I was sent four (4) sets of Solar Beads to give away ... these are really cool! When they arrive in the mail, the beads are pearly white. But when you expose them to the sun, they change colors and end up looking like this:

To enter the contest, just leave a comment and be sure to leave some way for me to contact you (email or a blog link). I'll choose FOUR (4) winners on Wednesday, August 13th. (This contest is open to bloggers from any country - the package should be light enough not to cost too much. However, I reserve the right  to determine this after I choose my winners and am able to check shipping prices. I myself will be paying the postage, NOT SolarBeads.com.)

Check out the SolarBeads.com website for more information about this fun product! Create necklaces or bracelets with them and watch them change as you go from inside to outside! Here is the description as posted on their site:

Solar Beads are also called UV Beads or Ultra Violet Beads because it is the Ultra Violet rays of the Sun that makes them change colors.  The bowl of solar beads to the left has just been exposed to the sun for five (5) seconds!  The power of the sun is shown to be very powerful on this day!!!  When you take them out of the sun, they return to their milky-white state when not exposed to solar UV rays.

These are a great way for teachers and educators to show kids the POWER of the SUN.  The most common method is to have kids make bracelets with them and walk around from sun to shade to inside a vehicle to show them where the UV rays are more harmful (more suggestions in the Teaching link above).

Club kids love them because they change colors when exposed to indoor club UV lights.  Worn in a hair braid or on sneakers they catch people's eyes.  Adults should use them as reminders to put on sun block or move into the shade.  These are "pony" size beads measuring 9mm with a 3mm hole.

... Kris ...

Hand that Rocks the Cradle: 400 Classic Books for Children
Nathaniel Bluedorn
www.christianlogic.com

Reading to your children is one of the best experiences that parents and children can share together. Reading GOOD books is even more important! This 110 page book contains reviews of 400 books for children of all ages. The books are listed by subject and author and reading levels are included. Hand that Rocks the Cradle is full of recommendations of wonderful "classic" books ... those books that have been read by children generation after generation.

Page 10 includes an explanation of symbols used in each book's review. These symbols make it very easy for a parent to find good books quickly! You will know in an instant the time period and location in which the story takes place. This makes it easy to match books up with a current history or geographical study. The subject matter listing in the back helps a parent taylor their child's reading to their current interest, too.

The book is small & light enough to stay in a larger purse or tote bag for those trips to the library. Of course, there are a lot more than 400 books for parents and children to read together, but if you are looking to avoid "fluff" reading, Hand that Rocks the Cradle will fulfill that requirement. There are enough choices here to offer quality reading to your children for the 12 years that they are in school!

... Kris ...

Penmanship Books
LightHome Publications
www.lighthome.net/ebooks  

I have received for review several different titles from the penmanship books published by LightHome Publications. I have to say that these are the most interesting and unique penmanship books that I have seen. I can't imagine a student NOT enjoying their writing practice if they are using one of their titles! I have already reviewed the A-Z Homesteading Cursive Penmanship book. One great thing about these books is that they are reproducible for use with ALL children in your family! Here are the other titles that I have seen and my thoughts about them:

A Celebration of Christian Character (Gr. 4-9)- Here is the description as it appears at CurrClick.com:

"Joy Marie’s 26 character poems contain one Christian character trait in poetry form for each letter of the alphabet, 4 lines per poem. Each of the 26 character poems wisely teaches the moral basis and practical application of each character trait in the context of everyday life. Each poem is accompanied by a matching Bible verse for students to copy as well. Every page is graced by a large, fancy decorated letter reminiscent of “illuminated” Bibles of the Middle Ages. At the end of the character poems (A-Z) is a word search puzzle, followed by 14 pages of New Testament verses that form the foundation of Christian character. Each verse is accompanied by a stained-glass style bookmark to color (more than 14 bookmarks in all), with a colorful Bible memorization page and a crossword puzzle at the very end."

I really like this title! The child can learn 26 easy poems to help them learn the meaning of some new vocabulary as well as a Bible verse that relates the same thoughts. Each page is just begging to be colored in, too, so you can work a little art class in as well! In addition to the 26 alphabet pages, there are 14 more pages of copywork included.

A-Z Animals You Never Heard of: Mammals - The description from CurrClick.com:

"Kids will love getting to know these unusual animals. Each page includes text in cursive, copywork lines, plus word puzzles added as a bonus for when the copywork is done. We also give you 2 colorfully decorated extra copywork pages in 2 line sizes, plus a word search that includes all 26 unusual mammals. Your kids will also be inspired by the fact that some of the illustrations are by family artists educated at home. This book was inspired by the extensive research of our homeschooled middle son, Judah. This book is the first in a series of 12 books of unusual animals, A to Z, which will include little-known mammals, birds, sea creatures, and reptiles and amphibians."

Most children love learning about animals and this book makes it interesting! This is a CURSIVE penmanship book, but a younger child could color the included pictures and read the information about each animals. There are two scrambled words on each page, so there's a little extra to make your brain work a little harder!

A Wagon Train Alphabet - Westward Ho! A-Z History Unit Study Penmanship: The description from CurrClick.com -

"Experience what it was like to travel west in a wagon train. Practice all the cursive letters in the alphabet with this exciting unit study in a penmanship book. Copywork pages tell about different aspects of life in a wagon train on the way to Oregon or California, exploring the hardships, meals, kids’ daily chores, challenges, recreation, and much more. We have pioneered a new concept in penmanship, our history unit study penmanship, which includes well researched history content along with ideas and activities to help make history come alive for your children. This book includes 5 recipes for an authentic wagon train meal, a map of the Oregon and California trails, a supplies word search puzzle, 3 pioneer paper dolls and extra costumes, pioneer crafts to make, plus activity ideas for your family to enjoy, either as a family or with your homeschool support group. (Ideas for both contexts are provided.) Illustrations on every page reflect the time period and show what life was like."

What a great book to accompany your study of the west! You could actually purchase this book and use it as the starting point for your own Westward Ho! unit study as there is an abundance of information in it!

An Elegant Floral Alphabet - Flower Names from A - Z: The description as it appears at CurrClick.com:

"We have made handwriting practice a delight by creating beautifully illustrated pages in color with gorgeous flowers and fancy letters on each page, one for each letter of the alphabet. We start by teaching the cursive letters with dotted lines to trace, introduced in order of difficulty (the easy ones first). Throughout the book, each exercise appears in dotted letters to trace as well as in solid letters with blank lines to copy on. We also give you beautiful coloring pages to go with more than half of the exercises. You can use these as reward pages, or simply as art to go with handwriting. Plus we give you Bible verse posters, extra copywork pages in color to use as you choose, and a flower word search puzzle at the end. Each page has a word scramble or other word game to add to the fun."

I believe that this one is my favorite because it is so beautiful! It was created especially for girls, but your boys could use it, too, especially as additions to their nature notebooks. This is a great starter cursive book since the student can trace the dotted lines for each word to start. After they trace the word, they can practice it on the lines provided. There are more words to unscramble in this book, too!

There are other penmanship titles available about animals, flags, presidential quotes, backpacking and more! I highly recommend these books ... they take the "boring" out of writing practice!

... Kris ...