Its a Giveaway! *** Dubys Pesach List***

Okay everyone, its that awesome time of year again, where we get to scrub our homes from top to bottom, plan meals, Seders, guests, trips and ALL that super fun stuff!

I am so excited to share with you a review as well as a Giveaway of Duby's Pesach List. Click Here to check out her website and take a peek at what its all about.

Here is the table of contents to give you a really good idea of what is inside this fabulous Pesach Planner:

And now, in honor of all of you being such awesome readers of this blog, Duby is giving a 10% discount to you using the code JHS613. So RUN on over to her website DubysPesachLists.com and buy a copy for yourself, your mom, your sisters and your best friends. They will love you and you will love the Planner.

And while you're at it, enter the Giveaway below so you can have an extra copy to save for your daughter when she grows up and makes Pesach on her own... Good Luck!

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Wishing you a wonderful week and Happy Pesach Cleaning!

Always,

Fabulous Book Review- Adina: My Design Sketchbook

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to review a copy of Adina: My Design Sketchbook by Yocheved Nadell.

Well, it wasn't exactly me who reviewed it, it was my 7 year old daughter and her BFF who was begging me to make her copies of the pages so she could make her own designs. Lets just say her mom purchased a copy on Amazon that day.

 

Here are some details about this Book:

* Design using 60+ stickers and 80+ starter sketches for your endless ideas.

* 14+ color fashion illustrations for inspiration!

* 14+ coloring figures for all levels to enjoy.

* 40+ color tutorial pages with easy to follow instructions.

* 110+ pages for hours of creativity and fun!

Fashion designers of all ages will love creating with Adina’s Design Sketchbook. The younger ones will find hours of fun in coloring the pages and decorating with the stickers. The older ones will be thrilled with the results they achieve using the design and illustration skills they will learn in the easy to follow tutorials!

There are different Models, each with a Jewish name which is really refreshing. My daughter absolutely LOVES this book, she can spend hours just coloring, designing, learning how to make designs and using the stickers.

Between you and I, I would totally enjoy it too. I think it says its for ages 8-100. I wish I had such a book as a kid as I spent hours designing outfits and here is your very own Design Sketchbook WITH different tutorials on denim, fabrics, accessories, hair styles, skin tones and so much more.

So now that you know what a fabulous book this is, go ahead and enter the GIVEAWAY- Yup, I said Giveaway!!! to win a copy of Adina: My Design Sketchbook for the sweetie in your life.

Good Luck!

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And if you just can't wait to get a copy, do yourself and your daughter, niece, cousin or neighbor a favor and Click Here to order a bunch of copies of Adina: My Design Sketchbook---

Absolutely worth every penny.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Always,

Dot by Dot Review and Giveaway

As you know, I absolutely LOVE the Dot by Dot Kriah Workbooks. 

Volume 3 has just come out, focusing on the vowels Chirik, Kubbutz and Shuruk. There are over 90 FULL color pages and games- Click Here to take a quick glance at some of the pages from the workbook.

If your child is learning how to read Hebrew, these books are just fabulous. Whats more is that Tamar from Dot by Dot is graciously giving one lucky reader one copy of Dot by Dot Kriah Workbook Volume 3.

All you have to do is enter the Giveaway below-

Good Luck!

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Stay tuned for some goodies for Lag B'Omer and Shavuot!

Have a wonderful week,

Always, 

Mayim's Vegan Table Cookbook Review and Giveaway!

Okay everyone, I am SO excited to share this post with you!

Just take a look at what I had for lunch today...

Yes, I snapped this photo, and yes, it was as delicious at it looks...

Now take a look at what I had for dessert... 

It was still warm... Oh. My. Yummness!

And the recipes, you ask? Well, they are from Mayim Bialik. She's a fellow Jewish Homeschooling mom (you can read an interview she did on Jewish Homeschooling here), a neuroscientist and the author of my new favorite cookbook, Mayim's Vegan Table. The dishes above are the Teriyaki Tofu (page 140)  Sweet and Sour Cabbage Salad (page 85) and Cocoa Brownies (page 182).

Oh, she is also an Emmy-nominated actress and stars on the CBS show The Big Bang Theory. You can read more about her here.

But first and foremost, she is a mom to 2 boys who she has raised entirely vegan. Now, me personally, I am not a vegan. I was a pescatarian (don't eat any animals but fish) for 6 months once, when I was pregnant and could not handle meat or chicken, and I can honestly say that I have never felt better in my life then those 6 months. 

What I really love about Mayim's Vegan Table is that it is a cookbook filled with healthy foods that we actually eat, and just happen to be vegan. We're talking Latkes, Sufganiyot, Hamantaschen and Challah. There are all sorts of yummy breads and really healthy and delicious looking dinners that I think my picky kids will actually eat. I'm also so excited to try out all the pareve dips and salads for Shabbos.

Mayim's book is not here to tell you to become a vegan. She's showing you how you can take foods that you already love and make it vegan and delicious at the same time.

You know what else is awesome? Not only did she send me a copy for myself, but she sent me one extra copy for one lucky reader. All you have to do is enter the Giveaway below to win- Good Luck!

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And if you just cannot wait to find out if you won and need this cookbook NOW- click here to pick up a copy for yourself, your mom, your sisters and your best friend.

Have an absolutely awesome week!

Always, 

Welcome Home and Giveaway!

This past week I was away, for eight days. Yes, just me, alone, solo, for eight days in New York City spending time with my amazing family and friends and some incredible women from all over the world attending the annual Chabad Women's Gathering.

Whats so great about getting away by yourself (aside for being able to watch an entire movie on the plane and just needing one carry on which consisted of my hand bag) is being able to take a step out of your life and look at it from the outside.

I was able to see the things I wanted to work on or change as well as continue the things that are working well.

I attended some great homeschooling workshops and learned a lot from some other really great homeschooling moms, and I plan to share what I learned soon on this blog.

But whats great about coming back from these trips is that I come back with a tremendous sense of clarity and am always so excited to get back into my real life and implement what I have learned.


I received a wonderful book a few weeks ago called Home Field Advantage- A Guide to Teaching Methods for Your Homeschooling Champions by Skyla King-Christison.

We all want to homeschool our kids with the best method that works for us as well as our kids. There is no WRONG way to homeschool.

The book starts off by talking about why Homeschooling may be a better option, so for those that did not choose this, it really helps you to see and understand the benefits of homeschooling.

It then lists in detail the different methods and options of homeschooling: from Montessori, to Waldorf to Uncschooling and more.

It talks about the different types of children and different styles of learning and how you can figure out your childs personality type and how to work with your childs temperament at home.

There is an entire section on designing and planning a tailored home education and homeschooling plan, how to put it together step by step. And then shows you how to design your homeschool environment.

This is a fabulous book for homeschoolers everywhere and I am excited to let you know that FIVE lucky readers will receive one copy of  a Home Field Advantage e-book by entering the Giveaway below!

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For those who just cant wait, CLICK HERE to pick up a copy for yourself and any other friends you know who homeschool their kids.

Good Luck and in the weeks to come I look forward to sharing some jewels of inspiration and information as well as some fabulous interviews from some incredible women that I met on my trip!

Have a wonderful week and a Happy Adar!

Always, 

Jewish Mom's Plan-It! Review and Giveaway!

Okay ladies, this is the daily/monthly planner you have all been waiting for, and it is built around the daily needs of the Jewish mom! 

It's the Jewish Mom's Plan-It! Take a second to check out the website to get an idea of how awesome this planner actually is- Click Here.

This planner has Hebrew and English dates, meal and snack ideas, Shabbos menu ideas, a Shabbos checklist, a household maintenance list, a grocery list and for each day there are several lists- to do before 11 am, appointments, to do, to email, to call/text, to delegate and other. Each day has a Torah thought for the day, an inspirational quote, a checklist to make sure you are drinking enough water, exercising, davening, reflecting. Honestly, I have no idea how Liba Andrusier managed to fit this all into one gorgeous planner but it is just genius.

You can literally sit down in the morning and see your entire day planned out before your very eyes in full detail.

Click Here to check out some sample pages of the planner.

So while I suggest you hop over to Jewish Mom's Plan-It! website and buy yourself, your sister, your mom and your best friend a copy, Liba has generously agreed to give one very luck lady her very own copy in a Jewish Mom's Plan-It! Giveaway!

Enter below and Good Luck!

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Have a wonderful week!

Always,

Dot by Dot Vol.2 Review and Giveaway!

Okay ladies, moms, dads, Morahs, educators all over... I am officially in love with these Kriya books.

We received our Dot by Dot Volume 2 today and it is fabulous. Click Here to see a few sample pages.

Colorful clear pages. Fun and educational activities. The kids really learn. And they really enjoy doing it. It is done in such a smart way. I love the fact that the words all mean something so as we read them I explain the translation. I love the stories and illustrations. I love the games.

If you are going to buy your child a Kriya workbook for the year, Click Here and get both Volumes (if you did not get Volume 1 already). And no, I am not getting paid to say this :) I just think that having a wonderful Kriya experience is such a treat and with these books, it really does that.

And guess what... you actually have a chance to win Dot by Dot Volume 2 by entering the Giveaway below :)

So go ahead and enter- I hope you win. And even if you don't win, you can head on over to their website HERE and get a free and adorable Kriya game delivered to your inbox every month. Yes, every month a new and exciting game for your little tyke. Who has the best mommy ever?

Good Luck!

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Have a great week,

Always,

'Dot by Dot' Creative Kriah Workbook Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

I was fortunate to receive a beautiful copy of  Creative Kriah Workbook, Volume 1 by Dot by Dot to review.

What I personally love about this workbook is the clean and clear look. Click Here to see some sample pages of the book. Every page is color, there are 25 pages of activities for EACH vowel as well as a variety of skill based worksheets which makes practicing to read lots and lots of fun. Just ask my 5 year old. While my kids were all playing outside, I was on my beach chair paging through the workbook- hence the shadows on the pictures below.

My daughter ran over to take a peek and immediately asked me if she could get her crayons, scissors and glue and do some of the activities. It was such a pleasure to watch her do each page. To think she asked ME if she could do them. 

You can Click Here to download 6 full color worksheets from the book for your kids to try out. 

You can then head on over to www.DotbyDot.org to buy the book before August 1st to get 10% off OR you can enter the Giveaway and win a $25 Gift Certificate to Dot by Dot!

Included with the Workbook was an adorable game which my kids played and really enjoyed.

You can actually sign up to receive a FREE Hebrew Reading Game EVERY month, just like the one above. Yes. I said FREE. And I said EVERY month. Just Click Here. Put in your info. And that's it.

Now enter the Raffle to win!

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Good Luck and have a Fabulous Week! 

More Giveaways still to come...

Always,

'From Frazzled to Focused'- a Book Review & Giveaway

Okay ladies, I am officially in love. Butterflies in my tummy, rapid heart beat, head over hills in LOVE with this book.

I received my copy of From Frazzled to Focused by Rivka Caroline today. My kids were all playing happily outside so I sat myself down on a lawn chair and seized the opportunity to take a peek inside.

From the very first page, I felt like this book was written especially for me. While I try to maintain a pretty organized home so things can run as smoothly as possible, my mind is constantly running at about 100 miles an hour, thinking of a million different things I need to do, should be doing, should have done, could be doing, will be doing etc. And as I open the book, on a clear white page are 3 words- FREE YOUR MIND.

Rivka Caronline has nailed this. "The Ultimate guide for moms who want to reclaim their time, their sanity and their lives." Moms- this is not just a book on organizing your home and clearing out clutter. This is a book on organizing your mind as well. And it is written in a way that is so easy and enjoyable to read.

Click here to read the first 30 pages of From Frazzled to Focused.

Then enter the raffle below so you can have a chance to win a copy of this simply AWESOME book.

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You can enter every day, the more entries you have, the more chance you have at winning. And this is one book that you WANT to win, so spread the word and get those entries in.

And if you really can't wait to hear if you won and just want to go ahead and buy the book, Click Here to get yourself, your mom, your sister and your best friend a copy.

Now please excuse me, I have a date with my couch, my copy of Frazzled to Focused and a warm cup of Chamomile Tea.

Have a great week, and Good Luck on the Giveaway- 

Always, 

TORAH TOY Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

Okay, my wonderful readers- this is just for you!

In honor of Rosh Hashanah and to start your New Year off on a really sweet note, TorahToy.com  has generously given me a $25 gift card to give to one lucky reader! 

Yes, by this Sunday, YOU and your munchkins could be the lucky owner of this:

I know, how awesome is that?

But first, let me tell you a bit about this company. 

Torah Toy.com  contacted me a few weeks ago and I agreed to do a review of some of their products, which they sent me free of charge. I am sure you have seen lots of cool different Jewish toys that my kids use for different holidays and Jewish events on this blog. Well, Torah Toy.com pretty much has all of those toys and SO much more. I finally chose a few products and made the order. They were so professional and enjoyable to deal with. Any questions I had were answered right away. Their prices are SO reasonable. I get SO many emails asking me where I buy my Jewish toys/books/activities and its always a bunch of different websites for each different product. The beauty of Torah Toy.com is that all these products are on ONE website. 

They carry a FANTASTIC selection of Jewish books for all ages as well as Jewish Arts'n Crafts projects, Alef bet activities, CD's, Jewish Toy's, DVD's- they have so many products, in fact, just CLICK HERE real quick and go check them out for yourself - but come RIGHT back here to find out how to win the gift card:)

Nice... welcome back:)

Okay, now that you've seen their awesome website, here are the rules of the Giveaway:

1. Go to www.TorahToy.com and tell me ONE product you would buy if you won the $25 gift card

2. LIKE A Jewish Homeschool Blog on Facebook

3. Subscribe to A Jewish Homeschool Blog

4. Share this Giveaway on Facebook

5. Tweet about this Giveaway

Let me know in the comments below which of the above you have done.

You can leave a different comment every day telling me the different products you would buy until the Giveaway is over. 

Remember, every comment you make on this post is an entry into the Giveaway.  

The winner will be announced this Sunday morning, September 16. I know it's Erev Rosh Hashanah, but if you enter, just check back here first thing Sunday morning to see if you won.

The winner will receive the Gift Card right away via e-mail, so you can start shopping the second Yom Tov is over:) 

GOOD LUCK and have fun!

Always, 

Beyond the Sling--- a Giveaway!

I am sure most have you have read this awesome interview I did with fellow Jewish home-schooling mom, Neuroscientist and actress Mayim Bialik a few months ago.

Although we have never met in person, just corresponding with Mayim via e-mail and reading her blog posts on Kveller.com, she is someone I truly admire. She is such a proud Jewess and is so open and honest about her personal journey in Yiddishkeit.

Yes, she is on a HUGE hit TV show, The Big Bang Theory. Yes, she was the star of the HUGE hit TV show, Blossom. She goes to the Emmy Awards and has Paparazzi snapping photos of her... but what I love about Mayim is that her first and foremost focus is her family, her kids. Which brings me to this fabulous Giveaway which she has so graciously agreed to be a part of.

Beyond the Sling is a book that Mayim wrote about raising and loving kids the Attachment Parenting way.

What I love about how Mayim wrote this book is that she says straight out that not all her solutions will be right for every family. No matter how you birth your baby, feed your baby, carry your baby, or educate your baby, Beyond the Sling goes beyond the labels and perceptions about how certain parenting styles have to look, which I find to be very liberating.

A huge part of Attachment Parenting is about understanding your child’s needs, your needs, and the basics of human development -- an attachment that will stay with you no matter what style of parenting you draw on.

I love many aspects of Attachment Parenting and have incorporated many of them (without even knowing it had a name "Attachment Parenting") into the way we raise our kids. The relationships you develop with your kids is just phenomenal. Its not about the parent being the boss or the disciplinarian. Its about developing this incredible relationship with your kids where there is this trust and mutual respect that is just priceless.

I can go on and on about this book, but let me get to the Giveaway already:)

Do one or all of the following:

1. Leave a comment in the comments box. You can leave a comment every day until the Giveaway is over. Every comment is an entry in the Giveaway.

2. LIKE Jewish Montessori Activities on Facebook- click here

3. LIKE The Offical Mayim Bialik Page on Facebook- click here

4. Tweet about this Giveaway

5. Post/Blog about this Giveaway

6. Subscribe to A Jewish Homeschool Blog

Winner will be announced on April 25, 2012.

If you wish to purchase Beyond the Sling, you can get it here.

Good Luck, have fun and thanks so much Mayim!

Always,

It's a PURIM GIVEAWAY!!!

Okay, I am on a GIVEAWAY ROLL over here and ONE lucky reader will win ALL of the above!!!

This Purim Giveaway includes:

1 pack of 5 Purim masks

a package of 5 Purim cookie cutters

a Purim coloring book

a Purim activity book

5 adorable Purim finger puppets

Here's how to enter:

Leave INDIVIDUAL comments on any or all of the following:

1- Leave a comment with a fun Purim activity to do

2- Leave a comment with a great Hamantashen recipe

3- LIKE Jewish Montessori on Facebook

4- SHARE and LIKE this post on Facebook

5- TWEET this post

6- Blog about this post and link it back here

7- Leave a comment with a fun Purim costume idea

Remember, each comment you post is an entry in the Giveaway.

One lucky winner will be announced on Sunday, February 26 and package will be mailed out the next day for you to enjoy in time for Purim!

Good Luck and have fun!

And the winners of the Simply Fun Giveaway are.....................

Thalia - Lets Drive

Sarah- Space It

Neshermom- Lets Jet

Tobey- Pickety sticks

Congrats to all of you!!!

Please send your name and mailing address to Jewishmontessori18 AT gmail DOT com and I will forward it to my contact at Simply Fun and they will ship you your winning game!

Coming up... a Purim Giveaway:)

All the best,

SIMPLY FUN GAMES Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

As a part of the prize package for the Homeschool Blog Awards, I received 3 educational and really awesome games from Simply Fun.

We got the following games:

As we opened and played each game, I became more and more impressed-

My kids LOVED each game and not only are they fun, but they are SO educational and so simple to play. I went to their website to check out their other products and I was blown away.

These 3 games (above) are brilliant, and if you are planning on investing in a game or 2 for your kiddos, these games are the way to go.

I emailed the company to tell them how impressed I was with their products and offered to review one of three specific games which I thought my kids would really enjoy.

Well, not only did they agree to send me ALL THREE games that I had mentioned, but they also tossed in a FOURTH game and told me that should I decide to have a giveaway, they would send ONE of the following games to 4 DIFFERENT winners! That means that FOUR of you will be the lucky winners of one of the following games:

PICKY STICKS

This game is adorable. Its like pick up sticks for the new generation. This little hedgehog has his spikes and you need to insert sticks in a way that they don't fall down. So great for fine motor skills and so simple yet super fun to play.

LETS JET

Oh, this is so great to learn about world geography. Definitely for older kids (ages 8 and up) but very cool.

LETS DRIVE

Similar to Lets Jet, but takes place in the USA on a road trip. Super fun and a great way to learn about the states, their capitals and scenic locations around the world.

SPACE IT

This game helps kids understand number patterns - a preliminary step toward algebra and advanced math. My son LOVED the whole space theme going on here!

Here's how to enter:

In the comments section below, let me know what you did. #1 is mandatory. For every other comment you leave, it is another raffle entry. On Sunday, February 19th 2012, raffle will be drawn and winners will be announced . FOUR lucky winners will be picked and hopefully will be sent the game of their first choice!

1. Go to Simply Fun's Website, check out the four games above and let me know your first and second choice of those games to win.

2. Tweet about this giveaway

3. Post this giveaway as your Facebook Status

4. LIKE Jewish Montessori Activities on Facebook

5. LIKE this blog post

6. Subscribe to A Jewish Homeschool Blog

Tell all your friends and Good Luck!!!

Chanukah Giveaway Winner!!!

And the winner of the Chanukah Giveaway is....

~~~~BRINA GONZALEZ~~~~

Congrats to you and your kiddos!

Please email me your mailing address to Jewishmontessori18 AT gmail DOT com

And wishing all of my fabulous readers a HAPPY CHANUKAH, may your Chanukah be filled with lots of love, light and many revealed miracles!

Always,

Chanukah Activities and Giveaway!!!

A few things we've been up to lately...

Chanukah Sensory Table:

Sorting biggest to smallest:

Dreidel Paintings:

Chanukah Collages with Chanukah Foam stickers:

Building a Chanukah Menorah with Shapes, Hammer and Nails:

A "stained glass" Chanukah Menorah- you can make a dreidel like this too:

Chanukah Menorah made out of colored collage squares- glitter for the candles:

Here is a very exciting project we are working on: Continent Boxes...

Basically, each box represents one of the seven continents.

I added Israel to the mix, cos its our country and it made sense to do so.

Inside each box, you put photos, chatchkes, books, any thing that pertains to that continent.

This is a classic Montessori project, but I am giving it a Jewish twist. I am looking for photos of different types of Jews and Shuls in the different parts of the world as well as traditional Jewish recipes. My husband happens to have a huge collection of Tanya's (an incredible Jewish book on Chassidic Philosophy written by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi) that were printed all over the world. The only continent box without a Tanya that was printed there is Antarctica. We did manage to find a photo of a Jewish scientist lighting a Menorah in Antarctica, which was very cool.

Once we have filled the boxes I will take photos of what treasures we found, and if anyone has any good ideas of other Jewish things to fill them with, please share!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Okay... now for the fun stuff~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WE'RE HAVING A CHANUKAH GIVEAWAY!!!

In this Giveaway are the following Goodies:

• an Alef Bet coloring book
• a Shabbat Activity Book with activities to do on Shabbat, and the kids can color the fun pages during the week
• an Alef Bet writing book with picture to color
• One Minute Jewish Games
• Alef Bet Rubber Stamp Collection
• Alef Bet Puzzle
• Alef Bet Flash Cards

Here's how to enter...

You can do one or all of the following... each thing you do is one entry in the raffle:

1. Leave a comment. You can leave as many comments as you wish. Every comment is a raffle entry.
2. LIKE Jewish Montessori on Facebook and let me know you did it in the comments
3. Tweet about this Giveaway and let me know you did it in the comments
4. Share this post on Facebook and let me know you did it in the comments

Winner will be announced December 20th, 1st night of Chanukah!

Have Fun and Good Luck!