The Electrifying Nervous System: A Moms of Master Books Review

Grace-Filled Writer

New Year…New Books! Yay for the first Moms of Master Books Review of the year!

Our selection for this first interview is absolutely delightful. It is truly a new treasure on our shelf. I always enjoy everything I use from Master Books because not only am I assured that the writing will be high quality and the graphics will be beautiful, I know I can trust the information presented to be God-honoring and edifying for my girls. I couldn’t wait to crack open The Electrifying Nervous System from Master Books (A division of New Leaf Publishing).

Dr. Lainna Callentine has created a fabulous resource for kids. She should know what she’s doing! Not only is she a medical doctor, she’s also a fellow homeschool mamma to her three children. I could tell as I read through the chapters that Dr. Callentine knows how to capture the interest of kids.

We don’t have formal science scheduled into our homeschool day because my daughter’s are blessed to be part of a learning center where they gather with other kids their age to study science each week. It is a wonderful experience for them and we intend to keep this path. At the same time, I want to keep as many science resources as possible on hand for my girls. They are always wanting to know how the world works and this is just one more excellent resource to add to our shelves.

One of the things I love about this book is the readability for kids. Many of the books I have keep my girls attention because of the fabulous graphics, but I often have to explain the information to them in terms they can understand because it was written for more advanced learners. This is definitely one title they can pull out themselves and glean so much information.

One of my favorite illustrations shows the different functions of the different sides of the brain. I teach piano and have been explaining to my students more about how their minds work as they play and why they have a hard time talking to me or even listening while playing their warm ups. The reason is simply that it is the right side of the brain which processes both language and music.

There is just so much packed into this wonderful book! I loved reading about this history of the study of the nervous system as well as visually seeing how the brain develops from conception through childhood. Ever wonder why you get a brain freeze? What about sleep and how it is connected to our nervous system? How are fevers connected to the nervous system? What about brain surgery? These questions and so many more are clearly and completely answered.

A curriculum guide is available and there are many more books planned for this series. I can’t wait to collect them all!

Disclaimer: I received The Electrifying Nervous System as part of the Moms of Master Books Team. I was not required to give a positive review. I was not compensated in any other way. 

Week in Review: January 5-9

Grace-Filled Writer

Oh the first week after break…glad we’re back at it, but I couldn’t help but feel like I needed a vacation to recuperate from our vacation! Anyone with me? But, we persevered and got a good start in the new year.

Preparing: Unit 31

We are so close…so close…to finishing up this guide. I can’t help but feel a little anxious to get to the end. I always feel this way. Sometimes I forgo the last few units if I feel like I just want to move forward, but I’m not doing that this time. Preparing is such a sweet guide and we are both enjoying it immensely. Here she’s reading about Peter the Great. We had to catch up from the previous unit learning about Shakespeare because our library had it at the beginning of the year, but not anymore when I needed it! I save a lot by using what our library has from the HOD books, but every once in a while I run into a situation like this. No biggie though. I hopped onto the ABE Books website and snagged a copy.

 History vocabulary was once a pain to get through for various reasons. This year I’m letting Rose define what words she already knows aloud and only write out the ones she doesn’t know. She likes this and does well with it. She still has to write her sentences, but this is working to keep her on task.

One of the things Rose is enjoying this year is writing poetry based from the Robert Lewis Stevenson poems we are reading each week. This week was supposed to be a multiple paragraph writing, but she chose to do a poem instead which was really liked.







Bigger: Unit 13

I really, really wanted to be to unit 17 by Christmas, but since that didn’t happen I’m letting my original plan go and be okay with that. I’m really good at planning and not so good at keeping the plans loose. But Beth is doing great and doesn’t care one bit we’re behind where I’d planned to be so I’m taking her lead in that! She had some grammar tests to finish this week that I thought she had done before Christmas, but hadn’t checked yet because of kids coming down sick and distracting me! No big deal to her though. She sort of sighed when I told her, shrugged her shoulders and carried on.

Dictation has been going quite smoothly…until right now. Beth suddenly got stuck on one particular set and we spent an entire week on it! Now we’re past it and she’s fine. Whatever mental block she faced, she overcame and I’m grateful she persevered!

Sometimes I feel a little jealous of Beth. Math makes so much sense to her and she easily handles new concepts and ideas. She loves nothing more than to work on new math concepts, as long as it doesn’t take too long! This week she’s working on geometry and building shape patterns with smaller shapes. Think pattern blocks, but for older kids. I found an app for my iPad which she enjoyed using to complete the pattern assignments.

My oldest girls really work well together and do a good job of staying on task for the most part. They have their moments of being distracted, especially Beth. Her biggest challenge is wanting to play with her youngest sister. They like to chatter while working which can be distracting for Rose so I have to get creative and sometimes send one or both out of the room to work alone. She hates this, so it is quite the incentive to settle in and focus!

Little Hearts: Unit 2

Well, after several months of waiting, Grace is finally in Little Hearts for His Glory! The first time I taught this was in 2008. I’m looking forward to this third time around and Grace is even more excited to have history and activities just like her big sisters. This is a picture of her working on her poetry for the week which she thoroughly enjoys.

This little girl is such an avid reader! She is working through the 1st grade readers for Abeka, but she’s charging through chapter books like crazy. Magic Tree House, Imagination Station, American Girl…she just can’t get enough of the written word and it makes my heart smile. She doesn’t always understand a word, but she’s quick to come and ask without being frustrated. Her older two sisters didn’t accept help as easily and I see so much benefit in her easy way of handling both questions and corrections.

When we’re done with her work for the day she begs for more, so to keep her occupied I pull out one of the many fun learning games I’ve collected through reviews, freebies, or friends who gifted them to us. This is one of her favorites currently, the Cookie Sheet Challenge for sight words. Such a fun and simple activity which is already helping her build spelling skills. You can click the link to see my review, but forgive the lack of pictures. All of the pictures from my older posts have disappeared. Boo!

Here is another fun activity. I have no clue where these little cards came from, but they are like puzzles that spell three-letter words. She loved doing this and it occupied her happily for about 45 minutes!

Okay, so there was our week. It was great and I’m glad to be done with the first week of the new year. I’m anticipating the year more now!

Odyssey Adventure Club Celebrates Turning 1 Year Old!!!!

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Did you make any resolutions or goals this year? Perhaps you made personal resolutions, or maybe your goals are family-focused. If one of your goals is to find your kids or grandkids a safe place online to have fun and to learn more about biblical truth, consider that checked off your to-do list! The Odyssey Adventure Club is celebrating their first birthday, and to celebrate, they’re offering a special promotion!

The Odyssey Adventure Club is a safe, fun environment where children can explore, create and imagine, all while developing their faith—the perfect platform for your kids to explore while they’re stuck inside this winter.

Anyone who signs up during January (promo code: BIRTHDAY) will not only receive their first month for only $5, but they will also get three Last Chance Detective audio dramas and an Odyssey Adventure Club post signed by cast and crew members.

Members receive:
—24/7 streaming access to more than 750 Adventures in Odyssey episodes (a $1500 retail value).
—A new, members-only Adventures in Odyssey episode every month.
—A subscription to Adventures in Odyssey Clubhouse Magazine.
—A web quest of video stories and online activities reflecting the biblical theme of that month’s episode.
—On-the-go access with the OAClub mobile iOS app.
—Growing access to Odyssey books, a daily devotion, access to select Radio Theatre dramas and more.

In the coming months, members will also be able to look forward to:
—An exclusive, downloadable, cut-and-fold Odyssey character craft.
—In February, members can sneak a peek at the second Candid Conversations with Connie book. 

Additionally, a portion of each Odyssey Adventure Club membership benefits Focus on the Family partner organizations, such as Carry the Cure and Mission Aviation Fellowship, providing parents with an opportunity to teach children about the value of serving others. The Odyssey Adventure Club hopes to spend another 25 years hand-in-hand with parents seeking to teach biblical truth to their children while inspiring the theater of their imagination.

To learn more about the Odyssey Adventure Club, visit www.oaclub.org, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The Princess Spy: A BookLook Blogger Review

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Who doesn’t love a spy novel? How about a princess story? In my mind, those two do not really go together, which is what intrigued me about this novel. Neither genre are typically one which pulls at me, but I thought I should give this a try and boy am I glad I did!


The background for this story is a princess who is struggling to find her match for marriage. While her father and mother have done their best to find the perfect mate, but Margaretha does not fit well with any of the men she has been paired with. Her outgoing and talkative personality turn many men away or force her to tell her parent’s she’s not interested.

While her latest beau shows some promise, she is still not drawn to him in the way she wishes. Still, she tries her best. At the same time a stranger has appeared on her father’s land and she is one of a few privy to his arrival. He speaks a language foreign to her German ears, yet he intrigues her.

This delightful mystery unveils with each turn of the page and I was quickly drawn into the intrigue. Unexpected twists and turns paired with romance create a beautifully woven tale which you will be unable to put it down!

This is the first novel I have read by Melanie Dickerson and I enjoyed it so very much I’m looking forward to reading more of her works soon. I’m sure you will love this as much as I did!

Moses Leads the People: A BookLook Blogger Review

Grace-Filled Writer

My girls are always excited when I get new books for them to review. This time I received Moses Leads the People, an I Can Read book from Zonderkids. This book is part of the Adventure Bible series. She also reviewed the bigger kids full version of the Bible which she absolutely loved. This shorter version of the history of Moses is perfect for her and right on her reading level. 
This is a great series of books to use with early readers because for many kids they are already familiar with what happened. Grace was so proud of herself to be able to read this on her own. She was quite giddy as she ran off to her room to read during her afternoon quiet time. She returned about 20 minutes later and said, “Mommy! I read all the words by myself!”
The beautiful pictures only add to the loveliness of this book. The artistry engaged my daughter as well. She spent quite a bit of time gazing at all the lovely illustrations while she was reading. I loved watching her because she would turn a page and take in the entire illustration before starting to read the words. She was so sweet about it!
I highly recommend any books from this series for your early readers. There are several in this series from the Adventure Bible. You can find these books at Christian bookstores and online retailers. If you’re looking for a last minute Christmas gift for young readers, look no further! 

TOP 5 Moms of Master Book Reviews!

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Each year the Moms of Masterbooks team gets to pick their top five picks from all the wonderful resources we are given to review in the year. This is a tough thing to do. They are all so amazing and useful. However, since I have to narrow it down to five , here they are…

I don’t have kids old enough to use these yet, but when I do I can’t wait! This is solid, but concise, meaty and brief. It is perfect for the middle school crowd! 
Nothing short of absolutely stunning and biblically deep.
Funny, engaging, and accurate! 
Perfect for the layperson or student looking to increase their understanding of biblical languages.
And my number one pick is…..
This one kept me engaged personally more than any other. The many flood legends intrigue me so much and I loved how this book brought them all together in such a tactile way. 
Looking forward to being a part of this team again next year!
Merry Christmas everyone!

44 Animals of the Bible: A Moms of Master Books Review

Grace-Filled Writer

Do you have any animal fanatics in your house? We have three and they can’t get enough of animal stories, toys, pretend play, and visits to zoos or aquariums. The opportunity to review a book about animals in the Bible came at just the right time.

44 Animals of the Bible from Master Books (a division of New Leaf Publishing) is a fabulous resource to add to both your Bible and science collection. Every time I turned the page I was delighted with the beautiful illustrations created by Lloyd R. Hight. Nancy Johnson writes in a way which is interesting for kids to read and just delightful to study. I like how much I’m learning but also that my daughters are able to read it on their own.

There are many, many ways in which this could be used in your home. My girls love to pull books like this off the shelves and read for fun. We have quite a collection of Master Books on a low shelf (just for this reason) which is where you will find this one!

During the summer I started doing a “circle” time of sorts and each week looked at a different animal. This book is exactly what I have been looking for to incorporate into this time! It is concise enough to read in one sitting, and biblically accountable so I don’t have to re-explain why we disagree with certain facts in typical animal books. With 44 animals and our less than regular schedule this could last us for two years and then start all over again!

We recently had a chance to visit the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Without a doubt the beluga whales were our favorites. Grace especially loved these majestic creatures. While the beluga whale in particular is not mentioned, whales are. Don’t freak out, but you know how we were taught about “Jonah and the Whale” as kids, and then we were told this was wrong and the Bible says fish in the original language? Well guess what! The author assured me it very well indeed could have been a whale! Doesn’t this make you feel better? It certainly did me!

I love how the information goes way beyond just the facts, but includes the biblical references and further historical information many times as to why these animals were important in biblical times or what they represented. Because of the Scripture references on each page this could also be used as a really unique family devotional, especially if you want to change things up a little bit.

This is just one more book you can add to your collection which you can trust to be biblically accurate, engaging for your children, and continue to point them back to Scripture as a source. I am never ever disappointed with the publications of Master Books!

Disclaimer: I received 44 Animals of the Bible as part of the Moms of Master Books Team. I was not required to give a positive review. I was not compensated in any other way. 

Week in Review: December 1-5

Grace-Filled Writer

It’s been a while, right? Well my unintended break from blogging has ended. We’ve gotten past the really rough spot we were in getting work done happily and weathered a rather wicked cold. We enjoyed a wonderful visit from Grampy and Grammy from Florida, celebrated Grandpa’s (my dad’s) birthday, and had a delicious Thanksgiving feast! Oh, and we also spent a few days in Atlanta. So, now you see why I haven’t been around blogging!

JUST in time for Christmas I have an awesome giveaway to bless one of my readers with! My kids love Signing Time and they have a brand new Christmas collection just in time for the holiday!

Here is a little peek into just this past week. Maybe I’ll get some posts about our Atlanta field trips up soon!

Preschool:Finishing up…

So after Christmas I plan to have Grace begin Little Hearts for His Glory. She’s already handling Kindergarten math and 1st grade reading, so I’m certain she is ready. Honestly, she was probably ready a little sooner, but with the problems we were having staying on task and with a good attitude the last thing I wanted to do was add in another guide!

She’s been begging me to learn to tie her shoes so we pulled out the practice shoe someone gave to us a while ago. It somehow doesn’t seem possible that my littlest sweetie is old enough to be learning to tie her shoes…and be in Kindergarten! But she is, and I have to embrace it.

The big news for the week is Grace has finally mastered the correct way to write an S!!!! Yippee!!!! I have to admit the reason I am so happy about this is a little selfish. I’m not sure if you experience this or not, but at times when my girls have something academic they do not know or haven’t yet mastered I am given a raised eyebrow and the ever so subtle, “Is this something you are working on?” comment. I’m grateful these comments and looks don’t come from family, but they can be a little frustrating nonetheless. So, this is a personal victory of sorts.

Grace enjoys her end of books assessments in the ABC series from Rod and Staff. This week she said, “Is this like a test?!?!?” She thinks it’s great because she knows her big sisters take tests and so it’s just such a big deal in her mind.

My best moment with Grace this week was when she said, “Mommy, I love that you homeschool me because I get to hug and kiss you whenever I want!” Warms a mama’s heart!








Bigger Hearts for His Glory: Unit 10

We’re plugging away in Bigger Hearts and honestly it is so much easier. Nothing like completing a guide once before to make it seem like a piece of cake the next time around! Everything about school is easier with Beth. Maybe it’s because she’s heard it all before so it sounds familiar, or maybe that she isn’t quite the perfectionist that her older sisters is. Who knows, but I typically find her more laid back even if she is always asking when we’ll be done so she can go play. She’s started reading some of this history on her own by her request. I am happy to say yes most of the time because she is still comprehending and she’s moving forward with independence in her learning!

The girls did their vocabulary words on the same day this week…by accident. I accidentally had Rose’s guide turned a page ahead. Whoops! Anyway, they shared the dictionary and helped each other look for words, so maybe this happy accident will occur again!

Whenever I tell Beth it’s time for a timeline entry she bounces up and down and says, “Yay!” What more could I ask for? All my girls love history, but Beth seems to engage a bit more in the history right now. She loves early American biographies so Bigger has been a great fit for her.

This week I really started working with her on rhyme scheme. As an English teacher I really love how much literature is emphasized in the Heart of Dakota curriculum, especially poetry. My daughters are so very comfortable with poetry and I anticipate their ability to understand and analyze poetry to only increase as we progress. To begin their rhyme scheme instruction I teach them to highlight or underline the last words in each line of poetry which rhyme with each other in the same color. It is very simple and is a very visual way to see rhyming patterns. She loved it so much she begged me to go back and find the rhyming patterns in her previous poems! She didn’t really have to beg, but this is how she asked!

Last but not least, can I just say I am so happy that my daughters love grammar. I didn’t really learn to love it until my history of English class in college, but I did appreciate the order and need for it. I envisioned groans and complaints every time we cracked the grammar books, just like I experienced when I was teaching full-time. Not with these girls of mine! They love it and seem to enjoy picking out sentence parts. That’s what comes of learning in an environment without peer pressure to dislike some aspects.

Preparing Hearts for His Glory: Unit 28

My ever studious first-born rarely smiles in these pictures, but she really loves to have fun! Rose seems to separate school into a work-is-serious type of category. At least, that is how she wants to look when I’m snapping pictures! We talk a lot about diligence and the need to work this way each day. She made great effort this week to work diligently and also helped her sisters stay more focused. Such a sweet, grown up little 9-year-old!

This week Rose very much enjoyed our book-mark history project. I modified it a bit because I was concerned the original instructions would leave it too thick and break the binding in her Bible eventually. So we used 3 flat ribbons to mark sections in the Scriptures and she was so pleased she asked to make more for Christmas gifts!

Rose writes a 3-5 sentence narration (or summary if you aren’t familiar with Charlotte Mason terminology!) about one of the history readings each week. This weeks turned into a full-page! When I realized she had written so much I reminded her it didn’t have to be that long. She said, “Yes it did! There were too many things I needed to say!” I think I have a writer on my hands. Here is what her narration about the Aztecs…


The Aztecs were very civilized people. They had houses, treasure, and temples. Now the Aztecs were not Christians and they worshiped idols and sacrificed human beings to their gods. Cortes sailed to conquer them. The Aztecs thought that their ship was a bird that sent them from heaven. Cortes burned the ship so the sailors could not go back and then they started to shoot cannons which the Aztecs thought were lightening. But their leader offered him gifts. Then Cortes went into the temple to get their leader to become a Christian, but he wouldn’t, so Cortes captured him. This caused great fighting, but they were no match against shells and cannons. 

We had an excellent conversation about why what the Aztecs were doing went against God’s Word, but Cortes’ actions weren’t godly either. One of the things I’ve loved about Preparing Hearts for His Glory is how my daughter is encouraged to think critically on her own about the rights and wrongs in history. While we don’t delve into all the dirty and dark corners of the past, we touch on them enough for her to begin realizing how people sometimes do things in the name of God, without really doing them for that reason in their hearts.


We are taking our time reviewing the multiplication math facts. The first time around they didn’t seem to stick and higher level multiplication just wasn’t going to happen. I’m so grateful I paused and reflected before pushing her on to something which would cause greater frustration. As my husband is fond of reminding me, “This is why we homeschool, right?” I’m grateful for my man to remind me of this so faithfully!

I keep hearing that eventually all the spelling rules we are learning through All About Spelling and dictation will translate beyond spelling lessons. I’m still waiting for that to happen, but in the meantime, All About Spelling level four is going splendidly. Rose and Beth both typically remember the previous rules we have studied without pause. Grace will start this up in January as well…oh boy! Three levels of Heart of Dakota and three levels of All About Spelling! We’ll see how long my sanity holds out.

So there was our week. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Signing Time Christmas Collection Review and Giveaway!

Grace-Filled Writer

It has been a loooooooong time since I’ve had the opportunity to run a giveaway and I’m super excited about this one. My kids always enjoy the many products we review, but they were over-the-moon giddy! Learning Christmas signs with American Sign Language has never been more fun!


We discovered Signing Time only few years ago when my oldest daughter stared asking me if she could learn sign language. We taught my daughter basic baby signs when they were infants after two of my piano students who were sisters began teaching her at 6 months old. It was such a blessing to us and we continued to teach our next two daughters the same basic signs. I had no clue there was such a wonderful company like Two Little Hands Productions or we would have begun collecting them years ago!

The series was completed several years ago, but through crowd-funding in 2013, the Signing Time Christmas Collection became a reality. Fans of the show new and old showed their support and raised well over the amount needed for production. I’m so excited to have been chosen as one of the 25 bloggers given the opportunity to bless one of my readers with this brand-new collection for Christmas!

My girls were absolutely giddy when they started watching. Since we were reviewing the digital copy, I had a chance to surprise them and the light in the girls’ eyes as the Signing Time theme song came on was just delightful. Rose’s first comment was, “Oh! Alex and Leah are so grown up!” She’s right and I think it is just so neat that even grown up they were part of this very special Signing Time.

All of us loved learning the signs for Christmas songs. Rachel has many new songs included in this collection as well as familiar Christmas favorites. I’m so grateful she included the traditional carols as many trending Christmas shows and movies are drifting towards more modern songs. I love all Christmas songs, but the neat thing about these is my girls can sign along with their favorite carols in church on Sundays. Rose’s favorite song was the Signs of Christmas and Grace loved Silent Night. Beth said she loved them all and couldn’t pick just one!

I loved how Rachel goes over each sign prior to the songs and taught them so very clearly. My girls will be signing Silent Night with some other children as part of our annual church Christmas dinner in a few weeks. This will be a great way for them to practice!

This newest Signing Time collection is a must-have! We love it and have watched it several times already. You can now purchase either DVD copies or digital copies of your favorite Signing Time episodes. They even have a digital subscription option which can allow you access to everything produced by Two Little Hands Productions!

And now for the promised giveaway! You don’t want to miss this incredible opportunity! I sure wish I could give this to all my readers, but since only one of you will have the chance to be blessed, take a minute to earn some entries! (Pssst…some you can do every day!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bugs: A Moms of Master Books Review

Grace-Filled Writer

My girls like bugs. Honestly, I’m not a bug person at all, but I have  done my best not to project my anti-bug nature onto my girls. When they aren’t around, I run from any creatures I encounter. When the girls are in my presence, I put on my courageous pants, pull out the magnifying glasses, and we have a little moment of science…then I go get my husband to take care of it!

When I received Bugs by William Zinke in the mail, I had barely opened the package when it was snatched out of my hands. My bug-loving ladies couldn’t get enough of this! They were all there huddled around it for several days and that tells me I have a winning resource!

Just like every resource from Master Books this is a book I knew would continually point them back to the Creator all while providing accurate scientific information. I appreciate these resources so very much and am grateful to have the opportunity to learn for myself about creation in a way which honors God.

My favorite part of this book is the photography. The pictures are enormous so that even the tiniest bug is presented in all its glory. Stunning images enhance the intriguing facts. I really like that lesser known creepy crawlies are featured.

My daughters have been so excited to find out these new and interesting facts. Here is what they had to say as they read…

“Oh coooooool! You have to see this!”

“EWWWW! People eat grubs!”


“Guys!!!! You HAVE to come see this bug thing!!!!”


Want to see more of what this is all bout? Check out the video trailer…

Disclaimer: I received Bugs as part of the Moms of Master Books Team. I was not required to give a positive review. I was not compensated in any other way.