by Deborah Hanyon, MPH, RDN, ACE-CHC | May 6, 2020 | Careers for Stay-at-Home Moms
2019 Genius Bloggers Toolkit (Post contains affiliate links).
I have had my blog for almost two years (since August 2018), and thanks to some of the most amazing classes I've taken, I have come a long way.
If you've been around for a while, you know how much my emails and my blog have improved over the last year.
I have learned SO MUCH in the past two years that I am astounded. But I know it's not me!
It's because this is where God wants me.
Deciding to do this blog thing isn't a new idea.
Over 10 years ago, I started feeling led in that direction. I took college graphic design courses (at $400 a shot–for just a few weekends of teaching), and enrolled in online Photoshop classes–but never finished them (another couple hundred bucks down the drain).
I also tried learning about how to help people find me on my blog, though I really had no idea what I was doing at the time.
By the way, that's called “SEO” or Search Engine Optimization. That cost me $350 and resulted in no blog at all. 🙁
I had so many ideas about what I wanted to do, I just couldn't narrow it down. It went from Russian collectibles to handmade cards and collectibles to Creation and Culture to 6-day Creation. I even tried to focus on just nutrition. However, I couldn't pick just one topic. Plus I didn't have access to the sources I needed to create my own website and I couldn't afford to pay someone else to do it for me.
I sold on E-bay for a few months and I made some sales, especially at Christmastime.
But I spent WAY more than I earned due to the fact that I made handmade items. If you've ever created a handmade card, you know it takes more than 10 minutes to make. Plus you make each one unique. Well, try to get people to pay more than $2 to $3 for a card. Even then there's no way you're going to make any kind of profit.
They don't call them starving artists for nothing!
Fast forward 10 years later. I was homeschooling my son and came across Build Your Bundle. I purchased “Blogging Basics Bootcamp,” by Heather Bowen and off I went. And I had my blog up and running and even getting some traffic in October of 2018.
As the result of my connections with Heather, I've learned that
There is SO MUCH stuff available to someone like me (or you) who wants to get a blog up and running,
Maybe just because you have a message you want to share or because you're hoping to earn some extra money to help your family make ends meet.
I'm not going to lie to you. It takes time and money and hard work. What I will tell you, however, is that there are awesome deals out there to make it much less expensive and time consuming to get started, if that's what you really want to do.
Just this past April, I took a risk and purchased the 2018 Genius Bloggers Toolkit during a Flash Sale.
I AM SO GLAD I DID because it was an amazing deal.
I haven't even gotten halfway through the amazing e-books, e-courses, and special discounts that were included in this kit.
2019 Genius Bloggers Toolkit
I have checked EVERYTHING in the 2019 Genius Bloggers Toolkit. And I promise that EVERYTHING is brand new. Which is a good thing, because the only negative thing I can say about the kit I purchased in April of this year, is that due to the Flash Sale nature (it wasn't brand new), there were 2 or 3 products not available or expired. Even with that, there was just so much good stuff that I still feel like I got the most amazing deal!
Here is just one example.
I changed my email service provider (ESP) to ConvertKit as the result of The 2018 Genius Bloggers Toolkit, which included 3 months of ConvertKit for free (normally they only give you 14 days free).
I switched from my old ESP in April and it has made such a difference in my ability to do what I want when I send you an email.
And I thought I was saving money with my older, cheaper ESP! However, the other less expensive ESP resulted in me having to purchase upgrades which in the long run probably cost me more than what I'm currently paying.
Some numbers:
ConvertKit charged me $49 per month based on the size my email list was at the time. So we are talking over $100 in savings just for that one thing! (and the kit was only $97). Thus, this one thing ALL BY ITSELF made up for the cost. But this was only the beginning!
One of my other favorites that was included in the 2018 kit was the “E-book by Number E-course,” by Start a Mom Blog. That class helped me to start and organize my Meal Planning for Kids Curriculum. This e-course sells for $97. So, those two things alone were worth $200.
Now I don't want to spend too much time talking about products that aren't available in this year's Toolkit.
Remember I said everything is new?
This is a good thing, because things get outdated VERY QUICKLY. So having the latest is always important when investing your money in a project.
For example, Katie Hornor, who is my blogging coach, has included her 5-day Premier Your Course Idea in this years Genius Toolkit. I've gone through this course, and it is currently selling on her Teachable site for $297.
Classes to learn how to create a presence and draw people to your Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter.
(Blogging Camp by Julie Chickery,Tech Made Easy also)
ConvertKit 2 Months Free (Stated savings $58)
6 Reasons I'm Thankful for Autism
Entrepreneurship of Our Children
by Deborah Hanyon, MPH, RDN, ACE-CHC | May 5, 2020 | Education Materials
(Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way).
Handwriting for Reluctant Learners – Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting ebook by Everyday Education, LLC
Since I only have one child, there are lots of things I'm learning that I sometimes wish I could apply to the next child around. Since God chose to bless me with only one very special child, I get to apply what I learn with him. A very interesting example of this is with handwriting.
Before my son started kindergarten, I tried to teach him how to write his name. However, he refused to do it. And when he started kindergarten, it was nearly impossible to get him to hold a pencil “correctly” or to do any kind of extensive handwriting. In fact, his OT school evaluation basically included the remark that, “He wasn't willing to do the writing.”
Eventually he was diagnosed with developmental coordination disorder (dyspraxia), with handwriting being one of his main issues. As a result, he received occupational therapy for his handwriting. Despite this, he never learned to write in a manner that was nearly efficient enough to keep up with the amount or the level of schoolwork he needed to complete. So, I came up with alternative ways to help him communicate.
For example, speech-to-text, mom scribe (on his IEP), typing (though not nearly as effective as you might think).
Now that he is in 9th grade, it is an interesting phenomenon that I can now convince him to sit down and do the handwriting.
The timing ended up being perfect for my son to practice his handwriting with Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting. For example, as he's gotten older I've noticed that he relaxes more while he writes. This is such a relief to me.
I give credit to Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting, however, for keeping him interested. This is because the assignments are truly interesting! I believe the fact that the type of handwriting used plays a huge part as well. It is called “Italics” and requires less work than the traditional method taught in schools.
When I asked my 15-year-old reluctant learner what he thought of Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting, he didn’t say much. (He is on the autism spectrum). However, all I had to do was observe his reaction to the assignments and how he completed them without complaint. Plus, when we got to the part of the curriculum where he had to copy silly sentences, there was absolutely no need to “talk him into it.”
Nathan takes after me. We both have a silly side to our personality. This means that anything that’s silly, like limericks, alliterations, and such, are a blast! What this also means is that even though Nathan didn’t theoretically need the reading per se, he was in essence getting the reading. Not only that, he really struggles with spelling. So, having these simple words to copy and look at while writing are helping him improve his spelling as well.
As for the details of what is available. The program is written with Charlotte Mason style in mind and utilizes Phonics. We received the e-book format. If you purchase the e-book format, you will have the option to re-print pages, if necessary. This is especially convenient if you have multiple children. Of course, the print option is also available and you can purchase both at a discount.
I am no grammatician. However, it is clear that much thought was put into the creation of this curriculum. And grammar is a big part of reading.
You can rest assured that while your child is practicing his handwriting skills, he will also be introduced to the sound combinations required to read proficiently.
The e-book contains a total 218 pages of fun!
The bonus is that this is a handwriting AND reading curriculum. I did not plan on using it for reading. However, it's a given that your child will be reading. True bonus for us is the spelling. 😉
Check out the awesome Perfect Reading and Beautiful Handwriting by Everyday Education, LLC curriculum here.
Don’t forget to check out the other reviews from the awesome homeschool review crew click the picture below.
by Deborah Hanyon, MPH, RDN, ACE-CHC | Apr 22, 2020 | Creation Education Resources
(Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way).
Not if, But When – Preparing our Children for Worldly Images, written by John Perritt, Illustrated by Alice Mastropaolo, Published by Christian Focus.
My son is almost 15 years old, but he is on the Autism Spectrum (ASD). As a result, he is mentally and emotionally young for his age. This is a good thing in many ways. For example, he still enjoys young, innocent programming when he watches TV. It is true that my son may never change in this area because he is also a Christian, and thus is drawn to clean programming.
However, what he is exposed is not always going to be within his control.
This is why I chose to review the book, “Not if, but When – Preparing our Children for Worldly Images,” despite the fact that it has a recommended age of 7-11 years.
The purpose of this book is to prepare children for when they are unwittingly exposed to pornography. “Not if, but When,” is geared towards a younger audience. However, it is appropriate for my son.
I read the book myself and so did my husband. Since our son is a boy, my husband and I decided it would be better for him to read the book. Also, we felt it would be better for him to discuss the content with our son. We were on spring break the week of April 6-10. Thus, this was the perfect time.
The first thing my husband noticed while reading the book was that my son was totally attentive.
In fact, more attentive than he normally is. For example, my husband does a daily Bible devotional with him on most days and our son usually makes comments on his preferred topic throughout. Not so while reading this book. This told us two things.
- He was interested in knowing more about the topic.
- It was appropriate for him.
I had first-hand experience with the “Not if, but When,” point just last week. I was on Facebook and there was a Christian page I was following that all of a sudden was showing borderline pornography in its stories. This happened two days in a row before I decided they must have been hacked. I quickly stopped following the page and blocked the content. I do not know what happened. However, I saw stuff that I would never have chosen on my own to view. And once it's in my head, it doesn't just go away.
This is the point of the book. It prepares children for what's out there and gives them tools for how to deal with it. It encourages children to seek their parents out when they see something that is uncomfortable to them so that they can talk about it.
The second day my husband read “Not if, But When – Preparing our Children for Worldly Images,” our son studied the outside of the book and continued to listen.
Our doesn't talk much and it can be extremely difficult to get him to answer questions with any kind of detail. However, when asked, he did say that he understood what was being said and answered. Also, he answered, “Uh, Huh,” when asked if he liked the book.
Not only that, my husband was able to have a little bit more of a discussion than otherwise would have been possible. So, we agreed that it was helpful with discussing a difficult, and sometimes uncomfortable subject.
In fact, our son revealed to us a couple days after finishing the book that he was getting unknown Face Time calls in the middle of the night. He stated that he hadn't answered them. And he wanted to know how to block the number.
It's not possible to know for sure, but I'm fairly confident that reading this book increased our son's awareness of the importance of letting us know if something uncomfortable occurs.
The book is written for both boys and girls. Thus, there are two story options in the book. One story is specifically written for girls and one is written for boys. The content is basically the same in both stories. The main differences reflect genders distinctions. For example, the pronouns used are different.
- One of God's Greatest Gifts
- The Gift's Instructions
- Opening the Gift too Early
- Distorting the Gift
- Worshiping the Gift
- Enjoying the Gift
- Breaking the Gift
- The Gift's Purpose
- Conclusion
Don't forget to check out the awesome book, “Not if, but When – Preparing Your Children for Worldly Images,” at Christian Focus. And while you're there, check out their other awesome books.
Click the image below to read what other Homeschool Review Crew members have to say about “Not if, But When.”
