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parenting – Page 7 – Luv Saving Money

Category: parenting

Science Resource for Homeschooling: Greg Landry Homeschool Science

This post is sponsored by College Prep Science.

My kids love science. It’s one of their favorite classes in school. Homeschoolers don’t have to miss out on the science projects and education. Greg Landry is a veteran in the homeschool science subject.

Greg Landry is a homeschool science pioneer and offers online classes (for science leaning students and “non-science” students, science labs, ACT prep, a podcast for homeschool moms, and homeschool student-produced print publications.

Greg says he is first and foremost grateful. “The Lord has made me very aware of my need for a grateful heart. I’m grateful for a God who knows me and loves me (with all of my faults), for my family, for the thousands of homeschooling families I’ve had the privilege of  working with over the past 20 years, for the magnificence of His Creation, and for the trials in my life (James 1:2-4 ) that shape and mold me, humble me, produce perseverance, and mature me in my faith.”

Greg is a husband to his bride of 30+ years, a homeschool dad, and a former college professor. He and his wife homeschooled their two daughters. Both of them have graduated from college, and Greg says, “most importantly, both of them love Jesus. For that, we are very grateful.”  He grew up in French / Acadian South Louisiana (three of his grandparents were French speakers) and he loves the South Louisiana culture. At age 18 was invited to tryout with the Philadelphia Phillies baseball organization. He played baseball and football in college and holds a master of science degree from LSU (Louisiana State University).

He has a heart for students and a passion for science… but more specifically a passion for teaching students to see God’s hand in every aspect of His creation that surrounds us. His goal is to help them see that God’s creation didn’t just happen by chance – it wasn’t an accident, a fluke of nature.

Greg has spent the past 20+ years teaching science. He taught at a university, taught thousands of homeschooled students, has mentored students planning to pursue science / pre-med degrees, has designed and directed a university anatomy and physiology/biology cadaver lab, has published and presented scientific research, has academically counseled hundreds of college pre-professional (pre-med, pre-dental, pre-physical therapy, etc.) sophomores and juniors, has designed science labs for homeschooled students, and has written science lab manuals. 

Ten years ago he originated the “pre” classes (Pre-Biology, Pre-Anatomy & Physiology, Pre-Chemistry, and Pre-Physics) as a means of minimizing the intimidation of high school level science and preparing middle school age students for specific high school level classes. As one homeschool mom described it, “Greg has a unique ability to pull out the most important information and present it in a way that’s interesting and easy to understand.”

The thrust of Greg Landry homeschool science is to give homeschooled students access to Christian Worldview science that is focused on scientific inquiry, critical thinking, process reasoning, data collection, and the graphical and written representation of research. Greg says, “we want to prepare competent, confident students for their remaining high school years, their college years, and life. 

Greg and his wife live near Nashville, TN. His desire is to follow the Lord’s leading in teaching students to illuminate the incredible creation the Lord has put all around us. It reveals His glory!

​Homeschool dad, scientist, and former college professor, Greg Landry, offers live, online homeschool science classes, Homeschool ACT Prep Bootcamp, the Homeschool Mom’s Science Podcast, in-person two-day science lab intensives nationwide, freebies for homeschool moms, and student-produced homeschool print publications.

NEW Snail Mail For Kids: Kids Get Personalized Letters in the Mail!

Kids love getting stuff in the mail. I know mine do. Snail Mail for Kids is a new opportunity for them to get something fun and personalized through the mail.

Snail Mail for kids will send your kids a personalized letter once a week. You can choose monthly, 3 month or 6 month plans. You kids or grand kids will receive letters personalized to them with fun things included like stickers, trading cards, souvenirs, and more.

I know my kids would be coming home from school going “Did my snail mail come in yet?” Everyone likes getting something fun in the mail right? Hmm maybe they should make this for adults too lol

I was surprised to see how affordable it was to get weekly mailings. You can get your first box for 50% off!

My question personally was, ok I have 2 kids that would enjoy this I guess I’d have to pay for 2 subscriptions. NOPE it actually says that if you have 2 children it says they can include 2 kids and 2 enclosures at no additional cost. I think that’s awesome. If you have more than 2 kids you can have the letters addressed to the entire family. IE The Smith Family. That’s awesome. As a mom of 4, so often I’ve had to pass on things because I just couldn’t afford to do it for everyone. It’s hard to get a subscription box for one kid then another kids going “Can I get one too?”

While some subscription services can get pretty expensive this one is much more affordable especially for families with multiple children!

I think this could be an interesting way to encourage reading in kids. My youngest is 6 years old and learning to read. She’s doing pretty well but, anything I can do to encourage a love of reading, I’ll try it.

Snail Mail for Kids is also giftable. Just choose the gift option.

This post does contain affiliate links. I will get a small commission from sales made through my links.

Win 3 Months Of Math Tutoring & More: Giveaway

This giveaway is brought to you by After School Math Tutoring Services. All opinions are my own. It is so crucial that your kids get a good education and really understand math. It will help them in many ways. But sometimes they don’t get the help they need.  Sometimes they miss one concept, and they are lost for the year.  Math Tutors are expensive, and it’s a hassle to spend time in the car to go to a tutor.  

I have a better solution for you! 

After School Math is a Tutor + Interactive Learning Program that will bring SUCCESS! They help your students build a STRONG foundation in math in early school years that will last a lifetime. They offer personalized learning with weekly Online Sessions with a Tutor PLUS 24/7 Access to their Interactive Math Program. Their tutors work with your kids to address their individual learning needs, and they pay close attention to each student’s unique learning needs to ensure success.

After School Math has an online interactive program that provides everything your student needs to excel to the next grade level & beyond

The curriculum package includes 8 different grade levels: 1st – 6th, Pre-Algebra, and Algebra. As a parent, you can see how your child is improving with weekly reports.

With After School Math, you have a Tutor + Online Interactive Learning Portal = SUCCESS ~ for just $29.99/month. 

Sign up now for After School Math!

  Visit Saving You Dinero to learn more about this affordable way to help your kids excel in math! 

This is a great time for this service. If your student’s math grades aren’t up to par or they want to improve them. 3 months of tutoring could get them through the rest of the school year. It could bring their final grade up!

Giveaway Details:

  • Prize: (1 winner) 3-months of Weekly Online Sessions with a Tutor + 24/7 Access to Online Interactive Learning portal. A $149.97 value.
  • Open to US Residents
  • Giveaway Ends February 13 2020, at 1159pm EST

Finance Solutions When Preparing For College

My oldest son is halfway through his senior year. I can’t believe it. We’re getting information on ordering graduation announcements. My son’s last prom will be coming up. It just all seems surreal. I’ve also realized there are more expenses when planning for college than just going to college.

high school graduation prep

There are fees I didn’t even think about like:

  • college application fees
  • SAT and ACT fees
  • Transferring SAT scores to applied colleges ($12 by the way)
  • travel for campus visits
  • and more

If you’re planning for college years down the road, good for you. There are lots of finance solutions available to you. One of the best ones is a 529 plan. 529 plans are tax advantaged education savings plans. The earlier you start a 529 plan the better to really save properly. You also have opportunities for additional funding through the Upromise program in Pennsylvania. You can also do a traditional savings account but it doesn’t have as many advantages as the 529 plan.

Talk With An Expert

Taking to a financial planner might be the best route. Financial planners can look at your finances and your goals and help you create a game plan for the future. This option is good even if you didn’t plan years ahead. If you have more than one child to plan for the future this is probably your best bet. They can also give advice on the best savings solutions for you and your family.

Use School Resources For Help

High School guidance counselors are a great source of information to help find local scholarships, grants, and tips for a smoother transition to college. I’ve talked to my son’s guidance counselor a few times. In fact, I need to make another phone call soon. She’s given my son info about local scholarships, applications processes, and more.

When doing campus visits, the institution you’re visiting typically has someone available to give information on tuition, financial aid, etc. My son visited a local campus. They said with his SAT scores he’s guaranteed about $3000 in scholarships which was nice to hear.

Apply For Grants and Scholarships

I know this should be a no brainer but I’ve heard some people say “I’m not going to apply for that scholarship, there’s a lot of people applying for it” The thing is, they’re going to give it to someone, you may as well throw your name in the hat.

There are also some scholarships that really don’t have many people apply for it. There are also scholarships designed specifically for kids going into certain majors which cuts down on the amount of people that can apply.

Happy Cornerz Sticky Trap Review and Set Up

Happy Cornerz Sticky Traps help catch and monitor pests

It’s December in Pennsylvania. Most people wouldn’t think bugs would be an issue right now. Outside that might be true but inside is a different story. There’s still flies buzzing in the house, fruit flies that seem to pop up every now and then, occasionally lady bugs that found their way in from the cold. We always have house centipedes and spiders in the basement and garage. We tend to not mind them and the lady bugs so much because they eat some of the other pests. Even though the house centipedes are super creepy looking.

The one pest that drives me crazy though are the stink bugs. We started getting stink bugs in our house about 3 years ago. See, they were brought over in a ship from Japan that docked in Allentown. Not on purpose, they just hitched a ride on a cargo ship. Since then they’ve made their way across Pennsylvania and other states. They have no natural enemies and they multiply quickly. Creatures that typically eat bugs like birds leave them along for the most part because of their stink secretion. They’re sort of like the skunks of the bug world. Other than being creepy you can’t just step on them or squish them in other ways because the omit this terrible smell that seems to last forever. I thought I was being smart one day when I vacuumed up a bunch of them. Two problems with that is, the stink bug smell lasted in my vacuum forever and every time I turned it on it would omit that smell. The other, if I didn’t empty the canister outside right away they didn’t die and would find their way out. They can creep through minuscule cracks including window sills.

Sure we tried the bug traps marketed specifically for stink bugs. We even tried bug bombing but it didn’t work. They’re resilient little suckers. The only thing that somewhat helped was to make a spray bottle up with water and a tablespoon of Dawn dish liquid. When you see one just spray it. It couldn’t omit its terrible smell then, it would eventually die from suffocation.

Do they bite? No they don’t but they have no regard for personal space. They’ll sit on your pillow, they’ll fly into your hair (yes they fly), they’ll chill out on the outside of your cup, they don’t care. They make this buzzing sound when their wings beat too that creeps me out. Oh and they smell bad when you try to kill or swat at them.

If we’re not talking about my own personal annoyances with stink bugs they also eat crops and trees. I think that’s one reason we have such an issue compared to our neighbors. We have huge butternut trees that tower over our house. In the fall you can see them in droves climbing up the sides of the house to get to the attic for the winter. I don’t even like to go into the attic anymore. Those nasty things are everywhere.

Introduction to the Happy Cornerz Sticky Trap

Happy Cornerz sticky traps comes along and we decide to give that a try. It’s not poisonous, can use it almost anyway, easy to install, when it’s full just take it down and throw it out.

Sticky traps are versatile in that, you can use them as flat sticky traps or corner traps. they can go in cupboards, on wall joints, shelves, where you need little creepy pests taken care of. If you’re not sure what kind of pests you’re dealing with IE your cereal is disappearing in your cupboard, Happy Cornzers sticky traps are also great for insect and pest monitoring.

Happy Cornerz has been university tested at the Texas A & M Department of Entomology in the Rollins Urban and Structural Entomology facility. They’ve also been tested by a few pest control companies. The hope is that Happy Cornerz sticky traps will be a helpful addition to both pest control experts and private consumers as well.

Installation and Use

I created a video talk to you about the Happy Cornerz glue traps. The video will give you a better look at how you’ll receive the traps, how to use the traps, and where you can use the traps.

Opinions on the Happy Cornerz Sticky Trap

I’m intrigued with how well these worked in the winter time in PA. I’m eager to try these in the spring and summer for ants, mosquitos, etc. I can see where these could also be helpful in sheds, barns, garages, and other buildings. Do you have an ant problem in the cupboard? Use a Happy Cornerz sticky trarp as a flat trap and catch those little buggers. I’m betting you could catch loads of them in that way.

If you’re dealing with a cockroach problem they like to gather in the corners which made the corner placement option fo these idea. They can be set up at ground level or the upper wall corners. They can be placed in the back corner of a cupboard. Wherever you’re dealing with your pests.

Because they’re glue traps, there’s no concerns about safety with pets or children. Worse case scenario is it getting stuck to a pet’s fur. I have 3 cats though and they haven’t bothered with the traps.

They could even be cut if you wanted a better fit in a certain corner or shelf if necessary. Using them as a flat trap would work out nice for the top of refrigerators or high kitchen cupboards. The could also slide easily under microwaves stands, couches or beds.

I was happy to see that at least one of the traps we set up did capture a stink bug. That’s my #1 pest issue so if this trap can do that I’m happy to have it in my home.

I received free samples of the product in order to complete this review and video. Any opinions expressed are my own.