Special Needs – Page 43 – Pollywog's Place Blog

Google Home: The Ultimate Homeschool Helper

Published on April 27, 2019April 26, 2019 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog3 Comments

We have often shared things that we love and use on a daily basis. We’ve been sharing about our Kirby’s Kids Academic Adventures as we read through the Little House on the Prairie stories. (More lessons to come soon, I promise.) We’ve also done our share of ‘free schooling’ and schooling-on-the-fly lately as life can often times get very crazy at the drop of the hat.

You know we’ve had our own share of struggles with special needs, speech issues, and learning disabilities too. We’ve shared a lot of the great programs we use like ABC Mouse, Mystery Science, Kids Cook Real Food, and Character Concepts, plus many great resources like NotebookPages.com, Skill Trek, UnitStudy.com, Kiwi Co, Green Kid Crafts, and Positive Parenting Solutions that have really helped us out with our homeschooling journey.

One of our favorite resources lately has been our Google Home device that we received last year through a product testing opportunity. This thing is AMAZING! Not only has it helped to relieve some of my stressors as I have been able to integrate our Cozi calendar into the system, look up recipes in a pinch but it has also helped out in so many other ways.

Google is a talking encyclopedia!

Mr. Joey (7) asks approximately 31,252,374 questions a day! I may be on the low side of that estimate though… lol. Mr. Jacob (5) asks at least half that many questions too. This means my mind is constantly in a whirlwind trying to remember how many teeth a timber has or how big a blue whale baby is when it’s born. They are so inquisitive and curious about everything which is where Google has helped out. Now they can just ask Google!

Since I have my Cozi calendar integrated into it, Google can even tell the kids what we are having for dinner. Okay, sometimes I do feel a little bit sorry for Google and tell the kids that Google needs a break.

Google is a speech therapist!

Not only has this feature helped the kids learn some amazing facts it has also helped them with some of their speech issues. Yep, that’s right. If they don’t say something correctly then Google doesn’t recognize it. This means they must slow down and practice speaking more clearly. Continue reading “Google Home: The Ultimate Homeschool Helper” →

Weekend Wrap Up: April 20, 2019

Published on April 20, 2019June 18, 2026 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

Hey there! It’s been a bit of a crazy week here. Last weekend I had a crazy reaction to some gun cleaner… crazy like I thought I was going to need an ER visit but thankfully a double dose of Zyrtec did the trick. However, after that, I was pretty much useless for a couple of days as I really truly felt like a walking zombie mom. This was truly not something I had expected or planned for so it kind of threw a wrench in my carefully laid out plans.

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Super Simple Egg Salad

Published on April 18, 2019November 14, 2019 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog13 Comments

This is such an easy thing to make and so delicious… I just boiled some eggs so I think I might just whip up some really quick and have a sandwich as it is way past lunchtime! I like to eat mine on toast but maybe I’m just weird but it is good just as it is too. Continue reading “Super Simple Egg Salad” →

Celebrate Earth Month With Green Kid Crafts!

Published on April 16, 2019April 17, 2019 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog2 Comments

We all know that April 22nd is Earth Day and just in case it has slipped up on you I have some great ideas for celebrating Earth Day in this post HERE. Why celebrate just one day when Green Kids Crafts is having an Earth Month Special?

With the summer vacation coming up on us fast many of us will be going crazy trying to keep the kids out of our hair! Trust me, I know! These kits will help to keep your kids busy and give them a healthy alternative to all of that screen time. Pssst… grandparents… these would make awesome gifts for birthdays, special events, or just because.

CELEBRATE EARTH MONTH WITH GREEN KID CRAFTS!

Get your green on this Earth Month and get 3 FREE STEAM boxes (a $60 value!) on any Green Kid Crafts subscription! Act fast to lock in savings on a longer-term subscription and get Discovery Boxes year-round for less than $15.00 / month. Use offer code PLANET12 at checkout to get $60 off any 12-month subscription. Go here to start shopping! Green Kid Crafts’ award-winning Discovery Boxes pack a lot of fun and learning into affordable and convenient packages. Each box contains up to 6 STEAM science and craft kits, extension activities, and a free STEAM magazine. Junior boxes are designed for ages 2-4 and Discovery boxes are great for ages 5-10+. Offer excludes sibling add-on options. Go here to start shopping!

**This post contains affiliate links to products that we use and love here at our home. We may earn a teeny weeny little commission if a purchase happens to be made through one of our links. Thank you so much for supporting our family, our homeschooling mission, and our blog!

Be The Parent You’ve Always Wanted To Be

Published on April 15, 2019November 26, 2019 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

Some of you may remember that I’ve mentioned I have a couple of special needs kiddos. These two have been quite challenging and I have faced many parenting issues that have been quite difficult to get through… I mean like heart wrenching issues that made me doubt my abilities to parent them at all.

Well, a lot of those doubts, fears, and worries have vanished and faded away after I started taking the Positive Parenting Solutions Course. Just the first course made me feel more confident in my abilities and gave me some tools to put to use right away. The changes have been amazing and I only wish I had found out about this course sooner.

You’ve tried everything: Time-outs. Reward charts. Counting to three. Punishments. Nothing works.

If you or someone you know has been facing parenting difficulties then you need to check this out, NOW! Don’t wait because you are losing precious time… stop the yelling, stop the threatening, stop feeling defeated and give this a try.