Swiffer Vacuum Sweeper

Swiffer Vacuum Sweeper

$39.99

Purchased at Target

So you are probably saying to yourself "how does a vacuum fall under the heading of kid stuff?" Well let me tell you. I've decided to give my son a blog name because saying "my son" over and over is redundant and annoying. So he shall now be known as Dub. There's logic to it, trust me. So anyways, Dub has to do chores and at the beginning of the summer I wanted to add a new responsibility to the list. I decided that because it always looks like tornado attacked his dinner plate after he gets done eating, with food in a perfect circle around his chair, that he could start taking care of the floors. We have hardwood floors through tout the downstairs of our house so I figured I could teach him to sweep everything and that would be a great way to help me out. Unfortunately sweeping didn't go well and caused me to act like a lunatic so I needed another option. Enter the Swiffer Vacuum. All I have to do is make sure its charged and emptied and he slaps on a swiffer cloth and away he goes. It doesn't matter if he goes in a completely random, spastic fashion, eventually everything gets swept. I wish the battery life was longer. Right now it will run for about 15 minutes before it starts to lose power and therefore suction. When you are pretending you are a ninja with a swiffer your only weapon it tends to take longer than that but all in all big thumbs up. When Dub was at camp last week I kept saying to myself "Huh, these floors sure are dirty." Luckily, my husband is capable of wielding the swiffer too!

Lego Brickmaster Club

Lego Brickmaster Club

$39.99 + s/h

Lego.com

My son has been receiving the free Lego Club magazine for a couple years now. I have to say that if you don't get this, you totally should. It's a great free magazine and my son absolutely loves to get things in the mail. They also have a Lego Jr. Magazine for the younger crowd that is also great.Anyways, my son decided to save up for the Brickmaster Club that they advertise in the free mag. It is $39.99 plus shipping which totaled about $45. Every two months they send you a 36 page magazine (that appears to have less ads and more cool stuff) Brickmaster Magazine and a lego set.

We ordered it a week ago and his package has already arrived. The Lego set that came with it is the Star Wars XG-3 Star Wing. It has 72 pieces, which is not a large model but other Star Wars sets of similar size run $10.99, so if he gets 6 of those it was definitely a good deal. The sets that come are exclusive so you won't be able to complete your collection with out them! ;) I'm sure your as worried about that as I am!

The only thing is that the set comes in a bag and not a box and the directions are in the magazine and not separate. I store all my lego sets in small coffee cans because I can't stand the huge drawer of mixed up legos left over from my nephews so I'm not worried about not having a box. The thing is, I like to putt the directions in the can too, but I don't want to rip the magazine apart. O well, guess I'll live some how. I am not really as OCD as this sounds. I swear.

So all in all I think this is going to be a hit. Now I just have to finish spending the rolls of dimes my son paid me in since I had to write a check for it.

Speedo Goggles

Skoogles/Hydra Jr. Goggles

Speedo

12.99

Purchased at Meijers and Walmart

I purchased the Hydra Jr. goggles first and my mother in law purchased the skoogles afterward because she wanted my son to have some to keep at her house. The goggles he had before constantly broke and covered his nose. After he took swimming lessons this year and expressed interest in joining his school's competitive swim club this winter I decided it was time to invest in some good goggles. I was actually really surprised at how great the goggles I got were for the relatively small amount of money I spent. The hydra jr. goggles fit his face perfectly and have a strap that splits in the back that actually hugs his huge, oddly shaped head. The strap doesn't slip down and doesn't pull at his hair. My favorite part of these goggles are the clasps at the sides to tighten the strap. There is no weaving the strap through or trying to loosen just a little but not too much. He just opens the latch to loosen the strap and then after he has them on pulls the ends on each side and the latch holds the strap in perfect position. Love it!

The skoogles are similar but do not have the fancy strap, although they do have an extra plastic piece on each side to help the strap stay where you put it. However, what I like about these is that they are tinted like sunglasses. Perfect for the pool!

So I highly recommend spending a little more for these great goggles. I think if I take care of them properly they will last quite a while. So in the long run I will probably come out ahead!

Summer Bridge Activities

Before I delve into my first review I need to explain something. Part of the reason I wanted to start this blog is that my son, who is going into second grade, is an advanced reader and was moved to second grade math last year while in the first grade. My problem lies in knowing whether or not books that are at his reading level are appropriate for his actual age and maturity level. Short of reading hundreds of pages myself (don't get me wrong, I love a good book, just not ones aimed for boys who like fart jokes!) I was at a loss to find an honest review. The reason I needed to get that out there is that I want to give you an honest review of a product I love but I wanted to make it clear why I will be reviewing a version that doesn't line up with my son's age. So here we go:

The Original Summer Bridge Activities

Bridging Grades 2 to 3

Rainbow Bridge Publishing

Purchased at Barnes and Noble

$14.95

I make my son earn video games in the summer. We can play at the beach, ride bikes, garden, or do pretty much anything outside for free. But if we are going to sit on the couch and stare at a screen he has to earn it. So I use workbook pages to get his mind working and to hopefully keep the summer slide to a minimum. A teacher recommended this series of workbooks to me. After looking at them online and in the store I decided to go with the 2 to 3 version for us. However I agree with this teacher in saying that they are pretty much spot on grade wise, so if you would like to try it out for your child I would suggest buying the actual grade level of your child unless you have special circumstances.

I worked at the school for part of the year and after seeing the curriculum they use and learning what the standards that the kids are tested on require, I have to stay this series hits it right on. The book is split into 3 sections, seemingly one for each month. I have to admit that we are a few pages behind that but we are busy, what can I say. There is a front and back page for each day. These pages are usually split into 3 or 4 sections containing math, phonics, parts of speech, reading comprehension or writing. It usually takes my son 15 minutes to complete the work for the day and, really, for summer I think that's plenty.

Here is an example from the second section. The first part is asking to circle the fraction that matches the picture. The second part is multiple choice, asking to pick the correct sentence (Which sentence names three things?) The third part is using an index to look up specific information. And the last part is listening to an adult say a word and circling the correct one. The last part is a critical skill for taking standardized tests. Each book also contains math a reading flash cards for extra practice.

If you are looking for a product like this to keep your child's brain from pickling in the pool I would highly recommend this series. They are available from kindergarten to middles school. You can peek inside the books on amazon and Barnes and noble.com.

First Post!

So here it is-MY FIRST POST EVER!
I decided to create a blog because I always want the inside scoop on movies, books, and pretty much anything else that my son may want to see, do, or play with. However, whenever I google things looking for honest opinions I can usually only find the reviews of people who, I swear, don't have any kids but are paid to review things or nothig at all. So when we try out something new or something old makes a new impression on me I will let you know what I think!