Logic Of English ~ Foundations A Curriculum Review

We have just begun our second year of home school with Hannah and she is now in Kindergarten. I realize when I am working with her just how much she has grown up the past year. So much has been learned and she has retained a lot of the information. We are only on day two and she already seems to be learning so much...hopefully school will still be fun for her in three months. Learning how to read and write has been key for her. The preschool curriculum I used was very intense and by the time she finished with Pre-K, she could read (very roughly) small, 5 page books, count to 100, knew her ABC's forwards and backwards and could write her entire name. She really hit some major milestones...I was thrilled today when we were at the doctor for her physical and they asked her if she knew her whole name and she did. :) It is nice to see that retention of what you teach pays off.

Today, I am going to introduce you to a curriculum that uses a multi-sensory approach to learning how to read, write and spell and this curriculum is called Logic of English. They offer programs for different grade levels and Foundations A was the set that interested me the most, because it is geared towards children ages 4-7 years of age. This curriculum is based on 74 basic phonograms and 30 spelling rules (really, the English language is a tough one to learn!!) that explain 98% of English words. I always hated English when I was in school and now I know why. :) Logic of English was founded by Denise Eide when she saw her own children struggling with reading and writing and I love companies that are formed out of a mother's desire to help her children. Here is a bit more information about Denise, taken from Logic of English's website...

Denise Eide

Denise Eide is the author of the multiple award-winning book, Uncovering the Logic of English: A Common Sense Approach to Reading, Spelling, and Literacy, and The Logic of English series of curriculum and learning materials. She is passionate about changing how reading is taught for ALL students.Though she studied for her masters degree at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, has taught EFL at the University of Pereslavl, Russia, and taught adult literacy in the United States, it was when her own children struggled with learning to read that she discovered the rules and phonograms developed by Dr. Orton. She immediately recognized how this vital information would have revolutionized learning to read and spell for her adult students and watched it transform the lives of her own children. In order to spread the great news that English is not riddled with exceptions, she put together a short presentation called the Logic of English and began speaking to teachers and parents. It was at this time that she put her hand on the heartbeat of the literacy crisis.

I was very excited when I was given the opportunity to review the Logic of English Foundations A curriculum and was even more excited to see how Hannah did with the material.

So, for this review I was sent the following items...

• Foundations A Teachers Manual ($38)
• Manuscript Workbook ($18)
• The Rhythm of Handwriting Manuscript Chart ($9)
• Basic Phonogram Flash Cards ($16.20)
• Manuscript Tactile Cards ($25.20)
• Red Manuscript Phonogram Game Cards ($9)
• Blue Bookface Phonogram Game Cards ($9)
• Student Whiteboard ($10.80)
• I also received the Phonograms App ($2.99)

When I first saw all that was included, I was immediately overwhelmed...it seemed like alot to handle so I just took it day by day to see what my daughter's interest level would be. I don't push her, but I do make her do things she doesn't enjoy because school is not always fun...this curriculum looked like something Hannah would enjoy.

The student workbook is full of colorful drawn pictures as well as photographs. I think that using real photos can really help to draw a child in and connect them to what they are learning. I loved thumbing through the book and looking at these colorful pages. I also like the simplicity of the lessons...Hannah was really good at learning and saying the compound words. 

I found that The Rhythm of Handwriting Manuscript Chart was very helpful to me because it gave me a way to properly explain how a letter is formed when written. This is something I struggle with...being able to articulate to Hannah how to do things. If it isn't spelled out, I am not creative enough to come up with my own explanation in a way that Hannah will understand. I love this chart for that reason. Within this chart you will find instructions on how to write both upper and lower case letters, as well as a plethora of other letter "styles" (slash letters, roll letters, kick letters, etc.) I had never heard of these other styles before Logic of English so this was totally new for me.

I wish you could have heard me open the package of Manuscript Tactile Cards...I was totally into these! What these cards do is give your child an extra sensory tool to learn how letters "feel" when properly written. The red letters feel like sand paper! So, when explaining how to write a letter, I took Hannah's hand in mine and had her finger-trace each letter. She would grin from ear to ear when we would do this and I knew it was sooo good for her to have this. I had a homeschool friend visit the other day and she was floored when she saw these...she told me that she had made her own once upon a time! That is how effective these cards are. Hannah definitely loved these and I am excited to use these with my son when he is in school as he is more of a sensory learner than Hannah. Being able to TOUCH the letters and FEEL the strokes is a huge benefit. 

The Teacher's Manual is laid out beautifully. Again, I need structure when I teach and this book gives me just what I need to properly instruct my child. The beginning of each lesson has an objective and also tells you what you will need for the day's lesson. I love how there are clear phrases that I say to my daughter and how the book gives me answers that she may give me back...it also tells me what the correct answer will be so I won't have to wonder if she was right or not. 

There are also tips and hints found on different areas of the pages so if you get stuck or have a child who seems to be having trouble with certain things, you can refer to these little colored blocks and find solutions. I really liked this because it helped me to go a bit further in some areas with Hannah. 

One thing this curriculum really uses to aid in writing is the use of strokes. I will admit that these were very difficult for Hannah. To her, it was just doodling...I am not sure if that was the goal when this method was developed but some of the strokes have to look just so and when Hannah was done with her practice, many of her strokes looked nothing like they should have. 

Nonetheless, she practiced her little heart out and tried to get it right. When the strokes began to look like stick people, we moved on to the next part of the lesson. :) I LOVE the whiteboard too, the lines are nice and big and she can really work easily without paying alot of attention to detail. This really comes in handy. 

There was one part of this curriculum that I cannot say enough good about...learning about "voiced" and "unvoiced" sounds/letters. A voiced sound is when you say a sound and can feel the vibration of the sound in your voice box. When we did this part, I would have Hannah put her hand on my throat to feel the difference. Unvoiced sounds would cause the voice box to be still...no vibrations. She also learned how to describe to me what her mouth does when she says the letter "P" and "T", among other letters. One of the tools you use to teach this is a small, hand-held mirror. I think this was Hannah's favorite part of the entire lesson. 

The Phonograms App is a nice tool to have in addition to the student workbook as it helps you to actually hear the sounds that you are trying to teach. There are also games that the student can play to help them identify the correct sound that the phonogram makes. Hearing, seeing and then touching the phonogram makes the entire learning process much more fun and I think I used this app more than Hannah did! Understanding the proper way to pronounce phonograms is important and this app comes highly recommended if you are doing the Foundations courses from Logic of English.

So, all in all we have been enjoying using Foundations A from Logic of English. I think that there is a lot to this curriculum but that is only because they give you everything you need to properly and effectively teach your child. The price is a bit steep for me but for someone who has a child that is really struggling to grasp English, it would definitely be a wonderful teaching tool that I would recommend. The Logic of English can be found on Facebook as well as on Twitter so if you are interested in investigating more about this company, you certainly have some wonderful options available to you. Be sure to check out other reviews from my other Crew mates who have also had the opportunity to review Logic of English...click the banner below to see these additional reviews.

Greene Bark Press ~ "Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again" Board Book Review

I am a huge fan of teaching my children the basics about road safety as soon as they are able to grasp the concept of danger...which is typically when they are still very young. When our first child was a toddler, she was very much an explorer and she loved to wander. I didn't let her out of my sight when we were outside because she could take off in a heartbeat and if I wasn't paying attention, she would disappear. At the time, we had a very short, black-topped driveway but lived on a very quiet street. She loved to go outside and play so most nice days, that is exactly where we would be...out in the front yard playing on all the riding toys. I remember one day like it was yesterday. She was playing on the driveway and I was sitting there watching her. In the blink of an eye, she was racing towards the street as fast as her little legs could carry her and no matter how loud I yelled, she wasn't stopping. I finally caught up with her and carefully and FIRMLY explained that we do NOT run into the road. Ever. She learned quickly with dedicated training sessions in which I would let her go and give her voice commands as to when she should stop. Surprisingly, she learned quickly and didn't enter the road unless I was with her.

Now that she is older, she has begun to ride a bike and we go for long walks in our neighborhood. She is learning the concept of stopping at stop signs, riding on the SIDE of the road rather than down the middle and how to start and stop her bicycle safely. These are all things that she needs to know in order to ride her bike and we have had fun teaching her! Today, I am going to introduce a cute board book to you that will help YOU to teach your child all about road safety and this book is from Greene Bark Press and it is called "Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again", which retails for $8.50. I was sent this book to read through with my children and wanted to share my thoughts with you today. :)

Oh goodness...this is such a cute little board book! Perfect for children ages 3 - 8, it is full of cute characters, adorable, brightly colored pictures and wonderful lessons to be learned about crossing the road safely. The story line is all about a little duck named Wally Waddlewater, who wants to mail his grandmother a letter...but needs to cross busy streets in order to get to the mailbox.

Packed full of action and scenarios that are perfect for teaching children, this book is very well put together for little ones. Before I had the chance to actually read this book TO my children, they had grabbed it and ran off with it simply so they could look at the pictures! They absolutely loved the drawings and they are good enough, you really don't need words to fully understand what is happening in the pictures.

One of my favorite sections in the book is when Wally Waddlewater was walking and they used the words "Wadda, Wadda" to describe the walking...I thought that was sooo cute! You can use voice inflections to make it seem cuter too...which....*ahem*...I did. :) 

Wally Waddlewater has to wait for many things to come down the road before he can cross (elephants, trains, etc.) and if his mommy was not there to guide and teach him, he would have been badly injured. The good news is that he did learn how to cross the street and was able to get his letter into the mailbox safely.

This book has been GREAT for teaching all of my children about crossing the road. I also love how it teaches obedience...immediate obedience. This is something we strive for in our children and I love it when a book comes along side my teaching and helps to reinforce the lesson we are trying to get across to them. So now, when we go for a walk as a family we always repeat the phrase "look left, look right, look left again" at each intersection, making sure the children stop walking/riding. They all turn their heads in both directions and ultimately, we make it safely across the street.

I would DEFINITELY recommend this book to anyone who is looking to teach road safety to their children. It is a fun way to teach a very important lesson to your child without scaring them or, God forbid, having them get hurt because you failed to teach them. 

So, check out Greene Bark Press' board book, "Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again" and invest in your children's safety today! You will be so glad that you did. Our family enjoyed this book and hope you will check it out! Be sure to read what my other crew mates had to say about this book, by clicking the banner below.

Family Hope Center ~ Understanding Child Brain Development DVD Review

Have you ever found yourself looking at your child saying, "WHAT were they thinking???" Or, maybe you have seen your child struggle with simple reading activities or games. Since my daughter is still young, she really hasn't begun reading or writing to the fullest extent but I have noticed a few things that are slightly concerning. First of all, she tends to look at a three letter word (very VERY early reading stage) and will read it backwards. This happens very rarely but when it does, I am perplexed. Also, she can swap out letters and add letters that are not there to begin with. She is a smart girl and is really sharp but what is the reason for these small issues? This makes me wonder just what a child's brain development should be and at what pace it should be developing properly.

Today, I am going to introduce you to the Family Hope Center and their DVD, Understanding Child Brain Development. To order the DVD, you can call 610-397-1737 or you can order Understanding Child Brain Development from IEW.  Here is a bit more about their mission...

We Treat Every Child As a Unique Individual In your search to do the very best for your child, how often have you felt that you are no longer in control? Continuously being told that your child will never be able to lead a full-life and that you will just have to do the best you can? Now you can do what’s best for your child. At the Family Hope Center (FHC), we firmly believe that you should be in the ‘driver’s seat’, knowing what to do and how to do it. We also believe that every child is different and deserves individual treatment, which means with our unique diagnostic chart, we design a Program specifically created to develop your child to be the very best they can be.

While Family Hope Center's program focuses on children with disabilities, it is also VERY helpful and appropriate for any family dealing with a wide spectrum of issues. Children can struggle with various aspects of development and those struggles make themselves evident in behavior...sometimes unruly and odd behavior. I love the fact that Family Hope Center focuses on helping parents better understand and "shepherd" their children and they call it their ministry. Their center is an actual treatment center in which they treat and guide families from over 17 countries and they work with children who are comatose, blind, deaf amongst other shortcomings and disabilities.

Matthew and Carol Newell have been married for 20+ years have worked with children with disabilities. They founded Family Hope Center to give people HOPE when it comes to helping their children and they seem like wonderful people!

So, for this review I was sent the Understanding Child Brain Development DVD. As soon as the DVD began, I loved listening to Matt speak about his and his wife's capabilities and skills...they are fully equipped to educate anyone about neurological development. Matt is an exceptional speaker that draws you in and interacts with you...I was able to relate to him within the first 10 minutes.

Some questions that were presented and answered in this DVD were:

• Why do children struggle even though we have such an information-packed society?
• Are all children brain injured?
• Is my child a collection of disabilities and/or syndromes?
• Does my child have a disease? 

Another thing I learned is that I am NOT the problem...I am the solution. My child is not having problems because of me, they were injured at some point in their life and I am here to help them through this period of their life. I can help to restore their brain. One thing that Matt says in this DVD is that we need to focus on what our child CAN do as opposed to what they CAN'T do and stop seeing things as disabilities. Wow. That really struck me. If I can see past my child's issues and see their strengths, how empowering that is for me as a parent.

One thing we need to understand is what wellness is. I learned that the brain alone in a baby is 30% of his weight! So, a baby is ready to learn immediately after birth. That is amazing! Understanding wellness is very important to understanding the development process. Matt takes you through how the brain develops, starting at birth and he very clearly explains how the brain functions at each stage. I found this to be very interesting as I am always enthralled at how babies are so smart at birth. (Mine were, anyway...or was it just because I was a bit partial?? Hmmm....  :)  ) He explains why doctors check babies eyes...they are looking for blindness based on how their eyes respond to the light - reflexes. Another thing relating to neurological development is HOW the baby is born. Another issue Hannah had...when she was born, she was born via Cesarean Section. Her body didn't go through the important process of birth and from what I learned during watching this DVD was that her brain didn't connect with me through the lifting of the baby to my chest and immediate nursing process that most babies experience after birth.

Oh, and did you know that we are the only mammals that put babies on their backs??? Hmmmm. Not good in terms of neurological development. As I was watching this particular section of the DVD, it hit me. Hannah NEVER crawled on all fours. She did an (what I called) "elephant walk", where she put her palms on the floor and put herself in an "A" position and did that instead of crawling. This was very bad for her and is now causing her problems. Jacob is not yet in school but he has issues with responding immediately to me and sometimes gets very involved in his activities and ignores me completely. Thinking back, he never crawled either. Oh boy. He sat on his backside and scooted around the house. His brain development is not where it should be either. So I learned that crawling is ESSENTIAL to proper brain development. Very, very interesting.

Another thing that Matt talks about is the fact that babies are constantly moving in utero but when they are born, we take them off that pathway by putting them on their backs. When they are on their bellies, this can help their digestion, help them pass gas more effectively which, in turn, will equal a baby who does not suffer from colic.  Hannah was also the poster baby for colic. She screamed C.O.N.S.T.A.N.T.L.Y. Babies connecting with their mothers is also imperative to their development.

I was thankful to have the opportunity to review this DVD because it showed me exactly why my daughter and son are the way they are. There is SO much information in this DVD, I couldn't possibly tell you all about it in this single review without going over 15,000 words. :) I would strongly encourage you to check out Family Hope Center and get this DVD. It was encouraging, educating, and presented very well. I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone, even if you don't have children who are disabled or challenged.

Again, to order the DVD, you can call 610-397-1737 or you can order Understanding Child Brain Development from IEW for $19. Every child has issues in some way shape or form. Learning about the brain and how it works is essential to raising and helping our children develop properly. The brain can be strengthened and restored...how encouraging and what wonderful hope it gives me as a mom. THANK YOU Matt and Carol for your ministry. :)

Check out what my other blogger friends on the Schoolhouse Review Crew had to say about this DVD by clicking the banner below.

BrainFood Learning - Fascinating World of Birds DVD Review

One of the benefits of having a new house that backs up to a field is being able to enjoy nature. Growing up, my dad would always put up bird feeders and we would LOVE to watch the birds come and feed. Now that I am a mommy I enjoy passing along  my memories of bird-watching to my children. We weren't in the  new house a month and we had to go buy a bird feeder. :) My knowledge of birds has been pretty good but I don't know as much as I would like. Sooo, when the opportunity arose to review a DVD about birds, I jumped at the chance...especially since this particular DVD is geared towards children of all ages.

BrainFood Learning is a company that was founded by a husband/wife team who are parents of two small children. Their desire for stimulating and interesting content for children that educates as well as entertains led them to create the "Fascinating World Of..." DVD series. My children LOVE anything that has nature in it and I have difficulty finding material that is educational as well as entertaining...the same problem Bryce and Jennifer Mooney had. As you can see from the DVD cover pictured above, they definitely have mastered the "catch the eye" marketing tactic! I love all the colors and knew that my children would love this DVD.

So, for this review I was sent the Fascinating World Of Birds DVD, which retails for $14.99. As soon as it arrived, I opened my box and was immediately excited for my children. Not only was I excited for them, I was excited for me too!:)  I too have a love for nature films and was very much looking forward to enjoying this with my children.

I love the way this DVD is laid out. There are beautiful and bright pictures of birds, both backyard birds and exotic birds. My children have very little knowledge of anything that is found outside of our backyard and so this was really neat for them to see. Here is a quick preview of this DVD...
I learned some very interesting facts about birds, such as the Ostrich. Did you know that they Ostrich's eye is about the size of their brain? This means that they are NOT very smart. HA HA! I can see why. :) Also, when you hear the terms "bury your head in the sand", this is used in conjunction with what the ostrich supposedly does. They don't actually bury their heads in the sand, they are actually tending to eggs in their nest...turning them to help in incubation. They also have about 2 pounds of stones in their gizzard to help aid in digestion. THAT was something I did not know prior to watching this DVD. My children especially loved the part of the Ostrich racing...it was entertaining to watch these huge birds run around a track with a rider on their backs.

Another thing that was in this DVD that I liked was that they would say a word that wasn't well-known and then would define that word so your child could understand the meaning. This also helped me to better understand different types of birds and some of their features.

The other section that I love is the Review section. This basically quizzes your child on the information that they just viewed on the DVD. My oldest daughter knew most of the answers and she certainly learned a lot about different birds.

Not only can you get the Fascinating World of Birds DVD, but you can also buy the Fascinating World of Mammals DVD as well as the Fascinating World of Insects DVD. For me, I have small children that sometimes need a bit of distraction in their day and I have found that popping in my BrainFood Learning DVD has helped curb some boredom for them.

I love the fact that I am not just sitting them down for some senseless movie watching, but rather I am giving them the opportunity to learn something while enjoying some pictures and scenery of God's beautiful creation. One more thing that I want to note is that you can download a really neat lesson plan for each DVD, including the one I received. Each lesson plan has numerous worksheets that incorporate reading, writing and science, based off of the information found in the DVDs. You can check out those lesson plans by clicking here.

So, when I ask my children if they want to watch the "Bird DVD", they whole-heartedly answer "YES!!!!". This makes my mommy heart happy and I am always more than willing to allow them the pleasure of viewing this DVD. My family and I have really enjoyed getting to know our birds a bit better and hope that you would check out BrainFood Learning for yourself. It is truly a great investment and now that I have the Fascinating World of Birds DVD, I want the rest!!! Discover God's creation in a new and exciting way and watch your children learn and have fun learning at the same time.

Several other of my Crew mates have reviewed this and other BrainFood learning DVD's and you can check out their great reviews below. Thanks for reading!
 

Christi the Coupon Coach "Couponing Made Simple" Book Review

Couponing. That word to me always meant hours upon hours of work, tons of time spent and grocery stores and saving loads of money. Well, the last part is totally true and so much fun when you get to experience it. I have always wanted to be a couponer but was never "brave" enough. Being a mommy of three little ones is tiring and I don't have a whole lot of extra time to spend doing things like couponing - or so I thought. As we have added children to our family it has become painfully clear that groceries and shopping trips are getting expensive. Our economy is terrible and the cost of EVERYTHING is going up. I used to dream of saving money at the cash register but honestly, never really looked into it because it is easier to just run to the store and buy what you need when you need it regardless of the price. Let me tell you...I am learning a few things about being wise with my money and being frivolous with what God has given is foolish.

Today, I am going to talk to you about a book I have been reading written by Christi the Coupon Coach and it is called Couponing Made Simple. Christi is a homeschooling mom of four children and obviously, is a busy lady! I was excited to read more about her ideas and tips for using coupons. At first, I was skeptical but as I began to read her book, I suddenly became aware of just how easy saving money can be. (!) I will say first and foremost, I appreciate the fact that Christi loves the Lord and talks about God in her book. Saving money to her is important spiritually because it is being a good steward with the money that God has entrusted to her and her family. This spoke volumes to me because I can be very frivolous with money and she really made me think about that aspect in relation to being a good steward.

Christi graciously sent me one of her books to read through and review and I have to tell you that I am feeling better equipped and EXCITED about being a good coupon user. My first observation was to note Christi's philosophy when it comes to using coupons. She is not an extreme couponer but holds to the idea that she teaches REAL couponing for REAL people. Here's a bit more about her book...

There is a lot of buzz about couponing.  A lot of people are excited about couponing and want to do it well, but I have found that many become overwhelmed, confused and unorganized.

That is why I have taken the new world of couponing and put it into a book that gives a step by step plan to follow.  I have also developed an organization system.  This allows people to be successful on their very 

first trip.  One lady read my book and saved 70% on her 1st trip!  Another attended a workshop and saved 84% on her 1st coupon run!

This is not "Extreme", but Real couponing for Real people.

I teach buying a reasonable amount of products using an organizational system that takes a reasonable amount of time for great savings! 

So, my first goal was to learn the steps that are necessary to be successful at couponing. Christi has the easy steps laid out in one chapter where she step-by-step explains what you need to do to get organized, use coupons and save money. I was first stumped by a phrase I read in this chapter and it read as follows...

"Buy at least one Sunday newspaper per person in your household. If you have an uneven number of people (i.e., five), bump up the number of newspapers to the next even number, six."

I am used to buying just one paper and using the coupons found in the inserts included in that one paper and didn't know the benefit of having more papers. So, I emailed Christi for clarification. The reason for doing this is because you want to have the most coupons for one item that you can. I experienced the negative side of this when I went to buy yogurt this past week. Chobani Greek Yogurt was on sale for 10 for $10, making each cup of yogurt $1 each. I found a coupon for $.30 off and my grocery store doubles manufacturer coupons up to $.99. Sooo, I only had ONE coupon. :( If I had clipped more, I could have really purchased alot of yogurt for just $.40 a cup. RATS! So, this is why you want to buy alot of newspapers and I am glad that Christi mentions this in her book.

Another thing I love that Christi talks about is how to find coupon matchups in your area. I have been wanting to find a blog or website that does the coupon matchups for the grocery store in my area and using her suggested method, I was able to find one!! This makes finding and using coupons sooo easy. It really takes out the work in figuring out how to use your coupons. She tells you what to look up when searching the Internet and this is something I knew NOTHING about. So, my favorite site that I have found I now subscribe to and every week, this gal gives me the coupon matchups and best deals for my store. Hooray!! Christi has her favorite coupon matchup sites listed on her website so check those out as well.

I have not yet implemented Christi's method for organizing coupons but fully intend to. She suggests using a recipe box and small accordion file. I love the idea of organizing your coupons in the order of how you shop through your store. I am really leaving out alot of detail when it comes to her organization system but basically you file all your coupons in your box and use the coupons as your shopping list. In your box you will have a section set up for coupons you don't use on the current shopping trip just in case there are no sales for that particular item. You can then re-file your coupons and use them on a later date. I love her idea because frankly, I went to the store with all my coupons stuffed in a small envelope and this is VERY disorganized and stressful. So, want to see how I did on my most recent "couponing" shopping trips? Check it out...

Ok. So, this picture represents two different stores. One was Walgreens and the other was Tops Friendly Markets. In my area there are two major grocery stores...Wegmans and Tops. The closest Wegmans to me is about 1/2 hour away so I don't shop there hardly at all. Tops is my main go-to store. I also love that they have so many 10 for $10 deals and also they double all manufacturer coupons up to $.99. This is so cool, especially if you have $.75 off coupons...they double them so you are actually getting $1.50 off!!! Anyway, here is what I have in the picture above. General Mills cereal was on sale 4 for $10 and if you purchased 4 boxes, you got a free gallon of milk. So, because I was just trying out couponing, I didn't have a huge stash of coupons. I was able to get my four boxes of cereal and used two $.50 off coupons on two of the boxes...which meant I actually got $1 off two boxes. When the cashier rung up my groceries, I didn't get a coupon for the free milk so after I finished checking out I went to the head cashier station and showed my receipt to the girl working there. She checked the ad, verified that I was supposed to get a free gallon of milk and then refunded us for the milk. Awesome! See the three packages of Bic Soleil razors? I only paid $3.99 for each of those thanks to my $2 off coupons.

My shopping trip to Tops would have cost me $43.31 but thanks to store discounts and coupons, I only paid $24.70.  Now, that isn't a HUGE savings but it is pretty good, considering I have never used coupons like that before.

Now, we get to Walgreens. Schick Disposable Razors were buy one, get one 50% off. I had coupons for BOGO so I used two of those coupons on four packages of Razors. Then, I had three individual coupons for Gillette razors. They were priced at $5.99 each and I had three coupons...two for $3 off and one for $5 off. So, I paid only $.99 for one of the razors!

I ended up spending a total of $18.92 and SAVED $36.48 with bonus points and coupons. WOW! For me, that was a HUGE savings.

Real quick, one last receipt I wanted to show you was from a quick, emergency stop at a local Dollar General. We were at church and my son had a HUGE poo poo diaper and blew out his pants. Completely. I had to run to the store and buy him a new pair of pants. Well, I chose a pair of denim blue jeans and they were marked $10. I also bought diaper cream. I get to the checkout and was floored when my total came to just the price of the diaper cream. I remarked to the cashier "Wow! The pants must have been on sale!" She had the personality of a brick wall and didn't respond and I went on my way. When I got in the car, I looked at my receipt. The pants rang up for $.01!!!!!!! What a BLESSING! I asked my sister about this because she worked at Dollar General for several years and she said that when they want to push inventory, they mark down items like this but you have to know what to look for. I was thrilled that I only paid a penny for my son's pants and that is a deal I got when I used no coupons! Ha ha! :) 

Soo, I think it is safe to say that I am officially hooked on using coupons and looking for good deals. Christi talks about keeping your eyes open for thrift store deals, garage sales and online deals as well. I blogged recently about a FANTASTIC deal Maidenform was having for their $10 bra sale. I purchased two bras for a total of about $17 + FREE shipping. So, you have to keep your eyes open for special sales and take advantage when you can. 

Christi the Coupon Coach's book retails for $18 or you can purchase the ebook for $4.99. I would recommend buying the book itself because there are pages in the back for you to write notes and that is great, especially if you are trying to learn how to coupon. I am grateful to Christi for giving me the opportunity to review her book and hope that this review helps you to see how simple it can be to save your pennies. Be sure to check out more reviews for Christi's book by clicking on the banner below and happy couponing!!! :)