong honey scent. It definitely leaves my hands feeling softer, although they still feel a little dry (Which is typical for my skin and non-liquid soaps). Another benefit, if you happen to have little boys who like to say they have washed their hands if the faucet has been turned on... it actually takes about the right length of time (The Happy Birthday Song, or the ABC Song sung one time through) to rinse the soap off... helps to ensure proper hand washing.
Again, I had to do some research, as Manuka Honey/Propolis was not familiar to me. Manuka Honey is produced in New Zealand by bees that visit the Manuka Tree. While all honey tends to have antibacterial properties, Manuka Honey actually has a rating scale to determine its potency. According to WebMD, to be considered potent enough to be therapeutic, manuka honey needs a minimum rating of 10 UMF. Honey at or above that level is marketed as "UMF Manuka Honey" or "Active Manuka Honey." The Manuka Honey used in this soap is rated 20...  The Propolis also has antibacterial qualities, and the benefit of this sweet-smelling antibacterial soap is that it doesn't appear to promote the "superbugs" that we've heard about. This would seem to be a great "kitchen sink" soap from the anti-bac point of view.

The final product we received was the Skin Clear Cream which is part of Koru Naturals' Manuka Skin care line. Because of the antibacterial qualities of Manuka Honey (and other ingredients, including tea tree oil*), this cream is recommended for problem facial skin. Just a note this cream has a fairly strong lemongrass scent.

This one I can definitely vouch for. I have occasional adult acne outbreaks, and was very curious to see how this would work for them. When I do have problems, they are fairly limited, and tend to run along the perimeter of my face~ my hairline (including the back of my neck, IN my hairline.. :/), just the edges of my cheeks, my chin, and well, then there is the nose. Thankfully seldom all at once! ;)

When I felt a pimple coming on, I dabbed it with a dot of Skin Clear Cream before going to bed, and then again in the morning. Repeating if necessary. Each time I used the cream, the pimple receded, and never became infected with pus. Hurrah for natural anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory products!

Products I received, the day they arrived

*Now, a note about allergies~ Each of the products above include something that may cause allergic reactions. I will mention that I do tend to take antihistamines daily, so if I did have some sensitivities, they seem to be largely taken care of.

• If you are allergic to honey (which is different from being allergic to bee stings), you might want to stay far away from these products. 
• If you have tea tree allergies, proceed with caution. I am typically fairly sensitive to tea tree oil (like, I often can't breathe when I come into contact with products containing teat tree oil...), and I didn't have any major problems with the skin cream. I also didn't use large quantities at once... I doubt I should use it as an all-over facial cream... 
• The Skin Cream in particular is not recommended for pregnant women or children under 12 years of age.  
• If you have general "scent"-sitivities, I can't promise you, but I didn't have any major problems with any of these products, and I tend to have a VERY sensitive nose and allergic (Asthmatic) reactions. Of all of the products, I would say the Emu Oil and Blue Tansy Oil Cream was the one I tended to keep furthest away from my nose. 

One more note~ the Skin Clear Cream is not a very solid cream, so use caution when removing or opening the protective plastic cover under the lid. There is a nice little tab to assist with this, but using a finger tip under the edge will help to break the liquid "seal" that seems to occur each time it's closed. 

I like the ability to use natural good to help heal and have enjoyed using these Koru Naturals products!
Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Koru Naturals
• Product:
• $19.20 Skin Clear Cream (4oz)
• $7.90 Manuka Honey Propolis Soap (4.93oz)
• $14.80 Emu Oil and Blue Tansy Oil Cream (4oz)
• Ages: Moms/Dads, family, teens

You can visit Koru Naturals on Facebook and Pinterest

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say about these and other products. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

FishFlix.com Movie Review: Little Boy

The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew doesn't always have curriculum to review~ we've seen some games, music, and household/beauty products come along, and occasionally some movies.

This time around,  FishFlix.com  (which offers a huge inventory of Faith and Family Friendly movies) had a few movies for members of the crew to review.  I was sent the movie Little Boy.

Other titles that were reviewed by TOS Crew Members were
Do You Believe?, Living Waters: Intelligent Design in the Oceans of the Earth,
Faith of Our Fathers, and When Calls the Heart, Heart of the Family

Little Boy takes place during World War II. "Little Boy" is the nickname of a young boy, Pepper Busbee, who lives somewhere on the west coast.

Quick Synopsis:
Pepper's brother London wants to enlist, but is refused because of his flat feet, and their father determines that it is his duty to go to war in his son's place. This hits Pepper particularly hard, as he is something of an outcast, due in good part to his diminutive stature. His father appears to have spent a good deal of time on imaginary adventures with Pepper (Pepper's motto came from the frequent refrain of his father "Do you believe you can do this?" when facing a danger in their game), so he is losing not only his parent, but also his playmate to the war.

One of Pepper's "heros" is a magician Ben Eagle, who comes to visit the town. Pepper is called up on the stage, and appears to move a bottle from one end of a table to the other, simply because he believed he could do it. This begins Pepper's conviction that he can bring his father home from the war.

When one of the local priests gives a sermon on faith the size of a mustard seed, Pepper goes looking for answers. The older priest in town takes this as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, as it were. This introduces the secondary story line (And to me, personally, the more interesting story line) of an elderly Japanese gentleman (also an outcast) who returned to his home, after being released from one of the Japanese interment camps.

The priest finds a way to bring the two together, in the hopes that they will be able to help one another...

I won't tell you the rest of the story~ if you're intrigued you'll have to check it out for yourself. I *will* however, give you my impressions of the movie.

I watched it with a friend and my Eldest. I took seriously, and agree with, the PG13 rating. My Middlest kept Youngest occupied elsewhere while we watched (and DH watched football, but I think he would have enjoyed watching with us if the circumstances were different... ;) ).

Right off the bat we were struck with the beauty and quality of both the music and cinematography. It really felt as if you were being pulled into a Norman Rockwell painting. Well Done!  The acting went right along with that. I particularly enjoyed the Japanese character, Mr. Hashimoto.

As a general movie, I thought it was well done, and something that I could enjoy watching with appropriately aged friends and family~ no objectionable language, gratuitous violence, etc...

As a "Christian" film, I felt a bit of a "twinge" in the emphasis on an individual's faith "Do you believe you can do this?" vs placing that faith in God~ however, it opens up the opportunity to discuss real faith, vs an almost "Works-based" faith. Not a major criticism, but definitely worth keeping in mind, as you watch with your own worldview in mind. ;)

I will mention again the secondary story line that brought to light the discrimination shown towards Japanese-Americans during that time period. Not something that is mentioned quite as frequently as other acts of discrimination in our nation's history, which made it especially powerful.

All in all, I enjoyed the movie-watching experience, and would recommend this film to families with 13+ children, with the suggestion to enjoy it as a story, and then discuss it afterwards.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: FishFlix.com
• Product: Little Boy
• Ages: Personal recommendation~  PG13 
• Price: $18.99 List 

You can visit FishFlix.com on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ , and YouTube. 

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say about Little Boy, and the other films that were reviewed. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Progeny Press~ To Kill A Mockingbird Study Guide Review

As I mentioned in my review yesterday for Progeny Press' Sam the Minuteman, I have been blessed to review for Progeny Press a number of times. In 2012 we reviewed Pride and Prejudice and The Bronze Bow, in 2013 we reviewed The Hobbit and Treasure Island, and in 2014 we reviewed Hunger Games and The Giver. I think it is VERY safe to say that Progeny Press is among my very favorite products that we have received as part of the TOS Review Crew.  In-between reviews we have purchased the study guides for Amos Fortune Free Man, A Wrinkle in Time, and Jane Eyre, and I have my eyes on more. These are fantastic, well-rounded literature curriculum guides written from a Christian Worldview, which in my opinion is very important when delving into world literature.

I found it very opportune that we were offered the study guide for To Kill A Mockingbird for review this fall. Believe it or not, this one one of those classic books which hadn't made its way into my reading stack as a student or young adult. I finally had the chance to read it this summer, and decided that it was a must read for my senior+ .

We found this particular guide was not set up quite the same as the others that we have reviewed at the high school level, in that it did not include a "Think About the Story" group of questions for each section (However, the Dig Deeper section included comparable sorts of questions). Other than that it was fairly similar~

• Literary Elements are discussed as they show up~ setting, characters, etc...  
• Vocabulary for each set of chapters~ this was one of my daughter's favorite sections this time around. She ran into a number of words with which she wasn't familiar, and has been enjoying adding some of them to her personal arsenal. 
• Dig Deeper sections~ once again the portion of the study guide that I find to be very helpful, particularly when reading literature that may or may not have been written by someone with a Christian Worldview. This is where bits and pieces of "humanity" are picked out, whether good or evil, and looked at through the lens of the Bible.  For instance, it is pointed out that Atticus Finch is a man of integrity, which is a very small point in the novel, but a very important point overall (as it carries through the story, as well as being an important trait to cultivate)

I should mention here that we received the e-book version of this study guide for review. This is an interactive pdf file that can be typed into directly (Which as I have mentioned in previous reviews is a GREAT option for my Middlest child). However, my Eldest doesn't want to be tied to a computer when doing her literature, so we have chosen to have her access the pdf file from the ipad, and write her answers directly into a notebook. Much more portable that way. :) So nice to have both of those options as well as the "write directly on the pdf file"  in the pdf-notes app option as referenced in my review of Sam the Minuteman with Youngest.

I really can't say enough good about Progeny Press study guides for literature. They are THAT good.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Progeny Press
• Product: To Kill A Mockingbird
• Ages: High School 
• Price: $21.99

You can visit Progeny Press on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say about other this and other High School, Middle School, Upper and Lower Elementary Titles. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Progeny Press ~ It's Elementary!!! :) (Sam the Minuteman)

I have had the honor of reviewing many Progeny Press Titles before (in fact, I'll have one more coming tomorrow!), but this is the first time that I have had the opportunity to review one of their Early Elementary titles. Because my youngest is all about history and the Revolutionary War, I was pleased to be able to use the Sam the Minuteman study guide with him.

Side note: We live in New England... you would think that this would be a VERY easy title to find, but there are only THREE copies in our whole library consortium of over 30 libraries! Crazy!

Because this *is* my first time looking over the elementary titles, I was very curious to see what they looked like in comparison to the older Jr. High and High School titles.

While the elementary study I used was for a book that didn't have any chapters, many of the elements of the study guide were similar to those of the older students.

I am going to give you a rundown of what the guide includes and our thoughts or how we used each section. Note: this is a PDF download, and rather than printing up pages, we used it on my ipad, via the pdf-notes app, so that we could write directly on the pdf. We also took turns writing, as handwriting tends to tire him out...

• Synopsis of the story 
• Background information (this was helpful for my youngster, as it answered questions he had as he read the book... like "What *were* the Minutemen, really?" 
• About the Author (Added to the information in the back of the book)
• Before-You-Read Activities (Youngest enjoyed doing a timeline using our Timeline Builder from Knowledgequest~ he likes typing information in vs writing it down...) 
  
• Vocabulary (Great opportunity to use and improve his dictionary skills~ took longer than it should be cause he kept getting sidetracked by other entries... ;) words and dictionaries are cool! :) )
• There was a "mystery word" exercise  in this section that included scriptures that talked about courage... something that my youngest struggles with, so it opened up the opportunity to talk about it a little more. :) 
• Cause and Effect (Good introduction to the concept~ don't think that we'd discussed cause and effect specifically before...) 
• Word Pictures (Similes and Metaphors ~ this was mostly review for him as we *have* covered both multiple times.)

  

  Word Pictures and Author Creates Mood Worksheets

• How the Author Creates Mood (Very simple exercise that was a good introduction to the concept of creating mood)
• Looking at the Story (Comprehension Questions ~ Think About It questions ~ Bible Verses, Dig Deeper ~ apply it to your life ~ These are the "Meat" of the study in my opinion, and what sets Progeny Press apart from other study guides.)
• Important Words to Remember (What it says it is~ the "key words" of the story. In this instance they were used in a crossword puzzle.. fun!
• Thinking About the American Revolution (This is a little deeper section

• Counting the Cost of Freedom asks the student to consider the impact of war on a family ~ in a fairly gentle manner 
• The Declaration of Independence is introduced, which may be an activity for the older end of the recommended age group
• The Liberty Bell included a poetry activity, after talking about Freedom, and bells as communication method.
• Freedom and Responsibility brings it back to the Bible :) 
• After-You-Read Activities (Suggestions to extend the learning... there were a number of them, one we chose to do was make butter~ a Colonial Activity)
  
• Additional Resources: (Books to read and Books for other Crafts)
• Answer Key (For those that might feel more comfortable having cut and dried answers to the black and white questions. As well as the "OK" to have varying answers for open-ended opinion questions... sometimes we need to see that written down. ;) 

I am happy to report that I like the "Jr." versions of the Progeny Press guides almost as much as I like the "Sr." versions. If your kids like color and bells and whistles, you can add it in a little if you have an ipad or other electronic device (like we did), letting them use colored pencils, glittery gel pens, etc, if using paper versions.


Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Progeny Press
• Product: Sam the Minuteman 
• Ages: Lower Elementary (K-3rd)
• Price: $11.99

You can visit Progeny Press on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Fall Frenzy! (Fun, Friends, Fine Art(?) and Family)

My week was.... BUSY!!! ~ How about yours??? 

Here's just a glimpse ~ Field Trips to the Fair and the Apple Orchard, Night-time Pumpkins art class at Co-op, and a beautiful trip to VT for a lovely memorial service...

Now THAT'S a big Pumpkin!!! Almost 2000lbs! 

Watching chicks hatch

Educational sheep to shawl class

Daredevils

Pressing Apples for Cider

and the Carousel

Apple Picking at the Farm with about 60 of our homeschool peeps!
(Parents and kids~ What a great group!) 

Fun night-time etching for our co-op art class~ with a pumpkin theme! 

Didn't they do a fabulous job? 

And a couple of pictures from our quick trip to Vermont~ 

With time constraints we didn't have time to stop and take many photos,

but the day was GORGEOUS! 

More often the blue sky of the lower photo than the gray sky in the upper left... 

(pretty impressive rest area they have there!)

Such a sweet little white church~ 

loved the afghans on the pews in case anyone got chilled!  

I'll ask again, how was YOUR week? I'd love to hear! 

Looking forward to more autumn, but maybe fewer extra activities next week! 

It was FUN, but FRENZIED! 

Blessings~

FlyBoy Meets The Methuselah Project

I recently received a historical/sci-fi novel to read for review. The Methuselah Project by Rick Barry. I love historical novels, and those set in World War II have been of particular interest in times past.

I'll give you my thoughts below the snippet from the publisher about the book:

About the book: The Methuselah Project (Kregel, September 2015)

Nazi scientists started many experiments. One never ended.

Roger Greene is a war hero. Raised in an orphanage, the only birthright he knows is the feeling that he was born to fly. Flying against the Axis Powers in World War II is everything he always dreamed---until the day he's shot down and lands in the hands of the enemy.

When Allied bombs destroy both his prison and the mad genius experimenting on POWs, Roger survives. Within hours, his wounds miraculously heal, thanks to those experiments. The Methuselah Project is a success---but this ace is still not free. Seventy years later, Roger hasn't aged a day, but he has nearly gone insane. This isn't Captain America---just a lousy existence only made passable by a newfound faith. The Bible provides the only reliable anchor for Roger's sanity and his soul. When he finally escapes, there's no angelic promise or personal prophecy of deliverance, just confusion. It's 2015---and the world has become an unrecognizable place.
Katherine Mueller---crack shot, genius, and real Southern Belle---offers to help him find his way home. Can he convince her of the truth of his crazy story? Can he continue to trust her when he finds out she works for the very organization he's trying to flee?

Thrown right into pulse-pounding action from the first page, readers will find themselves transported back in time to a believable, full-colored past, and then catapulted into the present once more. The historical back-and-forth adds a constantly moving element of suspense to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1GcsGbS

About the author:
  

Rick Barry is the author of Gunner's Run, another World War II novel, Kiriath's Quest, and over 200 articles and fiction stories. In addition to being a World War II buff, he is the director of church planting ministries at BIEM, a Christian ministry operating in Eastern Europe. He holds a degree in foreign languages, speaks Russian, and has visited Europe more than fifty times. Rick lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Connect with Rick online: website, Twitter, Facebook

My thoughts:

I am new to Rick Barry's work, but will be interested in picking up more of his books. The Methuselah Project is very readable, and the characters are quite believable.

I have visited Dachau, and been horrified by the unspeakable experiments that were performed on prisoners in the name of science. It's not too difficult to imagine the premise of this novel~ An insane genius, searching for the fountain of youth, using undocumented prisoners (MIA) as lab rats, at an undisclosed location.

The first chapter is set in 1943, before Roger's last flight over Germany, with the next chapter introducing us to Katherine Meuller in July, 2014. The story continues to move between the two times, covering decades in Roger's life, but only months of Katherine's life, until their timelines collide in March, 2015. The twining of the past and the present is well done, and presented a story that held my interest until the very end. To some degree, I was aware of who the final antagonist near the time of that character's introduction, but how the story would play out was unclear, which made it a very gripping read. I enjoyed seeing the two main characters discover the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, as they careen between deception and truth themselves.

I enjoyed The Methuselah Project, and think that many fans of action/adventure/sci-fi/history may find this book worth their time. You can read what others thought of The Methuselah Tour at the following blog tour link. http://litfusegroup.com/author/rbarry

Blessings~

Middlebury Interactive Languages: High School German I

I took German in high school in part because I had German ancestors, and in part because it was offered! I wore a Dirndl my sister sent from Germany (When she was in the army) and had my hair in braids to sing Nur Ver Die Sehnsucht Kennt  at our State Music Competition, where I was asked if I was a German Exchange Student due to the fact that my name had a German spelling, and my accent was "native." My German teacher said my ear for language and accents was such that I would make a good spy... too bad I didn't/don't have the stomach for it. ;)

I must admit I was a little bit disappointed when my Eldest determined that Latin would be her Foreign Language of choice for high school. Middlest didn't do any foreign language study last year, but as he is a Sophomore this year, it *is* getting to be time for him to make a choice. He had mentioned an interest in German (hurrah!) a couple of years ago, so when the opportunity came to review a 6 month, 1 semester course of High School German Level 1 through Middlebury Interactive Languages I signed up!

Middlebury Interactive offers courses in Chinese, French, German, and Spanish 

Grades K-12

Each class is offered by semester, with a full course being two complete semesters. Almost everything is done online, with the exception of some "written" work that the parent/teacher is supposed to grade. This might be a little tricky for someone who doesn't already have some familiarity with the language, but so far I haven't run into any major trouble.

The courses are immersive in that they involve the student in 4 key areas of language learning: the auditory aspect of  Listening and Speaking, and the ability to Read and Write. Some exercises include listening to native speakers, then recording the same phrases, listening to native speakers and translating what they said, reading phrases and dragging them to the correct translation, watching videos, and more. Most of the activities are interesting and engaging.

A couple of things that could use some improvement:
Clarification
We did have *some* confusion with a couple of the listening/writing exercises, where the directions weren't totally clear~ I could wish that there was a little more homeschool parent guidance when using the independent version (aka a key to the answers, so that we could guide our students toward the correct sort of answer).

Assignments
As a homeschool teacher, I would like the ability to move the assignments around on the calendar. Because we had a two week vacation scheduled during the review period, I would have preferred to have control over the assignments rather than having my son's assignments constantly behind. I expect that the calendar is set up for the interactive teacher, who provides support, encouragement and feedback if you should happen to choose that option, but it would be good to have access to it as a homeschool teacher as well.

My son actually prefers the process the of accessing assignments via the calendar: with each section shown on the left, and the arrow buttons at the bottom to move back to a previous lesson or go on to the next lesson.
(Note that the presentations in the lesson that have been completed have blue/greyed out titles and the slides themselves are tinted. In this screenshot you can see the last part of the lesson, Pronunciation Practice 1 has a white title, and therefore wasn't completed...)

The Table of Contents is another way to access the lessons, and can be more straight-forward if one is not up-to-date with the pre-programmed calendar assignments. It makes it easier for the teacher (and student) to see which sections have been completed (green check box) and which haven't (unchecked box). I think that if a "Forward" and "backward" button could be added to these presentations, the "user interface" ( or "UI" to quote my son) would be much smoother. Currently when using this method to move through the course one must click back to the title in the side menu. Not a big deal, but Middlest did request that I mention it. ;)

By and large, I find this to be an interesting method of teaching German, and a far cry from my high school classes which started out learning the alphabet, conjugating verbs, and learning noun gender right away. Conjugations don't show up until the third unit, after the student has some good conversational phrases under their belt. He had enough after the first lesson to have a little fun with it. Learning to say "Herr ____ ist ein freund von mir" made him think of a slightly cheesy little song their youth pastor introduced them to... Jesus is a friend of mine: (so much better in German!)

Middlest's thoughts: I like it a lot~ it is one of the things I look forward to doing. It has renewed my interest in learning German, and I enjoy learning about German culture in the videos. I like that I can understand some conversation, and I am starting to get a feel for the language. 

I am looking forward to brushing up on my German as well, so that Middlest and I  can try to converse a little bit.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Middlebury Interactive Languages
• Product: High School German Level 1
• Ages: High School 
• Price: per student: $119/semester without a teacher, $294/semester with a teacher

Visit  Middlebury Interactive Languages Social Media:
Facebook 
Google+ 
Instagram 
Pinterest 
Twitter

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say as they reviewed other languages and levels. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~