Last year we planed cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers in these beds. We had hardly anything produce except cucumbers. It’s really too shaded for those particular plants, so this year I tried peas, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and corn. Wow! These plants LOVE this part of our yard! Behind Grace is the beginnings of my herb garden. It too is flourishing. 

In our giant clean-out I came across several things stuck on the shelf that were fun add-ons handed down to us by other families, but we had never gotten around to using! This is one of those. It teaching about map-making and reading in fun interactive way. On this page Grace learned about ocean currents and how ships have to navigate them to travel where they want. It was much harder before ships with engines! 

Beth is working through her Life of Fred here. The girls use Life of Fred several times a week as a fun supplement to our regular math lessons. It’s a great way to lighten up the tone while still teaching deep concepts. 

There is nothing quite like finding a science lesson in your own front yard! We watched as a mommy and daddy cardinal encouraged their three babies to leave the nest and then helped teach them how to fly. It was incredible! We sat on our front porch and watched for several hours. 

  I remember when I was in Middle School and we had internet for the first time. My mom worked at a local college and they gave us access at home. It was dial up, of course, and we had one e-mail address for the family, but boy did I have fun e-mailing! I didn’t e-mail my friends because I was the only who had an address. Besides that, we just had the one for the entire household! Things have changed dramatically over the years. I had my first e-mail address that was all my own when I was in high school and getting ready to go to college. We decided to let our girls have e-mail so ythey could stay in contact with family when they were much, much younger! We used a kid e-mail program that had some email filter options, but I was excited to try a one-year subscription to Kids Email Safe Email for Kids from Kids Email. I had heard great things about this company and I was not disappointed!     This is essentially a subscription based e-mail system for children which allows parents to have complete control over what they send and receive as well as prevent spam and ads from unintentionally crossing their paths. My husband and I realized we need to allow access to technology so our children can learn under our watchful eye how to navigate it all. It is a scary, dangerous world out there with numerous evils attempting to prey on our precious kids. It is difficult to know the best way to walk our children through this mine field of harmful material, but we must. I love the peace of mind Kids Email gives me as a part of this. 

I am able to have a copy sent of every email they send and receive directly to my inbox. I can personally allow or deny certain addresses from having access to their e-mail. I may allow or deny internet links, images, attachments, and even bad language. These filters give me complete control over their email usage which is perfect alongside frequent discussions about internet safety. The interface is super user-friendly and fast.

So you know as a parent this is fantastic! But what do the kids think about it? 

They love it! All of us love that it is available as an app they can use on their tablets. I like that they don’t have to access the internet to email. They also have the ability to stay in closer contact with their grandparents and cousins. We generally do not allow them to e-mail those who are not in our family, but we lift that rule in special circumstances. For instance, we had a wonderful family stay with us who are serving in ministry in Jordan. They have 4 daughters in the same age range as our girls and digital communication is really the only viable option for them to stay in touch. They don’t yet have e-mail, but I would be happy to give them our girls’ addresses because of the content control I have. We also have some other friends who are serving in other parts of the country in ministry and this is a great way to stay connected with them as well.We also have a dear friend in our church who is not able to be out of her home during the day due to a rare illness. My daughters adore her and she is a wonderful mentor to them. Email is a fantastic way for them to connect with her. 

Overall I’m very pleased and recommend this for anyone looking for a subscription based e-mail program for their kids. 
Check out what my Crewmates have to say! 

  Kids love picture books! Even though our girls have moved onto chapter books they still enjoy pulling picture books off the shelf from time to time, even my 12-year-old! Books are enjoyable, but they can also be used as a tool to start discussions or talk about hard things. I had the opportunity to review three titles from Kayla Jarmon which can be found here: http://kaylajarmon.com/books/   A Boy and His DogDying Is Part of This WorldDon’t Forget Me 

 Each title has a unique perspective delving into different areas which touch a child’s life. My personal favorite was Don’t Forget Me. I really liked the perspective of a conversation between a baby and God while the little one was still in Mommy’s womb. In addition to being a reflection of Scripture which talks about how the Lord knits us together in the womb, it also shows the stages of a baby’s growth and development. There are even very tastefully drawn images of the baby traveling through the birth canal. At the end of the book are several reference to Scripture for further study with your kids. I really love this and think it would be a great tool to use with younger children who are expecting a new baby brother or sister into the family.  

  Dying is Part of This World is a great discussion starter for kids who have questions about dying or are afraid of losing their loved ones. Unlike most books for kids about death I have seen this one doesn’t deal with a child who is actually struggling with the loss. I love this about it because our kids sometimes have questions like this, but I don’t want to to have them read a story about someone actually dying. This is a chapter book and good for older kids to read alone possibly, but I really think it makes a better read-together type of book. Again, Scripture is central and there are some wonderful discussion questions at the end of each chapter.  

 A Boy and His Dog is a sweet little story about a young little guy and his pup! One of the things we really liked about this was that the illustrated dog looked so much like our own dear puppy! This is the title I had the girls look at most. The illustrations in the title were by far my favorite. They were vibrant and full page. I really like how the relationship between the little boy and his pet is shown. They do everything together. Even sleep! This is a simple picture book which will bring back sweet memories of beloved pets as you read.

Each of these titles is in a digital format and will also have audio available in the future. My kids still prefer books they can hold in their hands, but I know many really love this digital way of reading. It is nice to look along with each other instead of having to take turns with a book like you do traditionally. Check out what my Crewmates have to say!  

  Traditional paper books are great, but we have an amazing amount of information at our fingertips with technology and our kids are drawn to it like flies to honey! When my girls learned we were going to read some new books with media enhancements and digital content, they were intrgued. Glaciers, A Lion’s World, and There Once Was a Cowpoke Who Swallowed an Ant from Weigl Publishers had my girls hooked from the start! Glaciers and There Once Was a Cowpoke Who Swallowed an Ant are geared towards kids in kindergarten through 2nd grade. Glaciers is for an older set, 3rd-6th. Although the age range is quite broad, I encouraged all of my girls to give them a try.   Here is a quick synopsis of each title. 
   This title is so much fun! It has the same feeling as the song, There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly. This light-hearted, tale will make your kids (and you!) laugh from start to finish! Because this is geared towards younger kids the digital content is not too extensive, but it is still really fun! The narrator reads the story aloud and has a lovely reading voice which is pleasant to hear and the cowboy’s voice is quite humorous. 

  This title was really interesting for my older two as well as Grace. She again enjoyed reading the book aloud, but this info grabbed her sisters a bit more than the first two titles did. I personally thought this had some of the coolest digital enhancements! Underlined vocabulary words can be clicked on to find the definition. Pictures can be clicked to access insider videos that are spectacular!  There are kid-friendly links to other websites (although we always still check these first) and slide shows too. It is good to know in advance that this has the perspective that the earth is billions of years old. This is not a huge issue for us. While we hold to a literal interpretation of Genesis, including a literal 7-day creation week, we do not isolate our children from resources which disagree with this view. It provides perfect opportunities to discuss the differences and why we believe what we do about the creation of the world.

Weigl Publishers is a brand new company for our family. I’ve never heard of them, but they were a hit all around! Rose asked what other types of books they have and if we could get some more! One aspect I loved is that the text is highlighted while being read. This is incredible for kids who are younger learners or have reading challenges. This is a great opportunity to give kids books to read, but not require them to actually do the reading if that is a struggle. It is a beautiful thing to give eager learners opportunities even when they have one area that is harder for them. 
We highly recommend this company! I’m sure you will find a title or twenty which will engage your kids! 
Check out what my Crewmates had to say!