Faith in Love - Homeschool Blogger

~25 Days of Gratitude~

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:35:00 -0600

Today I am giving thanks...

~for men and women who serve our country, to protect my family and sacrifice everything for us.

~for sweet friends

~for lessons learned and re-learned....the Lord is gracious to continually teach this stubborn brain

~for His precious Words that fill our hearts and minds...

~for this blog post and this one...

and then if that wasn't enough meat to get out the steak knife for ....

I am grateful for this sermon....

No exuses for complaining....I am blessed!!!

~25 Days of Gratitude~

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:08:00 -0600

Today I am especially grateful for...

~His love....I am so undeserving He is so faithful and abundant in His love...

~a great night's sleep

~a warm shower

~a fun afternoon at a park with my 3 favorite girls...

~25 Days of Gratitude~

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 20:30:00 -0600

Today I am grateful for.....

~Answered prayer...I have been praying about something for a long time. This weekend I finally got the fact that I was standing in the way of God answering my prayer in His way. I kept trying to fix/solve the problem. Within hours of surrendering it to the Lord, He answered my prayer in a great way.

~Great husbands.....my is the best!

~Grandparents....We had a fun time with Grandparents at our Keeper's Grandparents luncheon.

~My dog Belle....She is such a great dog and she likes me best!

Sleeping on my leg.

Poor dear, Grace dressed her up!

~25 Days of Gratitude~

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 21:54:00 -0600

Today I am grateful for...

~love...faith...and continually answered prayers

~a beautiful teenage daughter who helps willing around our home

~two sisters who play together and claim to be "best friends"

~a husband who diligently prepares our home for winter, he is the best!

~a Friday tea party with loving Grandparents.

~health! We are all so healthy! Thank you Lord!

I am blessed!

~25 Days of Gratitude~

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 21:15:00 -0600

Today I am grateful for~

~full days...filled with grace, love, hope and joy! Many activities and lots of smiles.

~daughters with tender hearts. Grace and Elizabeth came home from Awana's wanting to send their favorite stuffed animals in the Operation Christmas Child boxes. They have a shopping list started for what to send.

~faithfulness....a faithful God who always their to speak loving words to me. A spouse that is faithful in so many ways. Children that are faithful in their learning. Parents who are faithful and taught me responsibility.

~a warm home and warm bed...

I am blessed!

~Bright Ideas Press~TOS Crew Review~

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 21:29:00 -0600

As part of the TOS Crew, I received the following two books free from Bright Ideas Press, for review. The opinions presented in the review are solely mine.

Why take the time to “Crack the Code” of Classical Music?
     • Music is from the Lord. He created it, and He created us with the ability to both make and appreciate music.
     • “Classical” music is uniquely part of our Western civilization.
     • Research suggests that both listening to and playing classical music aids brain development.
     • Even rudimentary exposure increases one’s level of enjoyment and understanding.

This course provides a close-up look at famous composers, their music, and their times, with special attention to character traits and Christian testimony (or lack thereof). Even the musically challenged will enjoy this course! It’s perfect for grades 4–8 but is easily adaptable for younger and older students. Minimal teacher prep will return maximum enjoyment!

Within the book there are a variety of great learning activities to use within your home. Some of them include

• 32 Weekly Lessons
• 26 Bios of Famous Composers
• 6 Eras of Music Explained
• Easy-to-Use Comparative Timeline
• Easy-to-Use Maps
• Composer Info-Cards & Game Directions

• Note-taking Pages
• Quizzes
• Answer Keys
• Listening Suggestions
• Intricate Coloring Pages
• Resource Books

Authors: Maggie S. Hogan and Melissa Craig did extensive research and writing to bring this great resource. They had music expert, Richard B. Pinkerton edit the book as well.

Cost:

CD-Rom Book
Price: $29.95

To purchase click here.

In Our Home:

We've been using this great resource for over a month. At least twice a week I read through the detailed lesson with the girls. They take notes on their provided note-taking pages. Then we fill out a composer card. The composer card is a place to collect all the facts about each composer. There are also thinking questions to apply the interesting facts gleaned through the lesson. Then using the supplied map, we map where the composer was born. Each composer is divided by style of music and a great history of each music style is provided.

I like the way everything is self-contained for our Classical Music discussions now. I don't have to search for the perfect book to read, assemble the notebooking pages and make-up a timeline. The only thing missing for me from this curriculum is actual music to listen to. I want my daughters to also be able to recognize the composer's main pieces when they hear them. It is easy to find CD's or the pieces online though to add to the curriculum.

This is a picture of the folder that Jennifer has been putting together as we study Classical music.

Written from a Christian perspective, Hands-On Geography will get you excited about teaching an oft-forgotten subject. Includes specific instructions for many activities, games, and projects designed to be appealing to kids and easy for parents. An easy, yet thorough, introduction to a very important subject. Grades K – 5.

Written by Maggie S. Hogan.

This is a large paperback book stuffed with wonderful Geogrpahy resources. The beginning chapter has information about the National Geography Bee.

Also present in this book are directions for six homemade geography games for the early elementary years. Fun stuff that uses items you already have in your home to reinforce geography.

Included in this book is an extensive section of outline maps to copy. Then Maggie S. Hogan has a large chapter on ways to use these maps called "Maps Galore". Things like sticker geography, jigsaw maps and booking maps to name a few. There are sixteen projects in that chapter.

Jennifer did the chapter on Joseph's Journey, this is a detailed map and geography questionnaire to enhance her learning as we studied Joseph's life.

A chapter on nature geography was filled with tools on how to include nature in your geography study. A great guide to making your own field guide is on my to-do-list for the spring. We will be using her helpful pages on studying birds that live in our area this winter.

This is a valuable resource that is well worth the cost of $14.95

Orderhere.

Maggie S. Hogan has written an extensive amount of great Homeschooling curriculum.

Please click the logo to read reviews of her other products.

~25 Days of Gratitude~

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 20:09:00 -0600

Continuing my 25 days of gratitude, with day number 3.

Today I am grateful and thankful for:

~answered prayer and His continue soft whispers in my life.

~praying with my sisters in Christ this afternoon, what a blessing.

~Jesus...He is the way! No matter what happens, He is watching over me.

~I don't have to worry or fear the date December 21, 2012! If the Lord chooses or doesn't choose to return on that date, so be it, but I say Marantha!

~a warm fire, made by my wonderful husband and a hot cup of tea to warm me up!

~Thank you!

~ACT Inc.~Discover Program~ TOS Crew Review

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 21:03:00 -0600

As Jennifer begins her high school years, we are all beginning to ask the question, what next? Jennifer has some ideas, but has struggled to put those ideas into tangible work opportunities. Even more important to us is that Jennifer has a job that fits her talents and desires.

As part of the TOS Crew I received a free month's subscription to ACT Discover to review.

DISCOVER can help you choose a career, find training, or learn how to find a job.

This is an inventories based assessment tool. The inventories help you think about yourself, and which occupations would fit you best your interests, abilities, and values. As you grow older, you become more certain of your interests, abilities, and values.

DISCOVER offers inventories to people based on your grade level.

Inventories available:

People in grade 6 and above use an Interest inventory.

People in grade 8 and above use an Abilities Inventory.

People in grade 9 and above use an Values Inventory.

If you have not yet selected an occupation, this is a great place to start.

DISCOVER has three types of inventories:

Interests asks what you like to do

Abilities asks you to rate your ability levels

Values asks which work-relevant values are important to you.
Each inventory may be taken online or you may enter scores from inventories you have taken on paper.
Take all three inventories to get the best sense of which careers might fit you best. Each inventory focuses on a different part of your profile.

Based on your inventory results, DISCOVER suggests Career Areas on the World-of-Work Map.

World-of-Work Map

The World-of-Work Map below shows the locations of all 26 career areas (groups of occupations). Career areas differ in how much they involve working with Data, Ideas, People, and Things.

In Our Home:

I had Jennifer take all three inventories; interests, abilities and values. She then received a detailed report of what would be the best careers that she was suitable for. Very detailed descriptions were given for each career including skills necessary, length of education and starting salary. She then read through the list of occupations and marked her favorites. This really narrowed the field but also sparked great discussions and areas for future career exploration. It was a great discovery process for Jennifer(9th grade). She continually says that she doesn't really know what she wants to do post-high school. We prayerfully will take these results and use them to help guide her in her decisions.

They have a great tutorial and site menu to ease navigating the site. Also present are help screens to futher provide education on the information. I appreciated that the website is clear, not cluttered with unnecessary information. I believe this to be a valuable tool for the homeschooled high schooler who does not have a clear idea of what they want to do post-high school. It honed in on my daughter's strengths and presented clear career fields.

Cost:

Price: $19.95 for a three-month license, $24.95 for a six-month license.

To view the site for purchase click here.

Also ACT provides a FREE curriculum guide and other resources to help enhance the career planning process. Click here for that resource.

To view other TOS Crew members review of this and other great products click the logo.

~American Heritage Foundation~TOS Crew Review

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 20:24:00 -0600

For review I received of CD of lesson plans for free, from American Heritage Education Foundation, Inc. As part of the TOS Crew my obligation is to provide a review of this product. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

AHEF is a non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation dedicated to the understanding and teaching of America's factual and philosophical heritage to promote constructive citizenship and Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility among our students and citizens.

AHEF accomplishes this patriotic mission by writing, producing, and distributing FREE K-12 lesson plans to teachers, students, and families in all 50 states and through additional initiatives, programs, and partnerships.

AHEF's History:

Our History

The American Heritage Education Foundation (AHEF) is a non-profit (501.c.3) corporation established in January 1995. In 1993, current members of the Foundation worked with the Houston Independent School District (HISD) to establish American Heritage Month. Today, schools throughout HISD and the nation celebrate our nation's heritage each November through creative activities and projects. AHEF has assisted HISD in the development and subsequent revisions of an American heritage curriculum guide for grades K-12, entitled America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty. This curriculum continues to be introduced and activated throughout school districts in Texas and the nation. American Heritage education workshops have also been developed to assist teachers in fully understanding and putting into practice the ideas and concepts included in the curriculum.

America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty is a curriculum project designed and written by teachers with AHEF and HISD and is available in Texas and National Editions with correlating standards and objectives. The initial phase of the project included development of material designed for middle school students, published in 1996. The curriculum was later expanded to include lessons for K-12 and was published as a first complete edition in the spring of 2001.

How do you get your FREE copy?

It is available free of charge as a download, in hard binder format, or in CD format via mail.

Please click here to order.

My Thoughts On This Product:

I have read through the CD that I received from the company and scanned their website. We currently are not studying American history and I was not lead to use this resource when we did. The foundation of this course is to teach the students about the four key themes of Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility--to educate students in our founding father's beliefs and perserve our nations founding principles. These are detailed lesson plans that use historical documents such as The Mayflower Compact, The Declaration of Independence, Federalist 47, the First Amendment, and a government letter on religious expression in public schools. It is a good supplement to your US History studies and it is FREE.

To view other TOS Crew Members review please click the logo below.

~25 Days of Gratitude~

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 20:14:00 -0600

Continuing with my 25 days of gratitude, this is day #2.

~for His Word, although sharper than a two-edged sword, is always there to provide guidance, comfort and peace in all circumstances.

~beautiful sunshine, bare trees and wind blowing

~big bear hugs from the man I love

~an afternoon nature walk with two of my sweet daughters

~family togetherness, these are sweet times.

~a full and complete day of school, the Lord blessed us with a lot of good learning!

~helpful library workers, I get a lot of books each week and they were kind & generous today

~God's protection

Blessed beyond measure,

~25 Days of Gratitude~

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 15:13:00 -0600

For the next twenty-five days I want to take time to be purposeful in being thankful. Our world seems to push Thanksgiving to the side. Christmas ads abounded in the newspaper today and the stores have been filled with Christmas since September. But I want to take time each day between now and Thanksgiving, to express my gratitude. The length and content of my list will vary, I am making no rules for myself on this one.

For today I am grateful.....

^His amazing Grace, Mercy and Love......inspite of myself God choose to rescue me from the depths of my sin.

^verses that has been clinging to my heart...."Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be profitited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Matthew 16:24-26

^For the grace extended to be my friends when I was discouraged by my error.

^For a beautiful, sunny fall day.

^An afternoon walk with my sweet Grace and wonderful husband.

^Family....a healthy family...both physically, emotionally and spiritually.

^A weekend "off" from the paying job, I am thankful for my job though...it is a gift!

^Daylight savings time....I love the fall time change!

^For two families from our church that are willing to give up the comfortable living of the USA, to reach those that have never heard.

^This next week...looking forward in anticipation.

May your days be filled with whispers of His love and grace,

Linda

~ABC Teach ~TOS Crew Review

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:11:00 -0500

For review as part of the TOS Crew, I received free access for 30 days to the membership site at abc teach.

I have used abcteach for printables within our home-learning. Things like field trip report forms, poetry writing paper, first day of school printables and nature study walk report forms. But for thirty days I had access to their membership site.

The membership site has the following benefits:

Over 35,000 pages of printable worksheets, with more materials added each week!

Broad range of subjects and levels.

New materials added weekly to reflect current events and seasonal topics.

An extensive educational clip art collection that will add color to your classroom.

No advertising on the member site.

Customer service representatives who are always available to address your concerns and requests.

Also members access to abctools. There are over 60 abctools in a variety of subjects and categories. Each allows our members to create custom documents, tailored to their childrens' specific interests and learning style. Some things include:

Create your own word lists for crossword puzzles, desk tags, word walls, word searches, word shapes and word unscrambles.

Choose from all of abcteach's hundreds of shapes when creating shapebooks.

Create and save shapebooks with as many pages as you like.

Print blank or lined shapebook pages to use as worksheets.

Choose from a variety of pre-made templates when creating handwriting worksheets.

Save your work for future reference, printing, or modification.

Spell check your work.

View your formatted document right in the editing screen.

Add clip art to any worksheet

Cost~ $40 for a year.

To read more about the benefits of abcteach and to view a video describing them click here.

I personally love the site, it is easy to navigate with a lot of helpful things for our home. Elizabeth is studying the human body for science. I had purchased the book A Skelton Inside Me, for her to read. On the abcteach site I found six pages of worksheet for her to work through after reading it. One included a crossword puzzle, she said " I love this mom, can you get me some more of these types of worksheets with other books?"

Click on the above logo to view other TOS Crew member's reviews of ABC Teach.

~Virginia Soaps and Scents~ TOS Crew Review

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:46:00 -0500

I received the following products free for the sole purpose of review. I am in no way paid by this company for my review.

About the company:

Virginia Soaps and Scents is owned by the Spargur's a homeschooling family located in Southeastern Virginia with 9 children. They began their homeschooling adventure 23 years ago and now have 5 graduates with 4 children still being taught at home and a granddaughter just beginning her first year of homeschooling.

Three years ago Mrs. Richelle Spargur decided to do a unit study with her children on Colonial Life in Virginia, and included within that was a bit on soapmaking. They entered the endeavor strictly as a one-time school project with a one pound batch of lavender soap, dyed with a melted purple crayon and molded in a piece of 3 inch PVC pipe. But they made REAL SOAP.

After that initial test project they continued to experiment,research,learn, design recipes and then 6 months later Virginia Soaps & Scents was born. They are now more than soapmakers but business owners. They launched their new business at their state homeschool convention in Richmond, Virgninia in June 2008. They're an example of a homeschool project that has become an entrepreneurial adventure.

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Crew, I received a wonderful Soap Sampler for review.

Included in the kit was a bar of the following soaps;

^ Handcrafted Olive Oil Soap in three scents, Fresh Orange, Oatmeal,Milk & Honey, Coconut-Lemongrass

^ Shampoo Bar,

^Laundry Soap kit.

About their products;

Handcrafted Olive Oil Soap-

This is real soap, not a detergent product. They use all natural ingredients with no added chemicals for hardening or lathering properties. Their soap is made by both cold process and in-the-mold hot processing. The bars are extremely hard and long lasting due ot the recipe they have developed. The big fluffy lather comes from a generous amount of coconut oil used in all of their soaps. They take a great deal of pride in the testimonials from allergy suffering customers all over the country that are using their soaps without allergic reactions.

These bars are 4. 75 ounces and come in the following scents:

Fresh Orange, Lavender, Oatmeal,milk & honey, Bay Rum, Sandalwood, Coconut Lemongrass, Violets & Lace, Victorian Rose, Baby Powder, Country Clothesline, Peppermint, Pumpkin, Badlands, Kiddiwink, Cookies & Cream, Walzing Matilda, Outback, Tropical Paradise, Full Moon, Black Tie, Unscented, Wild Bayberry.

Don't those all sound scrumptious!

Cost:

Single bar $4.50

Buy three bars for $12.00

Or the best deal...

Buy four for $18 and get one free.

My Thoughts: I loved using these soaps. The scents are fresh, but not overwhelming. They clean your skin without drying them out or leaving any lasting soap residue. I will be purchasing some for Christmas presents!

^~^~^~^~^~

Shampoo Bar-

The Shampoo Bar is also an olive oil based soap but also contains castor oil which acts as an extra "humectant", meaning, it holds moisture. Simply wet your hair downa nd rub the shampoo bar over your hair a couple of times and you'll have lather clear to your toenails! Their regualr sized shampoo bar is a whopping 5.5 ounces, which should easily give you the same number of shampoos as a 32 ounce bottle if not more. They recommned using the shampoo bar all over if you have very dry skin and feel free to shave with it too!

This comes in three scents-Ginger Lime, Coconut Lemongrass and Cherry Almond.

They also have an oil-clarifying shampoo bar that comes in Tangerine Grapefruit.

Cost for this bar is $5.50.

My Thoughts~ I tried using this soap on my fine, thin hair several times. After several days of use, it would leave a coating on my hair that made my hair look greasy. Others on the TOS crew loved it, also some used a vinegar rinse with it, I did not.

^~^~^~^~^~

Laundry Soap Kit-

This contains a grated bar of otheir lard cleaning soap and a pre-measured amount of borax and washing soda. The recipe makes 2 1/2 gallons of a heavy gel. Using this soap should 64-72 loads at about 7 cents per load. The laundry soap works great in front laoders and high efficiency machines as well. There are no cocnut oil in this product as suds don't actually wash the clothes, but they can be difficult to rinse out and the residue fromt he suds left in fabrics can cause many skin issues.

Cost: $4.95 One order is enough to make two batches of soap.

Please visit their website: Virginia Soap and Scents to see their complete product line. Their Gourmet Soap page gives an outlet for branching in to many different artistic techniques and is constnatly change as they experiment and broaden their skills. They also have Shaving Soaps for both men and women as well as Total Body Bars which have become some of the best selling products they've ever created. Their Bath and Body page contains their lotions, scrubs and powders. They also make a beeswax based Lip Balm in 5 flavors and a heavenly Lavender Linen Spray.

Shipping cost is not clearly listed on the website, but seem to max out at $10 when I had reached $25 worth of products. To purchase the buy 4 get 1 bars of soap, shipping was $7.

Please read other TOS Crew members reviews by clicking the image below.

~The Amazing Bible World History Timeline~TOS Crew Review

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:01:00 -0500

For review, as a member of the TOS Crew review I received a copy of the

Amazing Bible World History Timeline.

This timeline is huge,is 37" high and 45" wide. That's about three feet by four feet.

It aligns biblical and world history dates side-by-side, showing events that were happening at the same time. You have over a thousand references at your fingertips. All the important historical events of the principal religions and world cultures are indexed and outline in one simple to understand format. It's color coded so you can track families, nations and world events all happening at the same time easily.

The Amazing Bible Timeline is a tool to be used –
^ to see the order of Biblical events

^to visualize the length of time between Biblical or world events

^ to coordinate Biblical history with secular history.

It is printed on heavy durable cardstock and scuff coat varnished for great durability. The company does not laminate it because then it could not be rolled for mailing.

The Amazing Bible World History Timeline was last printed in 1931 and then updated by Bill and Margaret Agards.

The Agards, current printers of the Amazing Bible World History Timeline, operate several websites that describe, allow purchase and answers questions regarding their historical timeline.

I encourage my readers to read through these sites before purchasing this product.

Amazing Bible History Timeline

Amazing Bible Timeline

Amazing Bible Timeline with World History, with Holy Land maps

Cost for this product is $29.97 with an additional $6.00 shipping and handling fee. They ship this product via USPS Priority mail with tracking included for fast delivery.

Right now they offer with this product, Digital Amazing Bible Timeline( a $14.97 value) and Interactive Maps of the Holy Land (a $14.97 value) FREE!

My Thoughts:

This timeline is extensive and very large, it is great to find different world historical facts and how they line up with biblical history. It is large and so far I haven't found a great place for it to be located in our home.

I highly encourage you to read other TOS Crew reviews and review the websites listed before purchasing this product.

Please click the above logo to read other TOS reviewers thoughts on this product.

~October 24,2009...End of the Week Update~

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:09:00 -0500

Wow...I can't believe how the weeks fly by, is it really Friday? I am probably one of the few homeschool mom's that dread Friday's. I love my job, when I'm there, but the anticipation of leaving my cozy home and fun family is a hurdle each week.

Our school week was good, we all were productive and problems were peacefully worked-out!

Last Friday we had our Keeper's of the Home meeting. Grace learned simple sewing in Little Keeper's, she enjoyed sewing a pillow for her stuffed animals.

Grace enjoys anything that uses fine motor skills. Last year we did plastic canvas and she really enjoyed that. I plan to have her make plastic canvas Christmas ornaments for presents this year.

Liz and Jennifer's skill was photography. Jennifer has some great pictures on her camera. But I have a blog policy of not posting other people's children, so I will not be sharing them. Liz's I may share because they are of herself, her sister and our dog.

We always enjoy our Keeper's of the Home meeting, they are well organized and run by two of our precious friends. This is one of the girls favorite activities.

Monday we all enjoyed a field trip with dad to Winterset, Iowa. We were grateful for the sunny day, although this brought out the asian lady bugs. They were everywhere! We toured the city's covered bridges and made a stop at Tower park for a little nature hike.

The rest of our week was filled with our daily lessons,

Jennifer: Finished up her Kingdom Protista chapter in Biology, and everyone cheers! Kingdom Protista is probably the most difficult to remember all of the little detail for classifying those pesky bacterium! She continues to sail through Algebra 2, Teaching Textbooks, and enjoys math! In History she worked on finishing up the Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt with a study guide and readings in Streams of Civilization Volume I. She completed reading Anne of Green Gables for her Teaching the Classics, literature discussion class. Her Language Arts is going well, but we have to start concentrating on spelling next week.

Elizabeth: Elizabeth finished reading Baby Island this week, she has decided it is her favorite adventure story! She is working through her Christian Light Education Language Arts and Math, doing well with her daily work and quizes. Pathway Reader Level 5 remains a favorite and is currently probably her best subject. In science she is learning about the muscular system, and we also are worked on the nervous system adding the brain and spinal chord to our life size human body posters.

She also enjoyed art/drawing and making a Ancient Egypt pyramid.

Grace:

Grace has been reading up a storm, she is half-way through 100 Easy Reading lessons and loves her Christian Light Education Reading Lesson workbooks and Primer reader. She is diligent in sounding out every word and will cheerfully read everything I ask her. She started Lesson 15 in her Math U See Primer book and is learning simple addition problems. We also work on place value and finding the perimeter of simple shapes.

Grace also made an Ancient Egypt pyramid and enjoyed a fall tree craft. She is excited to start Little Mozart piano lessons next week.

Together:

Classical music- We studied Handel and listened to portions of Messiah.

Grapvine Bible Study- We worked through the end of Exodus and learned more about Israelites disobedience and God's commandments to them.

Tapestry of Grace Year One: We completed week eight, and I plan to merge week 9 and 10 together this week. Next week we will be studying the Jewish laws and holidays. I could have spent a lot more time in Ancient Egypt, but we need to move on. I continue to like Tapestry of Grace for the Rhetoric level questions, I have to dig deep to find hands-on activities that I like for Liz and Grace.

Thank you for reading about our week!

We are blessed~

Hug often, kiss much and practice forgiveness always,

Linda

~Sue Patrick Workboxes~TOS Crew Review

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:07:00 -0500

For TOS Crew review, I received a copy of Sue Patrick's Workbox System Users Guide in e-book format.

This detailed e-book outlines the how's and why's of using the Workbox system. The first few chapters are discuss homeschooling and how best to structure your homeschooling days. The following chapters discuss the nuts and bolts of Sue Patrick's Workbox System and why it will work best in your home.

Sue Patrick's Workbox System is a highly structured way to organize your child's school work and their day. Each day after their morning routine, your child is directed to go to their desk and begin working through their workboxes, using a scheduling strip to direct them.

I read through the detailed instructions and began using this system for Elizabeth, 3rd grade, several weeks ago.

Here is Elizabeth's workboxes with her scheduling strip hanging on the book case:

No more questions what do I do next? Gone is the dwaddling, because my art loving daughter sees that as soon as she completes her Math, she can draw! Each number on the schedule strip has a velcro dot that she then attaches to the workbox. She pulls her workbox down, sits down at her table and begins her work. Some boxes have, work with mom, tags on them. These assignments we sit and go through together, or I teach her the lesson and she completes the assignment. As she is working through her workboxes, I am just down the hall with Grace, so I can see her progress and know when she will need my help shortly. She also has four, "I need help", passes that she can use through out the day. This has helped her discern when she actually needs help, or when she can figure it out on her own.

As she completes her workbox, she places it in the grey tub next to her work table. This also has motivated her, to see the number workboxes going down and the grey completed tub being filled up. It is also great to have all of her completed assignments in one place. After school is done, I pull out her completed box, check her workbook or other work and replace it on the shelf. No lost workbooks or worksheets! Everything is in it's place and a place for everything.

Here is an example of one of Elizabeth's workbox with the "Work with Mom" label on it. When you purchase Sue Patrick's Workbox ebook, these extra labels, the schedule strips and other helps are included as downloads from her website.

I mark each book, with special notes for assignments or encouragement.

Other thiings that are included in Sue Patrick's e-book is ways to review your children's school work, using posters to teach your children and unit study helps.

Do we like Sue Patrick Workboxes?

Yes!

Is it worth buying the book?

Yes....the e-book, I highly recommend buying the book. Sue Patrick is invested a lot of time and her talents into writing this material. By buying the book, you will receive her detailed explanations behind the system.

Cost of the e-book is $19,

Purchase here:

Sue Patrick's Workbox System User's Guide Ebook

Also included in the price of the Ebook is the following;

^free downloads of forms and projects from the website.

~Blessed by this product,

Linda

Click on the above logo to view other reviews from TOS Crew members.

~Redefining Friday~

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:28:00 -0500

Our homeschool year has been off to a great and productive start. I have enjoyed our full and high-yielding days, the Lord has greatly blessed us! I made major changes to areas of my life this fall and am enjoying the benefits. Our Pastor began a series of messages in the late summer and early fall, with basis in these two books Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper and One-Month-to-Live-Thirty-Days-to-a-No-Regrets by Chris and Kerry Shook. I was convicted of the need to serve the Lord and jumped into several ministry opportunities at our church. We've been enjoying a full day at our Wednesday co-op and I am LOVING leading a Biology Co-op and Picturing America class. I also have been blessed to be a part of the TOS Crew.

To keep up with my home responsibilities, the activities that I am committed to, and work a job, I've been doing the proverbial "burning the candle at both ends". I've been rising early and staying up late. I have very few moments of "down" time and my lifestyle changes have provided me with enough energy to make it through each day. But I've slowly been becoming weary, complaining has starting to overtake me, and strife was beginning to creep into our home. "It is better to live in a corner of the roof, Than in a house shared with a contentious woman". Proverbs 25:24.

All of these things I've been doing good and worthy things, but I've been gradually becoming more and more distracted. I'd become her, "But Martha was distracted with all of her preparations;" Luke 10:38. I can so easily become Martha's kindred, joining with her in seeking the approval of God and man. Needing to "feel" spiritual and productive in the Kingdom, but getting away from the things that are most necessary. "but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Luke 10:42. I hadn't opened my bible all week, my usual morning quiet time had been crowded with preparations for classwork. I had stopped praying for others and instead shifted all my prayers to myself. "Lord give me strength and patience", had become a shouting prayer almost continually.

Sadly, my patience were to short with my children, and far to many times I was yelling at them when it truly wasn't necessary. I was constantly repenting for behaviors that were reactionary to situations that didn't warrant the use of such reactions.

My husband had grown quiet and we were hardly talking throughout the week. I've watched marriages dissolve over the last two years and I'm continually praying that ours would be solidly built on the Rock. Yet, I was doing nothing to build it.

Friday, I finally realized what had to happen. It wasn't easy, I enjoyed these things. But I knew that the Lord was calling me to build His kingdom, first within my own home. Some obligations are a must and I'm sticking with those that are serving my husband and children. I am praying for grace and patience from those I've had to tell that I can't be a part of their ministry. I also have to begin saying "no" and not being concerned what other's may think if I say "no".

I have dreams of serving the Lord in far and great places, but I know that He has called me to serve....Here and for now. If He wills it, one day, He will give me the desires of my heart. Until than I pray that I will stay steadfastly focused on the prize.

~Sarah's Wish-TOS Crew Review~

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:31:00 -0500

As part of the TOS Crew, I received a copy of Sarah's Wish by Jim Baumgardner.

Sarah's Wish is a the story of a 19th century, young girl who is orphaned, when she and her mother are in a terrible wagon accident. The story begins with the accident and takes the reader through the first few months of her loss. The setting is in rural Kansas and the characters are authentic. The underlying plot within the story is the fact that Sarah and her mother had a secret, their home was stop on the Underground Railroad. As she begins to live out the days after her mother's tragic death, Sarah must learn who she can trust or not trust. The plot is suspenseful and engaging, I loved the twist and turns that Mr. Baumgardner applies to his handcrafted story.

Written as Young-adult fiction this book has many moral and life lessons appropriate for children ages 10-15. Although there is an underlying theme of Christianity, the author is not trying convert anyone to anything. There is evil in the world and Sarah has to deal with this evil several times. The harsh reality of slavery is written tastefully and gives honor to the real people of that time.

One central character in the book is a physician, this gentleman is actually Mr. Baumgardner's Great-Great Grandfather. Mr. Baumgardner still lives near Wichiata, Kansas. In a letter to the TOS Crew mates Mr. Baumgardner shares this about himself:

"I am a 62-year-old grandfather of nine grandchildren, all homeschooled by my two daughters and one daughter-in-law. The Sarah Books are authored by me for my grandchildren."

I really enjoyed reading this book, Mr. Baumgardner is a great story teller and the plot is superb. The characters kept me engaged and the way Mr. Baumgardner writes, they seemed so real. There is a wonderful passage in the book where Doc Baum, Sarah and Granny travel to Ohio, the description of their travels and the historical information written were impressive to me. Even though we studied this time period, last year, in history I learned from Mr. Baumgardner's writing.

There are two more books in the series, Sarah's Promise and Sarah's Escape. I plan to purchase both for Christmas presents for my oldest daughter, Jennifer. Shhh don't tell!

Cost:

Author's Price: $9.99

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Click here to purchase.

One last thing to note, that when purchasing the paperback copy of Sarah's Wish, you receive a free audio download of the book.

To read an excerpt of Sarah's Wish please click here.

Click on the logo to read more TOS Crew Reviews of this and other products.

^~Guardian Angel Press~TOS Crew Review~^

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:26:00 -0500

For review, I received the following E-books from Guardian Angel Publishing.

Hamster Holiday:

A troupe of hamsters celebrate a year of hare-brained holidays in their unique hamster style. The book highlights nouns and adjectives on each page, as well as exploring opposites. Activity pages include scrambled words, match-up and crossword puzzles—plus much more. Grammar becomes fun and games with hamster helpers.

My Thoughts:

This whimsical little book is easily read and filled with adjectives. The illustrations are cute and engaging for young readers. Grace and I have enjoyed reading through this and giggling at the words. An enjoyable book for young readers. There are activity pages at the back that reinforce the lessons on nouns and adjectives. I must mention that on the page for October, the hamsters do dress up for "Monster Day" and one dresses up as a ghost.

Cost:

Purchase PDF eBook DOWNLOAD $5.00

Purchase PRINT Book $10.95 + $6.95 S&H

Purchase eBook CD $9.95 + $5.95 S&H

Click here to purchase.

“Stubby’s Destiny” is an inspirational story about a defeated donkey, Stubby, who feels he was born wrong. He was just about to give up when divine destiny tapped him on the shoulder. He was chosen to carry the King of Kings upon his back. “Stubby’s Destiny” will bring hope to hurting children who feel their situation is hopeless.

My Thoughts:

This delightful book is a great story about using our greatest potential to do what God has called us to do. It will teach your children to not try and be like others, but be exactly what God has made us to be. Although I don't believe in "destiny", but in the sovereignty and providence of God. The lesson is a great reminder to not be conformed to others, but be transformed into what God wants us to be.

Cost:

Download PDF eBook $5.00

Purchase eBook CD $9.95+$5.95 S&H

Purchase PRINT Book $10.95+$6.95 S&H

Purchase Here.

Andy and Spirit’s world expands as they grow together and experience things neither would have had the opportunity to do alone. The two become heroes to each other as they meet and accomplish challenges Andy never thought possible before the two of them became a team. 10 illustrations, 2100 word storybook, 24 pages.

Three extra pages of activities about 4-H and wild horse management.

My Thoughts:

This is a great book to teach about disabilities and how to overcome trials. Elizabeth really enjoyed reading this story, "Andy was determined and his horse helped him." Where her first thoughts, she is asking to read it again. The illustrations are remarkable and life like.

Cost:

Purchase PDF eBook DOWNLOAD $5.00

Purchase eBook CD $9.95+$5.95 S&H

Purchase PRINT Book $10.95+$6.95 S&H

To purchase and view pages from the book, click here.

Learning the bones in the human body can be a challenge for anyone. Using this clever learning tool in rhyme may be just what you’ve been looking for, no bones about it. You’ll be amazed at how fast you will be able to learn them from head to toe. Study the bones, find fun factoids, take the quiz, discover the mystery bones.

My Thoughts:

I found the illustrations in this book to be disturbing. For a children's book they were not warm and inviting, but on the odd side to me. Because of my concern I did not allow my children to read this book.

Cost:

Purchase PDF eBook DOWNLOAD $5.00

Purchase eBook CD $9.95 + $5.95 S&H

Purchase PRINT Book $10.95 + $6.95 S&H

To view excerpts and purchase the book click here.

This book about Earthquakes empowers your kids with information and preparedness. What causes earthquakes? Can we predict them? How are earthquakes measured? How do we prepare for them? There are lots of fun factoids and a few experiments. (Learn how to make your own seiche.) What was the biggest earthquake?

My Thoughts:

This book is a great resource for your children to use to learn about earthquakes. It is packed full of detailed information with very descriptive illustrations. Great for homeschool families.

Cost:

Purchase PDF eBook DOWNLOAD $5.00

Purchase PRINT Book $11.95+$6.95 S&H

Purchase eBook CD $9.95+$5.95 S&H

To purchase and read exerpts from this book click here.

Flora and Fernando are the wrong color for flamingos. They wonder what they could be until they discover becoming pink can take a year, and staying pink is due to their diet. At last relieved, they draw funny pictures of how they might look if they ate broccoli or blueberries.

My Thoughts:

This is a cute little story about two baby flamingo's whose feather's haven't changed to pink. They feel like misfits and search to see others like them. Finally they realize that it doesn't matter what color your feathers are but what is inside of you that counts.

Cost:

Purchase PDF eBook DOWNLOAD $5.00

Purchase eBook on CD $9.95 + $5.95 S&H

Purchase PRINT paperback book $10.95 + $6.95 S&H

Purchase DVD Book Video $9.95 + $5.95 S&H

To purchase and view excerpts of this book click here.

A little more about Guardian Angel Press~

GAP staff is composed of dedicated professionals who wish to create a safe and fun environment for children to learn and grow with our eBooks and print books. You will discover our musical artists, award winning photojournalists, artists and talented authors have pioneered to create this new dynamic form of eBooks and print books.

To see a full listing of their many other book titles, click here.

To view other TOS Crew Members reviews of Guardian Angel Press, click the TOS logo.

~A Family Guide to the Bible~

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 18:52:00 -0500

I received a copy of "A Family Guide to the Bible" by Christin Ditchfield from Crossway Publishers for review. I am a huge fan of Mrs. Ditchfield's book "A Family Guide to Narnia", therefore I was looking forward to reading this book.

About the author:

Christin Ditchfield is an accomplished educator, author, conference speaker, and host of the internationally syndicated radio program, Take It To Heart!(R) Using real life stories, rich word pictures, Biblical illustrations, and touches of humor, Christin calls believers to enthusiastically seek after God, giving them practical tools to help deepen their personal relationship with Christ.

Christin's articles, essays, and columns have appeared in numerous national and international magazines. She is the author of more than 50 books, including "A Family Guide to Narnia," "A Family Guide to the Bible," and "A Way With Words: What Women Should Know About the Power They Possess."

As a former preschool and elementary school teacher, Christin has a special place in her heart for children -- and for sharing with them her own life-long love of reading and learning. Many of her books have been written specifically for this purpose.

A frequent guest on radio and television programs such as Open Line, Midday Connection, Truth Talk Live, HomeWord with Jim Burns, and Dr. D. James Kennedy's "Truths That Transform," Christin holds a masters degree in Biblical Theology from Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, TX.

About the book:

All Christian parents want their children to gain a better understanding of God’s Word, but many of them are still searching to completely understand the Bible themselves. How can they confidently share what they believe with their families?

A Family Guide to the Bible takes readers on a fun and exciting tour through all sixty-six books of the Bible and offers parents, grandparents, and teachers a better understanding of the Scriptures so they can help the children in their lives know what is in the Bible, where to find it, and how it all fits together. As Christians become more familiar with God’s Word, they will gain greater confidence as they share what they believe with their family and friends, help answer questions concerning the Bible, and encourage others to grow deeper in their walks of faith.

My Thoughts:

At first glance I thought this book was going to be a wonderful tool for our home-learning this year. Jennifer has a lot of Old Testament reading for her history assignments and OT books like Leviticus and Numbers can drag on. But as I read through the first couple of chapters I was disappointed in the summaries brievity. This book just simply didn't fit my style of wanting to have my daughter understand the Old Testament books and their deep meaning. The book is well written and offers an excellent summary of the Bible. But for me, it is just best to go straight to the source. As a parent it is sometimes frustruating to not know exactly where to find. But in the struggle and prayers that accompany it, many riches will be mined from the Bible itself.

~Appreciating the vast resources with have in great Christian material,

Linda

Faith in Love - Homeschool Blogger

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*^*~Guardian Angel Press~TOS Crew Review~*^*

~A Family Guide to the Bible~

^~Guardian Angel Press~TOS Crew Review~^