Review: YWAM Publishing

I can't even begin to remember how many years ago that I learned about the wonderful books that YWAM Publishing produces.  These stories are great biographies that are written about some of the heroes of our county. The first one that Issac and I read was Heroes of History- Milton Hershey and it was his first choice out of all that they have. He enjoyed the book so much as well as the "extra" activities we did from the study guide. We recently finished reading George Washington: True Patriot from the HEROES OF HISTORY set.  Issac has been wanting to learn more about George Washington and this book was the perfect starting place.  Along with the study guide we were able to learn so much about George Washington's life as well as having some fun along the way! Issac has really begun to develop a love for history in these last few months. This is coming from a child who says he doesn't like school and doesn't care to read on his own. This is what is so great about homeschooling that you can focus on things that your children are interested in learning about. Issac was super excited to find out that we got the George Washington book. He had made a list last year of a few that he wanted to read and George Washington was at the top.  The rest of his list is as follows:
 Abraham Lincoln: A New Birth of Freedom  John Adams: Independence Forever Thomas Edison: Inspiration and Hard Work  William Bradford: Plymouth's Rock.  YWAM Publishing offers us the CHRISTIAN HEROES: THEN & NOW books or the HEROES OF HISTORY all written by Janet and Geoff Benge. The Christian Heroes complete set offers books 1-47 while the Heroes of History set offers books 1-29.  There's a book for everyone!

  I always love having a guide because then I can pick and choose what we want to use.  For this book Issac and I decided to put together a "lapbook" as our project. Lapbooks can be made tons of different ways and this time we just started out with file folders and added pages to it.  I tried to let Issac's new interest in history guide us as we read the book and worked on our project.  There are so many rabbit trails that you can jump off into and you can focus your attention on the geography, a timeline or just reading the book. I   like having options and then choosing how we want to use them.  I first did a quick review of the downloadable study guide, but Issac was so excited to start the book that we read several chapters before we did anything else. There were actually lots of little nuggets that jumped out to Issac or myself while we were reading and I just wanted to share a few of those. 

Here are a few things we put in our lapbook.  

Issac is in 5th grade, but I still do most of the reading in our school. When I read to him he constantly asks me to read another chapter whereas if he's reading on his own he'll read less. I don't mind because the amount of information that he seems to retain blows my mind sometimes. This is another wonderful thing about homeschooling is that we can make it fit for our child.  I like the way the questions are set up for the chapters. We start off with a vocabulary question, comprehension questions and then one for the student to think about how they would handle the situation. We had some very interesting discussions with that ending question. 

The books that YWAM Publishing produces are really great for any age and any type of student. My son has struggled with reading and writing, but has developed a love of history. We have adapted the study guide and the way we read the book, so that Issac still learned plenty. If you have a student that doesn't have these struggles or that is older they could easily read the book on their own as well as pick and choose their study guide activities. There are also so many options within the CHRISTIAN HEROES: THEN & NOW set and the HEROES OF HISTORY set that you could easily make your own history curriculum with the books and guides.  I'm really happy that Issac picked out George Washington: True Patriot for our book because I learned so much about him that I didn't know. I really had no idea that pretty much his entire life was spent on making our country great. 

For updates on new books and features check out the social media sites. The crew members had a wide variety of books to choose from, so I highly recommend reading all the reviews.

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Blog

Wordless Wednesday 4/25/2018

Thankful Tuesday 4/24/2018

Thankful today for a new series we found on our shelves :) Issac has become very interested in reading and learning about history in the last few months. A friend that has finished homeschooling gave me these books, The Adventures of Munford.  Issac is interested in learning about the Revolutionary War, so we started with that one. Munford is 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen and sees the world through different eyes than we do all the while teaching us about history. We just started this book tonight and Issac is already hooked!

Review: A+ Interactive Math (by A+ TutorSoft Inc.)

Math is one of those subjects that has been hit or miss in our home with all of our children.  Our daughter has struggled with math pretty much since a very early age.  We had switched programs when she was in 6th grade and it finally seemed to click for her with the new program. I was so excited that she wasn't going to have those struggles anymore. When she hit Algebra the struggles started again. I worried because I have always been strong in Algebra and didn't understand why I couldn't seem to help her! Our youngest seemed strong in math from the very beginning until the multiplication facts came into play. Then he struggled to remember the facts and it put him behind whereas before he was ahead :( When I saw that A+ Interactive Math (by A+ TutorSoft Inc.) offered the  Adaptive Math Curriculum Online program I thought this might be an answer to our problems.  I liked that this program offered assessment tests to better get an idea of your child's strengths and weaknesses.  Setting up the account takes just a few minutes and since Issac is in 5th grade that is where he started.  The dashboard is the main area where the student starts and works from daily.

It has the assessment tests, the lessons, reports as well as videos.  The assessment test is broken down into quite a few sections. Each section is independent of the others, but showed me where he was weak. This is nice because you could chose to just try a few of the assessments and then start the lessons. Most of the assessment testing showed me 3rd grade level skills. Based on that then the program offered us lessons that hopefully when finished he'd have a better understanding of those skills. 

We moved into the lessons and started working on number sense. There are also online worksheets that the student can use for additional practice.  The daily lessons consists of a short video that teaches the student the material and then they answer a few questions to make sure they understand the material. At the end of each session the child is shown on the screen how they did. Issac liked seeing when he got the problems all correct.

I was excited when Issac finished the number sense section because then you can retake the assessment to see if you better understand the concepts than when you took it the first time. I have to admit that he got pretty frustrated while doing the assessment at the end.  The assessment starts you out from where you tested the previous time. As you get the problems correct it bumps you up to the next level. He was frustrated because he was having to do more and more problems, but I was excited by this because I could tell that meant he understood more after doing the lessons.  By the time he finished the assessment he had passed the set goal of the program and I was super excited and proud of him. This showed me that working on these specific target areas really helped him in the bigger picture. After you take an assessment you get a report showing you the breakdown.  

I like that this report shows you the percentage of problems that they skipped as well as missed. One thing I noticed is that this time he skipped less problems than when he originally took the assessment. The program is made for you to be able to have several chances to retake the assessment. This program is tailored to be very easy for the student to use all the while focusing on any problem areas the student may have.  It's great for parents because the student can do all the lessons on their own while the parent can follow with the reports. 

This program goes up through Pre-Algebra, but I thought it would be beneficial to us to have my daughter do the assessment tests and see what it identified as possible problem areas.  I noticed as she did the tests that the grade level where she kept getting the lowest scores were around the time we switched programs when she was younger. Even though to me it seemed that switching made an immediate difference for the better for her I'm now seeing that in the long run it might have made things harder. She went back and started working through the fraction section. She often times will ask me about multiplying fractions and I think to myself why is she asking me these questions. It seems as if she should know that by now. As she's been working through this program she's told me that she realizes that she never actually LEARNED some of these BASIC skills when she was younger. At the time we didn't realize that, but now those issues are showing up in her higher level math. I decided that for her benefit we would work on addressing some of these issues in hopes of giving her a better understanding of math in general.  What's really great about this program is starting out WITH the assessment and then finding those problem areas. The lessons then target those problem areas for better understanding for the student. The online worksheets are nice too for some additional practice.  

A+ Interactive Math (by A+ TutorSoft Inc.) offers the Adaptive Math Curriculum Online which goes up through Pre-Algebra as well as the  Family Math Package which goes through Algebra 1. Both programs work for up to 10 students.   Facebook Twitter Pinterest

Brownies

I love brownies and all my children seem to have developed that same love :) I can remember when making an 8*8 pan was enough and then it wasn't (LOL) I started always making them in the 9*13 pan and even then it seems they barely lasted 24 hours. It's strange since the oldest moved out that he's not here to eat all the rest of the brownies after we go to bed! I have used the same brownie recipe for years.  I found it here and it's our go to recipe.  I just realized that it calls for self-rising flour and I have never used that. I must have not written the "self" part when I copied the recipe years ago because it's not even on my copy (LOL) I can't even tell you how many years I've been making them from that recipe! :) We've never had an issue and they are yummy, so I guess it's ok :)  Would love to try some new recipes, so feel free to share your favorite recipe. 

Wordless Wednesday 4/18/2018

Thankful Tuesday 4/17/2018

Thankful today for a few things. Probably the thing that is most important to me today is that I am able to stay home with my children! It's not as easy to stay home as some people might think. You are with your children more than anyone and you can easily become frustrated. I used to say that as long as the good outweighed the bad I'd stay home (LOL) There are many "bad" days or "times", but in the end I can't imagine not being at home with my kids. I can remember starting school with Zachary. The very first day we looked at leaves and seeds that family had sent to us. We lived in California at the time and my family in North Carolina as well as Oregon sent us things we didn't otherwise see. Zachary is 19 now and I still remember that very first day. It's amazing to think that all the struggles, rough days, doubts and worry somehow still produced some pretty great kids. I'm truly thankful that I've been able to stay home with them.

Review: Shadows of Hope by Georgiana Daniels

Imagine.....

You have struggled to have a baby..
You find out that your husband is cheating on you..
You have been cheating on your wife and the the women ends up pregnant and threatens your marriage and career...
You find out your pregnant and the man you've been dating tells you he's married..

Imagine being in any of these situations and how that would affect your life.  Marissa Moreau is a crisis pregnancy worker and starts to worry that her husband is cheating on her. They have struggled with infertility and that has put a huge strain on the marriage.  Marissa and her partner from work meet every morning at the local coffee shop. She develops a friendship with one of the baristas. She later confides to Marissa that she is pregnant. She's dropped out of school, looking for extra work and her parents aren't supportive. Marissa helps her pick up some extra work at the pregnancy center. As their friendship develops Marissa is struggling more and more with her home life.  Kaitlyn doesn't talk about the babies father much and is really just struggling to get through each day. 

Suddenly the day comes where Kaitlyn goes into labor and texts Marissa to come be with her at the hospital.  Marissa walks in the room only to discover her husband sitting there with Kaitlyn.  Only then does she realize the friend she has grown so close to is the mistress her husband was seeing.  

Marissa isn't sure how she can handle this situation. She knows that she needs God more than ever now to help her through it. She's angry at her husband and angry at Kaitlyn. She feels she's been betrayed by them both. As the time goes on she realizes that Kaitlyn never knew and that as bad as this situation is neither of them knew she knew the other.  Marissa isn't sure she wants her marriage to end, but she knows she wants to be loved and it shouldn't be hard for her husband to do that. Colin has always wanted to be a day, but always thought it would be with Marissa. Can the three of them work out a way to be civil and have a relationship with each other? Can Colin and Marissa save their marriage? Or will the precious little baby be the one to suffer for the actions of the adults?

Check out Georgiana Daniels' website and follow her on social media for the latest updates.  

Facebook

Twitter

**"I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review." 

Review: My Heart Belongs in San Francisco, California

Abby Effingham is on a mission to find her mother. Her mother left home in search of a more interesting life. Abby knows if she finds her mother she can convince her to come back home. On the way they are derailed due to weather and end up in San Francisco in the middle of the gold rush.  The town and people are unlike anything Abby is used to knowing. She's very pleased with the housing they find, but realize that her money is quickly dwindling and she needs to do something about it. Abby is not your working girl, but decides to take a job offered at the local restaurant.  The work is hard and Abby isn't used to the demanding work and long hours. As she waits for her mother to arrive she finds out that her family's butler, her traveling companion, has contacted her father because he doesn't find her working acceptable. Abby develops a great friendship with Cookie, the cook, and she finds Sam, the owner's son, an interesting companion.  As she starts to know the people of the town better she realizes that her background could come in handy. Some of the men have become rough around the edges after panning for gold so long away from their wives.  Abby starts teaching "manners" classes in hopes of helping these men become a little more dignified for when they return to their wives. As Abby becomes intertwined in the town she realizes that she can't imagine leaving.  When both her parents arrive and Sam's dad has a big decision on his hands to make there are lots of twists and turns in this book right at the very end.  I love when a book takes me in an unexpected direction.  

For additional books written by Janice Thompson check out her website. You can also follow her on social media:

Facebook

Twitter

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.** 

Review: Princess Cut by Watchman Pictures

It has become very hard in this day and age to find what I'd call good quality movies that showcase the type of morals I'd like my children to have.  I recently was able to preview the  Princess Cut by Watchman Pictures.  The Dove Foundation said this movie was "A cut above the rest" and Larry Elie of Friends Family Theatre said it was "The Best Christian Romance in Years."  It's also received the following accolades. 

I have to say that I thoroughly agreed with the reviews.  I think one of the things that hit closest to home was that the movie is based in the Carolina's.  I was born in North Carolina and have spent the majority of my life living here. I guess I'm a true Carolina girl at heart :)

 

It's always exciting to get a package in the mail, but even better when I can watch a great Christian Romance! When the movie starts we meet Grace who has dreamed her entire life of Mr. Right. She even goes shopping to find the perfect "Princess Cut" diamond that she hopes he'll give her. She dreams of love and what that life will be like while not really knowing the way to go about finding true love.  She thought she had found that true love, but when he announced his engagement to another girl Grace was distraught.  She didn't know what to do, but before long she was in a relationship with another young man.  This man started pushing Grace in areas that she wasn't sure she wanted to go in yet.  She finally reaches her breaking point and her mother finds her crying in her room. She tells her mother all that she's been struggling with and they go to her father for advice. Her dad tells her that it's his responsibility to protect her and teach her and he feels he's failed her. He promises her that he will do better. He then hands her a package of soybeans as a partial answer to her situation. He explains to her that she's trying to get a harvest without ever having planted a seed. He tells Grace that God will bring her someone, but she must be patient. The guy she was dating, Jared, doesn't take too kindly to the new approach she has taken to dating.  As the movie progresses Grace is reading and studying on what it means to not rush through a relationship. She's learning what it really and truly means to wait and let God bring Mr. Right into her life. She finds happiness again and feels that her life is going in the right direction.  

As struggles go on with the farm and equipment failures they have met and are getting to know a new neighbor. One day he approaches Grace and asks her about starting a relationship. She is interested, but explains to him that she can't start a new relationship without the approval of her dad. Clint surprises her by explaining that he's already reached out to her dad and has been granted the approval to move forward. Life seems to truly be going in the right direction now that Grace has tried to wait and allow God to bring forth her Mr. Right. Just when things seem to be going well an "old friend" of Clints arrives in town and Jared shows back up to see how Grace's new take on relationships is work out for her. 

Throughout this movie we see how when God is the focus of your life all other parts truly fall into place. Often kids are running around just "to date" and to be able to say they have a "boyfriend or girlfriend" because everyone else has one. God already knows who is the one for each of us and when we rush into things and move on "our" time we can often miss what God has in store for us. We see how in this movie when God was put first and Grace lets her father play his role that things truly work out for the better.  

Princess Cut by Watchman Pictures is an amazing family movie. It's full of faith, fun and adventure as we see how God can truly work in our lives.  I loved this movie and would recommend it to all families.  It is a great movie for families or even larger church groups.  For future updates and additional information check out the social media sites and read what the rest of the crew thought.

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Instagram

Google+

Thankful Tuesday 4/10/2018

Today I'm thankful for a husband that can fix things around the house. I know that all men aren't handy and there are plenty of things my husband can't do, but there are plenty he can do.  Our washer had popped a hose off, was leaking or something that was causing an error signal and it to just shut down. The laundry was piling up and it was getting stressful (lol) I'm so thankful that he was able to have the time today to get back there and fix it. I don't necessarily love doing laundry, but I certainly am thankful for when I can do it here at the house :)

Recent school favorites

Recently due to hearing what his friends are talking about in co-op class Issac has decided to revisit the Rush Revere History Series.  I've written about this series a few times, but it really seems to have sparked Issac's interest in history. He's been on a love of geography for well over a year, but now it seems history in general is becoming the favorite. I've mentioned before that Issac isn't one to read on his own, but he's totally picked this series up and has been reading them on his own as well as I've been reading to him at bed. 

We also went through our shelf and found a few great books to go along with his current interest in history. Many of these are topics he's read about in the Rush Revere series.  These books have helped him to get a little more information.  He became very interested in Paul Revere so we read Paul Revere by Jan Gleiter and Kethleen Thompson.  He then chose to read The Declaration of Independency by Michael Burgan.  We've also been reading Heroes of History George Washington. He's been really fascinated by some of the things we read. He was shocked to read that George Washington had once been so sick he had to ride on pillows on his horse and could barely stay on without being strapped onto the horse! That book as well as the Rush Revere series lead us into the following other books:

George Washington's Breakfast

The Winter At Valley Forge

The Bill of Rights

Shh! We're Writing the Constitution

...If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution

Young Thomas Jefferson 

The Story of the Declaration of Independence

Where was Patrick Henry On the 29th of May?

He's also been watching Drive Thru History-American History at SchoolhouseTeachers.com I believe they currently have hundreds of classes that are free with your monthly or yearly membership.  

Last and certainly not least is his interest in Mad Libs Junior thanks to a dear friend.  He's been working on Summer Camp Mad Libs Junior as well as Super Silly Mad Libs Junior.  He's been a busy kid the last few weeks learning history and helping his dad :) 

Thankful Tuesday April 3, 2018

Today I'm thankful for jobs that give away turkeys at the holidays (LOL) I know that might sound strange, but it has been such a blessing to us this week. When Christmas was approaching we already had purchased our turkey and ham when our son was given one at work. His girlfriend's mom was cooking and we were cooking, so he offered it to us. I said sure because I knew I could pop it in our freezer and cook it when I was ready. It's been sitting in there waiting for just the perfect time to be cooked :) I'm trying to work on using up some of the food in our freezer because we are moving in the next month or so hopefully. This was a VERY LEAN week financially and so I looked in my freezer and there was the turkey. I thought this is the week because we can eat off it and then pick from it for days. Something so simple as a turkey given at the holidays meant so much to us months later. So thankful for that turkey, the yummy meal it provided us and most of all my wonderful son that gave it to us!