Cultivating Kids' Community Service Through Gardening

Hi! It's Jilly. It's been fun getting to know our new hometown. A couple girls I've met started a non-profit organization called Little Hands Can. Their mission is for "service to be an easy, intuitive activity for you and your child. We provide quick, cheap, simple ideas for doing your own service as well as events where we all serve together. We hope that through service our children will become more loving, helpful world citizens." (from their Facebook page.)

A little while ago the kids and I were able to go to one of their events at the GrassRoots Garden.

The GrassRoots Garden is such a neat place. It is a magical 2.5 acre garden in the city, and the produce grown in the garden is donated to the local food bank.

TL;DR: Not Dead, I Promise!

Hi! It's Jilly. I know I haven't posted in a very long time! I was just thinking about it today, and decided to look at the blog to see when my last post was.

MAY 26th!?!?!?!?!

Holy cow! I'd better give you guys a little update!

1) We moved from New York to Oregon. Yep. Pretty much the farthest away from New York you could get in the United States...except for Hawaii. We thought about Hawaii, though. Ha ha!

Operation Surprise Aunt Lizzie

Hi! It's Jilly. My sister recently returned from an 18-month mission in Brazil for our church. We really wanted to be there when she arrived at the airport, but there was no way we could make it. But, my Mom was planning to have an Open House for her a couple weeks after she got home. My brother and sisters and I secretly planned to all come to her Open House!

The kids and I drove from New York down to Texas, and we didn't breathe a word to my sister, who I text every day. Ha ha! 

Speed! Multiplication Game Review & Giveaway

Hi! It's Jilly. Things have been pretty quiet here on the blog lately. Between homeschooling, kid activities, hubby job hunting, preparing to move, and LIFE, I just haven't been up to blogging much. I feel bad sitting down and writing a blog post when the laundry is to the ceiling and there's packing to do.

Homeschooling is going pretty well. We're still trying to get into our"groove", but I am definitely glad we made the leap! I asked the kids if they want to continue homeschooling next year and they all gave me a resounding, "Yes!!" 

As part of our homeschooling I like to play games. I think the kids learn more when they are having fun! And, with three kids the same age, it's nice to be able to say, "Okay, you guys play a game while I get some stuff done around the house." 

We've been struggling with learning the multiplication facts. Hubby loves drilling the kids with flashcards, but I hate it! Shhh, don't tell. I wanted to find a fun way to practice their multiplication facts and came across this awesome game called Speed! (Thanks to Highhill Education for providing the game!)

Each boxed set comes with 8 different decks of cards for practicing different fact families. It is a two-player game, and they are racing to see who can get rid of their cards first. You have to be quick with your skip counting to win!

The kids were playing with the time lapse video feature on my phone, and we made this video of us playing the game!

Doesn't it look like a fun game?! I love hearing their skip-counting and multiplication improve as they play the game. And, they love it so much that they ask to take it with them places "in case they get bored and want to play". It's a great game for both homeschooling and public schooling families. Who doesn't need a little boost when it comes to math facts?!

Would you like a copy of Speed! for your family? Well, you are in luck, because I am giving away a set! Woot woot! Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. Giveaway ends 5/1/15. Good luck!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
What are your favorite ways to practice math facts? Do you enjoy playing card games as a family?