October Reads 2020

 

This month was a pretty good reading month. I managed to get 19 books read. I was on a mission of sorts to donate any books that I had read or wasn't going to read to friends for a project they were working on recently. It really got me motivated to sit down and start reading some of the books that have been sitting on my shelves for YEARS and I keep saying I'm going to read them, but don't.  

The Heart of a Mother Compiled by Wayne Holmes ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happily: 8 Commitments of Couples Who Laugh, Love & Last by Kevin Thompson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Tomato Patch ⭐⭐⭐

The Quilting Bee ⭐⭐⭐

The Hope Chest ⭐⭐⭐

The Clothes Line ⭐⭐⭐

The Yankee Widow ⭐⭐ 

Second Chances ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments ⭐⭐⭐

Plain Fame ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Plain Change ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Plain Again  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

fly away ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Royal ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

7th Heaven ⭐⭐

Plain Choice ⭐⭐

the Family Journal ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Plain Choice ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Plain Christmas ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review: Math Sprint - The Mental Math Game

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.  


We were first introduced to Byron's Games products when we reviewed Continent Race.  The game was so colorful, interactive and fun that I was really excited to be able to check out their newest game Math Sprint - The Mental Math Game.  The great thing about this game is that the kids are learning or even reinforcing math concepts, but in a fun way. Most kids I know don't even realize they are "learning" when they play these types of games. They enjoy the competition and the fun and for the parents the learning is a bonus!  My son struggles with remember facts, but doesn't like it when things are what he calls "babyish", so it can be a struggle for me to find things that work. He really got into this game and the hopes of beating his mom without really paying attention that we were reviewing our math facts.

When you first start the game you pick the color of the racer that you want to use. On the front of the instruction manual it names each racer and gives you an idea of other things they enjoy doing. The game is set up to have a coach that calls out the question to two of the players or to the entire group. When we played it was only my son and I, so we just took turns asking each other the questions. It wasn't quite the way the game was intended, but we still were able to have fun and enjoy ourselves.  There are also a few other options for how to play the game. The board is divided up into a 100m, 200m and 400m sections. For younger students or even when you are just starting out it's best to use the 100m and then you can progress from there.  You need to choose if you are using the addition/subtraction cards, the multiplication/division cards or both.  There are also wild cards and challenge cards that play into the fun of the game.  It's recommended not to use the challenge cards with the younger students. They game is recommended for ages 7+, but as always if you have a child that excels at math at a young age they could easily be included in the game.  There are little erasable boards/markers included that you can use to make up your own problems of even to use if your child needs that visual.  When my son first saw that the game was reviewing facts he wasn't so keen on the idea. We played the 100m round and it went so quickly that he said the next game we needed to do the 400m. One thing I thought was really cool is how some physical movement was added into the game. It was on the board if you landed on certain spots and even in the challenge cards things that would happen in the race were used. There was a lot of thought and effort put into making this game very realistic when it comes to racing terminology and activities.  

We had two minor issues with the game, it the big scheme of things it didn't stop us from playing and enjoying. Our board had some spots on it that were discolored like something had been spilt on it. I didn't change the playing, but was just something that jumped out to me as a new game. Also, the pink playing piece was bent and wouldn't stand up to be used. That really only bothered me because that was the playing piece I went to first. That being said these were minor issues and didn't change us being able to use the game. I know with all three of my children there have been times when we needed to review our math facts. I've found that the more fun it is or even the less like school it seems is when my kids get more interested and involved. I knew Math Sprint - The Mental Math Game was a hit when my son asked me one morning to play a game before we started school. 
It's always amazing to see children coming up with great ideas and seeing where they lead. Byron and his family are truly great entrepeneurs seeing a need for others and taking things that interest them and making a product. I just love to support those that are supporting others as well.  
To keep up-to-date with new products check out their Facebook, Instagram and YoutubeAlso, head over and check out what the other reviewers thought and how they used the game. 

Review: 24-Hour History 5-Book Set

 

History can be super boring depending on the way it's taught.  Recently Timberdoodle sent us a great set of books to help strengthen our love and knowledge of history. The  24-Hour History 5-Book Set is part of Timberdoodle's Fourth-Grade Curriculum Set. Don't let the grade level fool you because these books are bright, colorful and full of information that would benefit any grade level student.  These books are long enough that you could read aloud to your students, but yet not too long to frustrate a student. My son is in 8th grade, but he greatly enjoyed reading these books. Typically I'll read something like this out loud as we start our day, but the covers grabbed his attention and he read these one weekend without me even realizing it!

This is a 5-book set and there are some great titles included. These books try to take a 24 hour period and present the material in a colorful and interesting way.   The Apollo 11 Moon Landing was the first one my son picked up to read. He's recently been interested in the subject of space traveling, so this book caught his attention right away.  He was fascinated that they were traveling 238,900 miles away. Such a hard concept to understand when you are thinking of space travel for that distance.  As I was looking through these books I was shocked to learn that the computers on board had less processing power than a modern cell phone!! Amazing to think of the type of working they were doing in space and relying on something like a cell phone to keep them safe.  

We had recently read a story about Pearl Harbor, so the second title that caught my son's eye was The Attack on Pearl Harbor book.  We learned that one of the bombs hit the area of the Arizona where the ammunition was stored. That blast killed 1,200 men.  Apparently the US and Japan had been having peace talks for a while.  The US was told they'd receive word from the Japanese embassy by 7 a.m. declaring peace. That message was not received until almost 3 p.m.-long after the attack to Pearl Harbor had happened.

The other three titles in the series are D-Day, The Assassination of John F. Kennedy and The Assassination of Martin Luther King JR. It's hard to say there were truly any favorites out of these five because they were all very interesting. Often times we are hit with so many details, dates etc. that it's hard to keep up with the information. By trying to take a 24 hour period and detail that it gives the student and honestly the mom too, such a more detailed understanding of events. At the end of each book there is also a summary or conclusion with more information as well as a timeline, glossary and additional information. We really enjoyed the "Find out More" section as it gave us other information that we could check into to further our studies.  

This is yet another hit from Timberdoodle in the history department. I truly believe that I have come to learn more and enjoy learning about history with these type books than I ever did when I was a student. Even though these books are suggested for the 4th Grade Curriculum I believe they could easily be read aloud to younger students and older students as well. These grade levels are just recommendations and as parents we have to learn to use books in the best way to benefit our children.  I can see my son picking these up again and again. That being said he and I both give the 24-Hour History 5-Book Set ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you have a student that is struggling to read, frustrated with their current books give these a shot and I truly think it will help change their mindset.  

Week Ending 10/10/2020

 We've been schooling now for about 6 weeks and for almost 2 of those weeks I was sick (LOL) Issac didn't do much schooling on his own during that time which kind of aggravated me, but again what's a mom to do? (LOL) I can either be upset about it and try to make him make it all up or just reschedule and move on to an updated schedule. I've learned over the years and especially with Issac that when the routine changes forcing work to be make up just doesn't work. He'll get all out of wack and life becomes very unhappy for all of us. That being said we had a good week this week and got everything done that I had planned :)

We started a new co-op last month and we had high hopes for it to be a great fit. I might quite a few great ladies, ones that I'd enjoy doing a mom's night out with, but the classes just weren't a great fit for Issac. They were using the Stargazer's Guide from Masterbooks and wow it seemed to me it was for much older kids.I shared with some friends some of the reading material and they agreed with me. That being said I hadn't heard of any others struggling, so after many long conversations and prayers we decided to stop. Our previous co-op was not really geared on books, but more hands on learning I guess. That seemed to work really well for Issac. For now we just won't attend co-op, but am always keeping my options open :) Just being this year didn't work out for us doesn't mean next year might not. The ladies were great too, really tried to help us make it work, but ultimately I knew it would cause more anxiety for Issac if we continued, so we stopped. So thankful for choices and for those that understand and accept them from us :)

I've been busy reading. The last few months I haven't read that much. I guess it was all the outside work. Now I'm reading a ton and not doing any outside work, so I guess I need to learn a balance :) I'm currently doing a Romans Bible Study through Julie Naturally and I'm really enjoying that. I'll be posting a few review in the next few weeks. I've also got Issac working through the assessment section on aplustutorsoft.com.  I really like the adaptive part of the program because it finds those gaps that your child might have. Issac is currently in 8th grade and I put in his profile that he was in 4th grade. I figured he was around the 4th/5th level. So far most of his testing has come back about 3rd/4th level. We'll be working through the lessons it gives us to hopefully work through some of those problem areas. As usual we've been starting each day reading out loud and some days I think I enjoy it more than he does. I'll be posting soon about the books we've read aloud since we started school. 

September Reads 2020

22 books read this month might be my best month in a while :) I've just felt more like reading this past month and I'm glad because I've knocked several books off my shelf that have been waiting on me to read them :) Would love to hear some of your favorite books read this month!

The Unexpected Spy by Tracy Walder ⭐⭐ Saw this book in the "new" section of my library and it seemed really interesting. From the CIA to the FBI the story of a female agent. While it had some interesting information in it I just wasn't captivated. I kept wanting to just skim and hopefully get to a page that kept my interest more.  

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah ⭐⭐⭐ I went back and forth on my thoughts with this book. I liked it, then I thought it was kind of dull and then I liked it again (LOL) Ultimately at the end of the book I was crying in true fashion with any Kristin Hannah book I've read. I realized there is a part 2 and I've already requested it from the library 😁

First Impressions by Sarah Price ⭐⭐⭐ I believe this is a new to me author and I always love finding new Amish stories :)

The Matchmaker by Sarah Price ⭐⭐⭐This was a continuation of the previous book and I enjoyed it as well. Not many Amish books can disappoint me :)

An Amish Match by Jo Ann Brown ⭐⭐⭐ This was a new-to-me author and I enjoyed her book. It was a short little book that could easily been read in a day and it had a great story. I will be looking up more of her books. 

The Saddle Maker's Son by Kelly Irvin ⭐⭐⭐ Another easy read by a new-to-me author.  

The Bishop's Son by Kelly Irvin ⭐⭐⭐ This is actually the book before The Saddle Maker's Son, but I didn't realize that and read them out of order (LOL)

Motherhood The Second Oldest Profession ⭐⭐⭐

love riot by Sara Barratt ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book was geared towards teens, but the message is one that we all need to hear as well. 

God's Hostage by Andrew Brunson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was an amazing book of testimony and God's faithfulness in truly the worst of times. 

Hurt Road by Mark Lee of Third Day ⭐⭐⭐

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah ⭐⭐⭐ I would have loved to have given this book a higher star count, but it really wasn't until towards the end that I really understood, like and was interested in the story line. 

The Defiant Child by Dr. Douglas A. Riley ⭐⭐⭐⭐

the gift of friendship by Dawn Camp ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pennsylvania Patchwork by Kate Lloyd ⭐⭐⭐

The Happy Homeschooler: Ten Simple Strategies to Increase Productivity, Foster Joy and Avoid Burnout ⭐⭐⭐

The Popsicle Cookbook: Ice Pop and Popsicle Recipes for 50 Delicious Frozen Desserts ⭐⭐

The Copier Jam: Get the Inside Scoop on the Hilarious Antics Happening in Offices Everywhere! ⭐⭐

Called to Pray by Linda Evans Shepherd ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I wish he had come with instructions by Mike Bechtle⭐⭐⭐ It's always great hearing the "guys" side of things :) 

Woman of Courage by Wanda Brunstetter ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Always love a book written by Wanda Brunstetter!

Five Chimneys by Olga Lengyel ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was such an amazing story of how this woman survived Auschwitz and all that she witnessed!