Natural Linens ~A Review and Giveaway~

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!

Our family, like so many other families today, is always looking for ways to reduce our spending and give a little more wiggle room to our budget.  We also take great pride in producing less garbage than a family half our size, and I encourage our children to get creative and find new ways of further reducing our family’s garbage output.  (These are great lessons in stewardship for Mark and I and our children!)

When the wonderful family at Natural Linens contacted me, I saw this as a great opportunity to take another step in the direction of saving money, reducing waste, and I get to give a great organic product!

When looking over their store, I was intrigued by the thought of unpaper towels.  We go through a good bit of paper towels in this house, much to my aggravation.

Unpaper Towels

Being the retired cloth diaper pro that I am, the moment I opened up the lovely hand-wrapped package of unpaper towels I soaked them in a container of water for a few days.  (This greatly increases their absorbancy)

So, what did we use the unpaper towels to do?

• They are awesome for cleaning glass and windows without leaving streaks or fuzz.
• They worked beautifully when disinfecting the kitchen counters.
• I was able to clean all of our doorknobs, door frames, and light switches with only one unpaper towel as opposed to 7 or 8 paper towels.
• They make quick work of bathroom sinks and counters with only one unpaper towel for three bathrooms.

I love how thin, yet absorbent they are.  I much prefer them to wash cloths when cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen, and they are perfect southern napkins!

Next, I would love to make the switch to cloth coffee filters and tea bags!

Reusable Coffee Filters

Reusable Tea Bags

Now YOU get the chance to win a set of their fantastic unpaper towels!

You know me, I like to make entering giveaways and getting additional entries easy.

How do you enter?  Simple!

Pop over and visit Natural Linens Etsy store and choose a product they offer that you are not already using.  Post a comment below telling me what that product is.  That’s it!

Earning additional entries:

• Subscribe to Natural Linens newsletter (post a comment telling me that you did)
• Like Natural Linens on Facebook (post a comment telling me that you did)
• Share this giveaway on Facebook (you can do this once per day ~leave a comment each time telling me that you did)
• Tweet about this giveaway (you can do this once per day ~leave a link in a comment)
• Like Yes, They Are All Mine on Facebook (leave a comment telling me you did)
• Share this Giveaway on Pinterest (you can do this once per day ~leave a link in the comments)
• Share Natural Linens (Etsy store or FB page) on Pinterest (leave a link in comments)
• Follow Natural Linens on Twitter (leave a comment telling me you did)

This giveaway will end at Midnight (12:00 am) on Sunday December 8th.  One winner will  be chosen via Random.org.  The winner will be announced here on the blog and emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Any questions?

Thank you for joining in this giveaway and supporting a small family owned business.  Every time you share them with someone or make a purchase, you make a difference for their family!  Thank you!

All for God’s glory,

~Rhen

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Answering the call of your inner fashionista. {GIVEAWAY}

This giveaway is now closed.  If you are looking for great ideas for gifts that won’t break your budget, pop over to Frugal Fashionistas and check out her accessories.  If you are looking for a way to supplement your income, contact Melissa about becoming a Frugal Fashionista yourself!

Accessorizing is fun.

The right jewelry will highlight your playful side, accent your eye color, or add that pop to your outfit.

So, when I was contacted about reviewing and giving away multiple pieces of super cute jewelry, I decided I would love the opportunity to bless a work at home mom and my readers at the same time!

Where can you find this great selection of jewelry pieces that are super cute and inexpensive?   Frugal Fashionistas!  Thank you to Melissa for sponsoring this giveaway!!

What do they offer?  A variety of necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, hair jewelry, as well as jewelry for kids.  The best part about accessorizing with items from Frugal Fashionistas:  all items are $5.  That’s it!  The items for kids are even less.

Gorgeous chandelier earrings

Beautiful ring

Stunning necklace

This is a great way to gift the fashionistas in your life with beautiful pieces and still keep on budget.  You can also gift yourself with a gorgeous statement piece of your own.  *grin*

Before I move on to the best part, the part where I get to bless my readers with free jewelry, I want to share a little more information.  If you are looking for a way of adding to your family’s income and work from home, Melissa has a great opportunity for you.

A business can be started for only $40!! Everything is $5, but the children’s line is even less if you choose to carry it.

No catalogs. No shipping costs for guests. No waiting.

You earn a 45% commission and you keep your earning as soon as the piece sells!!! No waiting for payday.

If this sounds like something that would be a blessing to you, contact Melissa by visiting her site.  All of her info is there and she is ready to help you!

On to the giveaway!

There will be three winners in this giveaway, and each one of the winners will receive a beautiful necklace and earring combo.

I like to keep the initial entry simple and still offer plenty of other ways to earn additional entries.

Initial entry:  Visit Melissa’s site, Frugal Fashionistas, and comment on THIS blog post which piece of jewelry you would love to accessorize the perfect party outfit with.

Additional entries (Make sure you leave a separate comment for each of the following that you do):

• Request to join her Facebook group: Frugal Fashionistas
• Invite other people to join her Frugal Fashionistas Facebook group.
• Share this giveaway on your Facebook page (personal, blog, or business FB pages are fine!)  Can be done once per day.
• Tweet about this giveaway.  (provide tweet link)  Can be done once per day.
• Pin this giveaway on your Pinterest account.  (share link to pin)
• Like Yes, They Are All Mine on Facebook.

The rules:

• Continental US residents only, please.
• You must complete the initial entry before additional entries will be counted.
• Winners will be chosen via Random.org
• Giveaway will close at 12:00 am (midnight CST) on Sunday, November 17th, 2013.
• Winners will be announced on this blog on Monday, November 18th.
• Winners have 48 to reply to the email or a new winner will be selected.
• You do not have to have a blog to enter!

Good luck and earn those entries!!!  Three lovely people are going to be looking quite fabulous in these necklace/ earring sets!  🙂

All for the glory of God,

~Rhen

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Baltic Amber Review and GIVEAWAY

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED, but please take a moment and check out the beautiful Baltic Amber at Spark of Amber.

Some women have a “thing” for shoes, while others have a “thing” for purses.  I, on the other hand, have a “thing” for jackets (blazers, wraps, etc) and fun, unique jewelry.

One of my newest pieces of jewelry is a gorgeously earthy necklace created with Baltic Amber, thanks to Julie at Spark of Amber.

Look at this one with hazelwood and Baltic Amber.  Oh.  My.

If I would have known about such beautiful necklaces created just for breastfeeding moms with busy babies, I would have gladly worn them so my little ones would have them to pull on and play with, rather than my jewelry that was not appropriate as babies’ toys!

Spark of Amber has a line of beautiful necklaces and bracelets for teething toddlers.

How about earrings!

They also offer men’s necklaces, pendants, birthstone pendants, rings, keychains, beads for your Pandora bracelet, and much, much MORE!

So, what is Baltic Amber?

Baltic Amber is made of tree sap. The truth is—Baltic Amber is an 100% natural resin, not tree sap. It is found in Lithuania and the Baltic sea region, and is prized for its beauty.

Baltic Amber is found all over the world. The truth is– At least 80% of Baltic Amber is found in the Baltic region (hence the name Baltic Amber).  At Spark of Amber, we only use the highest quality Baltic Amber from Lithuania in our jewelry!

Why wear Baltic Amber?

Baltic Amber is a fossilized resin found in the Baltic Region, primarily in Lithuania. It contains 3-8% of Succinic Acid, long prized for its medicinal qualities. Amazingly, the highest content of the healing Succinic Acid is said to be found in the EXTERNAL layer of the Baltic Amber.

Europeans greatly prize beautiful Baltic Amber for its claimed 100% natural anti-inflammatory, pain relieving, and calming properties for babies and toddlers. The healing oils (Succinic Acid) of the Baltic Amber are said to relieve teething pain, tame baby’s irritability, and relieve inflammation in the throat, ear, and stomach.

Authentic Baltic Amber has also been used as a natural/home remedy in many countries as an anti-toxic and anti-bacterial agent, for headaches, for skin irritations, for bronchial conditions, and for throat and thyroid conditions (along with many other uses).

Baltic Amber is very light-weight, making Baltic Amber jewelry extremely comfortable to wear for both children and adults.

At Sparkofamber.com, we offer only the highest quality Baltic Amber teething necklaces, teething bracelets and anklets, and adult jewelry. All shipping within the United States is fast and free.

Have more questions?  Pop over to Spark of Amber and check out all of their links and info.  They even have a YouTube page to share info with you!

There are so many great gift ideas on their website.  We all know people who are having baby showers, getting married, having a birthday, and the big holidays are coming fast!

Now on to the giveaway!

I get to bless one of my readers with the Autumn long Natural Nugget necklace!

Isn’t it beautiful?!

You know me and how I long to keep entries into giveaways I host easy and simple.  Here’s how you do it:

Take a few moments to look at the jewelry at Spark of Amber and tell me in the comments on this post what piece of jewelry you think would make a great gift for someone in your life.  That is it!  One comment below has you entered in to win this gorgeous necklace!

Looking to earn additional entries?  Here is what you can do:

• Like Spark of Amber on Facebook
• Like Yes, They Are All Mine on Facebook
• Follow Spark of Amber on Twitter
• Follow me (ContentedRhen) on Pinterest
• Follow Spark of Amber on Pinterest
• Follow Spark of Amber’s blog
• Follow this blog, Yes, They Are All Mine (you can do that on this page!)
• Sign up for Spark of Amber’s newsletter
• Share this giveaway on your Facebook or Twitter page.  Please post a link in the comments below to the status.  This can be done once per day until the giveaway ends.

Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry you earn.

Now on to the rules:

• This giveaway will run from Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013 to Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013.
• Winner will be drawn via Random.org and announced Thursday (Sept. 12th).
• Winner will have 48 hours to reply to my email or a new winner will be chosen.
• Email me if you have any questions- blogyestheyareallmine at yahoo dot com.

All for the glory of God,

~Rhen

Can you see my Baltic Amber necklace?

  

Apologia Biology

We discovered the wonderful science curriculum published by Apologia several years ago.

I have shared pictures and posts of our experiments, projects, and lessons from Astronomy, Zoology (Flying Creatures), Botany, Physical Science, and General Science.

Apologia really brought it all to life and made learning about science fun for our kids, so when they contacted me about reviewing Biology, I jumped at the chance.

Our oldest, Renee (16), was the student who was blessed to be the first to use this book.   While she had a great appreciation for using a brand new book, she was not looking forward to Biology and expressed her displeasure on a pretty regular basis.

I am going to lay out this review in two ways.  First, I will share Renee’s point of view through our interview, then I will give you some of my opinions.

Interview With Renee

Me:  What was your first impression of Exploring Creation with Biology?

Renee:  It looked like it would be interesting, but I was still not sure about a lot of the gross things in Biology.

Me:  How well were the lessons laid out?

Renee:  Really well.  They weren’t too big and had a lot of illustrations and examples to go with each subject.   Some lessons built on each other, while others were independent.  It kept everything from running together.

Me:  Favorites?

Renee:  I enjoyed the little stories here and there that shared interesting experiences that highlighted the lesson.  I loved that I could do the dissections online.  The projects were a lot of fun.  My favorite was creating my own biological classifications.

Me:  What did you think of the experiments?

Renee:  They were interesting, and I liked how they showed the experiments and a lot of examples on the disc to compare to what I was doing.  They were also not too long and involved.

Me:  Overall impression?

Renee:   Cool, not gross like I expected.

Me:  Is there anything that you would change or suggest to make it better?  (I gave her 24 hours to really think about this one)

Renee:  I can’t think of anything.

Me:  If you were talking to another high school student, what would you say about Apologia Biology?

Renee:  I would tell them that it is a great Biology to fulfill their high school science needs with.  It is more than just a bunch of dry facts.  There is a lot of detail, interesting projects, and the lessons are not too long each.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mom’s opinion.

I have long had a great appreciation for the way Apologia lays out their lessons, their Bible-based approach, and the diversity and choices for projects and experiments.  There is a great lesson timeline that can be easily adjusted to your needs and schedule.

Almost every “ingredient” needed for the projects and experiments we had around the house.  There were only a handful of things that I had to purchase, and they were not expensive.

While we accomplished all of Renee’s dissections online, they do offer a full kit with everything you need.  We will be purchasing this for the rest of the kids.  They want to dissect!

There are also slides and a microscope available.  Unfortunately, we had to depend on the internet and the disc that goes with this curriculum to see all of the slide info.   Our microscope broke and I have not yet been able to replace it.  This goes to show that it is not imperative, but being able to use the microscope and check things out for yourself does do a lot to bring the lesson to life.  A new microscope is high on my list of homeschooling items to purchase!

The teacher’s manual (Solutions and Tests book) is full of valuable information for keeping the parent/ teacher up to speed and fully informed.  There are online resources and support for everything in these books.  Love!

Does it seem like I am gushing a bit?  I am!  Over the past 12 years of educating my children at home I have tried many different science curriculum, but Apologia has withstood the test and rigors of our family’s needs and standards.  I have yet to be dissappointed in any book from Apologia I have used.

JUST SO YOU KNOW:  In exchange for a full and honest review I received the Exploring Creation with Biology including, the student book, the solutions book, the test manual, and the computer disc.  My positive review is from our experiences while using this curriculum!  If I didn’t like, I would let you know.

Have any questions for me?  For Renee?  Ask away and we will answer!

All for the glory of God,

~Rhen 

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Thirty-One Gifts Giveaway WINNER!!

Reviewing products is a lot fun.  Finding products and services that will bless my readers is pretty awesome.  But, I think that announcing the winner of a giveaway I am hosting has got to be the best part for me!

While I truly wish I could bless every single one of the wonderful people who enter my giveaways with a prize, I cannot.  Sigh.

Okay, enough stalling.  *wink*

I use Random.org to select a winner, and the winner chosen is #5 Lissy at Life with Lissy with this comment:

Lissy | May 4, 2012 at 3:24 pm | Reply | Edit

I tweeted! @LifeWithLissy!

Congratulations, Lissy!  I have emailed you, and you have 48 hours to contact me with your information.

Thank you to every one who entered in to, shared, tweeted, and blogged about this giveaway.  You guys are awesome!

Stay tuned for more giveaways!  *grin*

All for God’s glory,

~Rhen

Why not give a “congratulations” shout out to Lissy?!

All of this and the kitchen sink!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.  THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!!

Back a month or 3 ago, Emily Grace’s (11) gym held a fundraiser to help the competitive gymnasts raise money for their competition expenses.   A wonderful Thirty-One Gifts representative not only sponsored the fundraiser, but she was amazingly generous with how much she gave and promoted it.

I had the pleasure of getting to know her over a couple of the evenings she spent at the gym with all of her gorgeous products.  One of the evenings, while she I and were talking, I was whining…complaing…expressing my slight frustration over the bags I had been using to take our school work with us when we were out and about.  My issues are the same that many homeschool moms have shared with me.  Most bags do not retain their shape, they do not allow us to organize little items easily yet be able to retrieve them quickly, they crush papers, and they just don’t hold up to the rigors of active homeschooling families.

That is when she pulled out her Organizing Utility Tote and offered to let me have it.  The next thing I know, she is even offering one for me to give away to my readers!  How awesome is that?

Here is my bag all packed and ready to go!

This bag holds a lot of stuff!  Let me show you what I had in it at the time of this picture…and I have put far more in it.

That is 2 teacher’s books, 2 student’s books, a 3-ring binder, my grade book, a ruler, 2 pens, 2 erasers, an extra bookmark, and 1 pencil.

Notice how my grade book corners have not been curled up or rolled because of pressure in the bag!

I have the pleasure of gifting one of my readers with an Organizing Utility Tote in the Lotsa Dots print.

You can see the bag here, as well as the pattern of the bag I am giving away.  Just click on bag “A”.

Now, this giveaway is not in return for a review, though I did one, but that is because I really am that pleased with my bag!  I love how easy it is to find items, to put the books into it, and just how cute it looks.  *grin*  Who doesn’t like to look cute?!

To enter into this giveaway, I would like you to leave a comment below telling me what you appreciate most about your mom, your mother-in-law, your grandmother, or any woman who has been a mother figure in your life.

That is your main entry!

You can earn other entries by:

• “Liking”  Yes, They Are All Mine on FB.
• Sharing this giveaway on FB.
• Recommending Yes, They Are All Mine to your friends on FB.
• Sharing a little blurb on your blog about this giveaway, w/ a link back
• Tweet about this giveaway.

Leave a comment for EACH entry you earn!

A few rules:

• This giveaway is open to continental US residents only.
• You do not have to have a blog to enter.
• This giveaway will end Monday, May 7th, 2012 at midnight.
• The winner will be selected using Random.org
• The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a different winner will be selected.
• The winner will receive 1 Organizing Utility Tote with a Lotsa Dots pattern.

Let the giveaway begin!

All for God’s glory,

~Rhen

The Lilla Rose Winner Is…

I know you guys are ready for me to reveal the winner of the Lilla Rose flexi-clip, but first, I want to send out a gigantic THANK YOU to Gail Harris for sponsoring this giveaway and allowing me to bless one of my readers!!

Now, onto the winner!

I used Random.org to select…

#9 Blair!

Okay, Blair, I have emailed you hun, and you have 48 hours to get back to me.

Mother’s Day is less than 2 weeks away.  Why not pop over and check out a flexi-clip, a headband, hairsticks, beautiful pins, or eyeglass lanyards for the mom(s) in your life?

Thank you to every one of you who participated in and shared this giveaway.  My readers rock!

All for God’s glory,

~Rhen

Older, Stronger, Wiser, Crazier…and a little something more

Yesterday, I became a year older.  I made the trek from 35 to 36.

My birthday came with lots of birthday wishes from family and friends.  It came with phone calls and birthday cards.  It came with a gorgeous new rose bush and a lovely dinner from Mark and the kids.

It also came with some interesting conversations between myself and my closest friends about being our age, and you know what?  I feel fantastic!  Seriously.  The workouts my sweet Mr. Muscles designed for me have me feeling stronger and more fit than I ever have.  I feel like I have a pretty good handle on being me now in comparison to my 20’s.  I know who I am, and I know who God has made me to be.  I am at a point in my life where I have learned a lot, and I am still young enough to do something with it!  I have no need for a walker just yet.  *wink*

Now, you get to celebrate my birthday with me!  I have the pleasure of gifting one of my readers with a gorgeous flexi-clip of their choice from Lilla Rose thanks to representative Gail Harris.  Let me tell you a bit about my experience with my first Lilla Rose flexi-clip.

I have a lot of hair and it is very hard to contain it.  My hair is long, somewhat fine, layered, and very thick.

I have a huge collection of different kinds of clips that all work pretty well, but none of them have knocked my socks off.  Gail stepped up and said that the Lilla Rose clips could meet the challenge of holding my hair without hurting my head or having to be readjusted over and over and over again.  I took her up on it.

I received my clip just in time for our little trip to Orlando, FL where I got to put this clip to the test.   My assessment of this clip?  One word.  Wow.  The first day I wore it, I completely forgot that I had it in.  I didn’t touch it one time over a 14 hour day to adjust it or redo my hair.

I wore my hair in the fish tail style and received many compliments.  That always makes a girl feel great!

I even wore it while we worked in the vegetable garden planting, building beds, hauling soil, tilling, weeding, and digging.  My hair did not move.

Choosing which size for my hair needs was easy peasey.  They have a short video to help you make the best choice.  Super helpful!!

Would you like to win one?  Of course you would!

So, let me tell you what you have to do to win.  Your first entry is an easy one.  Pop over to Gail’s Lilla Rose shop and leave a comment here telling me which clip you would choose if you won.  That’s it.  That is all you have to do!

Wanna earn more entries?  Okay!  You can do any or all of the following to earn additional entries:

• Like Gail Harris- Lilla Rose on Facebook
• Like Yes, They Are All Mine on Facebook
• Facebook about this giveaway (include a link to this giveaway)
• Share Gail’s Lilla Rose Facebook page on your Facebook page
• Watch the video and tell me what size you would wear
• Sign up for Gail’s monthly Lilla Rose newsletter
• Tweet about this giveaway

For each one of the above that you do, please leave a comment telling me what you did and with a link if possible.

How about a few playing rules?

• 1 winner will be chosen at random.
• You must do the initial entry before you can earn additional entries.
• This giveaway will be open until Saturday, April 28th 2012, at midnight central time.
• The winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
• Please be honest in all of your entries.

In exchange for this review and giveaway I was given 1 flex-clip to test out and give my honest opinion of.    While this review is a glowing one, it is exactly how I feel about how well my flex-clip works.  I do not believe in giving a good review just because I received a product.  That would not be fair to my readers!

A little head’s up:  Lilla Rose is offering free shipping on all orders over $20.00 until Saturday.  Any of these gorgeous products would make a great Mother’s Day gift!

All for God’s glory,

~Rhen

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Getting Creative with History

This is our first year using History Revealed! Ancient Civilizations and the Bible by Diana Waring for our history studies, and we love it!

My absolute favorite aspect is that she very completely covers all of the learning styles to help kids not just learn, but to absorb history.

We have read along as we listened to Mrs. Waring read and give fantastic commentary on Creation and the Flood.  This has helped the Middles and the Bigs better develop their note taking skills.

The older kids and I have had some very interesting conversations as we have looked deeper via critical questioning.

The kids had a lot of fun as they tackled different research and reporting projects.  We learned so much more about genealogy, metallurgy, timelines, and animal husbandry.

The mapping assignment lead us down several paths:  physical terrain, geo-political, and exploration of possible event locations.

We have further immersed ourselves in this study with music, cooking, art appreciation, and architecture.  Wow!

The final challenge of this chapter was for the kids to show what and how much they have learned through self-expression.

The self-expression projects have got to be listed as number one on my list of favorites.  I laughed at their antics; I clapped for their presentations; I was charmed by their creativity; and I was thrilled to see just how many details and interesting points they were able to remember and clearly show in their projects.  What a fantastic way for the kids to each be challenged on their own levels.

Ms. Serious chose to do three projects:  create an interpretive dance describing Noah being called by God, building the ark, warning people, the flood, and departing the ark to a new world.

This is the song she chose to dance to.

Her other two projects were designing a t-shirt that would be worn by Noah and his family after the flood, and she wrote an article for a fictitious newspaper as if she were interviewing Noah about the monstrosity he was building in his yard.

The back of Ms. Serious' t-shirt.

Young Man’s (12) two projects he chose were to design also design a t-shirt for Noah’s family, and his second project was to choose 5 animals, 5 bugs, 5 dinosaurs, 5 amphibians, and 5 reptiles and rename them taking care to think of their traits and habits.  My favorite:  slug- snotigus.  That is just so appropriate.

Ms. Firecracker (11) two projects she chose were to write four journal entries from the viewpoint of a sick giraffe, and the second was the renaming 5 of each of the critters listed (same as Young Man).  They were not allowed to collaborate on the names.  My favorite name she came up with:  Komodo Dragon- acid stalker.

A couple small excerpts from the journal entries she wrote:

“Day 2.  I woke up this morning feeling terribly sick to my stomach.  I just don’t feel good.  All of this rocking back and forth is making me sick.  The hyenas are always laughing.  I hope that stops.”

“Day 47.  Ugh.  I am tired of being seasick.  I am tired of hearing the hyenas laughing.  All night long they just keep laughing.  What on earth do they think is so funny? …”

Finally, Ms Lovebug (9) chose creating animals from the Ark out of clay and illustrating a book for young children.  She was able to use her new art set!

One of Ms. Lovebug's illustrations of the animals on the Ark.

Two of Ms. Lovebug's colorful creations.

I am just as excited to jump into the next chapter as the kids are!

What do you use for history?

In God’s mighty hands,

~Rhen

~~Join us on Yes, They Are All Mine’s FB page~~

This post is linked up with Hip Homeschool Moms!  Pop over to check out many great homeschooling blogs!

*I was not asked to write this post as a review for History Revealed!, nor was I compensated in any way.  I wrote this because of the fun we have had learning through this curriculum, and because it has been such a great tool to use with such a wide range of ages and grade levels in our home.  I am more than happy to answer any questions you have for me about this curriculum, or any curriculum we use.  Email me at cottonblossom424 at yahoo dot com.

Changing My Approach With a Book- A Review

Click for photo credit

When I first agreed to read and write a review for the book Stillpower:  The Inner Source of Athletic Excellence by Garret Kramer, I was nervous.  What if I didn’t like the book?  What would I say?  I want to be completely honest, yet I wouldn’t want to be cruel or insulting.

All of that worrying was for nothing.  *sigh of relief*

I tremendously enjoyed reading Stillpower.  It helped give me clarity in an area I was being pulled in two directions over.

Our Ms. Firecracker (11) is a level 7 Optional Competitive Gymnast.  She trains 5 days a week.  She works out and practices at home.  She wakes up thinking of gymnastics.  She dreams of gymnastics.  Her dreams are my dreams.  Mr. Muscles and I want to support her in all that does and hopes to achieve.

The hardest part has been knowing how to support her.  As athletic parents, we are often “coached” on the art of helping our athlete to push through and overpower difficulties through their force of will.  It sounds good, but if you sit back and think about it, life doesn’t work that way.  How often do we try to force something only to have it get worse, harder, or even backfire?

That is the focus of Stillpower.

Garret Kramer does an excellent job of first showing how willpower, trying to force excellence, only serves to frustrate an athlete.  Yes, you can use willpower to do another set, or to go to the gym, but it will not help your performance.

…willpower requires forced power over one’s will- synonymous with battling one’s own thinking or state of mind.  This belief implies that a person hasn’t had a true change-of-heart;  he hasn’t let go.”

He uses a large variety of top athletes, and their time with him, as fantastic examples of letting go of mistakes and incorrect thinking in order to reach their goals.

He doesn’t leave us hanging there.  He then moves onto identifying what an athlete can do to help achieve the performance that they are looking for.

We are productive, and thus successful, when we apply free will, not strength of will, to a project of any kind.

He challenged me to think back to Ms. Firecracker’s best performances, and take notice of the differences between those and the performances where she struggled.  Attitude.  When she performed her best is when she had an upbeat, positive, and can-do attitude.  The passion she has for gymnastics flowed through her and was evident in all that she was doing.  It was beautiful!  When she filled her head and her heart with the instructions to focus, force yourself to perform the skills perfectly, and to make everyone proud, she was too clouded and so focused that nothing flowed freely.  She had to fight for everything, then she found that she was disappointed in herself and the performance she believed let her coaches and parents down.

No more of  that!

She is out there because she loves it.  She is a gymnast because it is who God gave her the passion to be.  I want that to be her focus.

Garret Kramer not only helps us to see what is stagnating and holding back our athletes, he helps us to understand how we can change our own behaviors and thought processes to best help them in their endeavors.  It starts with us:  the parents, the coaches, the teachers.

In spite of what you may have been taught, true leadership never revolves around motivating your players.  True leadership means showing your players that the ability to be motivated rests within each of them individually;  and thus, the team collectively.

…all individuals have within them the power to be more passionate and engaged.

That, my friends, is just a hint of Stillpower.

While reading, it felt as if I was sitting in conversation with Garret Kramer.  I feel empowered, supported, and properly educated to be the best support for our gymnast that I can be.  I have the tools to use.

These tools are not just effective in helping and supporting our athlete, as Garret points out, these tools will guide when I am with our children in our classroom.  I want to help them find their passion for learning.  I want the knowledge and learning to flow freely and be exciting.

It’s all in the attitude, and that is just the beginning.

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I do not have a copy to give away, but I am more than happy to share it.  If you have an athlete, and you want to read this book, let me know!  We will get a Stillpower book reading chain started.  🙂