This post is our honest review of a product that we received for free. All opinions expressed are solely mine.

There are always areas in my life where I can bump up my self-discipline. I have a love affair with planners {I’ll be the first to admit it}, but the planner in and of itself is not what leads to my house and life becoming more organized.

Discipline is the key to it all.

I can have a stack of planners, but until I put into action a plan and stick to those actions – a planner is just another stack of paper.

21 Days to a More Disciplined Life

Crystal Paine {who is an amazingly wonderful woman that I am blessed to know!!} has written 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life that will help you focus on specific areas to tackle and develop more discipline in your life.

Over the course of 21 days, readers develop a plan to accomplish one major project/assignment and receive daily practical application tips for growing in self discipline. Each daily reading ends with a little bit of ‘homework’ to help you focus on the overall project that will be the target for the 21 days.

Do You Need More Discipline?

For me, this book has been a great jumpstart to get going on a project that I have been avoiding like crazy {you know – the one that just sits there staring at you…taunting you}. Overall, I consider myself an organized and fairly disciplined person, but there are a few areas that I am just plain lazy in {and I’ll be the first to admit it}.  In short, I’ll be kickstarting something over the next 21 days personally and tracking my own progress using the steps outlined in the book.

Discipline may be something that you struggle with as well – and if so, I would HIGHLY recommend 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life by Crystal Paine. This book will give you bite-sized and manageable steps to work on self discipline and track your accomplishments during the process.

Discipline is a process that requires time and the process is clearly outlined throughout the book in a way that won’t burn you out trying to get it all done in a few hours. You’ll have time to grab the nuggets of wisdom that Crystal shares in 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life and then practically apply them each day and watch your discipline grow.

How Much Does it Cost?

If you purchase a pdf copy {which I recommend because there are some forms at the end that you can print off}, 21 Days To a More Disiplined Life is $4.99.  or you may click over to Amazon and purchase it for your Kindle.

This post is our honest review of a product that we received for free. All opinions expressed are solely mine.

As parents we all want to give our kids the best advantages, and that includes ensuring that they are receiving a proper nutrition. With busy schedules and hectic homeschool days it can be SO easy to rely on a drive-thru meal on the go or grabbing a pre-packaged meal. If you’ve been looking for help in changing your family’s eating and activity habits, Dr. Sears’ L.E.A.N. Start Online workshop would be a great online tool to consider.

Dr. Sears’ L.E.A.N. Start Online workshop is a complete curriculum-based workshop that touches on the four pillars of health: Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitude, and Nutrition (L.E.A.N.). In this workshop, families with children ages 3-12  will learn how lifestyle, exercise, attitude and nutrition choices can affect the health of those in their family. During the 6 session online course, you will learn about portion control, the benefits of breakfast and healthy carbs, food label reading techniques, fast food facts, the importance of protein, how fun play can affect children and more. 

Don’t Miss this Deal! During the month of October 2012, the Dr. Sears L.E.A.N. course is just $49.00 (Regular price $59.00). Enroll now!

The L.E.A.N. Online Workshop Format

Each of the six online workshop segments includes:

• self-paced and include recorded narration, videos, graphics to help you remember
• snack ideas and activities to go-along
• short quizzes to check your learning
• pdf downloads for reference and note-taking
• family challenges and more

The sessions are each about one hour in length, but you can pause them at any point and return later to finish it {great for busy moms!}. Sessions can also be viewed multiple times during the 8 week timeframe that your workshop is available via your desk-top, lap-top or your iPad.

Prior to each session viewing, participants can print a copy of the session worksheet to jot down any notes on the topic. Each worksheet includes a healthy recipe idea and space to write a weekly goal along with answers to any discussion questions from the session.

Get the whole family involved with Family Challenges

At the end of each session there is a family challenge that gives you ideas and an opportunity to put the workshop session into practice at home. Much of this e-course fit in with things that we were talking about in science with our younger two, so it was a great addition for us.

In the image above, you’ll notice a peek at the challenge for week 1 – Traffic Light Eating. In this challenge the family takes local grocery store sales flyers, cuts out food items from the flyers and then sorts them as a green, yellow, or red light food based on what was learned in the weekly session. This activity is a great hands-on and visual tool for identifying foods that are a ‘go’ {green light}, foods to be careful with {yellow light}, and food to rethink and see if there is a better alternative {red light}.

Essentially, the family challenges are a great way to get everyone in the home involved in the learning process. As you involve your kids, especially with hands-on activities, they will internalize the concepts more quickly and remember them in the future.

What’s Included in the Dr. Sears’ L.E.A.N. Start Online course?

• Six, hour-long sessions that are self-paced covering topics of portion control, the benefits of breakfast and healthy carbs, food label reading techniques, fast food facts, the importance of protein, how fun play can affect children and more
• DVD segments with Dr. Bill Sears in each session
• a free book from Dr. Sears
• Downloadable pdf worksheets for each session for you to take notes. Includes discussion questions, recipes and more.
• Weekly family challenges for you to apply the material covered in the sessions
• Free health coaching for the duration of the course {8 weeks}

Don’t Miss this Deal! During the month of October 2012, the Dr. Sears L.E.A.N. course is just $49.00 (Regular price $59.00). Enroll now!

Don’t Miss the Free Health Coaching!

As an added bonus to the Dr. Sears’ L.E.A.N. Start Online workshop, you and your family will have FREE access to a Certified Health Coach for the eight weeks that the workshop is available to you. During your eight weeks, your health coach will work one-on-one with you to answer any questions you may have, provide support, and offer additional resources and tools to help you achieve the goals that you set for your family during the course.

Your health coach is L.E.A.N. Certified Linda Fields from Livin’ with Pizazz. Linda has received certification in Integrative Nutrition by Purchase College, State University of New York and national board certification by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.

Find Out More & Register Today

You can register for the Dr. Sears’ L.E.A.N. Start Online workshop here or contact Linda directly with any questions that you have about the course ~ she would be happy to speak more with you and get you started! Be sure to register in October to save $10 on the Dr. Sears’ L.E.A.N. Start Online workshop!

This post is our honest review of a product that we received for free. All opinions expressed are solely mine.

Have you heard of people who have made perfect scores on the SAT or ACT? How about both? Craig Gehring made perfect scores on BOTH tests and in his book SAT ACT Mastery he shares his secrets for mastering not only the test, but education overall.

Although the SAT and ACT tests are some years down the road for our family, SAT ACT Mastery by Craig Gehring was a book that I found full of practical tips that our family can use in the years leading up to the tests ~ and even for other tests that our children currently take. Test taking isn’t necessarily one are that our children enjoy, especially the standardized tests, so quite honestly, I will take all of the help I can get!

Thoughts on SAT ACT Mastery

Mastery is the key to education. To master means to grasp fully, to understand every part of, to be able to do any part of a subject easily and without really even having to think about it.

~ SAT ACT Mastery, p. 13

The main focus of the book is mastery and the importance in not just learning a few facts for a test, but actually KNOWING the material so that children are able to succeed with any test that they take. 

In my initial reading of the book, I found myself turning down corners of many pages to go back and refer to throughout the years. As a homeschool mom, it was a big encouragement to me as well. Because the advice is practical and applicable, there are many things that I can begin incorporating into how I am teaching our children to ensure that they are mastering the material that we are learning.

Although mastery may seem unattainable at times, Gehring gives some great examples that parents and students alike will be able to apply to their lives. Because of the style and level that the book is written, SAT ACT Mastery would also be an excellent book to have early high-schoolers read to prepare for testing.

The book is divided into manageable chapters about:

• vocabulary
• secrets of math
• memory tricks
• talent vs. mastery
• reading ~ how much is enough?
• memory and repetition
• testing tricks
• grammar
• importance of teaching

Will it guarantee that my kids will score perfectly on their tests? No. It is not a ‘check each of these boxes and you will get all the answers right’ book. Rather, SAT ACT Mastery is full of tools that will help your child score better on tests, but most importantly learn how to master his overall education.

Overall, the book is a quick read {for adults and teens} that you will refer to often when prepping for the SAT or ACT {or any other standardized test} and is one that will give you as the parent additional insights into how you can target specific areas to help your child master more in his education.

Free Parent’s Guide to the SAT!

Craig Gehring recently recorded an audio entitled "The Parent’s Guide to the SAT" that he is offering for free! You can find out how to download the files HERE.

SAT ACT Mastery by Craig Gehring is available for purchase through the website and includes free s/h. You can also purchase the book via Amazon.

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.