Exciting News to Share

Ever had some news you were so excited to share but didn't want to post it until it was absolutely official? That's how its been for me these last couple of weeks. I received some great news the other day but was afraid to share before it became official in fear that something would happen to change it.. But now, its official!!!

A while back one of the groups that I am a member of for Homeschooling posted that The Old Schoolhouse's "Schoolhouse Review Crew" was accepting applications for the 2015 review crew. Anyone who teaches homeschool knows of this group as many of the times when you are googleing reviews for various curriculums and such, you will come across on of their members reviews.. I've read alot of these reviews for various items I've considered buying for the kids. The insight they give is amazing and has always been a valuable resource when making judgement calls for items sight unseen.

I saw the post about the applications and said "What the heck!".. I would fill it out but I didn't have my hopes too high on it being accepted. After all, I was new to this blogging thing and did not have a lot of followers (if any??).  My understanding was also that they only have a set number of reviewers each year and many of those are returning crew members.. But I did fill out the application, after all, I definitely wouldn't get picked if I didn't at least fill out the application, right???  A week later, I received an email from Kate over at the Schoolhouse Review Crew stating that she viewed my blog and liked what she saw and asked for me to do a practice review of a curriculum that they offered and they would make a decision based on that. We were given the opportunity to use and review “WannaBe™-When I Grow Up I Want to be a Firefighter” ( Our review can be found here).  Imagine my surprise when Kate emailed me back saying they really enjoyed the review and offered me a position on the 2015 Schoolhouse Review Crew :)

We are so excited about this opportunity. As a military family, money is always tight and I tend to have to pick and choose curriculum based on a price tag versus if I think its the perfect fit for my kids. This works, to some degree but it requires alot of modifications and deviations away from the original concepts. We usually have to adjust a curriculum to fit us.  This opportunity is going to allow us to try various products without biting the bullet and then finding out that we wasted money.. But not only that, it will give us the opportunity to give an honest opinion of new curriculum before other homeschool families spend their hard earned cash, to let them know how it worked (or didn't work) for us, what type of modifications we suggest to fit unusual learning situations (such as with my special needs son) and hopefully help other families like our own to make a more educated decision when purchasing products.  Hopefully, someone will google a name of a product, looking for a review and will come across my blog and it will ultimately help them in their decision. That makes me feel great!!!  

For the last 4 years, since we moved to this base, I have been unemployed and generally felt pretty helpless when it comes to doing anything outside my home. Being a member of the Schoolhouse Review crew gives me some enjoyment knowing that even though I'm still locked up in this house and on this base, I can contribute to society by helping others.. That's a wonderful feeling and something I am really looking forward to.

So there it is, my big news.. I can't wait to start bringing my own views to the Homeschooling world.. 

To those who have been here since the beginning of this blog, thank you so much.. To those who are joining us, welcome aboard and I hope you enjoy the journey :)