Our Zyto Scan Experience

I started dabbling in essential oils last fall, and am quite fascinated by them.  So when a local friend from church got a Zyto scanner, I wanted to try it out.  

Luke was difficult to scan, but then, pretty much everything about Luke is difficult.  We're used to it.  His report was interesting.  He had the most markers out range out of our whole family.  So many, in fact, that even with 6 suggested oils/supplements, it wouldn't be enough to pull everything into the inner circle.

One of Luke's scanned for oils was ridiculously expensive, and another was out of stock, so we skipped those.  One of the supplements was something I had on hand in another brand.  I'm looking forward to seeing how he scans next month, after doing the remaining oils/supplements.

So what's a Zyto scan?  Well, you can read about the technology HERE, but it's a very simple process that tells you about your body.

You place your hand on the cradle, like Miss Katie here, and hold still for a couple of moments while the device sends and receives painless electrical pulses.  The computer translates the information it receives from you into a report that tells you what essential oils or supplements would be beneficial to you.

Some of the kids had several things recommended, others only a couple.  Katie wins with only one oil suggested for her.

If you're in the Sacramento area, I'd love to set you up with our scan lady.  If you're new to oils, you can read How I Store My Essential Oils or how to make Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn or What Oil Day Is Like At Our House.

If you're ready to take the plunge and learn new ways to improve your family's health, I'd love to have you join my oily family.

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A Season of Change book review and Kindle Fire GIVEAWAY

Lynette Sowell's new book, A Season of Change could be a book about a widower finding happiness again.  Or it could be a book about a girl making a shocking discovery about her past.  Actually, it's both.  And more.

I really enjoyed A Season of Change.  It drew me and kept me interested.

Natalie's parents are divorced, and her father has a new wife and family now.  After her mom's death, her father sends her a box of her mom's belongings, and Natalie makes the startling realization that her mother had been Amish before running away to join the circus.  Talk about two vastly different worlds!

When Jacob takes his family to Florida for vacation, tragedy strikes.  --Silly me, I didn't even realize Amish people went on vacation.  Natalie's thoughts about her mother's past are swirling as she goes to her volunteer work as a clown in the children's ward of the local hospital... and runs smack into an Amish family.

Not only did I enjoy this heart-warming story of faith and self-discovery, Brianna read the book, too, and devoured it in a single day.

In A Season of Change, book one of Lynette Sowell's new series, Seasons of Pinecraft, readers will discover a different side of the Amish community. A Season of Change follows Natalie and Amish widower Jacob Miller as they each discover the mysterious ways God works. Inspired by the image of a Plain woman sitting on a three-wheeled bicycle by the Pinecraft (an Amish community in Florida) post office, Sowell’s latest is a new take on the popular trend in fiction.

Lynette is celebrating with a Kindle Fire HDX giveaway and a Facebook author chat party on June 12th.

One winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire HDX
• A Season of Change by Lynette Sowell

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 12th. Winner will be announced at the A Season of Change Facebook author chat party on June 12th. Connect with Lynette for an evening of fun book chat, Amish-themed trivia, and prizes. Lynette will also be answering audience questions and giving an exclusive look at the next book in the Seasons of Pinecraft series!

So grab your copy of A Season of Change and join Lynette on the evening of June 12th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 12th!

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The Birds and the Bees for Kids

Okay, raise your hand if you like talking to your children about puberty and intimacy.  Anyone?  Anyone?  No?  Yeah, most people don't, which is why I'm pleased to share these books with you today.

I was sent Growing Up God's Way for Girls and Growing Up God's Way for Boys to review.  Amazon lists these as being recommended for ages 10-14, but my 14 year old rolled her eyes at this book, as we've already covered these issues.  I would put them more at the 8 to 12 range, personally.

Both books are very similar, with chapters on Puberty, Marriage, the changes that occur both in girls and in boys, Physical Intimacy, and the maturity and emotional components of growing up.  Childbirth is briefly discussed, with one photo of an unborn baby, and 3 cartoon images depicting pregnancy and labor.  There are many cartoon illustrations throughout.

These books are helpful to parents, who often don't know how to bring up these awkward topics.  They're also helpful to kids who are too shy to ask questions.  Often, asking your child to read a book like this will break the ice and lead to conversations where you can share your perspective and reassurances.

These gentle books are more conversational in nature than technical.  For example, when discussing intercourse, the book says "After a few minutes, at a special moment, some fluid containing millions of sperm passes out of the husband's body into his wife's body, in a process called ejaculation."  The word "orgasm" is never used.

The books are written from a Christian perspective, and define marriage as one man and one woman.  No other options are discussed in the book.

Each 80 page paperback book sells for around $13 on Amazon.  

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Dino Lingo Mandarin Chinese for kids

I recently got the opportunity to review Dino Lingo's Chinese program for kids.  Dino Lingo offers more than 40 different languages for children!  This review was perfect timing for us, as it gave the little girls something to work on while Hannah is off track from school.  

My girls are ideal reviewers because Dino Lingo is designed for kids age 2-7.  Hannah is 7, and Katie is 3.  

These guys are the dinos in Dino Lingo!  Hannah colored them, cut them out, and glued them onto the paper.  There's a whole coloring book full of fun included in the kit.

It's so important to me for the girls to maintain some familiarity with Mandarin, because I want to take them back to China for a visit in a few years.  I want them to maintain their "ear" for the different tones, so if they choose to take Mandarin later on, they'll have an easier time with it.

A main component of the program is the 5 DVDs included in the set.  You can see from the girls' faces how interactive these are!  They're repeating back what they're hearing!

As an aside, I knew the word for "hair" in Mandarin, but I would never have guessed how to spell it in Pinyan if I hadn't been snapping pictures when it appeared on the screen.  So, thanks, Dino Lingo.  I'm learning, too.

In addition to the DVDs and the coloring book, there's a stuffed dino.  Dino Lingo generously sent us 2 of them, so each of the girls would have one.

Aren't they cute?  Katie has been taking hers to bed with her.

The kit also comes with 10 sturdy color posters, a world map, and a Chinese flag!

I like to hang them at the girls' level so they can see them as we go about our day.  Hannah is pointing at xi gua, or watermelon, which was her absolute favorite thing to eat when we met her.

We even used the number poster to copy the Chinese character for "7" onto Hannah's birthday cake last month.

Having 5 different discs to watch meant there was enough variety to hold their attention.

The girls like to watch one mid-morning, while I'm doing school with the big kids.

We also put up posters over the girls' beds, so they can look at them at nap time.

I used to only be able to count to 6 in Mandarin, but hearing the DVDs in the background, I'm up to 8 now.  Hannah also likes to listen to the Chinese Children's Songs CD at nap time, too.

The kit even includes flash cards, which can be used in a variety of ways.  In this picture, I would call out a Chinese word, and the girls would look for the picture of that object.

This full set sells for $159.95, but you can also buy just the DVDs, or just the posters.  Right now, they're having a Memorial Day SALE, 25% off with the code SAVE25.  You can also connect with Dino Lingo on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.

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Our Week in Review - the start of Summer School

Still learning, just a slightly more relaxed schedule.  

No, this has nothing to do with school, but I'm pretty excited about it, nonetheless.

After weeks of no visible progress, giant leaps forward were made on the upstairs kids' bathroom.

Hannah tried out a new story on the iPad.  I'm finding I need to come up with things for the girls to do individually for part of each day, otherwise they start fighting.

For Art, we did ARTistic Pursuits tomb walls project.  This was fun, because it helped us imagine what it was like to paint on walls instead of on a table.

Eli did some of his "shading" work from a curious vantage point.

And the finished "wall."

Brianna and Jack played Ancient History memory (purchased from zulily.com - affiliate link), which helped them review some of the things we've learned about this year.

Brianna was cleaning up her room and came across a box of pieces.

So she turned them into St. Basil's Cathedral again.  (affiliate link)

One of our activities in Moving Beyond The Page was to create mazes.  Jack's face is indicative of the fate of the people who don't watch out for the scary traps in his labyrinth.  Watch for a review for MBTP coming soon.

Brianna had more patience for the maze project than the boys did.  She actually went over hers with pen after finishing the draft in pencil.

Hey, look!  The bathroom is a color!

Brianna's summer reading program seems to be that she walks off with my review books as soon as I finish the reviews.

We're recreating Greek sea battle tactics.  The playsilk is our "water."

I know it's probably hard to imagine an activity that involves boats ramming each other getting out of hand...  but it did.

I've been having Hannah work through Art Projects 1 (affiliate link) while she's home.  It's a really cute book.  I remember Zach and Annaliese doing these books when they were little.

I was way too ambitious last week when I planned out our goals.  This week, I'm going to scale it back a bit and hopefully I'll go over instead of having so many things left undone at the end of the week.

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