Florida Prepaid Scholarship Contest- 10 Will Win 2-Year State College Scholarship

My three faces of Florida Prepaid College Plan

Its that time of year again! Open enrollment time for Florida Prepaid time! I have shared before, and I will share again why I am passionate about this program...its those three in the photo above. Those kids, my babies...they are going places, and with Florida prepaid we can afford the places they go a little easier. I can only imagine how hard it would be to have multiple children in college at once, so we are trying to offset that battle and have at least some of it paid by the time my babies go. We can only afford to purchase one year of university each, at a time, so right now my oldest will have one year paid for, the middle child will have three years paid for, and the princess should have her complete bachelors degree paid in full if we keep on this track!  

How would you like to win a scholarship for TWO years of Florida prepaid for your kids? 

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  Florida Prepaid is giving Florida families the opportunity to win one of 10, 2-Year Florida College Plans. 

Ten Florida families will win two free years of college from the Florida Prepaid College Foundation,which is launching its Florida Prepaid Scholarship Program. The annual scholarship program runs between September 19, 2017 and October 10, 2017. There are tons of ways to get many different entries, and over 50 different prize packages! Man, how nice would it be to tell your kids you had their first two years of college paid for, just by entering a contest? So enter, share with friends and family so they can enter, and keep coming back to the site every day to learn more and get extra chances to win!

Florida Prepaid College: Give the Best Gift You Can Give!

My children receive so much at the holidays  that they know if they receive a check, they are going to hand it over to us for their savings account. Sometimes they like to argue with us about it, but they know the rules. We educate them that one day they will be incredibly thankful for this gift. However, I was recently made away of an even greater idea! The Florida Prepaid plan! Family members can now buy an entire year of college, or even just 30 credit hours at a time if that suits their budget better! Wouldn't it be an amazing thing if family members went in together and bought your child a year of college to be used at a later date at one of Florida's amazing universities? I honestly cannot think of a greater gift to give a child, OR A PARENT, than a college education, PAID FOR!  I seriously love this idea, and wish that all of those checks we received for our kids have went to Florida Prepaid College. Even though we have the money saved, I feel like our money would have went further because you are locked in at today's rate, and we all know that college prices are going up every single year.

You can have up to 4- one year plans per child so after you purchase one, you can purchase more later and completely pay for a bachelors degree.  There are also the two year college plans, so you set your child up for a practical career at a community college, or it can be applied to universities across the country! I am a fan of this plan in particular because I am a graduate of a community college with my Registered Nurse degree. I feel with an associates degree, young adults can support themselves while going to a four year college if they choose to do so. A two year degree, when used properly can set a person up for success in the future. This is actually my favorite plan, and I just suggested it to my husband for our own children.

Get Your Little One Started on the Right Educational Path with LeapStart!

Education is so very important to us, but with having three children, I do not have the time I spent with my oldest to teach my younger two. Of course, in this technology filled world, the kids must have something that teaches them while being interactive and fascinating to them too- gone are the days of keeping them entertained with books. I just received a goodie package from LeapFrog because I am part of their LeapFrog Moms Ambassador program, and I am excited to tell you all about what we received, and how it saved our road trip.

My three year old son received the LeapStart Learning system. Initially I was a little concerned he would not give it the time of day because he has the attention span of a gnat if it is not tablet related, but I was pleasantly surprised that was not the case at all. Being the smart mom that I am, I put this back and waited to take it on our road trip, when he was strapped down and bored, to introduce this, and it turns out it saved the day!! Really! We went from a screaming, crying, banshee acting three year old, to a happy little boy that was interacting with the LeapStart and giggling at the animals on it. He enjoyed it so much, and played with it for hours until he finally got sleepy and eventually fell asleep. LeapStart makes our road trip go from bust to peace in no time flat! He has played with it numerous time since, and enjoyed every second of it. It is soooo educational, and there are actually two different systems. One is the pre-school aged system which is perfect for ages 2-4. Then there is the school aged system that is great for ages 5-7. He is actually using the school aged book in the photos but he loves playing with both!

Win Your Super Genius Education Games from Blue Orange

I have two little boys in very different learning stages. My youngest is 2 1/2 and my oldest is going into 3rd grade. When I was contacted my Super Genius to review their new games I immediately jumped at the chance to review the Multiplication and the First Words.

Super Genius Multiplication:

This multiplication matching game focuses on single-unit multiplication equations (from 2 to 5) and helps prepare early learners for more complicated arithmetic to come. Find the pair between an equation and its product, two equations or two products.
Developed hand-in-hand with learning professionals, this Super Genius game was specifically created with early learners in mind.

This game can be played by yourself or with up to six players. It really makes simple multiplication fun for my son. One round usually last about 15 minutes which is a great amount of time for summer time learning! It helps him not loose those important math skills but does not feel like he is spending his summer doing "boring ole math!" We've really had a lot of fun with this and I am so glad we have it this summer to sharpen his math skills for his 3rd grade year!

Insect Lore Pop-Up Port-a-Bug with Live Praying Mantis Review

Over the years we have done MANY Insect Lore "science projects" as I like to call them. The first we ever did was the butterflies. We grew so attached to them that my, then three year old son, cried when we released them. Next we took on the tadpoles. I accidentally drowned one froglet, and we released one into a nearby stream. That time, I cried. Then we raised ladybugs and sent them on their merry little way, and none of us cried. So, when I found out that Insect Lore was sending me one of their beloved kits for review, I was seriously stoked. The only kit that I have been wanting to do, but have not yet was the praying mantis, because it is only mailed to Florida during certain months because of our extreme heat. So, when I saw that we COULD get the kit for my boys to enjoy, it was an exciting day!

Win Your National Geographic Kids Summer Boredom Busters!

I never ever pass up an opportunity to review National Geographic Kids items. My oldest son is fascinated with any and all Nat Geo, and that has been passed on to my toddler son. As a matter of a fact, he refuses to read any other books except his big brothers National Geographic Kids. I was jsut asked to review five new titles and I was just thrilled.

NG Readers: Lions --  Part of the National Geographic Readers series, this level one

reader ($3.99) is perfect for those just starting to read.   Joining the many dozens of titles in this series, Lions, featues beautiful photos of lions and cubs accompanying simple but informative text, fun facts and jokes to make kids ROAR with laughter:). 

Chapters: Kangaroo to the Rescue! -- This chapter book series picks up where the Readers series leaves off.  This title ($5.99) features three incredible true stories of animal heroics, including Lulu the kangaroo, two dogs named Maggie and Pilot and three amazing pigs, each a hero in its own way.

Look & Learn: Bears -- Developed in association with child education experts, the newest addition ($6.99) to the Look & Learn board book series features bears of every variety and introduces concepts with context reinforcement so learning sticks.

Everything Birds of Prey -- The Everything series is perfect for kids ages 8-12.  In Everything Birds of Prey ($12.99) readers can swoop in for seriously fierce photos and amazing info on some of the fastest and largest flying animals in the world.

Ponies & Horses Sticker Activity Book  -- Packed with mazes, spelling and pattern games, drawing activities and more, this title ($12.99) is perfect for the horse-obsessed and a terrific boredom buster!  

Win Scholastic's Clifford The Big Red Dog® Science Kit from The Young Scientist Club

I am really big into educational stuff for my kids, and prefer that we spend our time doing educational activities instead of mindless activities that do not teach anything. I have been a huge fan of  Scholastic's Clifford The Big Red Dog® science activities since my oldest was a preschooler. He is now seven and pretty highly advanced in science. I attribute a lot of that on the time we spent with simple science projects when he was younger. 

I recently agreed to review Scholastic's Clifford The Big Red Dog® water science kit with my younger son. He is only two, so the kit is ever so slightly advanced for him, but we still had a ton of fun playing with the water and teaching him basics like rain and playing with ice and talking about other phases of water. We did the colored celery experiments with his big brother too, and we all enjoyed watching the celery turn colors of the course of time. I loved explaining to them that you can do the same with flowers and we plan to do the same next time we purchase plain white daisies. 

 Young Scientists will feel like real scientists when they use the included lab tray, measuring cup, pipette, chromatography paper, and test tubes to perform their experiments! Join Clifford and his friends on an adventure into the world of science!

Curious Critters Marine by David Fitzsimmons.

I am lucky that both of my boys love education books and they learn about exciting creatures they knew little about. We were lucky enough to receive a book that has not yet been released called Curious Critters Marine. This awesome new book is written by David FitzSimmons and will be released on Earth Day, which is April 22. His mission is to have kids fall in love with sea creatures, and I will tell you, he did just that for my older son and myself!

Bedtime Math Makes Math and Bedtime Much More Fun!

 I have a very smart little man, and his area that he excels most is MATH! I totally do not understand this, because that is the area that was terrible for me in school. While I do not understand his love of math, because the feeling definitely is not mutual, I am glad! I love that he finds math fun, so when I was contacted to review a couple awesome books called Bedtime Math, I knew they were perfect for him!

In the spirit of making math as beloved as the bedtime story, founder Laura Overdeck’s Bedtime Math books pair our wacky math problems with colorful, high-energy illustrations to create a book you can cuddle with. Her second book, Bedtime Math: This Time It’s Personal, was just selected by Amazon as one of the top 20 children’s books of 2014 so far. The third book, Bedtime Math: The Truth Comes Out, launches in March 2015, so there’s more coming! Best of all, proceeds from the books come back to Bedtime Math Foundation to support our free programming. Click below to learn about the particular math and mischief in each volume.

Every night during out snuggle time, we have been reading a little of these books. I have to admit, even though I am not fond of math, some of the things I have learned in the books are pretty interesting.For example the book gives a little paragraph about a plane, and then there are three options to ask, one for "wee ones," one for "Little Kids" and one for "big Kids," The big kid question in this example was: "if  you're flying at 180 miles per hour, then slow to 120 miles an hour to open your parachute, by how many miles an hour did you slow?" 

ABCmouse.com: Review and Giveaway

I home school our five year old and two year old boys. It's not always easy to get them motivated to work. I try to keep our lessons exciting, entertaining and cloaked in fun. It's easiest for them to learn when they don't know they are actually learning. Little C, my oldest, rebels when it feels too much like work. They are both very smart and learned the basics before they were even two years old so I foolishly thought they would embrace school. They'd be little book worms who hunger for learning. And dying to create science experiments and solar system models. Ha! Nope. Of course they want to make it challenging for Mommy. I guess I'm learning too.

Some days, it takes a while just to get them focused on our school day. For this reason alone, I will recommend ABCmouse to anyone who has little ones. They ask for school to start so they can play on ABCmouse.com (or mouse dot com, as Little D calls it). "Ok, you can play on ABCmouse.com after you get dressed and brush your teeth". muuuahhahahaha mommy bribery and learning combined. Win. Win.

The Giggle Bellies Review and Giveaway

I have never heard of the Giggle Bellies until I was contacted for a review, but I was surprised to learn that they are a very well known dvd set that has won multiple awards. Of course, I was very interested in reviewing them since I have a toddler that loves music and colorful television shows, and I am thrilled with The Giggle Bellies! There are many songs I recognize like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and plenty others that I did not know that have quickly become my little man new favorites like "Down By The Bay!"

I have never seen him quite so enthusiastic about any movie he has ever watched, until he watched The Giggle Bellies. Even his six year old brother became interested in the show and sat for a while and watched. We also received this super cute Peanut plush, that little mister adores! We received all three volumes of The Giggle Bellies and our favorite is definitely the second volume! There have been times I have tried to put other DVDs in, and my one year old screams at me, and brings me the case to The Giggle Bellies! It is seriously that much of a hit to him. I like it too, and find it to be very catchy! I personally love wiggling around and saying Aoooogaaaa!  in "If You are Happy and You Know It!" Little man thinks I am completely silly but runs around in circles clapping his hands with me.

Opioid Depency: The Real and Scary Truth Part 2 #mc

“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.”

Opioid Dependency is so scary! There have been many lives lost to it, and there will continue to be as long as they are readily available. Though it seems that this problem has origins in my lovely state of Florida, I have seen documentaries that the phenomena is spreading throughout the country! Many lives of people both young and old have been lost to this disease!

Mega Shark Teeth and Mega Specimen Kit Review and $30 to Museum Tour

The Museum Tour website and catalog is the brainchild of a former museum director. As a former educator and president of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, she recognized a need for enjoyable, easy to communicate teaching aides to assist parents in fulfilling their role as primary educators. After all, in every generation parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents have taken on the responsibility of insuring that the children become contributing members of society. But the training tools they used were found in the kitchen, garage, and farmyard. Today, to compete globally, we need modern props (that are rapidly changing) to assist our children's learning. The Museum Tour website and annual catalog make it easy for adults to create enjoyable learning opportunities for children beyond the museum and science center walls. Visit them today at www.MuseumTour.com.

Using a Heart Rate Monitor to Measure your Physical Fitness Program

Heart rate monitors are an excellent but often overlooked fitness tool. While the majority of professional athletes utilize heart monitors as a way of keeping track of their heart rate and adjusting their workout and training routines accordingly, many fitness enthusiasts still do not grasp the importance of using them. In recent times technology has made it possible for heart rate monitors to be small, efficient, accurate, and affordable, so there's no reason why you shouldn't pick one up from HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com. Here are a few reasons why you'll want to use a heart rate monitor:

Christmas Gift Ideas: The Young Scientist Club- Clifford's Kitchen Science Kit!

As a Mom of two boys, science experiments are a big thing in our home. We love experimenting with just about everything, but since Florida is so hot, we prefer to keep our experiments indoors. The Young Scientist Club has solved this problem for us with an entire line of Clifford The Big Red Dog Series science kits and games.

Pirate Talk Board Game Grammar Gumballs Board Game- Discount Code and Win $50 to Super Duper Publications!

We love education items and board games here. So of course, when I was contacted to review two educational board games, I jumped at the chance. My little man is in first grade and games that help with his receptive and expressive language skills are top of our list.

The first game we received is Pirate Talk.

Your students are about to embark on a swashbuckling adventure as they sail the high seas with Pirate Talk, the receptive and expressive language skills game! As students respond to each prompt, they move from island to island on the colorful game board and collect gold coins. The prompts reinforce seven essential communication skills: Sentence Repetition, Answering Questions, Following Directions, Categorizing, Inferencing, Describing, and Social Skills.

Win a Fun, Educational DVD from MonkiSee!

winner: saramomofmany@gmail.com

  “MonkiSee is a fun and entertaining collection of baby DVD's that expose babies to upbeat music, original poetry, lovable puppets and real world images.  The MonkiSee collection teaches your baby to identify their body parts, colors, shapes and more, all while learning to read.  The Monki See series is rich in language and has been proven to increase your baby's vocabulary. 

    The MonkiSee Baby DVD series is a fun way for your baby to learn necessary preschool skills such as color and shape recognition.  The concepts are introduced in a fun and interactive way.  Your baby will love to "monkey around" with the lovable Howie and Skip."

Win three NG Kids Titles: Big Book of Why, Cool Animal Activity Book, and Cutest Animal Sticker Activity Book!

WINNER:tschmidt82@gmail.com

I think it has been pretty rainy across the country, but I can attest that Florida has had some unusually rainy weather. I am not complaining at all because at least this beats the forest fires, but it has kept my little man in for the summer. It is a wonderful thing that he loves arts and crafts, reading, and other indoor activities, and does not seem to go too stir crazy. One of the fantastic boredom busters that we received this summer is the NG Kids Books that have definitely helped little man stay busy. The three books we received (which are appropriate for ages 4-8) were the:

Career in Nursing - Advancing From RN to BSN

The decision to enter the healthcare profession as a registered nurse often comes years of careful reflection and with a deep desire to help our fellow man.  In most cases, individuals who pursue a career in nursing begin their education by obtaining an Associate's Degree in nursing, which generally takes 2 to 3 years to complete. After completion of the degree, RN's are of course required to pass their examinations before being allowed to practice their skills in a medical setting.

These degree programs are rigorous, the exams are tough, and at the end of the day those individuals who earn an Associate's Degree in Nursing are qualified to provide quality care to patients throughout hospitals and clinics all over America. Indeed, most nurses choose to end their formal educations at this stage and are quite content to continue their entire careers as RN's.

However, some nurses choose to further their education by pursuing a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN). In doing so, open doors into management, administration, leadership, and even Doctoral degrees in the nursing field. Effectively, they are taking the skills that they have obtained as RN's and honing them into finely tuned instruments of medical knowledge and expertise.

For those RN's who already have their Associate's Degree, there are many programs available to move from being an RN to BSN. These programs generally take between 18-21 months and include courses in nursing theory, research, and informatics. Combined, these courses provide nurses with the more advanced skills necessary in today's ever changing and rapidly evolving healthcare field. 

Furthermore, nurses who advance from RN to BSN are better equipped to adhere to professional practice standards and are more capable of utilizing critical thinking skills within the medical setting. This translates into a higher quality of care for patients based not only upon best practices, but also upon innovative decision-making and treatment suggestions.

Ultimately, the decision to advance from being an RN to BSN boils down to the individual's career goals. As an RN, nurses are able to provide rudimentary medical care and support. However, those nurses who obtain a BSN are able to assist in providing treatment, assist in the planning of treatment options and will work closely with doctors to monitor the progress and the effectiveness of treatment plans.

Nurses who obtain a BSN are also more likely to earn promotions into supervisory and case management positions that carry with them significant levels of responsibility. In time, many nurses with a BSN decide to continue their education and become Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, or even Nursing Educators themselves.