This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of K12, the leader in online education. All opinions are 100% mine.

When my kids were getting ready to start Kindergarten I was very concerned if they were ready for school.  Have I taught them everything they need to have a good head start?  Do they know all their shapes, numbers and letters? What else can I do to make sure that they are ready for the transition from preschool to Kindergarten?

K¹² Can Help!  Kindergarten readiness programs by K12. Try a sample activity today.

K¹² is the leader in online education for grades K through 12 and they are now offering two preschool programs to help preschoolers be ready for Kindergarten. They are EmbarK¹² Comprehensive and EmbarK¹² Online. Both offer a fun, innovative approach to early learning that your child will love.

EmbarK12 Online – Over 830 interactive activities to engage your preschooler.

EmbarK¹² Online was developed by educational experts and this supplemental Pre-K program makes learning fun, dynamic, and enriching. There are over 12 units of activities, each with related content and activities, covering Math, Language and Literacy, and topics from the world around them. Some of the topics include "Travel and Explore," "Our World," and "Story Time."  For a 12 month subscription the cost is $59.00. But for a limited time you can get it for 50% off by entering the promo code EmbarkSpecial when you check out!! You can purchase the EmbarK¹² Online program by clicking here : http://my.info.k12.com/IZEA_EmbarkOnline.html

EmbarK12 Comprehensive- Online and hands-on preschool program for your early learner.

EmbarK¹² Comprehensive has over 1,200 age-appropriate activities, engaging children using a wide variety of interactive multimedia and hands-on materials there are over 288 hours of activities in all! There are18 thematic units covering 6 subjects: Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Music, and Art. Examples of themes include: Family and Friends, My Five Senses, and Looking at Animals. And the cost for a 12 month subscription and all of the upgrade kits including hands-on manipulative is $286.00 per year.  You can purchase the EmbarK¹² Comprehensive by clicking here: http://my.info.k12.com/IZEA_EmbarkComprehensive.html

About K¹² Inc. 

K¹² Inc. (NYSE: LRN) is the nation’s foremost provider of proprietary technology-powered online solutions for students in pre-kindergarten through high school. K¹² has partnered with more than 2,000 school districts and has delivered more than 4 million courses over the past decade. K¹² provides curricula, academic services and learning solutions to public schools and districts, traditional classrooms, blended school programs and families. K¹² works with more than 5,000 teachers across the U.S. – the largest network of online school teachers in grades K through 12. 
The K¹² program is offered through K¹² partner public schools in more than two-thirds of the states and the District of Columbia, and through private schools serving students in all 50 states and more than 110 countries. More information can be found at http://www.K12.com.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Zubie. All opinions are 100% mine.

From wiper blades and oil changes to new tires and brake pads, my husband always forgets to do these regular maintenance items on his vehicle.  Ultimately, it costs us a fortune in the long run because it ends up causing other costly issues. You know how stressful it can be when you are on a strict budget and have unplanned car repairs to deal with.  This year we’ve made a resolution to be better about getting our vehicle maitenance done on time.  Is that one of your New Year’s resolutions?

I came across Zubie, an amazing new tech product, the other day and I am buying this for both of our vehicles to help monitor their health.  Zubie is a wireless service that helps you track and improve your driving behavior, monitor the health of your car of your vehicle and save money on repair and maintenance.  Zubie is a great idea for families like mine with a soon-to-be-driving teenager.

What Zubie does:

• The Zubie service allows you to track and improve driving behavior and also provides you real- time information on the heath of your cars systems and condition all with the easy-to-install Zubie Key and mobile app!
• Monitors and tracks speeding, sudden acceleration, hard braking, vehicle location and more
• Great for families with teen drivers!
• Save money on car repairs and prevent breakdowns including low-battery alert and simple translations of engine codes.
• No more Where R U? texts. Stay in touch with your family and friends with our secure location sharing and trip coordination features.
• Zubie is a service – not an Accessory – that uses a cellular connection to keep you, your car and it’s on-board systems always in communication.
• Share-worthy driving scores and badges make safe driving more fun!
• Zubie always-connected service works with our free Zubie app for iOS 4+ and Android 2.3etive

​If you’re a competitive person, you’ll appreciate share-worthy driving scores and badges which will motivate you (or your husband) to drive safe. The Zubie app is compatable with iOS 4+ and Android 2.3+.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of LEGO for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

We are a LEGO family.  We're not really LEGOs.. we just really like LEGOs and when I saw the new LEGO Minifigure Family holiday card that's available for anyone to make online, free, I jumped on it!   Who doesn't want to make themselves into a LEGO Minifigure?

The process to create a card is simple.  Select whether you want to create an adult, child, baby, dog, or cat, then name and customize that person.  You can customize the skin tone, facial expression, hat, hair, shirt, and pants.  Given that my son loves building stuff and being outdoors, I gave him an outdoorsy shirt.   I made my husband look like a cowboy just for the heck of it.  There is a cowboy hat but I didn't want to take it too far so I didn't give him a hat.  I suppose in another life I might like track suits so I had some fun with my minifigure and zipped on a flashy purple tracksuit with pink and white stripes.   Sassy, huh?

There are 12 cute scenes in which your family can be enjoying their holiday.   I almost chose the wild west theme to go with my husband's LEGO cowboy look but opted for something a little more subtle and realistic.  After all, this adorable card might be the closest I will get to a photo of all four of us near a Christmas tree.  🙂

Do you know what would be fun?  Have your kids create their own LEGO Minifigure Family holiday card, all on their own.  Who knows what your child will have you dressed in or where you will be.  On the beach maybe?  Or perhaps in outer space!  Yep, those are two of the 12 scene options. 

Once you’ve customized the Minifigure for each of your family members, you can download the image to your computer and share the holiday card with your friends and family via Facebook, Twitter, email, Pinterest, or direct link.

You will have a blast creating your own customized LEGO Minifigure Family holiday card!