taking care of business

I've been tweaking my blog these past few days and adding a few features.

• Swagbucks Widget - Some of you use Swagbucks, some have heard of it but never checked into it, and some have never heard of it. Swagbucks is a way of earning money just by using a new search engine. You can also do surveys, complete special offers, and get referrals to earn money. I've added the widget to my sidebar. You can use this widget to sign up for your own Swagbucks account and start earning money. There are lots of things you can spend your swagbucks on, but my absolute favorite is to redeem them for Amazon gift cards. So far this year Aaron and I have earned more than $50 in Amazon gift cards and are in the process of deciding what to use them for (Christmas presents, homeschool supplies, and fun splurges are all in the running). And what I like most about using Swagbucks to earn money is that I have not received a single junk email from them.

• Follow by Email - Tired of checking back at the blog every day only to find that I've been lazy at posting? Or forget to visit and realized you've missed a bunch of posts? Now you can sign up to get an email each time I put up a new post.Just enter your email address in the space on my sidebar that says "follow by email."

• Confessions of a Homeschooler - I've started following this blog and have really enjoyed the homeschool ideas she has to share. I'm particularly interested in the preschool curriculum she has created and the free printables that go along with it. I've found a bunch of worksheets for Camille to do, as well as number and letter games, and many other ideas for things to do with the kids. So I've added this blog to my list on the sidebar. If you have young kids you can definitely benefit from checking out this blog, even if you don't homeschool.
• Preschool/Homeschool Ideas - I'm also going to try to incorporate more preschool and homeschool ideas as I try to slowly add them into our routine. Like I said in this post, we aren't ready yet to start anything formal, but young minds are always learning and I'm constantly trying to be intentional about offering my kids opportunities to learn more. I've added a "homeschool" label to my blog posts that show things we are doing or ideas we have, so you can click on that to see all of those posts. One of the things I'm going to be starting soon is ABC Bible memory verses. I'm planning on posting each week's verse on the blog so that you can follow along with us if you wish.

Well, I think that's about it for now. If you have any questions about these things please feel free to ask! And if you're wondering more about Swagbucks or other preschool/homeschool things I've been reading up on I'd love to share.