Ringlets: A Timberdoodle Review

note: I was gifted this product in exchange for my review. Opinions are 100% my own and I am excited to share it with you! Also, Amazon links will be affiliate.

If you've followed me for very long, you know I've been trying to cut down on the 'stuff' in my life and simplify it. And of course, this would include things like toys! I love working with Timberdoodle products, because what they carry are both fun and educational. No annoying noises, or cheap plastic here! What you'll find are things that promote motor skills, critical thinking and imaginative play. 

That's why I was excited to review Ringlets! Ringlets are made from the same company that made Whirly Squigz  and the quality is no different. Made from high quality silicone, these make perfect teething toys for babies. The way the toy is shaped, it makes it easy for little hands to grasp and chew on.  The suction part sticks easily to a smooth surface, but comes off relatively easy for little hands. They come in 6 bright colors and are small enough to fit in a diaper bag or purse and carried with you. (also, they make no noise, so that is a plus for mom!)

 Baby Girl was excited to get these in the mail, but Little Man enjoyed them too! He quickly started looping them together to make a long chain and then sticking them to all the smooth surfaces he could find. This is also an opportunity for the homeschool mom to show what surfaces are smooth and why the suction will only stick to them and not other areas of the house.

I love toys that both my kids can enjoy. My son and daughter are 4 years apart, so finding things they can play with together can be a difficult task. While geared more towards my daughter, my 5 year old plays with them just as much.

While these Ringlets can be used as travel toys that easily fit into the diaper bag, high chair distraction, or teethers, my favorite way to use them so far is in the bathtub! If you've seen my non-toy list for babies, you'll know this quickly made the list of recommendations. I love that they are easy to clean, and fun for the kids to stick to the sides. Each time they get a bath, it's the first toy they go for.

I highly recommend these little Ringlets as great Christmas gifts. They can be gifted as is, or even opened and made into stocking stuffers for babies. Be sure and follow this link to find out more!

Non-Toy Gift Ideas for Ages 3-6

Note: Amazon links are affiliated

Monday I shared a list of non-toy gift ideas for babies and toddlers that you can look at here. Here I am with the next age range! Little Man is 5 years old now, and his list of toys he needs gets longer every time we walk down the toy aisle at Walmart. While he enjoys unwrapping and playing with the toys for a few days, after a while the toys have lost their newness and he starts wishing for something else.

It's been my desire to get away from so many toys and focus on the true meaning of Christmas. We still love to give gifts at Christmas, so I did want to share some non-toy gift ideas. I will also be sharing what I am getting my kids for Christmas in the next couple of weeks.

When typing these lists for you, I've worked very hard to make sure I only share what I've purchased and loved in the past. If I list anything we don't have, I will let you know. It is my goal to share things that are tried and true by my son.

As much as I hope this inspires and helps you, this Christmas, remember that you don't have to buy any of it! As someone who has really worked on my budget this year, I encourage you to stick to yours. I would much rather you have financial freedom, than get the few cents from these links. Kids desire our presence over presents(even if they don't say that)!




Art and Craft Supplies

My son loves creating with art supplies, and I'll often find him just drawing in a notebook, and coloring whatever thing he's created. He loves my journaling pens, and I think gel pens would be a great stocking stuffer for him!

We've often given him art supplies for Easter and Christmas, and here are my favorite supplies. You'll notice they are not top quality, because my son isn't as careful  with his things as he needs to be yet. I still stay away from Rose Art and other knock off brands, but Crayola works just fine with us.



Crayola Washable Watercolors, 16 Count (Pack of 2) Total 32 Count (I love that this is a 2 pack! My son is bad about mixing the colors.)
Crayola Big Paint Brushes (4 Count Round), Great for Kids

Gel Pens 30 Colors Gel Marker Set Colored Pen with 40% More Ink for Adult Coloring Books Drawing Doodling Crafts Scrapbooks Bullet Journaling (these pens are similar to what I was gifted for my journaling)
Sargent Art Premium Coloring Pencils, Pack of 50 Assorted Colors, 22-7251

Art kits are also a fun and consumable gift. I like things that we can create, then throw away (or give away) when we are done. Less to store, am I right?!

This is a boy version, but there are all kinds to choose from. We haven't done this exact kit, but have done something similar.


Click here for an art kit my son loved! I love the quality of the Melissa and Doug brand.








Clothing
Clothing begins to get 'boring' at this age, but you can still make it as fun as possible! I do this by giving things with their favorite character on them. My son loves his Spider-Man toboggan (or winter hat for you non-southerners) and Paw Patrol socks! I am linking what my son has and enjoyed receiving.

Nickelodeon Boys' Little Paw Patrol 5 Pack No Show, Bright Big Face, Fits Sock Size 6-8.5; Fits Shoe Size 7.5-3.5 (These have been on a favorites list before, but it's worth re-sharing, as they have really stood up to the wear and tare of a 4 and 5 year old little boy!)
Spiderman Cuff Beanie & Mitten Set Red/Black
We've also given character pajamas, as well. I have to say the quality is normally not that great, but my son still loves to get them. I normally pick up an inexpensive set during a Black Friday sale.

Outdoor 
Technically, some of these are toys, but since they get stored outside, maybe they don't quite count?! HA! Oh well, I want to mention my favorite outside 'toys' my son has enjoyed.


My son got a balance bike this past year from his grandparents and he has absolutely loved it! It has traveled with us to the park, my parents house, as well as being ridden all over our front yard. I couldn't find the exact model my son has, but this one is similar. This is a great transition toy to a real bike. It has helped my son ride the spider-man bike we gave him last year for Christmas.







Other outdoor favorites:
Bubbles
Chalk
Bubble Mower (Y'all, we realized the other day that my son has had this for 4 years and still plays with it all the time!)- I am linking the one we own, however, it has a lot of negative reviews. We have enjoyed ours though!


Books

Books are a favorite non-toy item to gift, however, I believe we are running out of room to store them as much as toys. I like to say I need more bookshelves, not that I have too many books! Here are some of my son's favorites.

My mom gifted this book to my son, and he absolutely loves it! Not only does it have easy, around the house items to do science experiments with, but my son just loves looking at the pictures. They have bright colored illustrations and great step by step pictures.








Some other favorite books:

The Magic School Bus Lost In The Solar System (my son loves all the Magic Schoolbus books!)

Richard Scarry's Bedtime Stories (Pictureback(R)) (I am linking my son's favorite of the Richard Scarry books)
My son also enjoys the Usborne Shine a light books, many of the classics (Go Dogs Go, Green Eggs and Ham, etc.), and anything search and find!

Games and Activities

A while back I did a post on my favorite games and activities that you can check out here.
I also recommend Smart Farmers from Timberdoodle. You can click on my link and check out other games and activities on their website that are fun and educational!

Below as part of my Amazon recommendations, are a few things that are on my wishlist, but we haven't tried yet! Let me know, what are your favorite non-toy gifts for this age range?

Non-Toy Gift Ideas for Babies and Toddlers

Note: links are affiliated. I get a small commission on any qualifying purchase you make

No matter what, Christmas brings with it SO MANY TOYS! You don't have to be a minimalist to want to cut down on the shear amount of toys your children get, so it's not so overwhelming when it's time to find a place for all the new things. Today I will be sharing gifts in the 0-2 age range that aren't toys. I do love imaginative play, but I will be sharing what I got my kids for Christmas later, so you can see what toys I do buy.

If you are wanting your family to stick to a more 'non-toy' list for your kids, be sure and share this post. Maybe they will get the hint 😉

Bath Toys

But I thought you said no toys?! Yes, but they won't be ending up in the toy room, and I tried to pick things that build thinking skills and promote imaginative play.

These adorable animal buckets from Skip Hop are a favorite for both my 11 month old, and my 5 year old. Originally purchased for my baby's first Christmas, last year, they are still in great shape! I hate those toys that get mold and are hard to clean-not these! They've gone outside during the summer, and helped in some sensory projects, and they are still going strong!

I will be doing a full review on these next Monday, but I wanted to give you a sneak peak of what has been a go to for my kids during bath time! These Ringlets can suction just about anywhere, but do especially well in the bathtub. Both my son and 11 month old daughter enjoy making long rings, or watching it suction to the wall of the bathtub. These are also easy to clean, store, and just super fun to play with! I will share a link once these go live on the Timberdoodle website.






My mom gave these magnetic boats to my son about 2 years ago, and they are still being played with today! While definitely more in the 'toy' category, they are nice in that they are also easy to clean! I don't know if you noticed, but none of those squirt toys made the list. I really do not enjoy trying to make sure there's no mold build up, and it's always a sad day when I decide they have squirted their last squirt. The three things I am recommending are things are as much for the mom as they are for the kids!






Before I end the bath category, I want to mention these hooded towels. I bought this elephant one for my Baby girl last year, and they are such good quality, and large enough to last several years! I've bought character hooded towels for my son in the past, but none are this good of quality!







Books

This is often a no-brainer when it comes to non toy gifts for babies and toddlers. So many times, however, books can be a burden for parents to read 100 times or to listen to the annoying sounds they can make.  Books like Go Dogs Go, Cat in the Hat, and other classics are wonderful for any little one, here are more books geared towards babies and toddlers that you wont hate reading to your kids!

These 'That's Not My... Series by Usborne are not just adorable, but are well made. Both of my kids have loved these books as babies, and they make great diaper bag books, to keep little hands busy, but without as much noise. Babies love the touchy-feely aspect of them. My son's favorite was the dinosaur one, and my daughter has loved the princess one.







Normally I wouldn't recommend books with sound, but this book has been a beloved favorite of my little ones. The sounds made are real animal sounds, so for some reason it isn't as annoying as some sound books can be.









I can't say enough good things about this precious book! Well made, beautiful illustrations, and a story that is fun for all ages! My 5 year old still enjoys getting this book out and having me read it. If you get 1 book from my recommendations, let this be the one!









Clothing Gifts
Clothing might start to get boring for older kids, but it is especially fun for the itty bittys! I always get my kids some pajamas, but socks, underwear, and outfits have also been known to appear in their stocking or gifts. Here are some of my favorite pajamas!

These Burts Bees pajamas are soft and perfect for babies and toddlers. Anything that zips up with feet are wonderful for this age and the never ending diaper changes! Be sure to size up with this brand though, as they can be a bit snug. I try to buy big enough for it to last the rest of the winter season.









Other great gifts for babies and toddlers:
Baby Puffs, or other snack item
Sippy Cups (I know there are cons to these style sippy cups. My kids don't use sippy cups for very long, and since they breastfeed, they don't use them often either. This is my favorite style sippy cup, but it can be different for everyone). I think we will be transitioning Baby Girl to this sippy cup:
Tommee Tippee Easiflow 360° Spill-Proof Toddler Cup with Travel Lid, Elephant & Bear, 12+ Months, 8 ounces
Baby girl Bows (last year I gave my 3 week old a 3 month subscription to Little Poppy Co. Bows!)
Chunky Puzzles (linked is my list of favorite puzzles!)

What are your favorite non-toy gifts for babies and toddlers? Watch out for my preschool-elementary aged list!

Christ-Centered Christmas Countdown Ideas

note: Amazon links are affiliated. If you make a qualifying purchase, I make a small commission.

Not only does the Christmas season seem to be getting earlier each year, but it tends to get busier and busier! How wonderful it is to slow down, and share with your children what Christmas is all about. Here are some ideas to countdown to Christmas and to keep Christ at the center!

Nativity Themed Unit Studies

Peaceful  Press Christmas Unit Study
Here is a beautiful study by The Peaceful Press. While I haven't done this particular unit study, everything we've studied through them has been amazing! Everything is centered around learning the true meaning of Christmas.

If you don't want to buy a unit study already prepared, follow me on Pinterest to find ideas of creating your own. I love taking well loved books, and creating activities around them. There are so many nativity crafts on Pinterest, and you can use this link from Christian Preschool Printables to find handwriting practice, crafts and more!

Wrapped Books counting down until Christmas

Over the years, we've been collecting Christmas books that are put away until the first day of December. Then, each day, my son opens up a wrapped book under the tree in his bedroom. Most of the books are about Christ's birth, or about why we celebrate Christmas. You could do 24 books as a countdown, or just do the last 12 days leading up to Christmas.  No need to buy all the books either! I have borrowed some from the library and wrapped them before. My son didn't mind that they needed to be returned. I love reading Christmas stories together as a family. I am looking forward to Baby Girl enjoying the tradition this year!











Shepherd on the Search

This cute little Shepherd is the Christian alternative to the Elf on the Shelf. I honestly hate the idea of an elf reporting bad behavior of children and reporting to Santa. As my best friend pointed out, it takes away the ideas of grace, mercy, and generosity. Whatever your stance on Santa Claus, this little shepherd still includes the fun of finding him each morning, but teaches children that Jesus is the reason we celebrate.

I will add that I did not like the book that came with the set. I didn't feel like it was entirely Biblical. We just don't read the book and enjoy all the fun things this little shepherd brings. You can find all kinds of ideas for him too, on Pinterest.

I have joined Timberdoodle's blog team to bring you more traditions and holiday recipes!

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Paying Cash for Christmas

While my husband and I have managed to go through our marriage without getting in debt for Christmas, it has always drained our account, and in the past we desperately awaited the next paycheck. I do know so many struggle in this area, as well, and the idea of 'buy now, pay later' can be appealing. If want to take control this Christmas, and take financial stress out of the holiday bustle, then I hope these tips can help!

About 9 months ago, I decided to read Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey. I read the entire thing in one day, and was ready to tackle our small amount of debt ($5000 on a Jeep). I've always been a little flighty, when it comes to sticking to things, and I worried that I would even quit before the 90 days. When that 90 days saw us completely pay off the debt and live more at peace, I was hooked! No going back now!

What really helped me was my first tip for paying cash for Christmas:

Download the Every Dollar App

We are cheap people, and have continued to use the free version, but I can see the appeal of upgrading to the premium one. Either way, it helps you track ALL your expenses and guides you to giving EVERY DOLLAR (get it?!) a home. I researched our expenses from previous 3 months to get an idea of how much to give each category. Because of this, our eating out expenses, and random Walmart trips have decreased by $200 a month!

After you put in all your expenses, make a category for Christmas and put a number there that you will stick to! How do you get that number? Here is my next tip:

Write down everyone you need to buy for and assign a price point for each person.


I also write down 'co-worker gifts', 'Christmas parties' and then add maybe $50 just to cover any last minute people I have forgotten about or that come up. For my husband's extended family, they put a cap at $25 per person when they draw names for Christmas. This is so helpful in putting an average of how much we will spend! I try to find sales and deals that allow a gift to be worth $25, while paying a little less. I also apply this $25 limit to the rest of the extended family members, to make things easier to budget (And so I don't get carried away!).

When it comes to your children:

Kids don't need $1000 worth of toys and the latest trendy items!

Look around your house (or yard). Where are the gifts you got them last year? Stinging I know! Half of what my son got has either been trashed, or not played with. While this may seem depressing, this encourages me to make sure what I get him will be useful (or well played with) and not cost me an arm and a leg (no guilt then, if we have to give it away). We put a cap of $100 per child in our house, but before the age of 3-4 it was $50. This includes stocking gifts and wrapped ones from us. If you are needing ideas, I will be compiling a few gift guides this month, so stay tuned for that!

The number you put as a budget for your kids is up to you. Know that your kids crave your presence over presents. It may not seem like they do, but when they look back after they've grown, will they remember that you gave them the high dollar gadget they requested, or that you always made homemade pancakes Christmas morning and watched a new movie that you got for Christmas?

Were you looking for handmade items to be the next tip? Well, I'm not much help there!

I absolutely love my husband's aunt's homemade sourdough bread she makes every Christmas, or the handmade apron I received one year. I am sort of, kind of, crafty, but I haven't gotten the hang of DIYs for Christmas gifts. If you make the world's best cinnamon rolls, or love to crochet, by all means make that scarf! Don't think you actually HAVE to spend a lot money on people at Christmas.

What tips do you have for paying cash for Christmas? I would love to hear them!

Explode the Code Review

Note: Amazon Links are Affiliated. I get a small commission on any qualifying purchases you make. 

This is another subject that I saw my siblings go through before I chose it for my own homeschooling year. While initially an easy choice, these have been workbooks that I've had a hard time getting used to. I've even considered changing to something else after the first few weeks, but I told myself to just get through the first book, and I'm so glad I did! If you've been considering using Explode the Code for your own little one, you can check out my pros and cons list of this phonics program.

Pros: 
First off, the Primer Books (Get Ready for the Code) were amazing! Because my son was already quite familiar with the alphabet, he sped through the primer book I found for him, and really enjoyed the simple graphics, and fun pre-reading activities.

For the other books, I like how there are very frequently reviewing lessons to go over everything that has been taught.

I love all the silly sentences that get to be read at the end of each lesson (this is Book 1). My son is really bad at trying to guess what the sentence will be based on the illustration, so the crazy sentences help me know that he is actually sounding them out.

The books seem to go at a really good pace. This is good since my son struggled in the beginning. He is going over all the concepts he had a hard time picking up, and each book is thorough with the concepts they teach.

Cons:
While the illustrations are cute and simple, after seeing the beautiful colored illustrations of A Reason for Handwriting it's hard not to compare the two. The black and white drawings are fun, but sometimes they can be a little hard to guess what they are. (which is actually good for sounding out the sentences and not guessing what comes next)

My personal opinion is that there is a lot of writing back to back. We do three pages per day, and it seems they put a lot of handwriting together. For a beginner writer, this can be a struggle. For a little boy who wants to get everything right, or takes a long time writing certain letters, this can make the lesson drag on. As he learns handwriting, and understands the concepts, this is getting easier and easier.

My son would get frustrated when he couldn't understand the concept or sound out the words. He had such a hard time in the beginning, and while they DO repeat concepts over and over again, this didn't make the first few lessons any easier.

Closing remarks and tips:
Overall, I would say I have enjoyed these books, and as my son grasps the concepts I enjoy it more (and so does he)! This past week he asked to keep going past the amount of pages I assigned to him!
Something I would recommend doing is set a limit for each day, so your child doesn't get too frustrated or over tired. My mom would set a timer, for us we do 3 pages a day. Do whatever works for you and your child!

Have you used Explode the Code? What do you think?

Day in the Life of a Homeschool Mom

Trying to write a 'typical' day in my life, is like trying to ride a unicorn on a rainbow...it's impossible! I decided to try my best to be realistic. Just know that there are days when I accomplish more, and days when I accomplish absolutely nothing but keeping my children fed and somewhat happy (points for that, right?!). If you are finding such days in your own life, grab a coffee, read a good book, and remember that tomorrow is another day!

6:15am I wake up to the sound of my husband getting ready for work. I put Baby Girl in her crib (because no matter how good of intentions I have, she always is there by morning), and head like a zombie towards my coffee pot. While the haze starts to lift, I read my Bible, post a picture to Instagram, and do any blogging I need to do. 

7am By this time Little Man is awake and has asked at least 5 times if it's time for breakfast yet. I sigh at the empty coffee mug and slave in the kitchen to assemble his favorite breakfast: yogurt with a granola bar (okay, so maybe I'm joking over the slaving part-but not his favorite breakfast part! He literally just wants to eat this everyday!). I have started eating oatmeal in the morning, as a quick but warm fall breakfast!

8 am At this time, Little Man has eaten and gotten ready for the day, I've gotten ready for the day, and Baby Girl might be awake and wants to be fed. Even the dog has been taken care of for the morning. This means it's time for school!

9am We've covered Music, Bible, Read Aloud, Science/History, and sometimes Art. I used to include Phonics (you can look at this post for what my son's schedule looks like), but we've figured out that Phonics and Math are best done during Baby Girl's nap. 

10am Recess! We head outside where I make sure Baby Girl doesn't consume grass or leaves, and we watch Bubba play. We will sometimes go on nature walks, or just simply watch Little Man do tricks on his balance bike. 

11am Lunch This includes me making what I make every.single.day. Peanut Butter and Jelly, fruit, cheese stick and whole wheat goldfish crackers. This is where Little Man gets to watch a small cartoon while I eat leftovers from the night before (or something else). I normally put Baby Girl to bed and let Little Man lay down for about 20 minutes. 

12:30pm By this time Little Man is laying down for half an hour, Baby girl is napping, and I'm sipping my afternoon cup of Joe. This is where I get 20 minutes of 'me time'. This can be Youtube videos, a good book, or art. Right this second I'm in this time slot, and typing an extra blog post!

1pm Little Man is normally up and around, and this is where we will complete any school that didn't get done in the morning time. I also do housework during this hour. I do some in the morning, but it's more like 'what can I squeeze in here' than actual checking boxes off a list. (you can find a wonderful checklist here by Clutter Bug!)

2pm On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays It's time for me to teach piano. Most days I will only have a small break between each lesson before doing another one. On Thursdays it's homeschool group activities day. Wednesday is my 'off' day where I only have one piano lesson in the evening before church. 

4pm Piano is normally over, and my husband is headed home from work. It's time for me to make supper! We eat supper early, because of my husband coming early, and I feel like it's better for us to do so. 

5pm Ideally supper is being cleaned up (I am working on being more consistent in making sure I clean up things right after supper) and Little Man has asked my husband for the 20th time if he can play/build/play video games. At least my husband is now getting all the questions and not me! ha!

6pm This is the time we are visiting as a family. In a perfect evening this would be discussions about our day, maybe a board game, or a delicious dessert. What it normally ends up being is a chaotic tornado of toys swirling around the living room, and at its chaotic center, my two children-and also my husband. 

7pm A nightly, week day tradition is  watching Andy Griffith. Since we've watched most of these by now, I am also getting things prepared for the next day, maybe folding clothes, or playing with the kids. 

8pm Bedtime for the kids! That beautiful time of the day when the house is quiet. My husband and I go to sleep around 9:30, so we get a little time to catch up on a tv show, or sometimes I'll read. 

2am Baby girl cries

4am Baby girl decides sleeping through the night is a thing of the past, and this is probably the point she ends up in my bed. You wanted this to be realistic, right?!

As I said before, no day is typical, but this is as close as I can get! What kind of day are you having? Productive, or 'At least the kids are alive' kind of a day?

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