If You’re Stopping by to Visit . . .

Will you please come visit me here?

I’ve found a lovely new spot on the web and I’d enjoy a visit.

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Graduation

I really can’t believe it but Graduation is so.very.close.

In less than 2 weeks, my Senior will be a High School Graduate.  I am proud of who she is and what she is allowing GOD to do in her life.

There is quite a bit to get done before the actual ceremony.  We’ve spent the day working on announcements.  Decorations need to be finalized for the reception.  I need to do her video and we need to decide on what to put on her table for the church.

What a season of life!  I am blessed.

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GOD’s Great Covenant

“How many books are in the Bible?”  66

“The Bible is divided into 2 parts.  What are they?”  Old Testament and New Testament

“Great!  How many books are in the Old Testament?” 39

“How many books are in the New Testament?” 27

“Perfect!  The first 5 books of the Old Testament are called what?”  The Pentateuch “Yes!  They are the books of Law.”

“And the first 4 books of the New Testament are called what?” The Gospels

“Exactly!  Because they tell the story of JESUS.  They are ALL about HIM!”

This has been my conversation starter for years!  I drill my children on this and I drill my Middle Schoolers on this.  I start almost every Bible Study off with these questions.  I think that it is SO VERY IMPORTANT for students to know basics about their Bible.  AND I think it is EVEN MORE IMPORTANT for students to know about JESUS!

And studying through the Gospels is perfect for learning about JESUS.  We had just recently finished our current Bible study material when GOD’s Great Covenant, New Testament 1 arrived in the mail.  GOD’s perfect timing!  Another great curriculum by Classical Academic Press, GOD’s Great Covenant, New Testament 1 helps make the story of JESUS come alive as you study from HIS birth through ascension through the Gospels.

A historical, chronological study of GOD’s redemptive promise that is written for students 4th grade and up, GOD’s Great Covenant, New Testament 1 has been enjoyed by my 5th and 7th graders.  We’ve used a combination of methods to best utilize the curriculum and suit our needs.  I’ve read portions of the study aloud, we’ve listened to portions of the study together and I’ve had the children read portions of it for themselves.  The Review Worksheets at the end of each chapter have been used in much the same way.  We’ve reviewed orally (by answering the questions in the Key Facts and Story Facts sections) to make sure they were listening AND they’ve also spent time with the different crossword puzzles and activities.  I have also had them look up additional verses in their Bibles and answer questions based on their understanding of them.

Here’s what the website has to say about God’s Great Covenant, New Testament 1:

In God’s Great Covenant, New Testament 1: A Bible Course for Children, students will follow the story of Jesus, the Messiah and King, as He is born and fulfills all God’s promises. But Jesus does not arrive as people expected. The people were looking for a mighty warrior to deliver them from the oppressive Roman government. Instead, He came as the suffering Savior, who would die as the sacrifice for sin and death. He was building a kingdom that was not of this world—it was the kingdom of God. He is the Son of Man, God’s Servant, the Messiah, and the Son of God. Each of the four units in this text emphasizes one of these names of Jesus. God’s Great Covenant, New Testament 1 teaches the Gospels to students in fourth grade and up, using stories, worksheets, memory verses, devotional guides, quizzes, and a little boy named Simon. In the introductions to the text, students will also learn about the historical, cultural, and geographical setting of the New Testament. This book is a most comprehensive and heartfelt study of the Gospels, and many parents and teachers will find themselves learning along with their students.

A detailed Teacher’s Edition is also available. It is a full copy of the student text, and also provides answer keys and teacher’s notes with additional factual information to expand upon the historical, geographical, cultural, and theological concepts introduced in the text.  {I found this to be MOST BENEFICIAL to me in personal Bible study as well as in leading my children through the study.}

This HUGE resource (over 345 pages) is divided into 36 Chapters. You study just one chapter each week.  The Chapters are divided into 4 units — each unit based on one of the Names of JESUS. Each chapter contains a multitude of learning tools including a memory verse, a key facts chart,  and a section that explains how JESUS fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.  Students are encouraged to think about the fact that GOD is real in their own lives.  There is even a worksheet and a quiz that can be used to make sure that your child really understands what you’ve been studying.

One of my favorite parts of God’s Great Covenant, New Testament 1 has been studying the maps included in the reading.  They have helped us to “see” where JESUS walked and ministered and have helped us to really understand what we study in the Bible.  It has made our Bible study time much more personal {and I’ve even snuck a little math in} as we’ve discussed how far away things really were (or how close!) — and compared that to our distance from neighboring cities.

JESUS has truly stepped off of the pages of the text in this conversationally written book and right into our every day lives. It has been a positive reinforcement for all that I’ve been teaching my children through the years and I look forward to continuing our study throughout the summer.  I would also like to study the first two books in the series (Old Testament 1 and Old Testament 2) and make sure that my Boy Scout and my Princess have a solid understanding of GOD’s Word.  In New Testament 1, we have seen the Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in the life of JESUS — and we have had more opportunities to discuss how very much HE loves us!

You can peruse the pages of the first three chapters online and see for yourself how good it really is.  I wholeheartedly recommend GOD’s Great Covenant, New Testament 1 for your family.  You can purchase the Student Text for $26.95 or you can purchase the entire Bundle for only $56.95. The Bundle includes a student book, a Teacher’s Book, and the audio book download and has been most beneficial to us.

~~Disclaimer:  I was given the opportunity to use and review GOD’s Great Covenant as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  The opinions stated are mine and mine alone.  I was not paid to share my thoughts and feelings with you.  I received the curriculum in exchange for my honest review. You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew thought of  GOD’s Great Covenant by Classical Academic Press HERE.~~

 

 

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Christian Kids Explore Chemistry = Good for All

I love Bright Ideas Press!  I think their Mystery of History was the very first curriculum that I used outside of a pre-boxed all-inclusive program in our homeschool.  I found it one year and decided we’d give it a try — proving to myself that I was a “real” homeschooler!  After years of taking what I considered the “easy way,” I moved outside of the box and started finding different things to fit my family and allow us to relax a little.  I had MADE it! And we’ve been making it ever since.  As a result, Bright Ideas Press has remained one of my favorite companies for great homeschool resources.

Last year we had the opportunity to review TWO Bright Ideas Press products — Illuminations and WonderMaps.  They were both excellent and I’ve continued using them. {I’d love for you to check out both of those reviews and learn a little more about them.} I am impressed with all that I’ve seen from Bright Ideas Press so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review a book from their Christian Kids Explore Science series this year.  My Senior has been working through Chemistry, so I thought it would be a good subject to study with the Boy Scout and the Princess as well.  {I’ll let you in on a little secret here though, the Senior has used it even more than me.  She says it explains so many things so much better than HER textbook.}

Christian Kids Explore (CKE) Science Chemistry is a Christian curriculum that is easy-to-use and offers hands-on activities for 4th- 8th grade students.  (My younger kids are 5th and 7th grade so it was PERFECT for us.)  Not only is it user-friendly, but it includes a variety of components to keep all of your learners involved.  For my Princess there were coloring pages and for the Boy Scout there were experiments to try.  I appreciated the teaching plans that made my life much easier and I LOVED the fact that GOD’s WORD was included throughout.  Scripture-infused textbooks make me HAPPY!

CKE Chemistry is organized as 30 Lessons in 5 Units and is perfect for upper elementary and Junior High students.  Each lesson took us about 30 minutes of reading and reviewing (not including time spent doing the Hands-On activity). The 5 Units are as follow:

1. The Basics of Chemistry
2. Atoms and Molecules
3. The Nature of Chemistry
4. States of Matter and
5. Organic Chemistry

Included in the 356-page textbook are definitions, charts, graphs and experiments galore.  There’s even a list of Suggested Reading for additional study on any of the given topics.  Students are directed to other books and resources for any of the topics that they want to learn more about and that keeps my Boy Scout digging deeper.  Yes!

The best part about the experiments is that I had what we needed right in my kitchen — for the most part.  It was easy to read our lesson in the living room and then move right into the kitchen and dining room to do the Hands-On activity that went along with it.  The coloring pages were useful, too, because the Princess “listens” best when her hands are occupied.  While she was engaged in coloring creativity, she was able to stay focused on what I was reading aloud.  When it came time to answer the review questions, she proved she had been paying close attention.  That’s a win-win for us all!

I shared the ~secret~ with you that my Senior found CKE Chemistry helpful, too.  I had loaded the PDF on my Kindle for ease of use and she “borrowed” it repeatedly to use as a supplement to her textbook.  I asked her to share a little about what she thought of it, and this is what she said:

I love the CKE Chemistry course because it provides information in an easy-to-understand format.  It was not overwhelming.  Each lesson offered a passage to read, vocabulary words to concentrate on and a fun experiment that wasn’t stupid.  The quick review section made it easy to confirm that I “got” what I’d spent time reading.

I liked the fact that it took high school textbook information and made it easier to understand and grasp.  While it does not replace a high school textbook, it would complement just about any Christian high school curriculum nicely.  That’s how I have used it and I think I understand even better what my textbook is saying.

Christian Kids Explore Chemistry, all new 2nd Edition, is available for purchase for $39.95 and includes an easy-to-use Resource CD.  The Resource CD includes Daily Lesson Plans, a Materials Lists, a bonus Literature Study Guide, and all of the reproducibles ready for you to print and embark on a great learning adventure.

You CAN teach Chemistry to your children – and don’t worry, answers are included! Why don’t you take a peek at the Table of Contents for a more in-depth look at all that you’ll be studying and then read through the entire first unit in the sample pages?  I think you’ll be as happy to have found Bright Ideas Press as I was so many years ago.  Bright Ideas Press really IS curriculum moms love!

~~Disclaimer:  I was given the opportunity to use and review Christian Kids Explore Science Chemistry as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  The opinions stated are mine and mine alone.  I was not paid to share my thoughts and feelings with you.  I received a PDF Download of the curriculum in exchange for my honest review. You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew thought of  this and some of the other great Science curriculums offered by Bright Ideas Press HERE.~~

 

 

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Earth Rocks!

Earlier this year I had the privilege of reviewing a math workbook published by AIMS Education Foundation and it was a hit at my house due to its total hands-on approach.  AIMS is the place “where science and math are made fun” and we’ve recently been reviewing another excellent AIMS workbook — a science book full of fun activities.

We’ve been studying the Ajanta Caves in India –they were carved out of stone by monks using chisels!  We have also done a study of crystal formations and even made some of our own.  What perfect timing to begin the study of Earth Rocks! We are always looking forward to experiments as we study and GOD is so faithful to provide just what we need.

Earth Rocks! is written specifically for 4th and 5th grade students, but my 7th grader enjoyed many of the activities, too.  Within its 336 pages, students take an in-depth look at the Earth — exploring rocks, soil and water in a multitude of ways.  The 7 major concepts covered in the workbook are:

• Rocks

• Minerals

• Soil

• Water

• Earth Changes

• Resources and

• Pollution

Chock-full of mini books — called “Rubberband Books” because you hold them together with a rubberband —  and hands-on activities and journals, Earth Rocks! takes to heart the Chinese proverb that says:

I hear and I forget,

I see and I remember

I DO and I understand.

This approach gives extra reinforcement in learning because students truly DO UNDERSTAND the material presented once they’ve completed the myriad of activities included with each concept.  For example, while studying Rocks students use Rock Information Cards to answer questions.  They list the type of rock being studied, describe the  texture and color of the specified rock, give information on where the rock forms, AND share fascinating facts and potential uses for each rock.  These Rock Information Cards make for a very thorough mini-resource center for your child.

One of our favorite activities from Earth Rocks! was baking cookies to study the metamorphic process.  I’ll bet you didn’t know that you could observe metamorphosis in your own kitchen.  We had a great time making cookies with the yummy recipe included and then playing with our food.  {Yes, you read that correctly! We were instructed to play with our food — and we did!} When else do you have permission to squash cookies with your hands, put them on the floor and step on them and iron over them with a clothes iron on your ironing board?  NEVER!  Unless you are studying science the AIMS Education Foundation way, of course.

Filled with delightful illustrations, Earth Rocks! offers “connecting learning” opportunities at the end of each lesson where students are encouraged to use a basic Scientific Method to reinforce what they’ve just been taught.  In this section, before they move on to studying another concept, students are taught how to connect the pieces of  what they have been learning. Students are led to

1. Think about what they’ve learned

2. Observe what they’ve studied– sketch it and write it out

3. Experiment — touch, scratch, pick up, taste AND

4. Discover!

We found another fun activity while studying the Earth Changes Concept.  The Princess and the Boy Scout worked together to complete a model of a streambed — complete with a muskrat tunnel and den — and used it to simulate a washout to demonstrate how plants and animals are affected by erosion. {Although the workbook suggestion was to make the streambed in an 11 x 13 pan, my kiddos decided to make it a little larger. They said it was much more exciting to spend some time outside in the sand.} Who doesn’t love playing with sand and water during school?

There are a  few other activities that have made our Must-Do list.  As we continue our study of Earth Rocks!, there are ice glaciers to be made {after all, it is the 100th anniversary of the Titanic!} and there’s a geology lesson using peanut butter, jelly, raisins and different types of bread that is seriously calling our name.

It’s nice to look forward to science time in school and it’s even nicer not to have to worry about the theology behind what we’re studying.  I was delighted to find that Earth Rocks! does not assume or teach that ”millions of years” have passed in the history of the Earth.  When discussing rock or glacier formation, the book simply states that these things took place over time.  This fit perfectly with our beliefs and made it a good fit for our family.

GOD has called us to be good stewards of the beautiful planet we call home and the final two units help remind us of our role here on earth.  In discussing renewable and non-renewable resources, Earth Rocks! reminds students to make wise choices and directs them to think of ways they can lower pollution levels.  That’s something we can all work together to accomplish.

Another bonus was that each section briefly reviews the concepts presented in the section before it.  This comprehensive review works well to cement discovery-based learning and encourages students to excel.  Earth Rocks! has been quite an enjoyable addition to our studies.  The Princess has enjoyed getting her hands (and feet) dirty — all for the love of science!

This most excellent resource comes with duplication rights for your family and includes a cd with printable PDF files of all activities, journals, Rubberband books, games and lab sheets.  You simply can’t go wrong with that.  You can purchase Earth Rocks! from Aims Education Foundation for $29.95.  There are so many fun activities to choose from, I know you’ll be pleased.

For a close up look at Earth Rocks!, I recommend you spend some time looking over the 32-page PREVIEW online. You can also stop by and say hello to AIMS on FaceBook and then make sure you check out the Crew Review and read about some of the other great products my friends reviewed from AIMS.

~~Disclaimer:  I was given the opportunity to use and review Earth Rocks! as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  The opinions stated are mine and mine alone.  I was not paid to share my thoughts and feelings with you.  I received the AIMS Education Foundation workbook Earth Rocks! in exchange for my honest review. You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew thought of  this and some of the other great activity books offered by AIMS Education Foundation HERE.~~

 

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