review – Page 20

Wild Cards~Baby Animals Around the World from Birdcage Press: Review

June 7, 2013 Grace-Filled Writer

I don’t know if it is because I have all daughters or because it is their age or I am just blessed, but all three of my children are infatuated with everything baby related. Nearly every time they play pretend a baby is involved with the family. They all croon over newborns and label everything as a Mama and baby…even inanimate objects! One of our favorite car games to play at the moment is identifying the names of baby animals I will call out a baby animal name and they have to figure out what the adult version is called. Needless to say we were all excited when we received Wild Cards: Baby Animals Around the World from Birdcage Press.

Wild Cards - Baby Animals Around the World photo Birdcage-wildcardsbabyanimals_zps7f8bf6b3.jpg

Birdcage Press specializes in learning games which an be found in the world’s finest museums covering a variety of topics including science, history, and art. These beautiful cards not only have stunning pictures, but are filled with interesting facts about each animal. Also included is a nice little book with even more information! To say my girls crave knowledge is an understatement. I could hardly tear them away from just reading these cards to play some of the suggested games. For only $10.95 this is a very high quality product. While it is intended for ages 6 and up all three of my girls (7, 5, and 3) enjoyed this set.

The 28-page booklet also includes game ideas to use with the cards. This particular set has 3 pairs of animals from a variety of continents around the world. At the bottom of each card the other two corresponding animals are listed. Each continent represented also has a corresponding color and number for easier matching.

Because there are two of each card go fish and old maid are easily played with this set. However my favorite game we played was reminiscent of rummy. Instead of simply searching for a match, we tried to get a set of animals from the same continent. This was a bigger challenge and was a more unique way to play.

Grace really liked this game although my husband helped her out quite a bit. Our girls have played games of all varieties from the time they were about 15 months old. Sometimes in our laps, sometimes on their own, but always as a family. Grace often plays Go Fish with her sisters and she kept wanting to go that route, but she caught on once she and Daddy matched up a set.

We inherited our love of game playing from our parents and are passing the tradition down to our girls! We’re always on the lookout for something new and unique. Kids games tend to be very similar, but this one was different than any other we have. The only downside was our game went rather slowly…but I can’t complain! The reason it took us forever to finish one game was because the girls couldn’t help but read and discover more about the animals on the cards in their hands!

Here is the proof of the real test of a product. My girls organized this game on their own. Beth asked if anyone wanted to play the Baby Animal Game, they got out their beanbag chairs, and played without us. While the girls enjoy games, they don’t typically play without us. It was fun to Rose and Beth help Grace along and see the have a good time making memories!

Check out more reviews of this and other products from Bird Cage Press below from my Crewmates!

photo DisclaimerGraphic1_zpsf612f371.gif

Christianity Cove’s 100 Simple Service Projects and Lord’s Prayer Lesson Pack: Review

June 5, 2013 Grace-Filled Writer

photo christianitycovelogo_zpsb3aa66f4.jpg

Our family has a long lineage of ministry. My great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were all full-time pastors. My husband’s grandfather and father were also full-time pastors. I think sometimes people get the impression this wonderful spiritual heritage automatically translates into endless ideas and creativity for teaching Scriptural truths to our kids. While learning about the Word of God is a part of our everyday lives, I’m not all that creative when it comes to unique ways to teach my girls. I am always on the lookout for new ideas and creative ways to teach. Christianity Cove is a fun company with a wide range of Sunday School and Children’s Church lessons, games, crafts, and songs. If you are stuck for ideas, this is an excellent place to go!

We reviewed two products from Christianity cove: 100 Simple Service Projects ($19.95) and Lord’s Prayer Lesson Pack ($19.99). There are products for all ages at Christianity Cove, but the two we reviewed are for elementary age children.

photo simpleserviceprojects_zps18d19d09.jpg

This short e-book is packed with creative ideas to serve. There are several categories and many ideas are listed in each. I like that there are so many ideas to fit the interest and needs of a variety of children. I also like that these are ideas which could be implemented with both large and small groups. Although I used this with my girls at home I plan to keep this in mind for the next time I’m teaching a group of kids at church.

Some of the projects focus on volunteering and others on how to raise money for a cause. Rose opted to make a craft and earn money for missions. She has always had a heart for telling others about Christ and she loves hearing the missionaries at our annual missions conference at church. She has been making pot holders with a loom for a few months and she asked if she could sell them to friends and family to earn money for missions. Our church is helping raise money to start an Awana program in Chile.

She is hard at work and has raised a modest amount from 11 pot holders so far. She is still excited about the project and still has orders coming in! The best part is she came up with this idea and what she wanted to do with the money she earned. We bought her first set of supplies to get her started, but she has also purchased more with her own money. This has been a great lesson in hard work, perseverance, and giving. She has been good to make sure her creations are well-made and has been churning them out rather quickly!

Ever since Rose was very young she has always had a heart to serve others. She especially loves to tell others about Christ and is always looking for new ways to share her faith with her friends. Her favorite time of year is our church’s missions conference and she usually sits completely enthralled as she listens to the missionary speakers each year.

http://www.google.com/reader/ui/3523697345-audio-player.swf?audioUrl=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2813486/lordsprayer.mp3

The girls loved learning the song for the Lord’s Prayer. You can hear us singing it if you click the player above. While this study on the Lord’s Prayer could be used over a few weeks I chose to spend an evening completing it. There are many options for activities, snacks, teaching ideas, and more! I love when curriculum gives you a variety of options because not everything will work in every situation. When I plan to teach a group of children I always over plan. So if i have an hour of teaching time, I plan for an hour and a half. You just never know when something won’t work or not take as long as expected.

First I taught the girls the song and then for the lesson portion I chose to explain how our prayers go to God in heaven just like balloons float up to the sky. Beth was a little nervous they would pop!

We sang the song again, then my ladies took the Lord’s Prayer mixed up onto different pages and put it in order. It took them a little while to get started, but once they found the first couple of parts they moved quickly! The materials needed for this study were minimal and easy to find around the house. These pages were already made and part of the unit.

This only took about 3 minutes…an example of what I mean by you never know what is going to happen! I didn’t anticipate the team-work factor and expected more at least 10-minutes long. Making the adjustment in homeschool is easy, but not as much in a group setting. It’s not big deal to finish early at home, but in a classroom down-time can spell disaster. I really appreciated the variety of activities so several extra could easily be prepared in advanced.

The craft we completed was a set of praying hands which the girls inserted their prayer requests into. I traced their hands and the girls cut the both out at the same time. They then glued the thumbs and pinky fingers together, leaving a pocket in the center.

We talked about praying for others and then they listed those individuals on slips of paper.

Grace joined us for our snack about prayer. As is typical for a 3 1/2-year-old she was not in the mood to participate at the time of our other activities. Cookies have a calming participation-encouraging affect in our house!

We talked about how sometimes we don’t feel like is right there. I took apart a cookie and told them that just like the icing sticks the two cookies together, our prayers stick us close to God. I really liked this parallel and it’s something I will definitely remember!

The Crew reviewed MANY more titles than these from Christianity Cove, so take some time to click through the reviews linked up below!

Chronicles of Dinosauria from Master Books: Review

June 2, 2013 Grace-Filled Writer

Photo Credit: Creation Museum

When I was a kid I was provided with two separate world views. My parents and church taught me God was our Creator. My science classes taught me to trust in the irrefutable evidence that all life was evolved by chance from non-life. I was blessed my senior year to be taught AP biology by a strong-in-her-faith Christian, Mrs. Lowe. It was the late 90’s and evolutionary teaching was forging ahead at full-force, but despite this Mrs. Lowe firmly told us she believed God was our Creator and she taught about evolution simply because she was required to present all theories. I believe I am one of the few students from the 90’s to have a teacher so bold and brave, yet all the evidence she presented still pointed towards evolution. How could all this scientific fact be wrong?

A few years ago I would have laughed at someone saying dinosaurs and humans walked the earth together. I had come to believe that since all the evidence I had ever seen pointed towards evolution and because I couldn’t reconcile this with my biblical world-view I had to just accept both were accurate and there were just missing millions of years in Scripture. Through research for homeschooling I found Answers in Genesis. For the first time in my life I had real answers and they weren’t a matter of reconciling contradictory belief systems. I finally saw the evidence from a biblical perspective and realized starting assumptions determine how scientific discoveries are interpreted.

I have been systematically devouring science and history books which deal with this evidence and understanding of young-earth creation. My mind has been blown over and over as I see the so-called proof provided by scientists that we are not created, but rather evolved with new eyes. The Chronicles of Dinosaur from Master Books (a division of New Leaf Publishing) has been one of the most interesting reads I have had the opportunity to encounter. This stylistic rendering of the evidence showing how we know dinosaurs did indeed walk among men is as fascinating to gaze at as it is informative.

Presented in the style of a scrapbook this beautiful piece of literature covers an amazing array of evidence in just 74 pages divided into eight chapters. The clear explanations in each section helped me understand how I no longer have to reconcile science and the Bible. I always knew the Bible was truth, but now I understand more fully how science in fact supports the Bible rather than contradicts it. I am thrilled to be so well equipped to teach my children the truth and the compatibility of science and Scripture.

My favorite aspect in addition to the beautiful illustrations is that the biblical evidence is presented last. This may sound a little odd since the interpretation of the entire book firsts starts with the assumption of biblical truth. Because of this I feel I can loan it out to any number of my friends who are curious and they won’t automatically assume it is from the perspective of a fairy tale as many who do not follow Christ feel. Christianity is not a religion for our family; it is a relationship with the one true God made possible by His Son, Jesus and revealed to us through Scripture. Beginning with the very Book for which those who are not following Christ hold disdain would be ineffective since they cannot help but scoff at the seemingly outlandish notion of creation and the flood. This intentional and logical presentation will pull any reader in whether or not they are a believer.

I also love, love, that the gospel is presented clearly at the close of the book. What a wonderful witness for Christ. There is no Bible thumping, no arrogant claims of superiority, not even a hint of prideful knowledge. At the end of this wonderful book all which is left is the truth and grace of the Word of God after the curious reader has seen page after page of true evidence pointing them to the true Creator.

Click here to read what others have to say about The Chronicles of Dinosauria!

Math Mammoth’s Blue Series: Review

May 31, 2013 Grace-Filled Writer

During my first official year of homeschooling for 1st grade I had curriculum overload. If you’ve never experienced this it is the inevitable phenomenon newbies face when their homeschool research begins. I have been told this usually occurs at the beginning either by way of the internet or a homeschool convention. Our journey began rather abruptly and I honestly didn’t have much time to research. I jumped in with both feet with only a few weeks notice and went with what our core curriculum suggested for math. This was fine until mid-year when it became clear our original math curriculum was not working. During my hours of research I found oodles of recommendations for Math Mammoth. Although this wasn’t the new curriculum I eventually chose I have always had it in the back of my mind, especially the Blue Series

There are two ways you can purchase Math Mammoth. You can go the traditional grade-level route with the Light Blue Series. Topics are covered in a mastery format with only a few topics per grade. Conceptual thinking is encouraged and mental math and number sense are encouraged. This complete curriculum covers grades 1-6

I was looking for something to act more as a supplement since the mental math and conceptual approach did not work so well for us the first time around with the original curriculum. The Blue Series has separate topics you can purchase and complete as you wish. These are intended to be used as supplement, remediation, or review. Since I am happy with our current curriculum I appreciate that this program has different options depending on your needs.

These are the four units we reviewed…

U.S. Money

I used this with both Rose and Beth. This is the first time I’ve taught them the same subject at the same time and they seemed to enjoy it. I wouldn’t want to do it on a regular basis because I want each of my girls to move at their own pace without feeling pressured. Beth took a little longer to finish her independent work because she is a slower writer, but both girls worked fabulously through the portion of money which we covered.

I like the flexibility and encouragement to use real coins. While printed pictures are fine, using real money give practical, real-life application. Since the girls wanted something to remain in the box on the page we did coin rubbings as they practiced making the correct change. You can also study money from different countries including Canadian, European, British, and Australian.

I really liked this unit for learning more about money. It was a nice change from what we normally do and gave the girls different types of practice counting money. While there wasn’t anything incredibly new or different to me in the approaches used to teach the concepts, they were simple and easy to impart to the girls.

Clock

Beth worked with the clock unit on her own since Rose has basically mastered telling time. I really liked the combination of drawing on clocks and writing time. The combination of the two seemed to cement some time concepts we have been working on this year, but didn’t quite settle in. I love the ability to pace this unit alongside our current curriculum to give her a more solid footing in this area.

Measurement 1

This unit was one both girls worked on together as well. While we have covered length and lightly touched on measurement, we have not formally covered measurements with our curriculum yet. A topical study was a nice place to start.

Rather than jump right into types of measuring the unit begins by having the kids measure anything they choose with two different size shoes. Although this was an interesting start to the unit, I disliked the method. I would have preferred this concept be taught later, after the idea of concrete units of measure had been covered. The girls did enjoy the measuring activity though!

Multiplication 1

Rose has been pestering me for a few months to start learning multiplication. I told her the basic idea, but didn’t want to formally cover this area until I felt she had a firm grasp on higher addition. She was over-the-moon excited when I told her we would be starting multiplication before she reached it in our curriculum.

Although I didn’t care for the conceptual start for measurement, I did like it for the beginning steps to learn multiplication. Understanding what multiplication means seems the most logical place to start. Although I think Rose already understood these concepts seeing her formally work through it on paper gave me assurance she knew what she was doing. She is so excited to work through this unit that she often asks to work further after our official school-time is over.

Teacher’s editions of math books are typically needed and sometimes I’ve wished there was a manual for the teacher’s book! This is not needed with Math Mammoth. There were several times when I really felt I could have let my girls learn many of these concepts on their own. This is a very user-friendly curriculum for both teacher and student.

To read more reviews about Math Mammoth including the other curricula offered click below!

God’s Special Surprise from See the Light: Review

May 30, 2013 Grace-Filled Writer

One of our favorite traveling ministries to visit our church for several years was Parables in Pastels. The artist was a personal friend of my husband’s from childhood and we thoroughly enjoyed his presentations. Through chalk art and black lighting we were blessed with encouragement and always a presentation of the gospel. Rose was especially riveted the last time we saw his presentation. The beauty of art combined with the truth of the Word of God captured her heart. She already loves all things artistic and has expressed how she wants to honor God with her artwork and crafts

When I found out I was going to get to participate in this review I knew Rose (7) would be thrilled. We were privileged to use God’s Special Surprise from See the Light. This Each DVD in the Bible Stories Series costs $14.99 or you can purchase the entire 5 DVD set for $74.95 and contain three projects aligned to the same Bible story. The high-quality video engaged even my girls who weren’t participating in the art! This particular DVD in the series is designed for students six and up.

Before completing the art projects Rose, Beth, and Grace watched the beautifully illustrated story of Moses. They loved this and have asked to watch it again several times! You would think in our high-tech, flashy world that a picture only story-telling venue might not hold a child’s attention. I don’t know about anyone else, but I really think this refreshing style was why it captured their attention. It was sort of like having a book read to you with such beautiful illustrations you didn’t want to turn the page.

Project #1: Surprise!

(A lesson in creative lettering)

The first lesson we worked on was creative lettering. The letters were intended to look like letters chiseled into rock. Beth (5 years old) joined us for this one! The DVD instructor clearly explained in kid-friendly language how to create this unique ancient looking lettering. After writing the letter the girls traced them with extreme colored pencils to create a really cool effect under the black light. The girls also each chose a word to write with their newly practiced chiseled lettering. Rose chose FAITH and Beth chose LEAH (we’ve been enjoying another DVD with a character named Leah!)

Project #2: Hope for a Nation

(A lesson in chalk pastels)

This lesson was the hardest of the three for Rose, but even at that she did great! The biggest problem Rose has right now is with size perception. This is something I could work on her well with the DVD. The instructor would explain and draw. She typically wanted to start drawing before the explanation was over and would sometimes have extreme proportion issues. I was pleased to see that when I talked to her about it and walked her through looking at the example compared to her own she was very calm. In the past she would become frustrated from her art not being exactly like the original. This problem with perfectionism was one reason we started homeschooling in the first place. It still rears its ugly head sometimes, but this was a great test of her patience and giving herself grace in the face of mistakes.

This is the picture with and without the black-light. I again think that this looks much better in person, but I couldn’t find a setting to capture the enhanced picture to my satisfaction. Grace liked this artwork a lot and did her own version on the chalkboard opposite Rose!

Project #3: Moses in the Nile

(A lesson in water colors)

This lesson was by far our favorite! Both the simplicity and beautiful end artwork made it very fun. The beautiful blending techniques with the watercolors were amazing to watch come together. A large part of this piece included using permanent marker. I was pleased at the effort Rose made with this portion. I was wondering if she would get bored, but she did great job. I also learned the right way to use water color paint and how to keep the colors from mixing or becoming too watery.

These pictures turned out to be the most stunning although the black-light version is still not nearly as beautiful as in person.

There are many aspects to this series I loved. I appreciated the historical references and information included in each lesson. The artists also thoroughly explained each step, suggesting to pause the DVD at different points and explaining not only how to complete the steps, but why it needed to be done that way. Am I the only one with a seven-year-old who wants to know the reason behind everything before she does it? It was nice to have everything so clearly explained.

I especially loved the tie-ins with Scripture. Art is beautiful and enjoyable. Art for the purpose of glorifying God takes it to an entirely different level.

This DVD gets a fabulous review from Rose who completed all of the projects. She asked me just this morning, “Would it be okay to go back and make those same pictures again sometime?” I also know it is spectacular because as my other girls watched Rose complete her projects they were inspired to create their own work.

Art that inspires more art…what better compliment is there?

Want to see more? Check out other reviews from my Crewmates by clicking below!

Paperless Home Organization from Simplified Pantry: Review and a coupon!!!!!

May 23, 2013 Grace-Filled Writer

(Make sure you remember to snag the coupon at the bottom of the post!)

Something I really enjoy doing is organizing. I know that isn’t everyone’s idea of a fun day, but there is something about a freshly organized drawer, closet, or room which makes me feel warm-fuzzies all over. Yet although I love to organize, keeping things organized is a totally different animal. I’ve tried numerous systems, printables, and variations. I’ve used pre-made and made my own. My problem has always been simplification for implementation…in other words I need a simple enough system that I can actually follow through with it!

When I found out I was going to have the chance to review Paperless Home Organization by Misty Winckler from Simplified Pantry I was very interested, but was afraid it was going to be seeing just one more system that would end up on my been-there, done-that list. I am pleased to say this couldn’t be further from the truth! Although I am still learning how to fully implement her ideas I think I may have landed on a home-organization home which fits my style much better than others I have tried and at $3.99 this is an excellent buy!

Like the author I have made several home-binders in the 11 years I have been married. Some were incredibly simple. Others were unbelievably complex. Several problems arose with these systems which seem to be taken care of with a paperless system.

1. Attractiveness

With my old notebook and paper type systems I found myself focusing a lot of my time on finding something that looked attractive. Who wants to mess with something that is sloppy and messy?

2. SOOOOO much paper!

The more I organized our lives into one notebook, the more paper started accumulating. I don’t mind paper, but it was getting to the point where I was going to need a separate binder to organize the many facets of my life!

3. Unity and Cohesiveness

I frequently found myself flipping back and forth between all those pages trying to figure out when I could schedule in something different.

4. Portability and Size

I tried taking my household notebook with me out of the house a grand-total of…once. Yeah, all it took was one outing of lugging a large notebook with me to show me I was not cut out to be a notebook toting mama. I see many moms with home organization notebooks I envy, but I just can’t manage keeping it all with me. Not to mention that since it had my grocery list inside I was asked no less than five times by complete strangers where various items were in the store. I didn’t realize why until the last lady asked me about something I didn’t know. She said, “Oh, I’m sorry! I thought you worked here because of your notebook.” It was a lot like learning the lesson to never ever wear a solid red shirt to a Target store!

So my journey has brought me to the digital age and here is what going paperless has already done for me in such a short time…

~ I love my Kindle Fire for this which I already have in an attractive case.

~ I am able to have much more unity in all areas of life-organization.

~ Using apps allows me to store things digitally and saves so much space.

~ No one has yet asked me employee type questions. (That is just so embarrassing!)

This e-book lays out the basics, giving everyone who has the ability to be mobile the tips and tricks to get them stared. The only problem I had with this was figuring out some new programs! I gave them a shot, and some I’m continuing with (I love Evernote’s note stacks!) but for other suggested apps I’m going to use ones I’m already familiar with.

The apps which are suggested include Google mail and calendar, Evernote, and Remember the Milk. Because I am not familiar with these I am trying them out, but deciding which of these I want to keep and which ones I may trade for something more familiar. I do like the Evernote note stacks which allow you to create groups of information such as recipes, medical information, addresses, etc.

The benefit to using these same tools is that the author walks your through each, step-by-step and gives tips and tricks to make them work for you to their ultimate potential. One things I really like about the apps chosen is they can be updated on a computer and the information syncs to the apps on your mobile devices. I still prefer traditional typing because I can do it more quickly so this is a nice feature.

There are a handful of downsides to going paperless. The first is, it’s paperless! That may seem strange, but if you can’t get your mobile device to work and don’t have a back-up plan in place you may have a problem. We are fast moving to being a paperless society with online banking, digital medical records, digital books, etc. While I am not opposed to these new technologies I am aware that complete dependence upon them can wreak havoc when malfunctions occur. Paperless is convenient, but it can sometimes come with a price. Because of this I do have a hard-copy back-up system of a single page so I can get what I absolutely need to done. We also keep all of our vital documents in a safe and easily accessible place for emergencies.

The second downside is the time it takes to set-up and learn the various programs. While I do think it is worth it, I have spent much more time pursuing this option as opposed to the 30 minutes or so it takes me to put together a notebook. However I the time-investment in the beginning does balance out because of the ease of use and lack of paper!

photo sp_gfdf_sidebar_lg_zpsbf28c2f7.gif

Simplified pantry also has two excellent e-books (Simplified Dinners and Simplified Simplified Dinners Gluten/Dairy Free) for making meal-times and your pantry more stream-lined. We do not have any issues with gluten or allergies in our family and we simply eat by rules of moderation. There are a few things which are excluded from our diet (artificial sweeteners, alcohol, gourmet items, etc.) but in all things we strive for moderation. Because I am blessed to not have to worry about allergens as I cook I focused on taking a look at the Simplified Dinners.

I was pleased to find that the list given in the beginning of what should be in your pantry was almost exactly what my staples already are. This made looking at the recipes within the book even more exciting! Nothing is quite as discouraging as wanting to try something new for dinner only to realize you don’t have all the ingredients. I look forward to trying some of these in the coming summer months now that our lives have calmed down a bit.

As an wonderful gift Mystie Winckler, the author of these fabulous e-books, is offering a coupon code exclusively for readers of the Schoolhouse Review Crew for 30% any of her e-books books! To take advantage of this offer use the code TOS2013 at checkout.

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

Signing Time: Review and a Freebie!

May 20, 2013 Grace-Filled Writer

When my oldest daughter was about 8 months old she finished her puffed star snack, looked directly at me, and started touching her finger tips together. I found this a little odd because she seemed to be trying to tell me something, but for the life of me I didn’t have a clue! My husband walked into the room and said, “She wants some more snack.” When I questioned him on how he knew what she wanted and what in the world it had to do with her hands he explained that the pair of sisters I had been teaching piano to had been teaching her signs. I would teach one piano and they would teach her sign language. I was shocked and delighted! I had them teach me a few basic baby signs and we used just the basics with my girls from about 6 months on: more, yes, and all done. I think there may have been more, but those are the ones I remember! This picture of Grace saying, “All Done!” Very emphatically with her hands after taking one bite of carrots at about 9 months!

My oldest daughter has been asking me to learn more about sign language. When Two-Little Hands gave me the opportunity to review Volume 13:Welcome to School I was excited and so were my girls! This DVD teaches many of the common signs of things found in school. The signs formally taught on this DVD are: Crayons, Scissors, Paper, Glue, Pen, Pencil, Table, Chair, Backpack, School, Line Up, Pay attention, Learn, Remember, Smart, Principal, Teacher, Class, Student, Name, World, Numbers, Count, Draw, Paint, Read, Quiet, and Rest. In addition to these formal signs Rachel, the Signing Time teacher, uses a number of other signs as she talks and sings. Rose (seven-years-old) picked up on a lot of those while Grace (three-years-old) and Beth (five-years-old) mostly focused on the formally taught sings.

The first thing that struck me about the DVD was how quickly it engaged my girls. Like many families we choose to limit the amount of time our girls are focused on a screen. There are many reasons for this, but one in particular is the lack of participation and interaction required is typically minimal even with educational shows. With signing time my girls all worked hard to sign well and talked with one another as well. Rose especially encouraged and helped her younger sisters.

Principal

The girls asked to watch this every single day. I’m not kidding! They love it that much! Not only that, they started signing to one another and to me to ask for things. It has been a really fun thing to watch.

Scissors

It’s really neat to see my seven, five, and three-year-old learning together and able to successfully learn at the same time. It is also rare to find a DVD which all three enjoy equally. Usually what interests one bores the other. All I have to say is, “It’s Signing Time!” They run and sit as quickly as they can while they wait for me to get it started.

Table

The girls also really enjoyed the extra features as well, especially watching the voice-over recordings. It was a good experience for them to see the production side of programs. I also like the extras include more signs to learn. Rose is really into Bonus Features right now!

This is a quick video of my girls’ completely absorbed in Signing Time! Take a minute to watch and you’ll see just how fun this has been for them!

And NOW for the freebie! As an exclusive gift for my readers is the Homeschool Guide e-book! Click the image to start your download! This exclusive guide is a great start to help you see just how easily Signing Time can fit into your homeschool day.

Disclaimer

I received Signing Time: Welcome to School in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. No other compensation was received.

Big Book of Earth and Sky: Review

May 14, 2013 Grace-Filled Writer

I typically don’t teach science in our homeschool because we utilize a learning center which provides classes for homeschoolers. One of those classes is science and it is incredibly thorough and advanced in what they learn. I do, however, like to provide my girls with science resources so they can explore on their own terms. We love looking up information when we have a question and I want to provide materials which point my girls to God as the Creator.

The Big Book of Earth and Sky from Master Books, a division of New Leaf Publishing Group, by Bodie Hodge and Dr. Carolyn Reeves (View her website here!) grabbed my girls’ attention as soon as I opened it! I put it on a shelf intending to leave it there until I had a chance to look at it with them, but I kept finding one or another reading it and learning on their own. The gigantic, colorful poster/book immediately draws the students (and teacher!) into curiosity mode. The illustrations are beautiful and written content is concise and clear.

By the time I started using this with my daughters I was happy to discover that a teacher’s guide had been published. You can purchase this separately or go follow the link to download it for free. While there are many ways this book can be used and incorporated into your current studies, I like having the teacher’s guide to give me a starting point. This guide includes a section on a variety of topics and provides a glossary of words for each topic as well as suggested activities. The topics included are caves, oceans, meteorology and paleontology. The book is designed to be a springboard for learning and the teacher’s guide greatly aids this process. There are also corresponding charts for students to fill in as you study. My oldest two really enjoyed this part!

If I had the space I would have hung it up on the wall with the land starting at the floor. You can watch the video below to see how this works. I don’t have a good spot to do this, so we stretched the entire book and I thought it would be fun to show how it compares to the height of my girls. They all thought this was fun, but Grace especially got a kick out of it. She’s at the bottom with the biggest smile of the three! The top of the chart starts with the uppermost layers of the atmosphere. It then systematically moves through meteorological and geological information all the way to the earth’s core.

I printed out my teacher’s guide and made the girls their own packets to study with. I used the same picture from the teacher’s guide to make the cover. Beth especially liked this because she felt very grown up having her very own packet to complete.

We started at the top with the layers of the earth’s atmosphere. One of the reasons so many of my friends give for why they couldn’t homeschool is because they aren’t smart enough. While I think each family must choose their own educational course, I try to encourage them that they don’t have to know everything. Wonderful resources like this are available so we can learn alongside one another. I’m sure at some point I had to learn the layers of the atmosphere during my education, but they didn’t stick. I loved how not only were the layers labeled in a vivid way, but they also included the types of things you would find in that layer. Our local children’s museum has a wonderful hands-on weather exhibit. I plan to take this with us the next time so we can look at some of the information along with the displays!

We moved a little farther down and took a look at the mountain zones. We live in the area of North Carolina known as the Piedmont, or foothills. We had a wonderful conversation about our location and how that relates to our family who lives in the mountains of North Carolina. Beth loved that there was a snow zone. The girls love snow even though we don’t see it very often!

The last area we looked at (on this day!) was the core of the earth. Rose studied this in her science class and told us lots of information she had already learned, which inspired Beth to become more interested in reading more on the page. You can see that this folds up nicely so if you don’t have a large floor space it is still easily usable and enjoyable.

This is a fabulous resource with a years-worth or more of curriculum ideas. For me, the best part is I know I can trust what is written within these pages to engage and enlighten my girls while staying within our beliefs that all living things were created by God within a literal 1-week period. I know this makes our family in the minority within our culture and I am forever grateful to New Leaf Publishing for providing amazing resources like this one to teach my girls.

Read the book release blog here and take some time to watch this fun video to see even more of The Big Book of Earth and Sky!

You can read more reviews here!

Disclaimer

I received The Big Book of Earth and Sky in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. No other compensation was received.

Papa’s Pearls from Homefires: Review

May 6, 2013 Grace-Filled Writer

One of the few things in my life I regret is not having my grandparents around. I don’t even know if I can qualify it as a regret since it isn’t anything I had control over. I am blessed to know I will see them again one day, but since they died when I was young I missed out on all the wisdom I know they had to give me. I become so frustrated when I hear of families treating their grandparents as a burden or unimportant. Our society does not value their elders anymore and there will come a time when our society will truly regret it.

Papa’s Pearls is a collection of sayings, stories, and wisdom passed on to his children and grandchildren by way of his daughter. Dianne Flynn Keith artfully tells the stories of her childhood in such a way you feel as if you knew Papa (Carol Joseph Flynn). Each chapter is titled with one or two of Papa’s signature sayings and includes stories from his life which build off of them. As I read through these various quotes and stories I couldn’t help but be reminded of my own grandparents and the things they used to say.

One of my favorite stories was of Papa working in the sewer. He would have to wade through sewage in order to do his job as a plumber. I’m sure it was a thankless job, but he did what he had to do in order to provide for his family. The same value was passed down to our family by our own grandfathers and fathers.

My own grandfather worked for years in a coal mine, scrimping and saving each penny in order to be able to purchase land for a farm when he was able. This was certainly not a job he loved, but he worked hard. My great-grandfather sold pies made by my great-grandmother in order to provide for his family when he was laid off during the Depression. My husband worked a variety of jobs in high school and college including mowing lawns, fast-food, pizza making, working at a grocery store, and more in order to save and pay his way through college to end up without debt on the other side. A good work ethic is not taught as it once was and I hope to instill the same ideas in our girls.

I also liked the multiple times that the author referenced her father’s positive outlook on life, no matter the circumstances. It is so easy to fall into a woe-is-me type of attitude when things get difficult, but our children are watching us. Do you say you are joyful in Christ, but neglect to show it to your children? I can become guilty of this at times and I was challenged to make sure I am living out those important parts of my faith which I want to pass on to my children.

I did choose not to read this aloud to my children. This is much more suited for older students and their parents. Since my girls are younger (ages 7, 5, and 3), they would probably not have gotten very much out of the stories. We are not catholic, but Papa was and some mention of this and some catholic practices in the book. This would not have been something I would want to explain to my girls at such a young age, but it would probably not have been as big of a deal for older children. Although I still highly recommend this book I think this is important to be aware of this fact. It can be purchased directly from the website for $21.97 (this includes shipping) or Amazon.

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

Trail Blazer Books: Review and Free Book offer!!!!

May 5, 2013 Grace-Filled Writer

One of the great needs of our children is to know and understand the Christian heritage they come from. Our family loves great literature and especially literature which draws my children in and causes them to want to learn more about the characters and history which make up the story. Rose in particular is beginning to very much enjoy historical fiction and so I have been searching for new stories to excite and engage her.

I was very excited to have the chance to review Trailbazer Books written by Dave and Neta Jackson. I first saw them online at a Christian supply website, but they were out of stock. I was very interested to have historical fiction which incorporated important figures from Christian history. Some of these books are now out of print in hard copies, but they are all available as ebooks! My daughters love ebooks because that means they get to use my Kindle. Although each book is available individually at http://www.trailblazerbooks.com/, they can also all be purchased on a CD for less than $1 each. This is a great price for excellent literature.

There are also several teacher’s guides available which incorporates several disciplines of learning. Included are the expected study of literary elements, vocabulary, social studies, and a variety of activities to engage student beyond the words written on the page. I like that there are connections to so many other areas of learning and that the guides are broken down into 2 chapter sections. Many other literature guides I have used take the book more as a whole rather than its parts. Since I typically like Rose to read at least two chapters a day when we study literature this is a nice setup.

I let Rose choose which book she wanted to start with and she liked the sounds of The Bandit of Ashley Downs. The story centers around a homeless orphan who gets into trouble after trying to steal some money and ends up being taken in by George Muller as one of his orphans. The twist is the money he stole actually belongs to the same orphanage!

Rose loved this book from the start! Before we had a chance to begin discussing the book she asked me, “Is this really a true story?” This was a great opening to talking about historical fiction as a genre. She said how much she loved the adventure and I loved that she learned about George Muller and his legacy of trust in God and prayer.

There are many great works of literature she will study and read throughout her education. Giving her opportunity to learn of her Christian heritage through excellent literature is even better. I look forward to exploring Christian history with her through the Trailblazer Books.

And now for a great gift for my readers directly from Dave and Neta Jackson! For the entire month of May you can get Drawn by a China Moon, a story about a young southern girl who goes to China with her parents to aid Lotti Moon and her work, for free!!!! Just click the cover to the left for your free e-book!

Don’t miss out on this offer and share it with your friends!

Disclaimer

I received the CD Rom of 40 e-books in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. No other compensation was received.