Review: American Heritage Education Foundation

"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." ~ James Madison

Normally this is where I'd mention that "As part of the TOS Crew I was provided with a free CD from American Heritage Education Foundation for the purpose of this review." Which I was--but this time, not only do I receive this freebie but so can you!

According to their website, the American Heritage Education Foundation (AHEF) is a non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation (501.c.3) dedicated to the understanding and teaching of America's factual and philosophical heritage to promote constructive citizenship and Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility among our students and citizens.


AHEF accomplishes this patriotic mission by writing, producing, and distributing FREE K-12 lesson plans to teachers, students, and families in all 50 states and through additional initiatives, programs, and partnerships.

AHEF is inclusive of individuals of every race and creed and every religious or non-religious persuasion. (This means that while their materials do touch on our country's Christian foundation, it's not to be considered a Bible-based program.)

Their CD titled "America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty" contains 4 e-books filled with hundreds of pages worth of supplemental/basic education in American History for all grade levels:

• Elementary (184 pages)
• Elementary (Spanish edition)
• Middle School (182 pages)
• High School (187 pages)

Information for the teacher, such as the length of the lesson, necessary materials, lesson objective, etc. are also included.

The lessons incorporate games, puzzles, discussion questions, information, and plenty of additional activities. However, being that this curriculum was designed to be used in a classroom setting, some of the activities aren't well-suited for the homeschool setting. Several had to be adapted, which was fairly easy to do. But overall, it would've been easier if we'd had more people. (Please disregard that comment if you plan to use this at your local co-op, or happen to have a larger-than-is-typical family.)

In addition, "the elementary lessons meet the nationally applicable Core Knowledge Skills (grades K-6) (national edition). Each middle and high school lesson plan correlates with the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) standards (national edition)." While this fact bears no weight in my final verdict of the product, I did feel it deserved an honorary mention as many fellow homeschoolers like that sort of thing. :)


My Opinion:

I'd been looking for an effective way to cover history with my little brood for some time now. History isn't one of their top five favorite subjects (or even among their top two!), but it's important that they understand their country's foundation and where it is now in comparison.

I loved the fact that every grade was included on one CD, making it easy to zip between my children's respective grade levels. The teacher planning is done for you, which means all I had to do was gather our materials and hit "print".

While like I said, some of the games and such just weren't possible with our little group, the overall gist of the lessons were simple and effective to use. I felt we'd covered more American History in this one brief review period than we have over the past few years. (And with Thanksgiving right around the corner, the materials added a nice bonus to our Colonial America discussions!)

Best of all--everything's absolutely free!

You can download their lesson plans directly from their website in pdf format or request a free CD by clicking here. A printed version is also available for $19.50 per grade level.

To learn more about the American Heritage Education Foundation, please click here.

We give American Heritage Education Foundation's "Adventures in Liberty" CD 1.5 thumbs up. (It would've earned a full 2 thumbs if it'd been a decidedly Christian product. Not too keen on the whole "separation of church and state" thing.)

It Can't Rain All the Time

That's what I have to keep telling myself, at least. Despite all the extremely difficult days my family's been through lately, I have to remember that sooner or later, the sun has to peek out from among the clouds.

Sometimes a ray of sun takes on the form of a good conversation with a cherished friend, or a bottle of wine and a funny card brought over by that same friend. (Thanks again, Tina.)

Other times it comes in the form of an outpouring of generosity from friends and church family who, despite how dumb your woes seem to be in the grand scheme of things, come rushing to your aid. If it wasn't for them, our church website, family website, and a massive amount of data (some super-critical, some not so much) would be lost.

Building websites from scratch is a royal pain (to hear my husband tell it), but from the looks of things, Dean's going to be able to salvage most of the Roots website data from the failed hard drives. A few things may have to be re-done, but nowhere near what he was thinking before. And now with new hard drives and soon-to-be-refurbished drives in place, we'll have backups of the backups of the backups!

A lovely patch of sun came out yesterday in the form of time spent with my cousin, Ryan and other family members. We haven't hung out much at all, outside of hospital vigils and a depressing funeral service. He wanted to make me a margarita, which I declined. So of course, Dean made me one anyway, but it was just too bitter. So Ryan made me another one, this time adding Sprite or something to it (???). Anyway it tasted like a soda pop! I'm not sure how he did it exactly, but it was good. Until he added another shot of lime something-or-other. Then it was back to semi-gross. Oh well. I drank half of it. The rest of the evening past by in a happy blur. However, despite what the pic to the right shows, we did not drink the Everclear. It was purely thrown in for silliness.

Anyway, as I'm trying to say in a not-so-eloquent manner, my family is trying to put the pieces back together and keep moving one foot in front of the other. However, my mom, Aunt Bobbi, Aunt Melinda and cousins are still in need of constant prayer support and encouragement. Please keep them in your minds and hearts. Their sadness and grief far exceed my own.

My son turned 11 years old on the 5th. That was also a nice, sparkly ray of sunshine. We had a very simple family party--cake, little gifts. He'll have his actual party-party this weekend. (Tons of wild 'n crazy boys coming..yikes!)

I can't believe how old they're getting. Sierra will be 14 next month (gag, choke) which hurts just to put into print, much less accept as reality. But speaking of all this--growing older, etc--I find it so interesting how time stops for no one. Whenever I'm in the midst of grieving the loss of someone I love, I think that the whole world should just stop and take notice. Why must the world and all the inhabitants thereof not just take a moment and stop what they're doing and grieve right along with me? How can snappy TV commercials be allowed to air? How can people go around smiling and having a good time?

It just seems to me that the world's perpetual motion is almost like a slap in the face. Mocking you and making you feel even worse.

But then, almost inperceptively, that constant flow of time becomes a sort of aid in itself. It doesn't take the pain away, but it does provide something else to focus on. At least for a moment. The sadness tends to envelope everything you do for a very long time (even the rest of your life), but for just a moment, the world has a way of shifting your thoughts and focus off your pain.

Well, that's my philosophic moment for the day!

I guess I should get back to work and focus on what needs to be done. My routine's nowhere near "on track" these days, but I'm trying to get it back. I did a short workout this morning, which is one of the many things I've been avoiding lately. (And my rear end's growing swath is a testament to that fact.)

Even though it's pouring down rain right now (literally), I've got my list on the table next to me, and plan to check off every single one of my tasks. I'm determined to have a productive day and make the choice to be happy.

Review: Vantage Learning--My Access Home Edition

As you may have already guessed, I really enjoy writing. This is just something I picked up on back when I was a kid and didn't really think too much of it until I became an adult. (Interestingly enough, it roughly coincides with the time various family members began asking me to write their letters to doctors, lawyers and supervisors, or my personal favorite--writing short blips for PTA newsletters. Hey, at least I'm good for somethin'!)

Writing for both enjoyment and "work" purposes makes me feel complete. If I've had a rough day, it serves as my release.

If I've had a great day, it serves as an outlet of thankful expression.

I've kept a journal since I was 10 years old, own a blog, write reviews, and conduct most of my communication in the form of email. So you can imagine how this carries over into our family's homeschool situation.

My children have all enjoyed writing for pleasure at one point or another. They've all written poems or short "books"--some much shorter than others. Abby's story, "Puppy's Birthday" is a prime example: "Today is puppy's birthday. Yum! Thanks for the cake Mom! You're welcome puppy! Woof-woof! The End."

However, when it came to actually teaching the mechanics of writing, I must admit (rather sheepishly) that I was a bit lost. All those years of creative writing and advanced English courses completely flew out of my head. (Whooosh!) Needless to say when I learned that we'd received a free membership to Vantage Learning's My Access! Home Edition online writing course, I did a Snoopy dance for joy. :)

*For the purpose of this review, I received a free membership to My Access! Home Edition. My review is based on my opinion of the product only. No additional compensation was received.*


My Access! Home Edition is a completely web-based writing course that teaches students the mechanics of great writing, directly from their computer. According to their website, My Access teaches students to:

"...begin by focusing on on the process of writing itself: planning, organizing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. They learn how to generate ideas, link them together in meaningful ways, and express them creatively, all while obeying the "rules" or conventions of writing and grammar." From there, the writing process builds as students "learn to organize, clarify, and communicate their thoughts."

Under the My Topics heading, parents choose which topics they want their children's essays to be about (science, history, etc). You can also choose to have your students write from a pre-selected batch of essays or create your own. It's all up to you.
Essays range from informative, persuasive, narrative, etc.

Parents also determine how many points each assignment is worth and can also create a reward for reaching a specific point amount. For example, my kids had to earn 250 points each before they got to pick out a movie of their choice. (Yeah, I'm cheap and only took them to the Redbox machine, but hey---it worked!)

Students are walked step-by-step through the writing process from pre-writing to drafting, revising/editing, to finally--the finished product. The "Tutor" function teaches students how to make their writing better and offers helpful suggestions.

The "Editor" tool works much like your word processing program (such as Microsoft Word) does, which is really helpful.... unless you happen to be writing a bit "outside the box".

In that case, the grammar correction tool goes bonkers. Ditto with spell check. If your student happens to write the name of a person or city that's not your typical-sounding name, it'll knock their point total down due to the supposed "misspelling". Kinda frustrating.

But if you're like me and can look past that, then you're good. :) However, overachievers (like my oldest--ahem!) might find this aspect a bit aggravating as they seek to obtain a "perfect" score.

One last thing; progress reports! Students receive scores such as Below Proficient, Proficient, and Advanced Proficient, and the reports are emailed to parents.

Oops...one "more" last thing: I recommend that parents actually sit with their children--at least in the beginning--while they use My Access. This is to ensure that their children aren't tempted to "beat" the system by doing the bare minimum in order to earn their points. (Ahem...not that ANYONE did that here, right kids?!)

My Access! Home Edition is a great writing tool that I've been most impressed with. I love the fact that the essays can be incorporated into any curricula you happen to be using, and provide immediate feedback to the students.

A one year subscription costs $99.95 for up to 3 students or $129.95 for 6 students. To learn more about the program, please check out their website by clicking here.

I'm pleased to award My Access! by Vantage Learning 2 thumbs up! :)

Review: Amazing Bible Timeline

*As a member of the TOS Crew, I received a free copy of the Amazing Bible Timeline for the purpose of this review. My review is based on my personal opinion only. No additional compensation was received.*


The Amazing Bible Timeline is a gigantic 37" x 45" poster covering 6,000 years of historical data and information. It differs from other timelines I've seen in that it is circular and reads in a clockwise motion, incorporates 4 bold colors, and breaks time into 100 year chunks. The timeline not only covers Biblical history*, but throws elements of world history into the mix as well.

Its printed on sturdy card stock (more durable than poster paper), and coated with a clear, protective varnish.


From the website:

• See Bible and World History together - the research across multiple cultures and books has been done for you
• Understand the Bible better by seeing everything organized in one view
• Know when key people or events happened
• Visualize the rise and fall of nations, the history of man at a glance

When you purchase the Amazing Bible Timeline you'll also receive 2 bonus gifts: the digital version of the Timeline, access to Interactive Maps of the Holy Land, and the Genealogy of Jesus in pdf format.


My Opinion:

Going back to the part of it being Biblical History--which it does contain--I must stress that there are some elements of Mormonism incorporated into their "facts" as well. Now, this may or may not be a concern to you based on your own religious beliefs, but I did note more than one reference to the Book of Mormon on this timeline.

The timeline is produced by a Mormon family, and they do offer 2 versions of the timeline--one for LDS and one for non-LDS families. I did technically receive the non-LDS version, but like I said, there were a few mentions of it scattered throughout.

The other aspect of the timeline that concerned me had nothing to do with religion, but rather to the way it's set up. The print is really small and very hard for someone (who is blind as a bat) like me to see. Then again, if I wasn't so stubborn and actually wore glasses, then it probably wouldn't be a problem.

And yes, I do realize that if it was written in a larger font, then it would be even BIGGER, which would be highly impractical. (Let's be honest; in order to accommodate my eyeballs, it would have to be the size of a movie screen! :) )

The timeline is packed full of information, which left me feeling a bit overwhelmed just by looking at it. But again, I do realize that cramming 6,000 years worth of history onto any size sheet is bound to look "busy" when its finished.

I don't mean to sound like I hated the timeline as a whole; not at all. I did appreciate many aspects of the Amazing Bible Timeline, like the fact that it allowed the children and I to see how different events overlapped during the course of history. My children also enjoyed scanning the various dates and "pop quizzing" each other, and following the genealogy of Jesus with their fingertips. (And their initial reaction to the timeline when I unrolled it from the shipping tube was priceless: "WHOA! That thing is HUGE!")

The Amazing Bible Timeline with free bonuses is available through their website (click here) for $29.97.

To discover what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about it, please click here.

Overall, I appreciate what the good folks at the Amazing Bible Timeline are trying to do with their product. However, I personally don't recommend it for non-LDS families unless they're willing and able to look past the few Mormon references sprinkled throughout the chart.

With that in mind, I award the Amazing Bible Timeline 1 thumb up. :)

Review: ACT Inc. Discover Career Planning Program

Some of us are born knowing what we want to do in life, while others haven't a clue. In junior high and high school we're given a series of tests that measure our skills and interests, in hopes that we find *something* suitable to make us productive members of society.

I remember those tests. They always said I should be a teacher, writer, actress or doctor. (Ahem) The last one's pretty funny, considering I faint at the sight of blood. However, I did enjoy taking those tests even though I already had a pretty good idea of what I wanted out of life.

Since my children are obviously homeschooled, I wasn't sure these types of tests were open to them. Lo and behold, they are! Sierra and I were pleased to receive access to the Discover Online Career Planning Program by ACT Inc. for review.

The Discover Career Planning Program walks students through a battery of tests that measure their interests, strengths, weaknesses, work place ethics, and values. The tests and website are both very user-friendly, and the results were surprisingly accurate. The site lists all the various skills and college requirements of each chosen career path, and even offers a list of colleges by state that cater to those programs. The Discover Program also provides a list of related military careers as well.

Student's results can then be stored in their Discover Portfolio, which can easily be printed and referred to later in the school year.

With the Discover Online Career Planning Program students will:

•Assess interests, abilities and job values.

•Explore occupations, majors and schools.

•Build an education plan that relates to career plans.

•Improve job-seeking skills and develop a resume


Sierra's tests revealed that she would be best suited for a career in culinary arts (no big shock), a career in writing, teaching, or working outdoors in an engineering or construction field. (Talk about your variety of vocational pursuits!)

I really liked how it allowed her to see which area colleges were best suited to her, how much education each vocation required (2 years, 4 years), what sort of classes she'd need to take (more math, science, etc), as well as the information about scholarships and financial aid.

Sierra appreciated the welcome "break" from school work and liked how it listed career options she'd never thought of before (like owning her own bakery or running a hotel restaurant).

The Discover Career Planning Program is available for $19.95 for a 3-month license or $24.95 for a 6-month license. It's a great tool for students planning their high school courses, as well as high school students in their junior or senior year.

I was really pleased with the way the Discover program worked and all it had to offer. Therefore, I proudly award it 2 thumbs up. :)

To learn more about this or other great ACT Inc. programs, please visit their website by clicking here.




*As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I received free access to this online program in exchange for review. No other compensation was received. My review is based on my personal opinion only, and should not be considered a substitute for investigating the program yourself prior to purchase.*

Review: Sue Patrick's Workbox System

Most homeschool families out there have at least heard of workboxes, if not know someone actively using this system. I personally had only heard a few brief mentions of this method, but wasn't aware of any of my friends actually using this system until September. That was when a dear friend of mine wrote a blog post about using workboxes with her children, which I found interesting. For her. Not me.

My first thought was, "That's far too structured for my taste." Granted, I had no first-hand experience with the method, but liked some of the reasons behind it such as organization and accountability. However, the overall feel of it left me with a weird taste in my mouth. I'm not hyper-organized, but I'm not completely unstructured, either. The workbox method at first seemed very rigid and confining to me, as well as time-consuming. (I don't do well with time-consuming, either.)

When I learned that as part of the TOS Crew I'd been chosen to review Sue Patrick's Workbox System e-book, I admit that I was really curious. I wanted to see how this whole thing worked, from start to finish.

*For the purpose of this review, I was supplied with a free copy of the E-book as well as free access to all the downloads and charts for a six-week period. No other compensation was provided.*

What Is It:

Fellow homeschooling mom, Sue Patrick is the creator of this homeschool phenomenon, and author of Sue Patrick's Workbox System User Guide. The Guide walks you through every aspect of the workbox method in a generally clear, straightforward manner* (see Opinion section below). Sue Patrick explains that her method is perfect for every family, grade level, and student.

With the workbox system, student's daily lessons and activities are organized in easy-to-tackle chunks, allowing them to work independently and feel a greater sense of accomplishment. The lessons and activities are stored in 12 totes or "workboxes" that are completed in numerical order. At the end of the day, Mom fills each workbox up with the next day's lessons and activities, and the process begins all over again.

(See video presentation below for more details)

Sue Parick's Workbox System

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Opinion:

I wasn't able to use this system exactly as Sue Patrick prescribed. I just didn't have the money to purchase the recommended about of workboxes and racks. Therefore, I tweaked accordingly. Now, I must tell you that Ms. Patrick highly suggests you DO NOT deviate from her system in order to receive the maximum benefit of it, which is fine. But due to financial reasons, there was no other way around it for me.

What I immediately noticed with this system was that it forced me to be more organized. There was no winging it with the workboxes. They were either filled or they weren't. Period. This was both good and bad; good in the sense that it helped me stay on top of things, but bad because I don't like being told what to do, especially by inanimate objects. (Ahem)

My children also liked having everything laid out in front of them, which provided a handy visual goal for the day. However, Ethan did ask at one point to just "hand him his work" instead of "stuffing it in a box". (Guess he's a bit like his Momma in that regard.)

I did have a few minor issues with Sue Patrick's line of thinking. For example, I don't like the idea of "school at home" which is exactly what this reminded me of. Nor did I care for all the cards (like "quiet time", "ask for help", "lunch") and found them to be completely unnecessary in a homeschool setting. I also had a hard time seeing how this method would work for *every* single homeschool family, as Ms Patrick suggests. Perhaps with some individualized tweaking it could work, but I couldn't imagine how say, the Duggar's would comfortably use this system with their 18 children.

The Guide itself was really helpful in explaining the ins and outs of the System, however I did find it to be a bit vague when it came to actually setting up the boxes. Something a little more step-by-step would've been better for a newbie like me. But this is a very minor issue, and one that may not be felt by other readers/users. However, I did appreciate the level of detail Ms. Patrick put into the explanation of the System itself. That was excellent.

Pros:

• Better structure and more efficient use of student's time.
• Consistent homeschool planning for Mom (something I could probably use more of--ahem)
• Visible "goal" each day.
• Eliminates the question, "Are we done yet?" from children's vocabularies. :)
• More independent study time (which can also be labeled as a "con". See below.)

Cons:

• Potentially pricey to set up. 12 totes/metal rack times x amount of children = one serious trip to Target, Wal-Mart, Storables, etc.
• Too structured for a relaxed family.
• Time consuming for Mom, depending upon how many workboxes she needs to fill each day.
• Encourages more independent study time, which may not work well for those families who thrive on togetherness.

Costs and Purchasing Information:

Sue Patrick's Workbox System components are available via her website, WorkboxSystem.com. The User's Guide is available as an E-book for the reasonable price of $19, a Book for $19.95 plus s/h, or as a Book/Consulting Package for $119.95 plus s/h. This purchase provides you with 4 months of email consultation with Sue Patrick herself.


Final Thoughts:

Overall, I'd have to say that my original fear of workboxes was unfounded. I don't "dislike" the system, but I do have to tweak it in order to make it work for my family. I'm not completely sold on the idea, but I'm not completely against it, either. I appreciate the organizational factor tremendously, but quickly found myself overwhelmed with filling up box after box on a daily basis.

To learn more about workboxing, please visit Sue Patrick's website by clicking here.

Review: Virginia Soaps & Scents

Some folks are just oh-so crafty. I personally have a hard time creating anything but a tidy sense of order. I used to fail art class back in school (no joke), and I can't stand getting my hands dirty for the purpose of creativity and artful expression.

I have a few uber-crafty friends who sew, knit, make candles, and are familiar with the inner workings of Michael's and JoAnn fabrics. You'd think that being a homeschooling mom, this would just somehow magically transfer over to me. But you'd be wrong.

So when I heard that as part of the TOS Crew, I'd be receiving a package from Virginia Soaps & Scents for review, my first thought was "Uh oh! I have to make soap?!"

But contrary to my initial thought, Virginia Soaps & Scents does not force the consumer to "make" their own soap but rather, they make it for you.

Owned and operated by the Spargur family, a fellow homeschooling clan located in (where else?) Virginia, Virginia Soaps & Scents produces a number of homemade "gourmet" soaps, plus lip balm, laundry soap, pet shampoo and more.

For the purpose of this review, I received one each of the following products:

• Oatmeal, milk & honey soap
• Fresh orange soap
• Coconut Lemongrass soap
• Ginger Lime Shampoo Bar
• Laundry Soap Kit

Each of the soaps I received were the 1.75 oz "Bed & Breakfast" size samplers. Their regular sized bars are 4.75 ounces for the soap, and 5.5 oz for the Shampoo Bar.

Our Thoughts:

When I first opened my package, the family was greeted with a lovely combination of pleasing aromas. Everything smelled so good, that all five of us inhaled each bar and sighed, "Ahh....!"

Shortly thereafter, Dean and I walked outside in the backyard with the dogs. Suddenly we both paused and sniffed the air. Dean said, "Something smells good out here." I sniffed again. "Yeah, you're right. Hmm...Do you think it could be the soap?"

Since we couldn't tell if it was that or just some kind neighbor baking a fruit pie, we decided to have the kids sniff the soap and walk outside, too. You know, for scientific confirmation.

Yep. It was the soap! (Bummer about the pie though...) Moving on!

The next morning, the children and I put everything to the test, starting with the bar soap and shampoo bar.

The Soap: $4.50/each, 3/$12 or Buy 4/Get 1 Free

The soap lathers up quite nicely, and again, had a nice fragrance to it. The Fresh Orange smelled almost good enough to eat! The Oatmeal, Milk & Honey bar has a slightly rough texture that was great for exfoliation. Sierra used this one and really liked it. She said it didn't make her skin feel itchy at all, which was great.

Abby used the Fresh Orange bar and liked how it made her skin feel "soft" and "smell nice". Ethan used the Coconut Lemongrass and said it smelled "like summer time". This didn't make him break out in itchiness, either. (We all have very sensitive, eczema-riddled skin.) The only thing we didn't like was that the fragrance didn't last all day long. But that's really minor compared to not itching all day!

Shampoo Bar: $5.50

According to Mrs. Spargur, this product works so well for her that she no longer uses conditioner. Hmm...I had to test that theory out for myself.

Now with the Shampoo Bar, you have to actually RUB it on your hair. You don't lather it up in your hands. It only took a few rubs before I had a luxurious lather going on. It smelled great, rinsed well, and I skipped the conditioner as planned.

Once my hair was dry, my hair felt incredibly clean--like really, super-duper clean. Perhaps "too clean". And it didn't brush out well, either. Note to self: I'm definitely not a "skip the conditioner" kind of girl!

So the next day, I used the Shampoo Bar again, only this time adding my usual conditioning rinse.

My hair felt even worse.

I don't know what it was, but it was just not clean looking or feeling that second time around. Maybe it was the conditioner not playing well with the Shampoo bar or something. I'm not sure. All I knew was that it was definitely a ponytail day after that. (Ahem)

My daughter, Sierra also had the same results with the Shampoo Bar. In the end, we decided it was good to use maybe a once a week, to really deep-clean our hair. More than that was simply too much for our hair type.

However! All was not lost with the Shampoo Bar. It's also recommended as an all-over body bar (hair, skin, shaving), which we again, put to the test. This time? We absolutely LOVED it!

Our skin felt great; no itchiness, no redness. In fact, I think it actually improved the look of my facial skin during the few weeks I used it! My face just felt nicer after each use. Never dry or tight, nor did it break me out (a common issue with many facial products). And anything that doesn't give me a zit is worth it's weight in gold in my book!

Laundry Soap Kit: $4.95

Now, this was the product I was most looking forward to! I've been making my own laundry soap for a few months now, and had actually just ran out when this Kit arrived. (Perfect timing, eh?)

The Kit contains pre-measured amounts of grated lard soap, Borax and Washing Soda, which make a 1/2 gallon of laundry soap. All you need is a bucket and hot water!

I actually liked the way this soap turned out more than my current recipe. It turned to a nice gel consistency, whereas my current recipe didn't. ('Twas supposed to but...?). As there's no fragrance to this product, your clothes won't smell "Tide fresh", but they will indeed be clean. The cost per use comes out to about 5 cents per load, which makes this an incredibly economical option.

This Kit is perfect for those curious types who aren't ready to make a full commitment to the Homemade Laundry Soap Club.

Virginia Soaps & Scents has a variety of Samplers and Gift Baskets available, which would be perfect for your holiday shopping needs! I'm considering purchasing a few samplers to give as gifts myself. :) (Friends and family: You did NOT read that last line. Ahem.)

Their customer service is impeccable and their products are terrific. I loved how everything was so sweetly packaged, smelled great, and didn't involve me actually making soap. (Well, aside from the laundry detergent, but that's different.) Their prices are reasonable, and I am very pleased with everything I tried.

To learn more about Virginia Soaps & Scents, please visit their website by clicking here.

We're pleased to award Virginia Soaps & Scents two very happy thumbs up!