I've been invited to try Time4Learning for a month in exchange for a candid review. Their online program can be used for homeschool, as an after school tutorial and for summer learning. My opinion will be my own, so come back and read about my experience. You can write your own curriculum review, too!
The previous paragraph is one of the requirement fir the review. : )
I have used HomeschoolShare for lapbooking resources several times with David and have really been pleased with the results. Our favorite of all time had to be the My Father's Dragon lapbook! He still talks about that one. Amazingly, I never got pictures of our completed book. The site is free to join and has a lot of free printables for lapbooks, notebooks, and unit studies.
HomeschoolShare has some new Kindergarten Kits coming out soon and I had the chance to try out the "Playful Puppies Kindergarten Kit" set with Elizabeth. She really enjoyed it and I took lots of pictures! Elizabeth is 4 1/2 years old. Not old enough to be a public school kindergartner, but we're starting kindergarten this year at home anyway. She is more than ready!
Disclaimers: "Playful Puppies Kindergarten Kit" was given to me to review & test out before the final version was released on HomeschoolShare. I didn't have all the books recommended for the unit and didn't have a library trip scheduled either, so we made due with what we had. Also, I love the light in our dining area, but it makes backlight in all the photos, so I apologize for the darkness of the activity in the photos! And finally, my printer was just about out of color ink, so the printouts are a little dull. I went over the edges of some things with a marker so they'd be easier to see. If you have a good ink cartridge in your printer, your printouts will look much better than mine.
Here's all the puppy & dog books that we had. We read these as we were going through the activities in the pack. Also had an informational book about dogs that somehow missed the photo.
Designing our family's Christmas card or Christmas letter is one of my favorite things to do each year. I love pouring over the photos that best capture the year. 2010 has been a hard year, but I am still excited about the Christmas card. So when I saw the chance to get 50 free cards from Shutterfly, I thought it was worth checking out.
I have personally never used Shutterfly's services before, but I really enjoyed looking through their Christmas card designs. I like how they have more traditional designs but also have plenty of modern and colorful cards to choose from.
From the Word of Promise: Next Generation comes this book, How Should a Christian Live? devotional & journal. Included with the book is a CD featuring MP3 readings of the scripture that goes along with the lesson.
I think this book is geared for the pre-teen/tween/early teen set as the lessons are very short and pretty simple to understand. There are 12 sessions and within each session the lesson is broken down into 5 even smaller pieces: Get It, Grab It, Hold It, Live It, and Give It. There are also word games & puzzles intermingled.
I think this would be a good study for a young person who is just starting out in their walk with Christ or just starting out in their own personal time with Him. The short length of the sections and chapters make it seem like studying further is actually doable.
The MP3 recordings are very well done. It is a dramatic reading of the scripture, complete with sound effects and background music. The voices are also young adults who may be familiar to the youth.
How Should a Christian Live? is available at Amazon.com and Christian Book Distributors.
If you would like this copy of How Should a Christian Live? for your young person, please leave a comment. I will mail this book anywhere in the USA.
Disclosure: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I read this book to my children, ages 5, 3, and 11 months. We stuck to the story line without any other discussion, but I did read a few of the scripture references also. My "audience" didn't have the attention span for the discussion. I think it would be good for an 8-year-old and up.
I loved the illustrations in this book. They, and the entire storyline, are very heartwarming. The book in general reminds me of one of my favorites, Liz Curtis Higgs' Pumpkin Patch Parable, in both illustration and layout. I also love how the book ties scriptures in on every page. And if you're handy with woodworking, the book comes with instructions on how to make your own flowering cross centerpiece.
I do recommend this book, especially if your children are just a little bit older than mine. I am looking forward to reading it again in years to come and am excited about the possibility for discussion about how children can impact even grown-ups for the Lord.
The Flowering Cross is available at Amazon.com and Christian Book Distributors.
Disclosure: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I am just amazed. This is the Basil by the end of today that just sprouted yesterday!
And if that's not enough... the Marigolds will be big enough for a cat to eat before I know it!
Nothing else yet... but I swear, on the one pepper seed that's peeking out of the dirt, that I can see the beginning fuzzies of roots forming....
And here's my first loaf of artisan bread. It was very tasty, as if I'd bought it at Central Market!
Used the "Master Recipe" from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It was very easy and tasted fabulous! I'm only on page 31 of 242 of the book, so now I'm really anxious to see what other masterpieces can come from this book. Seriously, it was really good... Not an everyday sandwich bread for preschoolers, though, so I'll keep working on that one.
I got on the waiting list at the big library to get this book. So far, I'm inclined to think it would be worth it's purchase price, though!
I tried the Garlic Seasoned Potatoes. They were very easy to prepare - you just put the whole bag in the microwave for 10 minutes, let them stand for 2 minutes, dump them into a bowl and mash with some milk & butter. Super easy.
What I liked about them was not having to buy a 5lb bag of potatoes and not having to peel them. I found that a whole bag was a lot of potatoes.
The flavor was pretty good, but we thought the texture was a little dry & undercooked. Maybe it's my small microwave or maybe I didn't add enough milk. Dad said they had the texture of leftover potatoes. I reheated a bowl later & added more butter and some cheese and I thought they tasted better that time. The next day, I made potato patties from the leftovers & they were enjoyed by all. Here's my mom's potato patty recipe:
Grandma's Potato PattiesSo I've been thinking about what to register for with Baby #3. A couple of people have mentioned having a shower, so I might actually get one this time (didn't have one for Elizabeth). There are so many helpful baby items now-a-days to make practically everything easier, and ShopWiki makes it so easy to find them!
My wish list turns out to be a little different from everyone else's, though. With the exception of needing some new baby proofing items and 
Hey, while you're at ShopWiki, check out that Graco iMonitor Multi-Child Digital Baby Monitor! How cool is that!? I could put a receiver in each bedroom...
I forgot my camera for our date night. So here we are in the theater on my cell phone! Dad wasn't smiling because he was trying to figure out how to get his phone to take a picture and I didn't give him any warning. It's really hard to take a cell phone picture of yourself in the dark!
Anyway, the kids had a great time with MawMaw, staying up 'till the wee hours of 10:30pm! Yes, even Elizabeth was up that late, but she was having a ball! No problems going to bed tonight!!
And Dad & I had a great time doing whatever we wanted without having to worry about the little ones. For example, we walked by a fountain in the mall without any fits about not staying & getting in it. We walked past a playground without stopping. We ordered what we wanted to eat instead of what came with a side of something that one kid or the other would eat. Dad tried alligator! I wasn't that brave. But I did change up my late night coffee order - instead of my usual decaf white chocolate mocha - I got a seasonal flavor, decaf maple white chocolate mocha! Whew! That was a stretch, but it was tasty!
And the movie... Wow. We don't see many movies in the theater. Maybe 2 or 3 tops in a year. I might tell people it was good afterwards, but when I left Fireproof I felt like I wanted to go out into the world and force everyone I know to go see it.
