Tag: review

Understanding Child Brain Development from Family Hope Center: Review

Grace-Filled Writer
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The brain is an amazing thing. It still holds so many mysteries for doctors, researchers, and therapists, yet amazing understanding of our central processing organ has developed over the last few decades. So much understanding of new ways to manage and treat abnormalities are being understood so families can succeed. Not too many years ago we would in our history a push to lock away those who did not function “normally” in society. We still refer to many issues as illnesses, indicating medication alone is needed to treat the individual. Family Hope Center has a different approach, a unique approach…a successful approach. 

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The DVD Understanding Child Brain Development will take you on a journey to understand the workings of the brain. Because Family Hope Center looks at different developmental issues as an injury rather than an illness their therapy is much different, yet you cannot begin to understand the treatment programs until you understand the how and why of brain function. This DVD gives hope to families who may have felt hopeless otherwise. 

Although my daughters are not affected by any developmental delays, this has been a profoundly interesting seminar giving me great insight into how the brain actually functions. Matt and Carol Newell have taken complex research and science and presented it in a format which is understandable and manageable for those of us not familiar with the inner-workings of the mind. Terms like mid-brain and pons are now words I understand and can talk intelligently about. As I watched this DVD many families with kids who struggle came to mind and I would love for them to view this. I have had so many conversations with parents who feel hopeless as their child is evaluated and medicated each year with little to no progress academically. This DVD shows another way, a way without medication and away towards healing. 

There were two particular parts of the DVD which intrigued me in particular. The first was the effect of crawling. Our society pushes children to move very quickly through the crawling phase through the use of walkers, exer-saucers, and doorway jumpers. While my kids used those, they were often on the floor crawling around, yet some children get very little time doing this. One of the interesting treatments used to help heal the injured area of the brain is to practice crawling. I was completely fascinated by this news. 

The second thing which intrigued me was the reference to research by Dr. Masaru Emoto about how water molecules are affected by different outside forces. Seeing highspeed photographs of frozen water crystals after water had been exposed to television radiation and microwaved has given me pause. If you haven’t heard of this yet, take some time to research. I’m not in any way advocating all of his theories, but it is a very fascinating topic and makes me wonder how much harm we may be doing our bodies because of technology.



Take a moment to watch an introduction from Andrew Pudewa from the Institute for Excellence in Writing.

I would encourage all parents, no matter the state of your child’s abilities, to view this DVD. It will definitely open your eyes to what is going on within your child. It costs $19.00 and can be ordered by calling 610-397-1737 or online Understanding Child Brain Development from IEW. 


Check out more reviews from my Crewmates by clicking below!
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I Am Ruth: Review

Grace-Filled Writer

Ruth…a poignant love story…a hopeful legacy…an unwavering loyalty…and it’s all true.

Our world wants to denounce the truth of Scripture and portray it as irrelevant myth. Doing so takes away the accountability laid out for us by our Creator. Rather than living life in a way which serves God and puts the good of others above our own our society pushes us to live selfishly, being more concerned about our own benefits than even those we are closest to. We know better, but sometimes we need a reminder.

Ruth has always been one of my favorite books in the Bible. As a girl I was drawn to the love-story between Ruth and Boaz. As a woman I am drawn to the parallel love-story of our Savior, our personal kinsman-redeemer.


I am Ruth from Master Books (a division of New Leaf Publishing) is stunning, simply stunning. I vividly remember the Bible storybook my parents read to me with a real-life person photographed as Ruth. Perhaps this is what initially drew me in. The rest of the book’s pictures were mostly paintings, merely an artists renderings. Just like then I was drawn to the realism. I once again have the visual images of real people and it was like reading the biblical account for the first time.

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The beautiful images taken on location in Israel capture the imagination. They are so beautiful and full of emotion you can imagine the individuals speaking the words of Scripture as you read. I felt the despair as famine and heat forced Elimelech to feel desperate enough to leave the land God had given his ancestors.  

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Weep with Naomi and her daughters-in-law as they journey back to Israel and eventually part with Orpah. 
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Listen in to the conversations Ruth and Naomi have as they discuss the wheat Boaz has allow Ruth to glean.

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Celebrate the marriage of Ruth and Boaz followed by the birth of Obed as you see the joy-filled faces of the couple and Naomi. 
I think what struck me most about this book was while the photography by Kenneth Berg drew me in, the excellent exposition of the book kept me reading. Each chapter of Ruth is written in full form, but before you get to that Brenda Duff fills in the historical details and significance of various aspects of the Jewish culture. Never has Ruth held so much meaning for me personally. 
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I’m not the only one who loves this book! Check out what others have to say by clicking on the link below!
Disclaimer: I received I am Ruth 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. 

Reading Kingdom: Review

Grace-Filled Writer
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This year I’m getting ready to teach reading for the third time. The first time I began reading instruction with my oldest I felt completely inadequate and unprepared. My background is middle school education and so even though I took a reading class in college, I never thought I’d be teaching it. Then both of my oldest daughters, always eager to learn, started asking, begging to learn at age three. While I didn’t start their reading instruction that young, they were reading on a 1st grade level before they turned five.

And now there is almost four-year-old Grace. The sweet little thing is so incredibly distraught she doesn’t know how to read yet, but repeatedly tells me she doesn’t want me to teach her. I’m not a fan of teaching reading to very young children, but when children show an interest in any kind of learning I do not want to hold them back. She is incredibly advanced and her hesitancy has surprised me. I had decided to hold-off on her reading instruction for a while until I had this chance to review Reading Kingdom. This is a computer based reading program to be used with pre-readers through a 3rd grade reading level. I hesitate to list an age because kids learn at such different paces, but the website says it is intended for ages 4-10. It allows children to move at their own pace, requires mastery of a skill before moving forward, and as excited my little reader. The price is $19.99 per month or $199.99 for an entire year with discounts for multiple children. A 30-day risk-free trial is also available to try out first.

Grace has enjoyed using this almost every day…so much in fact she asks, “Can I play my owl game?” even after school has finished for the day. She started by taking an assessment which placed her where she needed to be. Parents are firmly instructed not to help at all with the exception of helping with hand control. This assures the child is accurately placed and will be able to work on their own. I followed this guideline and since Grace is used to using the computer I didn’t need to help her with the mouse at all. 

The program then begins at the appropriate level. I wish there was a bit more indication of what the levels were, but this is not preventing her from moving forward. I do really like the reports which you can access at any point. She has moved on much more rapidly than I expected. I’m not certain how her progress is measured, but I can see she has completed 10% of the entire program and 17% of the current level which is working with letters. I would really like a better understanding of where she is, but I am pleased there is a report to see.

Grace works on her own needing no assistance beyond accessing the website. She loves the owl. I’m not sure what has captured her about the character exactly, but she is particularly fond of it. She will sometimes complete more lesson in one day, but since I know the program will not allow her to progress without mastery this is fine. This is an example of what she is doing now. She is asked to identify the letters listed on the top row in the same order on the bottom row using the keyboard. There is an option to use the actual keyboard or an on-screen mouse activated keyboard. I have chosen the latter at Grace’s request. I think this is better for her age anyway because she can keep her focus on the screen. 
I would recommend this program to those looking for computer-based reading instruction, but from this point on I will only be using it to supplement the phonics curriculum I have already used for a couple of reasons. The first is I really do not care for computer-based only instruction for our family. Kids spend so much time in front of screens I prefer to do most of their learning through books and experience. The second is I disagree with some of the philosophy behind this reading program. While it is working well and Grace enjoys it I find some flaws in their assertions about reading instruction and why traditional approaches are failing the majority of students. 
To read more reviews of this program from my Crewmates click below!

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N is for Noah: Review

Grace-Filled Writer

Have you ever considered teaching theology to your preschooler? I hadn’t. We have taught her for a long time about how Jesus died on the cross to pay for her sins and how we are all sinners, but this is about as deep as it went. I suppose I just fell into the trap of thinking there is no way a preschooler could comprehend much deeper. I’m so grateful for Master Books (A division of New Leaf Publishing Group) and how they are giving me opportunity to rethink this type of thinking. The most recent book I’ve had the privilege to review as a Mom of Master Books has challenged me to

Reviewing N is for Noah has been unbelievable fun. When I found out it was coming to review I was mildly interested as I thought it was simply going to be the story of Noah’s Ark told in the framework of an alphabet book. Cute, yes, but nothing really different. I couldn’t have been more wrong! Prior to this publication are two other books along the same idea called A is for Adam and D is for Dinosaur. I would love to have the first two in this series after having experienced this one!

Grace loves this book. We have been doing one page a day much to her dismay. The spiral bound book follows the story of Noah, but teaches so much more than this. Through a simple rhyme preschoolers learn why there is sin, why we need a Savior, who that Savior was, that we can trust the Bible to be true…the list just goes on and on!

On the reverse side of the picture and poem is a teacher page which tells you what to say. Am I the only one who loves scripted lessons? There are times when I’m at a loss as how to explain something. I typically know the answer, but translating that information into elementary-ese…let alone preschool-ese…presents quite the challenge! Ken and Mally Ham took this challenge and created a resource to empower parents and teachers with accurate, age-appropriate answers. In addition there are activity ideas, additional biblical connections, and discussion questions…so many options for you to further your study. I think this would be a great resource for anyone planning an alphabet study as well.

Are you ready for another awesome thing about this book? There are free coloring pages to use with your children! My girls adore coloring anyway and I love how many of Master Books publications have free resources offered on their website.

This is one of the most doctrinally sounds preschool resources I have ever had the opportunity to use. Click below for more reviews if this fabulous book from my fellow Moms of Masterbooks!

Disclaimer: I received N is for Noah 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. 

Draw to Learn from Notgrass: Review

Grace-Filled Writer
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Bible is one of the subjects I never have to struggle teaching is Bible. My husband and I are both passionate about the Word of God and even more passionate about instilling a love for His Word in our girls. While I was resting after their birth I have vivid memories of my husband singing Jesus Loves Me and telling them the plan of salvation, just how much God loved them. We felt as if their baby dedications were more for us, a parent dedication if you will, as we committed before our congregation to train up our children in the ways of the Lord. It is with this mindset we entered into homeschooling, knowing our curriculum would always start with solid teachings in the foundations of Scripture.
photo untitled2_zps9392029d.jpgThe opening paragraph on the the Notgrass Company website talks about creating materials with a Christian worldview to teach the hearts, souls, and minds of our children. That one sentence sold me on wanting to review material from this family-run company. We were blessed to review their Draw to Learn Bible study material. This product is designed for use with children of all ages and encourages them to illustrate what they have learned from the Scripture they have studied. Available in both print ($14.95) and digital ($9.95) there are multiple options for your needs.
We used the spiral bound book on Proverbs. It seems quite simple at first glance with Scripture references at the top, empty space for drawing, and directions at the bottom. Although as simple as it may seem, it has profoundly deepened my oldest daughter’s thought process when it comes to Scripture. We have been using this in addition to our regular Bible material, and she doesn’t mind the extra study one bit! She is the one of my girls who loves all things artistic so this has been an excellent for her. 
One aspect I really liked about this Bible study is it is very personal to her. She reads the passage and then illustrates what she has gleaned after reading the short instructions at the bottom of the page. It has been amazingly insightful for me to see what impacts her. I suppose up until this curriculum I felt the need to lead her to understanding. This may have been true to a certain extent up to this point, but at eight years old she is ready for me to let go of her hand and allow her to discover God’s Word on her own. This has been a beautiful way to start her on that journey.
There are no right and wrong answers for this. There are suggestions at the bottom of each page, but they are suggestions only. My daughter has taken on this curriculum with great joy. She’s used to me giving her new things to try out and she enjoys the change in routine from time-to-time, but she rarely asks to continue with a curriculum in particular. She generally loves school and like her sisters is incredibly easy to teach. This time, she asked specifically, “I get to keep doing this, don’t I? I really like it!” So be assured, this will continue to be a part of our weekly learning. 
Click below to read more reviews of Notgrass products from my Crewmates!
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Bible Study for All Ages: Review

Grace-Filled Writer
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Learning Together…This is something I’m learning more about and seeking to do with my girls. I still want them to have their own age-appropriate studies for history, science, math, and language arts, but in other areas I am starting to appreciate more and more the benefits of corporate learning. Corporate learning in a classroom environment is completely different than in our home environment…thank goodness! I was a full-time classroom teacher for a couple of years and there were so many things which made me dislike corporate learning. What is beautiful in our homeschool is we are already learning corporately. I now have the opportunity to do it intentionally rather than haphazardly. 
Bible is one area where corporate learning just seems natural, especially with my youngest turning four in just a couple of months. Bible Study Guide for All Ages is a wonderfully simple and easy way to start doing this if you are looking for something more in depth than just family devotions. We have been starting our homeschool day with this a few times a week. It took some time for me to adjust to using both the Beginner and Intermediate levels at the same time, but I quickly worked out the logistics of the process and found this to be a very enjoyable part of our day!
Considering the range of uses and ability to reuse of many of the products (with the exception of the student pages) the prices are very reasonable.

$5.95 per set of 26 lessons
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Studying the Bible more in depth than family devotions is something the girls have been doing individually, but not together. This was a really fun way to start doing this all together. It took about 20 minutes to complete a lesson if we did it all at once, but it could easily be broken into sections. Each of the pages is divided into smaller boxes with Scripture references and activities which are age appropriate. 

I love that the core was actually reading Scripture instead of just a Bible story. I think Bible story books are wonderful and incredibly helpful for beginning to teach children about the truth of God’s Word. However, they frequently fall short of getting into the deeper understanding and theology learned when studying God’s Word directly.

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One fun aspect with the Beginner Student Pages is the inclusion of the age-appropriate Beginner Timeline. This timeline starts with a picture of the Bible and explanation of the two parts of Scripture. Foundational teachings such as these are often neglected at the youngest ages, but why? Children at a very young age can understand and comprehend things on a much higher level than we often give them credit for. 
Grace really liked learning what her sisters did and having her own page to work on rather than just looking at her sisters’ papers. I loved the inclusion of other skills such as color recognition and counting. These pages are very well-written in way even the youngest children can understand, but also challenges them to think critically. She also was very good about waiting patiently while her sisters finished their more challenging pages.

photo bible-book-summary-cards_zps28dfa8ff.jpgInstead of a timeline the older children have Bible Book Summary Cards. Wow! I can’t say enough about how much I love these. Each card summarizes a book of the Bible so fully, do in depth, even adults will find themselves learning from them. I feel like the word summary really doesn’t do them justice. Something more along the lines of In Depth Understanding of Theological Highlights and Biblical Truths would be more accurate…but I suppose it would be a bit much!

I chose to go up a grade for the Student pages for my older girls even though Beth is technically only in 1st grade. Her reading level is well beyond her grade-level as is her biblical knowledge and understanding. The latter is because we have been teaching the about the Bible from the time they were just infants. Some would say it is because my husband is a pastor, but no matter what his vocation we would still have trained our children in God’s Word from an early age. Beth was saved a year ago and has continued to grow in her faith. I love how these pages disciple and train more than most material for this age.

Rose is the one of my girls who shows a great love for the Word of God. She would do Bible studies all day long if I would let her! She has such a sweet spirit and sensitivity to Scripture. She is always up for trying new things. She is right in the target grade range of 3rd-4th grade as she has just entered her 3rd grade year. She said her favorite part was, “Everything!” You can’t beat that endorsement!

photo childrens-songs-cd_zps6d5f5503.jpgThe last item we reviewed was the Children’s Song CD Set which is intended for use with all of the levels. I am a huge advocate for teaching through song as much of my knowledge, biblical and otherwise, comes from tunes I learned as a child. These are simply written songs, some familiar and some new, which will aid with memory of many biblical lists such as Jacob’s sons and the apostles. Also included are some of the classic Sunday school songs I grew up with like Climb Up Sunshine Mountain. These are songs I have taught my girls, but it is getting harder and harder to find them recorded.
For the future I plan to do one page a week and just do one-two boxes on that page a day. Our days are already full and I don’t want to rush through this great teaching tool. Going at a slower pace will allow for more discussion and for the truth of God’s Word to penetrate more deeply into their hearts.
Click below to see reviews of these and other levels from my Crewmates!

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Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura from Legacy Documentaries: Review

Grace-Filled Writer
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Did you grow up watching Little House on the Prarie? The series ended when I was only 3, but I remember well watching reruns. My absolute favorite episode was when Almanzo started driving Laura to her first teaching job. Although Laura had pined for Almazon since she first laid eyes on him, this was the first time when he showed interest in her. Watching the television series instilled in me a desire to read the novels. Although I never completed the entire series, I thoroughly enjoyed the stories of a simpler time and the closeness of family. 
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One of the books I have yet to read is Farmer Boy. The documentary Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura from Legacy Documentaries takes the viewer through the journey of Almanzo’s life. This beautiful documentary, narrated by Dean Butler who played Almanzo on the well-known series, is $21.95 and well worth the cost. While this will very much appeal to those who read the Little House series (typically 8-13 year-olds) the entire family can enjoy this documentary. 

There were many aspects which I liked about this DVD. One was being able to take a first-hand look at the Wilder Homestead where Almanzo grew up. Since this is located in New York we cannot take a day trip there, so this is the next best thing! We thoroughly enjoy exploring historical sites on our vacations and this is one I hope we get to visit one day. I didn’t even know it existed until I watched the documentary. 
Something else I liked was the inclusion of passages from Farmer Boy as well as illustrations from the novel. The connections between the literature as well as the actual homestead showed the real-life setting in a lovely way. Historical actors portrayed various individuals within the Wilder family as a narrator read from poignant moments in the novel bringing new life to the beloved story. 
There are two chapters on the DVD and the second was just as enjoyable as the first. It explores in more detail the Wilder Homestead which you can visit. Various rooms are showcased as well as various events available throughout the year at the Homestead. This has made me not only want to take a trip to Malone, NY, but also the other Laura Ingalls Wilder historical sites around the country.
photo legacyoflauraingallswilder_zpsafffba0c.jpgI’m a documentary nerd. I absolutely love a good documentary showing me history as well as telling me about it. The one thing I miss about not having cable in our home is the History Channel. This was a lot of fun to review because it has been a while since I’ve seen a well-done, interesting-to-me documentary. I highly recommend this for the entire family as well as Little House on the Prairie: Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder also produced by Legacy Documentaries, especially if you are planning a unit using the series. 

Check out more reviews of these two documentaries from my Crewmates!
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Global Art from Gryphon House: Review

Grace-Filled Writer
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There is nothing more fun for my girls than an art project. I’ve admitted it before…art isn’t my favorite area of teaching. I like the outcome, but the effort to get everything going and be a frustrating point for me. The best art projects are ones I can use with all three girls at the same time, use your average art materials I already have on hand, and most importantly connect to their learning. I have found all three to hold true for Global Art from Gryphon House. 
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Global art is intended to use with elementary age students (k-5) but I have found the majority of these activities can be used as written or moderately adapted for younger children. Although I didn’t use this with older students Art is typically adaptable to almost any age and I think many of these projects could work well with middle school students. This book costs $16.95 which is an incredibly reasonable price for the great number of projects ideas available.

Each project includes geographical, scientific and/or cultural information which brings all sorts of conversations to the table as the girls created their masterpieces. I love how easy this book is to incorporate with whatever history or geography we are studying. I simply look in the table of contents for the country or continent we are studying and choose which project we want to do. 
One of the projects we did was from Antarctica. We’ve been having quite the heat wave here in the South, so I thought thinking about cooler areas of the world would be fun! I adapted the project so all three were able to enjoy themselves. We first talked about where Antarctica was and why no one lived there. Then I read the short paragraph on how snowflakes are formed by small ice crystals. 
Then they got to work! First they painted snowflakes and then sprinkled them with salt. The idea is the salt would change and form crystals. To say the girls love to paint is an understatement. They spent a long time working on their creations and really enjoyed adding salt as they went along. 
First they painted a small portion of the snowflake and while it was still wet added the salt. 
Grace enjoyed this part! She kept picking colors that weren’t very bright, but she didn’t seem to mind!
Beth tried several different ways of doing this particular art project. She likes to see how things will work different ways. For some parts she put the salt on first and then painted. Sometimes she followed the directions. Sometimes she added a lot of water on top of the salt. She’s my little experimenter! 
The effort all three of my girls put into this was fun to watch. They were focused and excited for the entire 30 minutes they worked. I loved listening to the conversation between them about how the salt was acting on their papers, how they liked each other’s color choices, and what it might be like to live where there is always snow. I was once again reminded of the reason art is important. Creativity inspires learning and it was a lovely bonding moment for the three of them. 
The final project! 

Gryphon house has an abundance of resources and after reviewing just this one book I have been very impressed. Not only will I be using this throughout our homeschooling, I’m also looking forward to using it during missions lessons with the children at our church. As we learn about missions around the world and focus on different countries I am looking forward to using a lot of these projects. Art which engages and encourages learning is always welcome in our home!

Don’t forget to check out the other reviews from my Crewmates!

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Circle Time from Preschoolers and Peace: Review

Grace-Filled Writer
Website logo photo circletimelogo2_zps58ab71e5.jpgMy girls are only two years apart and we school all together in the same room at the same time, but for the most part their learning has been separate. With the exception of morning devotions which we have done for a while, all other subjects are separate. To be honest, it was easier this way. I could focus on teaching one while another did independent work. This has worked very well so far and I’m not anxious to change up our structure at this point, but I do see the benefit of corporate learning especially now that my youngest will be entering her k-4 year.

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I was quite excited to have the opportunity to review CircleTime ($4.99) by Kendra Fletcher of Preschoolers and Peace. Before I read e-book I thought it would apply mostly to Grace (rising K-4) and not so much Rose (rising 3rd grader) or Beth (rising 1st grader). After all, traditional school circle time is pretty much reserved for pre-kindergarten and sometimes kindergarten. I was pleasantly surprised to find this is intended for all of your children to learn together, no matter their ages. I love this!

It took me about 25 minutes to read the 33 page PDF eBook  which I was immediately excited to start implementing! Unfortunately we were in Tampa at General Council for the Christian and Missionary Alliance, so implementation wasn’t going to happen for a few days. Instead I spent a few hours planning out what I wanted. I followed the guidelines for planning your circle time although I did not use the included forms. I prefer to keep everything planned out on my computer for quick access. Even though I didn’t use them, the forms are a great starting point and I modeled my own plan after the. 

My list of what I wanted to include started getting long…really long. There have been several things in the back of my mind which just don’t fit in the day anywhere. They are good things, but not absolutely needed at this age. I broke down what I would like to do each day, just like the author suggests. Our Mondays and Wednesdays are different anyway because both Rose and Beth will be taking classes at Deerstream Learning Center in the fall. This means our circle time is lighter on those days and longer on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. I estimated my plan to take about 15-20 minutes on Monday and Wednesday and closer to an hour on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

I made out my plan, decided what day we’d cover what subjects, and making notes of what I wanted to go over under each subject. Then I had to decide on a name for our circle time. I didn’t want to use the name circle time because I wanted to be more creative. We’ve been learning some Latin which the girls have absolutely loved, so I settled on…

phari mane conventu

…which is Latin for Lighthouse Morning Meeting. The reason for the title is our school’s name is Lighthouse Christian Academy. This is not only fun to say, but the girls won’t outgrow it as we move forward throughout the years. I put my plans, ideas, and lists into this notebook and was soon on my way!


The next step for me was to create a board I can change and use each week. I don’t have everything I want to cover each week on here, but it is a starting point and a nice visual. I am including some things like artists, North Carolina history, hymns, and composers. My girls watched me piece it together and were equally anxious to give our morning meeting a try. As with everything I plan to be flexible and see what will work best as we move forward throughout this year. This is already an excellent addition and I anticipate it will only get better! 

The Circle Time eBook is a great resource to help you plan and implement your own circle time. There are no limitations to what you can do with this! Don’t forget to check out other reviews from my Crewmates!

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Little Linguists Spanish and Wake Up Class Bible from Gallopade International: Review and Giveaway!

Grace-Filled Writer
(Don’t forget to read through to the bottom for the giveaway!) 

One of the fun things about homeschooling is supplementing our regular curriculum. Many homeschoolers have a core curriculum they love, but no one curriculum covers every subject exhaustively. Dipping our toes into a variety of subjects has given me insights into my girls’ individuality as well as inspire us to dig further into areas I hadn’t considered before. No matter what subject you are looking to explore further, Gallopade has something for you! 

I’m not looking to start a full-blown language curriculum within our homeschool yet, but I do like the idea of introducing a variety of languages early. Gallopade International’s series, Little Linguists, provides a wonderful way to toe-dip into 10 different languages! This is not a full-course curriculum, but it works beautifully as an introduction or supplement to what you are already doing.

This series sounds fun before you even open the books. Titles like Do you Speak Spaghetti? (Italian), Of all the Gaul! (Latin), and Say WHAT when you sneeze?” (German) invite students to have fun as soon as they see it. These reproducible (Yay for reproducible!) books help children learn other languages through context clues, language similarities, and fun activities. Also included is cultural and geographical information which tie the language to its country of origin.
My girls constantly ask me how to say all varieties of words in different languages. Although I was in the Spanish Honor Society in high school, I must confess I remember very little and usually have to look things up. I can still translate minimally, but recalling words was never my strong point. Uh, Oh, Amigo! was so much fun for my girls! Although school happens all together, we rarely do lessons where we are learning the same thing at the same time due to their varied levels of learning. 
 Because this is not a full curriculum you do not have to go in order in the workbook. I plan to continue to do one page a week when our school year begins to give them consistent exposure to foreign languages. The activities include everything from matching, to bubbles, to fill-in-the-blank. They can be used alone or as a follow-up to a language lesson. Their uses are really unlimited. 
Beth was so surprised and excited she could understand Spanish in just the first sentence she read! One of the first pages we used has sentences written in English and only one word replaced in Spanish. I wasn’t sure how they would like this, but they were delighted! Now Beth consistently talks about living in a casa. I didn’t formally teach her casa is house in Spanish, but the format of the activity led her to logically figure it out. 
We will also be using From Russia With Love both at home and at church as we partner with a family currently in Russia serving God. I have come to really love this series and plan to purchase more in the future! 
Another new product from Gallopade International is a series called Wake Up the Class. These themed cards provide questions to engage children academically as soon as formal learning time begins with fun questions. There are nine different subject sets including history, critical thinking, writing, critical thinking, and Bible. We had the chance to review the set of Bible cards.
Each set is color coded so if you purchase multiple sets you can easily keep them organized. The content of the Bible cards would prohibit them from being used in most public school classrooms, but these would be a fun addition to a private school class, Sunday school class, or how we use them, in homeschooling. 
My girls tend to be morning people and we don’t typically have a hard time getting started on our lessons each day. I like to use these kinds of activities as a break from the routine or in between subjects.
The questions are a fun jumping off point for discussions as well. For kids with a solid biblical knowledge base some of the questions will be more like review, but in addition to the answer the reverse side of the cards also have an activity or discussion jump-off for further exploration. These questions have been well-thought out and will certainly engage your kids! 
For anyone in Tennessee and Georgia stop and say, “Hi!” at the Gallopade booth at the CSTHEA Homeschool Show in Chattanooga and the Southeast Homeschool Show in Atlanta. Don’t forget to tell them I sent you!
Now for the giveaway! 
There are two prizes to win and two separate winners! Make sure to share with your friends for extra entries.