Embracing a Healthy Family

Our Homeschool Lesson: Making Scones for Our British Theme





I love Jane Austin mostly because I was introduced backwards via movies instead of books first.  Maybe it's because I'm a dual citizen by descent or not but all things British have an enormous appeal to me.  My mom and dad were married there while my dad was in the Air Force and I've been there a few times thanks to work (picture above).  I adore Austenland, a quirky movie about Jane and Mr. Darcy with a modern spin.  My youngest, who is proud to be a junior version of myself, enjoys it too.  As part of understanding how learning is picked up better when it interests children, I couldn't ignore exploring the British route to teach.  As a spur of the moment idea, I decided we would bake scones, have a high noon tea (chocolate milk) and printed off some educational sheets.


 






I believe they had fun and they even liked the scones!










Jehovah's Mighty Acts Bible Stories from Reformed Free Publishing Review





This post is a review and we were provided a free copy of the book. Our opinions are our own.





We love books in our house from ages 4 through 50 something. We are also a Christian homeschooling family so we love to include biblical based books in our library. Recently, we had a chance to review Jehovah's Mighty Acts Bible Stories Book from Reformed Free Publishing. This is the first book of what will be part of a series of books to read aloud to children or to have them read by themselves as the recommended ages are 7-10. The series will be not in chronological order, rather by theme. Jehovah's Mighty Acts Bible Stories, by Nathan J. Langerak, is about the Old Testament and God's mighty acts. The next book, Old Testament friends and servants, is to be released in the fall of 2010.

About the Book


  • Hardcover book
  • 100 pages
  • Beautiful old world appearing illustrations by Michael Welply
  • 31 chapters
  • Book one, Jehovah's Mighty Acts, is part of a series entitled Tell His Wonders.

Table of Contents


It begins with the beginning, the creation of the world (GENESIS 1-2). It's not words and sentences taken from the Bible rather it's a story that provokes the child(ren) to think about the Bible. It's a great introduction to make the words from the Bible easier to understand to little minds. Each chapter is short enough to be a great night time treat before bed. 


Chapter 2:  God's Friends (GENESIS 2)


Adam, Eve and the garden are introduced. The stories are in alignment with the Bible but are told in such a way, it's so easy for children to understand.

"Do you remember that God made the heavens and the earth? God made the world and everything in it in six days. On that sixth day God made the first man, Adam. He formed Adam out of the dust of the ground and breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life."


Chapter 9: Abraham Sacrifices Isaac (GENESIS 18, 21-22, HEBREWS 1)


"Abraham was God's friend. That means that God made his covenant with Abraham. In his covenant God promises to be the God of his people, to save them from their sings by Jesus Christ, and to take them to heavenly glory."


Chapter 18: Across Jordan (NUMBERS 20, DEUTERONOMY 34, JOSHUA 3-4)

"In Moses' place God chose Joshua. Joshua was one of the two good spies, and he had been Moses' helper. He would lead Israel into Canaan. God told Joshua that he would work a mighty miracle so that the people would see that God was with Joshua as God had been with Moses. God would also work this miracle so that all Israel would know that God was with them."



My daughter said she really liked how the stories made the Bible more understandable and she liked how there were definitions that followed more difficult words. She also said she liked how synonyms were utilize to help reinforce the word.

Overall, we really enjoyed the book and I foresee it being a classic in our family library for many years to come. 


To purchase, just click on the book link:  Jehovah's Mighty Acts Bible Stories


Excelerate SPANISH Streaming by Excelerate SPANISH Review







Learning another language has been essential for having more options in our smaller world. Generations ago, the need wasn't there but now with everything being global and online, knowing another language can increase chances for certain jobs while enhancing traveling options. I never learned another language and regretted it. My oldest did learn German which made me envious. This is why I wanted to review Excelerate SPANISH Streaming by Excelerate SPANISH. As the program name implies, it is an online program. For this review, it will focus on the Level 1 and Level 2 curriculum for both myself and my youngest daughter. 

There are physical books which we did not review and I suspect they would be an asset to this program. There are free items available, however, such as vocabulary review and practice on Quizlet that correlate with the Excelerate SPANISH Streaming program. I found the free resources really helpful and allowed us to further our practicing of Spanish. It is expected to complete a lesson a week which seemed reasonable to us as it allows more opportunity to practice and learn.


Excelerate SPANISH


For Spanish 1, there are 24 lessons and the lessons are in a classroom setting. Each lesson averages around 45 minutes in length. It not just an audio program as the teacher utilizes a white board to write words to reinforce the verbal component. She speaks in a clear manner making it easy to follow. She also makes it engaging and not just a teacher who stands up in the front of the room to record.


As noted above, the extra freebies really helped to reinforce the videos. The online flashcards were of tremendous help to my daughters along with some of the other features to this website.


Excelerate SPANISH Streaming

There are students in the classroom to show participation that again, reinforces the learning aspect of the program. They helped act out the words/sentences thus further allowing one to absorb the lessons.


Each lesson (lesson 8 shown above) continues in the same format and builds on each lesson.



Moving towards Spanish 2, it definitely picks up with utilizing Spanish more frequently and forming sentences. There are a lot more interactive classroom participation from the students.

Each lesson included the teacher writing each vocabulary word and phrase on the white board. She will utilize a physical action to accompany the word to further emphasis the learning ability. 

Overall, the lessons are taught with humor and a lot of physical movement to include student participation. There are no continued repetitive grammar exercises or drills, rather it is taught in real situations...an immersion so to speak. It really resembles teaching a young child to speak English with all the hand and body gestures and repeating of words and pointing. It's a different way of teaching than what I've seen and I think it works quite well. The program would be also be good for adults and families.



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HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW:

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Excelerate SPANISH help your students to learn FAST, naturally! (Streaming)  {Excelerate SPANISH Reviews}






Online Drawing Program by Creating a Masterpiece Review







We received a one year subscription to the online Drawing Program by Creating a Masterpiece which I really looked forward to given I have a house full of young artist. Recently, I took up rock painting as a new hobby and I even learned a few things. Our access included a variety of lessons such as: Beginning Drawing, Drawing 1, Drawing 2, and Drawing 3. Each section included instruction in drawing using pencil, colored pencil and charcoal. We created many masterpieces but for this review, I'm going to focus on a couple of different projects. The drawing above was done by one of my daughters after taking a few lessons and utilizing the techniques taught.

FIRST PROJECT

Lessons in Pencil: Tuckered out Turtle. 

Each project provides a button to see what supplies are needed and as a nice feature, there is a chart that provides how much supply is needed based on the number of students working on the project. Another nice feature is Sharon provides the products she recommends via purchase supplies link. You are not required to purchase from that link but it does provide you with what supplies you will need to purchase on your own. Below is example screen shots for the information I just mentioned:



RECOMMENDATION

I recommend reviewing each project ahead of time to obtain the supplies needed and to check out the videos if you won't be sitting with the student just to have an idea on how to guide and help if needed. There is a Helpful Tips section for each project that really is helpful. Sharon explains techniques and provides suggestions that are worth ensuring your student reads.

VIDEO LESSONS

The projects have videos that teach the corresponding lesson. For Tuckered out Turtle, there were eight sections. The videos are just right in duration.  



The FINAL MASTERPIECE:



SECOND PROJECT

Lessons in Pencil: Drawing the Egg

This was a project that seemed like it was easy and required little instruction. However, Sharon provides all the necessary techniques and suggestions that allows the student to not only draw but to understand different techniques such as why you might hold a pencil a certain way. The videos are taught in a manner that are easy to follow and clear to understand. They are broken into segments that allows the student to continue forward in one sitting or to stop pending each student's needs.








"Creating a Masterpiece lessons were easy to follow. I learned different drawing techniques and the teacher was easy to understand," ~Jamie.


"The lessons were short and didn't require a long time to get through each one," ~Danielle

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I think the online Drawing Program by Creating a Masterpiece is a very good program to teach children and even adults how to draw using different mediums. The videos are paced just right to not be overwhelming and versatile to allow each student to proceed through each lesson. Sharon teaches in a manner which is not intimidating and uses encouragement and great tips on how to get the masterpiece you want.

We recommend the curriculum.






SOCIAL MEDIA

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HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW:

Check out what others on the Homeschool Review Crew, a division of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, thought by clicking on the (photo) link below:



Learning to Draw {Creating a Masterpiece Reviews}







Secret of the Hidden Scrolls Book 5 & 6 by WorthyKids Books Review







Several months ago, we reviewed two books in the Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series by WorthyKids Books. Those two books were a hit in our house so naturally I jumped at the opportunity to review 
Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Shepherd's Stone (Book 5) and Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Lion's Roar (Book 6). The two books continue the time-traveling chapter book series and prepared my readers for the next book, book 7, which will be released soon. The soft cover books, 128 pages each, are inexpensive and are perfect for any children's library collection. They are recommended for ages 6-9 in grades 1-3.

BACKGROUND:

Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Shepherd's Stone (Book 5) continues the adventurous story of Peter, Mary and their dog, Hank. This time, the children travel to Bethlehem thanks to the ancient scrolls they previously discovered. Their time travel puts them front and center to witness the well known epic battle between David and Goliath. If that wasn't enough, they are faced with solving a dastardly plot while fighting their way against their old enemy, Soldier of Darkness. 

Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Lion's Roar (Book 6) continues from Book 5 and transports the siblings this time to the city of Babylon. Their battle this time is with a High priest who is plotting to push Daniel out of power. They experience all that Babylon has to offer from chariot races to temples to soldiers. Of course, no story will be right without the ol' familiar Soldier of Darkness.





OUR THOUGHTS:

  • The author, M.J. Thomas, perfects each chapter ending by leaving a cliff hanger thus keeping the children poised to read the next chapter.
  • The illustrations are simple and don't distract from the story. I think if they were in color, it might be more appealing to some but we were fine with the black and white illustrations. 
  • Each story not only teaches about the Bible but also provides life lessons.
  • Each book teaches you to face your fears, stand up with God and conquer any obstacle thrown your way.
  • At the end of each book, there is a list of passages from the Bible that the reader can refer to in order to learn more which we really liked.
  • The book was easy for my eight year old to read and understand.

Overall, we continue to love this series and recommend them. They are well written, adventurous and Christian oriented.

"They are exciting and full of adventure!" ~my granddaughter



"Every single night, she begged to read another chapter before bed."



GIVEAWAY:

Three winners will receive signed copies of the complete series. Click on the photo link below for more information.









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Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Shepherd's Stone (Book 5) & The Lion's Roar (Book 6) {WorthyKids Books Reviews}










Brain Blox Wooden Building Planks by Brain Blox Review









My kids and grandkids love to play with building products but I had no idea how much they would love Brain Blox Wooden Building Planks by Brain Blox. They were so much fun from building whatever their imaginations thought of to even making a game out of them. They are also pretty cool in sneaking in some math practice and spelling while you play with them. They are made from solid wood with a precision cut that leave them smooth with no chance of getting splinters. They are also chemical free which is a bonus for me as there are enough chemicals in products that kids play with. The other cool feature to me is they are made of pine from New Zealand. My English grandparents moved to New Zealand after my mom married my dad and they moved to the States. 




The Brain Blox Wooden Building Planks arrived in a sturdy cardboard box and included a red canvas backpack, a color booklet of ideas along with information on the free eBook. Brain Blox provides a lot of great free resources too! From ideas on what to build downloadable cards to curriculum to videos and it's all FREE! They provide countless hours of fun that requires no iPad or other gaming system. I prefer to have avenues for the kids to utilize their imaginations while learning and developing problem solving and logical thinking. It's also good for dexterity and spatial awareness especially for the little ones. 

After we first opened the box, I let the kids do whatever they wanted to do and they built all sorts of things. They then ended up building a tower and took turns pulling out planks. They have had day after day of fun with them!

"I love them and you could do just about anything with them!" ~my youngest daughter

One of the things that interested me was the free curriculum, as noted above, which I utilized Levels 4-6.They call it Brain Blox University and they state that they are 'introducing early S.T.E.M. to children by helping them with spatial awareness through active building and thoughtful questions.' The curriculum includes a skills and concepts section and utilizes the Let's Build! Idea Cards which is also a free download. Here is a sample:


This is day one and they are each contemplating what to build:


The idea book was brought out for inspiration on this one:


This one was built by one of the children as a show stage:


Have to have a car ramp to make any building set complete:


The grandkids decided to try their hand at it another day:


A little educational fun:



How high can we get it??


The tall tower he's so proud of that he built all by himself!



Needless to say, they have enjoyed every day playing with the Brain Blox Wooden Building Planks by Brain Blox. It's a great way to incorporate some fun educational games and practice, or just to get their brains and imagination fired up! We loved them and highly recommend them!

"The planks were so much fun!" ~my oldest daughter

Also, read my other review for Fun Family Chess by Brain Blox.


To purchase, just click on the Brain Blox Wooden Building Planks link.




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HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW:

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Brain Blox Wooden Building Planks {Brain Blox Reviews}










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