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Family, Community, and a Free Episode of Adventures in Odyssey

July 9, 2014 Grace-Filled Writer

I’m really excited that those of us in the OAC are getting to hear the newest saga from Adventures in Odyssey before anyone else! And you are invited to hear the first episode from this album!!!! There are several story arcs within this I am loving the Comic-Connellsville part so much. Wooton is one of our favorite characters. This is going to be so much fun…

Oh! And I almost forgot that the deal has been extended to join the OAC for only $5 the first month! Check out that deal below.

For a limited time, you can listen to a new episode of Adventures in Odyssey for FREE! Album 58, The Ties that Bind, will be available this fall for digital download and CD purchase, but if you join the Odyssey Adventures Club, you can listen to the full album now! Guess what? The $5 special held last month was extended through the end of July, too, so you can join in the fun for only $5! Here’s what part one is about (which you can listen to for free HERE):

It’s a time of surprises as Wooton becomes the celebrity guest at Comic-Connellsville and Whit finds himself in conflict over the upcoming “Let’s Get Together Festival” in Odyssey. Plus, hear an interview with writer-director Paul McCusker about the entire 14-part series.

Album 58 was inspired by Focus on the Family’s The Family Project, a 12-session small group experience that explores the theological, philosophical, and cultural underpinnings of the traditional family, and combines that information with inspiring stories and practical tools to help 21st-century families thrive. One way families can carry out God’s design for families is by serving their community—right where God has planted them, being His hands and feet together. Want to serve your community with your family, maybe make a day of out it? Here are some fantastic ideas from some Adventures in Odyssey bloggers and club members:

Make scarves through the year and deliver them to your local homeless shelter at the start of winter, or regularly donate food to your local food bank. —Shirley
Our family likes to help with Meals on Wheels. We also do reenactments of the Civil War and WWII to help educate people on history. I like to show my kids that we should be servers and givers by taking meals to people who need them (i.e. baby just born, someone died, someone had surgery, etc.). —Erin
We have been visiting a nursing home with friends once a month. The kids just sing and then we fellowship, but the ladies love it! —Lisa
We make lap blankets for nursing home residents and take the time to visit with them. We also collect food for the local food pantry. —Donna
We make blessing bags to give to the homeless when we encounter them. We also donate clothes and food to a local shelter. —Amy
Our MOPs (Mothers of Prechoolers) group supports our local Pregnancy Support Services with donations, gifts, and notes. We also supports the Durham Rescue Mission, which helps people break free from addictions and restore families. —Melissa
We live in a very rural area. Our church serves two of the poorest zip codes in the state, and about a decade ago, they started operating a food pantry out of a closet. It has expanded since then, so we now use the closet for storage, but the pantry is basically a classroom. The kids and I serve over there a lot. My 17-year-old and I go to Care & Share (50 miles away) to get food to bring back to the pantry. All of us help unload and stock shelves. On pantry days, everyone can get involved with helping people go through the line, playing with the kids, carrying boxes out to cars, etc. There are so many hungry folks, especially in the summer when school breakfasts and lunches aren’t available, and helping a bit to put food on some tables is such a blessing for us all. —Debra
We pack food bags each month for the homeless and needy through a thrift store that offers an outreach to the community. We also help clean our church and our Sunday school. —Michele
We work through our AHG troop to do several service activities a year. My girls just recently made bracelets they are selling, which 100% of the profits goes to Hope House in Africa to help young girls. —Sarah
Our church works with a homeless shelter in downtown Atlanta. We cook food ahead of time, and when our schedules allow we ride down with the group to serve the food. My son always reminds me when we haven’t been for awhile, so it’s something he looks forward to. —Maria
We do lots of random acts of kindnesses within our community: pay for others’ meals, leave change at a vending machine, hand out Gatorade/granola bars to people on the side of the road asking for food. We also love to support Mobile Loaves and Fishes. —Kathryn

Did that provide some ideas to give your family service activity the kick-start it needs? What other ideas do you have for serving your community? Share in the comments!

Disclaimer: As one of the OAC bloggers I have received a membership to the OAC for purposes of review and other Adventures in Odyssey resources from Focus on the Family. These opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.

Week in Review: June 16-20

June 24, 2014 Grace-Filled Writer

Summer is so wonderful and free of restrictions…and sometimes summer drives me absolutely loopy! I do well with structure and so do my girls, but we all like the freedom of summer. As we move forward through our third year of summer vacation while homeschooling I’m trying to figure this entire thing out and here is what I’ve come up with:

1. Keep a plan, but keep it loose. I want to have time to say, “Yes!!!!” when a good friend invites me to the museum or invite them to the pool. I want to say, “Yes!” to playing Dutch Blitz for the thousandth time. So far this is working.

2. Remember morning is best for outside time. It gets crazy hot sometimes here in the south in the afternoon, not to mention our rather predictable mid-summer thunderstorms! I’m still working on this, although I forget sometimes.

3. It’s the time to try new things! I get some great ideas during the school-year, but can’t always figure out if they will work practically. Summer is the perfect time to try them out. This is going really well!

So we’re doing some math…

Reading some literature…

Learning from God’s Word…

And trying out some new pastimes…

And we’ve been learning some Greek! The dollies are joining us too. You can read my full review here!

It’s Not Greek to Me!: Moms of Master Books Review

June 24, 2014 Grace-Filled Writer

I have been so excited about reviewing this new DVD from Master Books! It’s Not Greek to Me by Todd Friel came in the mail when my girls were right in the middle of a horrible summer fever, so we didn’t get to start it right away, but even in her feverish state Rose perked up when she saw it.

My eight-year-old Roe has been pestering me for a while to learn biblical Greek. I’m not at all opposed to this, but I didn’t want to get into a full curriculum at her age and really didn’t know where to begin. Her interest came when she realized this was one of the classes her grandfather teaches at seminary. In 2nd grade he taught her to write her name in Greek and she does this all the time! This is a great course for beginners. Todd Friel explains that this is perfect for the everyday layman in the church as well as those who will be going on to study biblical Greek in a scholastic setting. While this is geared towards a slightly older age bracket, my daughter has really enjoyed it so far. We’re just taking it slow and repeating lessons before moving on.

So here is Rose, completely natural, I promise! She is wholeheartedly focused and genuinely enjoys these lessons. Friel is quite humorous, but I wasn’t certain she would catch all he said. Her favorite line in the introductory lesson was when he was talking about the benefits of learning biblical Greek and stated, “You’ll learn English gooder!” She really got a kick out of that. You can see she is intent. She was so intent in fact she didn’t even realize I was taking pictures.

We had some other students join our class as well. The dollies were actually already seated here, but Rose asked if they could stay while she watched when she realize I was starting to pick them up. These sweet little girls were also very studious although they didn’t want to take any notes.

Rose uses the note pages from the separately available Intro to Biblical Greek Parent Lesson Planner. This is excellent and well worth the price. Included is not only plans for how often to work through the DVDs, but also note pages and practice sheets to ensure retention. I strongly recommend purchasing this guide along with the DVD in order to get the maximum usefulness and benefit.

I honestly wasn’t sure how well this would go over with Rose. She was so very excited to have the chance to learn Greek, but as I stated before, this is geared for students a little older. However, Friel’s manner is very engaging and he is as clear at teaching as he is entertaining. She begs me to do more lessons, but I’m trying not to go too quickly with her. I’m surprised just how much she is really enjoying this. I appreciate that Friel expresses this is a beginners course, something to precede full-on Greek training. I have no idea if she’ll want to go further with this language, but it is an excellent place to start and to see if it is something that interested your student.

I also think this is excellent for anyone who simply wants to know more about the Greek language for your own personal study. After seeing the first few lessons with Rose I’m planning on joining her in these lessons. I said before that my dad teaches Greek. I remember having the same desire to learn as Rose when I was younger, but just felt too overwhelmed with all. I believe we will both enjoy our toe-dip into this ancient biblical language.

Disclaimer: I received It’s Not Greek to Me as well as the Parent Lesson Planner 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.

Four Weddings & a Kiss: A Book Look Blogger Review

June 16, 2014 Grace-Filled Writer

This was such a fun book to read! I usually don’t enjoy books very much with stories be four different authors, but I’m so glad I had the opportunity to review this one. What made this compilation of books unique from others I have read was the frame story surrounding it. I really liked that there was a back-story to the stories leaving me wanting to see how the back story ended up!

Each of the four stories was written by different authors, but the book did not have a disjointed feel at all. Each had unique characters who developed and grew from beginning to end. For me, that’s what makes a good book. I love reading a novel where the characters travel on an emotional or spiritual journey. Each story had unexpected moments which is something else I like. I love historical fiction and many times they can be quite predictable, so I like when I’m taken by surprise.

The story frame was what interested me the most. I loved how it opened with 5 traveling preachers finishing up evangelistic meetings. Four of the ministers are seasoned while the fifth is new to ministry and has preconceived notions about what his life and his wife should be like. It is clear he is distraught and after discovering the issue has to do with a young woman he has felt the need to distance himself from because he is a minister the other four proceed to share some stories with him. The stories are all about other couples who they have had the privilege to know and marry. I really loved that the frame story was revisited at the end and we were given a resolution to that as well.

I can’t pick a favorite of the four stories. Most of the authors were new to me, but Robin Lee Hatcher is an author I’m very familiar with and I was not a bit disappointed with this novel! Her characters as always were well developed and interesting. What pleased me most was that the other stories were equally well developed and captivating. I’m pleased to say I’ve found 3 new authors to follow!

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook.com® <http://BookLook.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Week in Review: June 9-13

June 15, 2014 Grace-Filled Writer

Well, this week started out how last week ended, so to be honest we didn’t get a lot done. The girls needed to recuperate and so we pretty much didn’t do anything except rest until Thursday. I’m so glad this week of illness is past us! Fevers are gone and appetites have returned with voracity.

Oh, and one more great bit of news is that you’ll be seeing some really exciting things from Adventures in Odyssey! I’m a huge fan of this radio drama series from Focus on the Family. I’ve listened since I was a little girl in the 80’s and our entire family still enjoys them now. Be on the lookout for updates and fun activities from the new Odyssey Adventure Club! The first activity is already posted here.

Beginning of the week…

End of the week… Not a lot of details. I’m just glad we got through a couple of days of work and the girls were feeling better!

Summer Activities for Adventures in Odyssey Fans

June 14, 2014 Grace-Filled Writer

Looking for something fun to do with the kids today? look no further!

Summer is officially here! Don’t let your kids’ boredom run rampant. Adventures in Odyssey is here to save the day. Below are some must-try ideas for summer fun! Want even more summer fun? For the month of June, you can join the Odyssey Adventure Club for only $5! More details can be found here.

Summer Activities

As a parent you are probably a big proponent of reading. Encourage your kids to dig into a book or two this summer with Adventures in Odyssey’s On Your Marks Summer Reading Challenge. Bonus points if YOU create a reading challenge for yourself as you read along with your kids!

Looking for something hands-on? Create Matthew in 3-D! Invite a few of your kids’ friends over for a play date, print off the activity sheet, and let them have at it for the afternoon (with the promise of cookies and lemonade once they’ve finished constructing Matthew).

Maybe your kids aren’t into reading, but they love math. If that’s the case, have them solve Eugene’s Sudoku!

The laundry needs to be done; the dishes need to be put away. But your kids are begging you to take them out to the zoo. Let them take a whack at Matthew’s Decoder in the morning, then make an agreement that if they figure out how to use the decoder, you’ll take them on an afternoon adventure. That’ll give you the morning to finish up your to-do list!

Join the Odyssey Adventure Club for $5!

June 14, 2014 Grace-Filled Writer

I’m thrilled, ecstatic, elated, overjoyed, and just plain giddy over this new offering from Adventures in Odyssey. I remember listening with my dad after school and he would record it for me when I missed it. When I went off to college they bought me a set to listen to for when I traveled back and forth for 6 hours. Now my husband and I are introducing Adventures in Odyssey to our girls. I’m thrilled to be part of the promotional team for this as well, so without further ado I present to you…The Odyssey Adventure Club!

Are your kids in need of a safe and fun environment where they can explore, create and imagine, all while developing their faith and learning biblical truth? Enter the Odyssey Adventure Club (AOC)!

For a limited time, you can join HERE for only $5 (regular monthly membership costs $15 for up to six users)!

Families will be able to stream the Adventures in Odyssey library, plus listen to exclusive new monthly episodes. Busy families will find 24/7 access to the content through the Odyssey Adventure Club mobile iPhone app.

Children can also read daily devotions, interact with hands-on activities and view video documentaries featuring a behind-the-scenes look into the production of the Adventures in Odyssey stories. Parents can feel confident their children are safe on the Odyssey Adventure Club website — Focus on the Family staff will be monitoring all comments before they’re publicly posted.

A portion of each Odyssey Adventure Club membership will benefit Focus on the Family partner relief organizations, including Christian Veterinary Mission, Operation Christmas Child and Compassion International. This provides parents with an opportunity to teach children about the value of giving and serving others.

Coming in July, Odyssey Adventure Club members get to listen to the brand new album, “The Ties That Bind,” FIRST before it’s available ANYWHERE ELSE!

Click here to join for only $5!

Want more summer activities for your kids inspired by the Odyssey Adventure Club? Check out this post.

Rocky Hill Fireman: Review

June 12, 2014 Grace-Filled Writer

I was so excited for the opportunity to review the Rocky Hill: Fireman series. These delightfully written stories by James Burd Brewster are a great way to teach kids about fire safety and the life of a fireman. I love the beautiful illustrations and my girls have thoroughly enjoyed each book in this series. Rocky’s motto, “Glad to do it!” is a running theme throughout the series and portrays the heart behind those who do this dangerous job.

The series follows Rocky Hill as he begins his career as a fireman. He is courageous and strong, but nervous as he starts out with his new life as a rescuer. I like how each book follows the same character. My girls love reading series and can’t wait to find out what will happen with characters next!

Rose asked if she could read aloud the stories to her sisters and I happily agreed. They are written on about a 3rd grade level and the text is easy to follow. When Rose was younger she always said she wanted to either be a fire-girl or police-woman. She’s moved on to other career goals, but still loves learning about these jobs!

Grace told me she really liked the pictures. She had lots of questions about what different things were called as they read. Beth loved the stories too and said she wished she could meet Rocky!

Ever since we took our field t rip to the fire station last year the girls have been very interested in the fire department. When we were reading these books they would stop and say, “Remember when Mr. Mark showed us this at his station?” It was fun to think back and for them to have another connection to this high profession.

I appreciate the author humanizes his main character. It is easy to think those who do such great and important work to save people are larger than life. These books are a great opportunity to show children anyone can be used to do great things. We related Rocky to our real-life fireman friend Mark and talked about what it must be like for Mark as he works.

A wonderful addition to these books are the online resources! You can download coloring pages and even join the Glad to do it Club! It is clear the author has a heart for teaching kids about fire safety and has done a great job through is books which I highly recommend.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of each book in this series directly from the author for review. I was not required to write a positive review. I was not compensated in any other way.

For the Soul: I’m tired…

June 11, 2014 Grace-Filled Writer

There you go…I said it. I’m really, really tired. I have all sorts of wonderful lovely ideas of what to write about floating around my muddled brain and all I can get out when I start is, well, the truth. A week ago my girls came down with a wicked fever caused by a mean old virus. For a full week I’ve been checking temperatures nearly every hour, praying for their healing as I watched the numbers slowly creeping up. It was a little scary at times because their fevers went high, like crazy high. You know it’s been a high fever when you see 102 and breathe a sigh of relief.

As soon as the pediatrician gave me her most likely guess as to the name of this virus I did what every good modern mother does…Hello Google! In my research here is what I found…

1. It is highly contagious in the right environment, but not too dangerous in areas kept consistently clean.
2. You are sick before you know you are sick and symptoms don’t show themselves for several days.
3. There are no long-term affects from the virus itself.
4. The symptoms mimic other ailments and it sometimes goes diagnosed.
5. There is no treatment for the virus, only symptom management.

Someone once pointed out to me that sickness in the body is a reflection of what sin does to our souls. She was not implying illnesses are always born out of sin, but that the parallels are great. I put her theory to the test and here is what I concluded.

1. When we are consistently in the right environments and keeping our home environment spiritually healthy, we are less susceptible to sin. If we get out of the habit of weekly fellowship with other believers or if our eyes are consistently viewing material which glorifies ungodliness, we’re more likely to ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit. I strive to keep our home environment as germ-free as possible. Am I striving equally to encourage godly thoughts and actions?

2. Satan is sneaky, crafty, wily. He likes to take us off guard and slowly wear down out faith-armor. I don’t even realize it most of the time. The temptations come in such sneaky ways I sometimes neglect to realize what they really are. Emotions and energy level are big ways I’m attacked. He tempts me to give into feelings of discontentment and convinces me I have every right to skip out on my morning time with God because I’m just so tired. Guess what? No matter how crafty, wily, and sneaky he gets, I’m still the one responsible for the choices I make, not Satan. I am accountable even though it may take days for me to realize I’ve fallen prey to these temptations.

3. Temptation is not going to cause long-term issues. However, giving into temptation certainly will. The more I give in, the harder it is to resist. We are given the promise that if we resist the devil he will flee from us (James 4:7), but I forget that one a lot.

4. I don’t always recognize my failings as what they are: plain and simple disobedience. All 10 Commandments boil down to relationship with God and mankind. Selflessness is the key to obedience and boy am I guilty of the opposite, selfishness! Yet, I don’t recognize it as such. I try to convince myself my actions are justified, but eventually I come to understand I have sinned and must ask forgiveness.

5. Praise God there is indeed treatment for our sinful hearts! Forgiveness and salvation are offered freely to those who seek Him. Although the illness my girls suffered through for a week had to be waited out to run its course, the same cannot be said of a sinful heart.

If you have never asked Christ to cleanse you of your sin and become your Savior, it is very simple and He is waiting to do so! The steps are simple. First, recognize and admit you are a sinner in need of a Savior (Romans 3:23) Next, believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to rescue the word from their sins. (John 3:16) Finally, confess Christ as your Savior. (Romans 10:9) The simplicity of the gospel is clear, yet we make it so much harder than it needs to be.

If you are already a Christ-follower, but find yourself falling prey to Satan’s temptations, Christ is faithful to forgive us when we ask! (1 John 1:9) Praise God for His never-ending mercies which are new every morning because I know I need them every day.

Week in Review: June 2-6

June 7, 2014 Grace-Filled Writer

So this week started out so great! And then things quickly spiraled…but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start with the awesome beginning, because it was really awesome after our previous week of testing.

Last year as part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew I had the wonderful opportunity to review an e-book from Prechoolers and Peace called Circle Time. I had every intention of using this throughout the year, but with some health issues which came up our year got a little crazy. We got through our school year successfully, but without many extras I wanted to include. I am determined to change this! There are many, many things I want to teach my girls and let them experience. Homeschooling offers so many opportunities for this and I don’t want to miss them!

This week we started phari mane conventu (Latin for Lighthouse Morning Meeting). The girls were a little unsure of what I had planned when they saw me pull this bored out! Thankful for my time planning last year it took very little time to implement what I had in mind. Each morning I have a handful of things we go over all together. We’ve never done anything like this and I had no idea what it would look like in practice!

It only took us about 30 minutes each morning. Some of the things I’m including are calendar time, hymns, Greek and Latin roots, artist study, composer study, state history, Scripture memory, and more! Some of this will change as the girls grow up, but having this time together did something I didn’t expect. It started our day in such a truly peaceful way that the rest of our day seemed to flow with ease. I’m excited to continue this habit!

For the rest of the week I had planned for lighter work. I like schooling year-round, but during the summer our schedule is much lighter so we have time to enjoy summer fun. This means we do math and language arts, but set aside our regular Heart of Dakota studies for a couple of months. We miss them, but try to still keep a Charlotte Mason feel to our day as much as possible.

Grace – Preschool

Grace is charging right on through the preschool Singapore books. They are the old versions you can’t get anymore. I don’t have the old Kindergarten set so I’m looking at what to do when she is done with these. The mathematical concepts are ones she completely understands and she really likes math!

“Mommy, can I do my counting with my foot?” Why not? So Grace counted farm animals with her cute little painted-pink toes. Win for homeschooling!

I planned on doing one of the Abeka reader’s books each week with Grace, but she is flying through them so much faster than I thought! I like following Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with Abeka readers to cement the concepts taught and I’ve found it works really well.

Our Rod and Staff ABC books also cover some math and she really likes them. My girls have all enjoyed these books. I’m so glad we found them!

Beth – 1st grade

We’re super close to being in the next grade-level and actually already are in most areas, but we don’t officially move up until July. Right now Beth is working through some vocabulary worksheets I got from Scholastic. My girls love worksheets, probably because we don’t do them constantly. She’s also found out she loves the Imagination Station books from Focus on the Family. I’m so glad she isn’t still telling me she’s too little for chapter books! She’s had the ability to read them for well over a year now, but it was a struggle to get her to want to.

I went ahead and started Beth in our 2nd grade grammar book. She told me she was nervous the first time she saw the book! We use Rod and Staff grammar and we do at least 2/3 of each lesson orally. She said she really liked grammar after the first day!

Continuing our cursive writing! I really like this book from Classical Conversations, but I’m not certain where we’ll go after this. We’ll have to look at all our options.

This is my $1 abacus from a yard sale in FL while we were there. What a great buy! I’ve been wanting to get one for Grace, but Beth’s math lesson this week incorporated it easily. I wish now I had bought the other one there.

This was such a great way to teach addition with bigger numbers. Math Mammoth has been such a great curriculum change. I couldn’t be happier after several years of feeling like I was floundering.

Rose – 3rd Grade

Rose is super-duper excited to be finishing up her 3rd grade math and moving right onto 4th grade. We now only rarely have tears with math and this is a wonderful, wonderful change! She’s also becoming less serious which I love. She likes being silly right when I’m about to take a picture!

She’s continuing to read Treasure Island (the original) having already completed a young readers version. I taught her how to utilize the tablet dictionary while she reads and her vocabulary is very quickly expanding!

The girls work so well together on different things. We truly have a one-room schoolhouse style going on and I like it. Rose is studying her vocabulary here. Vocabu-Lit is still the curriculum of choice and I’m happy with how much Rose loves it.

Both Rose and Beth are working on their writing skills with another Scholastic book I found during their e-book sale. I really like the way it presents laying out your thoughts for formal writing. I’m still completely sold on the Heart of Dakota writing path, but I like utilizing this as well. Sometime they get frustrated with the writing process, but having taught middle school for several years I know so many kids in this age range have no idea how to organize their thoughts. This is an excellent way to begin the process.

Something new I’m trying is having all three girls work on the same subject at the same time even though they are on different levels. This has helped me as their teacher be able to focus better on the subject I am teaching them.

That was what Monday through Wednesday looked like…then it started to look more like this…

Yup. a fever came to our home and knocked all three of my little sweeties down! Bummer, right? It hit them hard and fast. They’re still not feeling themselves, but they’re starting to feel some better. Lots of sleep, popsicles, gatorade, water, and movies have helped quite a bit!

Hoping lessons are back to normal starting Monday!