Gnome Cones in Argyle (All Natural Snow Cones)

We have discovered a great place the for the perfect summer treat and a little whimsical fun!  




It's called Gnome Cones and they are located in Argyle.  It's a fun place to hang out with friends.

Not only is the decor simply adorable but these aren't your regular snow cones.  These are all natural so you don't have to worry about your kids eating artificial colors and flavors.  It's just natural goodness in a cute little gnome cup!

They have a relatively short list of flavors compared some regular snow cones shops I've visited but I love the unique choices offered (plus I hear that they have added Cherry Limeade since we were last there!).  I ordered Cherry and both of the kids ordered Sour Lemon.  You can add ice cream, coconut cream, or fresh cream for just a small fee.  We might have to do that next time!

They started making our order right away so they were passed out to us in just a matter of minutes. 

So sweet and delicious!  Gnome Cones are very refreshing on a hot summer day and I just love that they are all natural!

Nicholas pointed out that the ice is shaved so finely that it almost feels soft to the touch.  

Gnome Cones is located at 421 US 377 South in Argyle.  They are open from 11:00 am - 10:00 pm every day.  You can connect with them on the Gnome Cone website or Gnome Cones on Facebook.

Doctor Aviation {Review}

Nicholas has always been interested in "anything that flies".  Last summer, he attended a Youth Fire Academy camp for middle schoolers at our local fire department.  They had a CareFlite helicopter land on-site and the pilot and technicians talked to the students about CareFlite and how they help people in an life-threatening emergency.  Right then and there Nicholas decided that he wants to be a CareFlite helicopter pilot when he grows up.  Since then I have been seeking out more books for him on aviation and trying to get him as much exposure to the field as possible.  I learned about Doctor Aviation through the Home School Review Crew and eagerly signed up to review the aviation video training course.  What a perfect fit it has been!

This aviation video training course is taught by Daryl Smith (aka Doctor Aviation).  Mr. Smith has 24 years of experience in the Air Force where he was an instructor and research pilot.  He has taught at the United States Air Force Academy and has also authored a book on aviation. 

Nicholas has been working through the Doctor Aviation lessons over the summer.  It consists of 15 online lessons of about 45-60 minutes each.  Each lesson is comprised of three parts.  First, Technical Trivia which includes learning about important points like radar, how to maneuver an airplane, and the different types of jet engines.  Second, the lesson introduces a Notable Innovator like Chuck Yeager or Amelia Earhart.  Lastly, the lesson covers a Legendary Event like Breaking the Sound Barrier or a Legendary Aircraft such as the F-14 Tomcat.

The video lessons are taught by Daryl Smith.  He is very knowledgeable and his lessons are straight forward and easy to understand.  It is helpful that throughout the videos he also includes slides and demonstrations to help explain the concepts visually.

Included with each lesson are Guided Notes.  These contain several pages and they serve as an outline of the presentation with gaps for the student to fill in as they learn.  

Each lesson also includes a To Learn More section that includes recommended books, websites, writing assignments and hands-on activities to bring the newly learned concepts to life.  Nicholas enjoyed reading The Bishop's Boys by Tom Crouch which was one of the recommended books about Orville and Wilbur Wright.  He has added a few of the other book recommendations to his summer reading list.

You can view the lessons on a computer or table but we have internet connected to our television in the living room so we watch the lessons there so the whole family can learn together.  I have enjoyed watching the course as much as Nicholas.  You will want to connect to a printer to make a hard copy of the Guided Notes.  Before Nicholas began the course, I printed out all of the Guided Notes and the To Learn More pages and put them in a 3-ring binder so he could use them while he watched each lesson.


Doctor Aviation costs $99 for six months of access to the course.  It is intended for ages 16 and up but Nicholas is 13 and has done great in the course but he already had a good understanding of aviation concepts.  The course is thorough and could definitely count as a half credit for high school but if the student completed all of the additional activities it would probably take a full year and could count as a full high school credit.
For more information about Doctor Aviation, please check them out online: Website: https://www.doctoraviation.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doctoraviation Twitter: https://twitter.com/draviationguy If you are interested in reading additional reviews from other Home School Review Crew members to see what they thought of the Doctor Aviation online aviation course, please click on the banner below:

Fascinating Chemistry {Review}

The Home School Review Crew has been reviewing several different online courses from Fascinating Education.  The courses are intended for high school but middle school students who are strong in math skills can do well in these courses too.  They offered us three courses to choose from: Fascinating Chemistry, Fascinating Biology, and Fascinating Physics.  They recommend taking their courses in that specific order so I chose Fascinating Chemistry.  




The course was created by Dr. Sheldon Margulies, a retired neurologist and professor at several impressive medical schools.  He has also published three educational textbooks.  As you look through the Fascinating Education website, you will see that Dr. Margulies has a passion for science that he is excited to share with others.  He has created these courses with moving slides and audio presentations together to help ignite "right brain" learning, making the educational experience more complete than simple reading a text book.
The Fascinating Chemistry course is taught over 18 lessons.  During the lesson, Dr. Margulies stops and asks questions for the student to think about and there is always a review of the material that has already been covered.  There is also a printable transcript of the lesson if your student wanted to just print it and read it.  However, those are simply not as interesting as watching the presentations.
You can view the complete course outline for Fascinating Chemistry and even try a sample lesson HERE.
There are chemistry labs in most of the lessons.  They typically use basic household items but there are some chemicals and other supplies that you will probably need to purchase.  As with any science experiment, students are encouraged to use safety gear like eye protection and adult supervision is required.  

Each lesson has an online test which is automatically graded and the student can review his results to see what he missed.  There are also printable tests and answer keys if you want to administer the test to your student on your own.

Fascinating Chemistry does not retain the test scores so if you want to keep a copy for your records then be sure to review the quiz results and print them right away.  It does mention this on the website but I did not remember that until I went back later and couldn't find Nicholas' earlier test results that I had not recorded.
Other members of the Home School Review Crew have tried Fascinating Chemistry as well as other products such as Fascinating Biology and Fascinating Physics.  If you would like to read reviews from crew members on any of these products, please click on the banner below:

Homeschool In The Woods: Make-A-State Activity Pak {Review}

Home School in the Woods is my go-to company for hands-on history projects, lap books, activity paks, and timeline figures.  We have been learning all about Texas history over this summer so when I learned that the Homeschool Review Crew would be reviewing some Home School in the Woods products, I requested the Make-A-State Activity Pak so my children could make a wonderful scrapbook of all that they had learned about Texas.  That was an easy decision for me since it fits in perfectly with what my children are studying but they also offer other Activity Paks on the Old Testament, New Testament, Composers, and Artists.  

You can purchase the Make-A-State Activity Pak as a download for $18.95 or you can purchase the CD version for $19.95.  Both versions contain the same materials which are all printables designed for your child to complete and record key facts about what they have learned about a particular state.  The pieces for each set of facts are usually folded or cut in such a way to make cute little interactive folders, pockets, and other fun pieces.  The child writes out information or draws pictures and then all of the pieces get placed in the lap book to make a wonderful keepsake of what they have learned.


There are printables to make generic booklets and folders and pockets but there are also several state specific printable like all of the state flags.  Rachel had fun putting her Texas flag on its flag pole which is how she will later put it in her lap book.

The Activity Pak is intended to be a supplement to whichever curriculum you choose to use.  However, as a bonus, it does include a one page information sheet about each state which makes for a good reference when completing some of the activities, like the Key State Facts..

All of these little pieces and booklets will get glued into the lapbook base.  Here is a short video on how that goes together.  You just need a folder, two sheets of cardstock paper, and some wide packing tape.

Once the base piece is made, all of the little pockets and booklets get glued into it.  Some kids, like my daughter, love this part.  She wants to put everything together herself.  Other kids, like my son, don't get as excited about this part.  He just likes the finished product. Either way, there are easy to follow instructions to help your child put the lap book together in just the right way so it all fits.  The final result is just beautiful!

I love that some of the pieces come with special tabs that can make the child's artwork "pop" up when opened.  It's the extra touches like this that make me always go back to Home School In The Woods for products like this.

Pros: The Make-A-State Activity Pak comes with very creative and fun lap book pieces that are already designed for you.  It comes with easy to understand instructions which make printing and putting it all together a very simple process.  The activities are straight forward so my children were able to add all of the needed information on their own after we had discussed it or read the information on our own.  It is a great way for them to review what they have learned and also created a book of their own to refer back to.  It is very affordable and can be used with multiple children in the same family. 

Cons:  My only read con is that the prep work can be very time consuming.  In my case, I like to do all of the printing and cutting out of the pieces myself and then just have my kids complete the information.  But there are so many wonderful booklets and activities that there was a lot of cutting involved.  My husband has encouraged me to let the kids do the cutting out themselves next time and I just might do that.  

The Make-A-State Activity Pak also comes with a bonus Name That State File Folder Game that you can make.  It was easy to make and the kids have had fun reviewing their knowledge of the United States.  You print the map and color it then glue it in a file folder.  Print and cut out the cards, one for each state.  The cards have an outline drawing of the state on one side and facts about the state on the other side.  There are several different ways to play.  I had my 8 year old choose a card and match the outline of the state to the map then she read aloud the facts on the card.  If she matched the state correctly then she could place a marker on that state.  My older son had to choose a card and match the state but then he had to also name the capital city before he could put a marker on the map.

The Make-A-State Activity Pak creates a detailed lap book.  It can be used to supplement an in-depth study of your child's home state but it could also be used to make a Lap Book for each of the 50 states if you are doing a year long geography study of the United States.

As I've mentioned, I love Home School in the Woods for their hands-on history products.  We have used several of their products before including this other review I wrote for their Project Passport on the Renaissance and Reformation.

But in addition to the multiple product lines they already offer, Home School In The Woods is now also offering A La Carte Projects so you can purchase individual pieces and not have to purchase a complete history product.  What a great option for pulling in small projects here and there throughout the school year!

The Home School Review Crew has reviewed several different products from Home School in the Woods.  If you would like to check out some of their reviews for other products, just click on the banner below.

Sunset Sail on Grapevine Lake

Last year, we won a raffle drawing at our children's theater.  The prize was a gift certificate for a sunset sail on Grapevine Lake!  We waited until the weather warmed up and the storm season was mostly over before trying to use it.  We contacted the owner and was told that we could even take the cruise on Friday night and watch the weekly summer fireworks show at the Gaylord Texan resort from the boat!

Since it is a sunset cruise, we were told to pack a picnic dinner to enjoy on the boat.  We stopped at Subway on the way to the marina and got some subs to go.  Rachel has only been on a boat one time and she was itty bitty so she doesn't remember it.  Although she had been excited when we told her we were going on this sailboat, apparently she had been worrying a lot about it and had a tummy ache by the time we got there.  We talked for a while and she said she thought she was ok to go so we headed on out to the boat.

We were excited to get settled in a on our way.

Even Rachel quickly got over her fears and her smile beamed from ear to ear just minutes after pulling away from the marina.

The waters were calm and the day was absolutely perfect to be out on the lake.

Stuart took sailing lessons back before we had kids so I know he was having a good time being out on a sailboat again. 

There really is nothing like being on a sailboat.  

The kids explored the bow of the boat.  Rachel was loving it!

 There is a cabin down below with sleeping quarters, kitchen, bathroom, etc.

It was really the most relaxing thing we've done in a while - just enjoying the lake and each other.

At one point, the captain offered to let Nicholas steer the boat.  Of course, he said yes. 

Nicholas learned how to use the instruments way up on the tip of the sail to help him stay straight on course.  What a great experience!

There are some incredibly beautiful mansions situated on this lake.  Wow!

As we sailed on, the sun started going down in the sky.  It was really pretty to watch is set over the water.

I caught Nicholas, aka daredevil, hanging off the back of the boat.  He is always a thrill seeker.

But Mommy had to squash that adventure and I made him take a seat.

As the sun went down some more, we pulled out our dinner and enjoyed it while watching the breathtaking sunset.  No camera filters or Photoshop skills necessary.

As we made our way to the area of the lake in front of the Gaylord Texan where the fireworks would be, the sun completely went down and the moon came out.

The fireworks show was definitely amazing to watch from the lake.  The reflections on the water made it all even more brighter and colorful.

As we headed back to the marina, I caught my boy hanging off the side of the boat again.  Of course, I had to take that picture before making him sit back down.  

I had forgotten to take a picture of the boat when we first arrive so here it is at night.

It was an incredible evening that we won't soon forget.  Wow, that was the best raffle prize we've ever won!