National Donut Day

Hope you were able to enjoy a sweet treat!

B graduated

 Miss B

We are so proud of B!  She received her 1 year Bible Certificate over the weekend.  I had a lovely time visiting her in Iowa and driving home the weather was absolutely beautiful.

Homemake Cookie Cake!

We had a nice Mother's Day celebration on my return :).  Hope you had an amazing Mother's Day Weekend.

Show Me Your Glory Movie Review & Giveaway

I have a new movie to share with you today, Show Me Your Glory!  This just released in theaters today, May 13 so you can buy your tickets now.

Movie Synopsis:  How do you explain ... the unexplainable?  When does the impossible ... become possible?  Why are some prayers for healing answered and others ... never are? Through true stories of the supernatural crashing into human
suffering, a compelling new documentary arrives in theaters this spring—unlocking
the possibility that the impossible still happens in our world.  Meet experts who have studied miracles and suffering, discover true stories of the seemingly unbelievable, and be reminded that prayers can be answered in ways that we could never expect or imagine. If you or someone you love has ever pondered life’s deepest question—

“If there is a loving God, why is there so much suffering and evil in the world?” 

David and I were able to watch a pre-screening of this powerful film.  We saw hope, encouragement and awe as we watched many true stories of God intervening in people's lives.  God uses real and everyday ordinary people from all walks of life.  I love that He meets us where we are - whether that's a forest, a jail cell, a hospital room, a church...you get the idea.  This film does a great job showing some of the ways that God works in miraculous ways and even some ways that He still works when miracles are not seen.  We definitely recommend watching this thought-provoking and inspiring film!

Check out the trailer below!

Time for a giveaway!  Want to win a $10 Amazon giftcard?  Just comment on this blog post letting me know if you have ever had a supernatural experience, that's it!  (This is limited to US winners only.  Giveaway ends on May 18th at midnight.)

Disclosure: Many thanks to Abba Heart Ministries for providing a pre-screening for Show Me Your Glory.  Opinions are 100% my own.

Happy Easter

Graphic Design 101 Review

I want to share with you an online graphic design course from Timberdoodle for middle school and high school students, Graphic Design 101.  This course is published by Film School 4 Teens and is geared for students ages 12 and up or 6th-12th grade.  This course has 12 Modules and will earn you a semester credit or 1/2 credit on your transcript.  While the bulk of the course is online there is also a consumable workbook.  You will have access to the pdf of the entire workbook with your online course so you can easily print from there.  We printed all the necessary pages and put them in a class binder.

Above you can see inside our binder and The Table of Contents.

It is recommended to complete one module a week for 12 weeks.  If this pace is too much you could also break each module into 3 parts - lesson, assignment, and workshop and complete one part every week.  If you choose this route it will take you longer to complete.  And likewise, you could speed it up - ultimately you decide.  I love that you can pick your pace and what suits your needs.

 

Above you can see Lesson 1.  There's an 8 minute introduction video which gives you an assignment to complete before watching the 16 minute workshop video, followed by some bonus content and a 5 question quiz.

 

When you watch the video, there is a corresponding fill-in the blank worksheet that you will complete.  I like that the answers are a unique color and underlined on-screen for you.

 

Above you can see the fill-in the blank worksheet for Lesson 1.

 

And there are assignment pages that help you organize everything.  You can see our pages above.

 

A close-up of some of the ads we chose

 

After completing the assignment you will watch the workshop video.  You will watch 3 students go through the course with you and get feedback both from their peers and instructors.  I really enjoyed having this aspect as it really helps you think and process your ideas.

 

 Lastly, you will then complete the quiz for the lesson that usually references your fill-in-the-blank worksheets.  You need to score a 70% or above to move on in the course.  Notice, you have a course completion bar at the top left of your course so you can easily track your progress.

 

It was fun to get into applications in Lesson 2 and really dive into using CANVA.

 

I have really enjoyed talking through this class and completing it with D and E.  It's been a really fun course and I have really enjoyed watching it myself.

 

   We are currently on Lesson 4 and have completed 31% of the course so almost 1/3.

 

We just completed an assignment finding all the elements of design including line, shape, color, value, texture and space and recognizing these in the real world.  One of the ads we found can be seen above.  The chicken coming out of the race car is pretty phenomenal.

This course has been a great introduction to Graphic Design.  It is well-designed, user friendly and fun.  By learning fundamental concepts and gaining skills along the way, it helps you truly enter the realm of visual storytelling and design and not feel overwhelmed.  I'm really looking forward to the final project and who knows, I just might have to create my very own logo!  If you want to dip your toes into the Graphic Design world or are looking for a fun elective credit in Fine Art or Technology, this course is definitely worth looking into.

 

 

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Graphic Design 101 in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

C's Senior Pics

I can't believe C is about to graduate!  He has been accepted at multiple colleges but is in the final stages of deciding where he wants to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering, stay tuned.  He recently took his senior pictures and I love how they turned out.  Enjoy!

Timberdoodle's 52 Essential Social Skills Review

I want to share with you a set of cards from Timberdoodle on social skills, 52 Essential Social Skills. These cards are geared for kids 5-9 years old or K-3rd grade and are manufactured by Mind Brain Parenting.  It is suggested to use one or two cards a week to complete the deck within a typical school year; however, you can choose the best pace for your situation.

Our set includes the deck and a sturdy tin box

 

While this can be used as a typical deck of cards for games, this set has a bigger purpose.  Each card contains a social conversation to help increase your child's social and emotional skills.

 

G is 8 years old and in 3rd grade so these have been fun to use with him!

 

Each suit in our deck has a specific focus area.  The heart cards are focused on self-awareness, the diamond cards are focused on self management, the spade cards are focused on social awareness and the club cards are focused on relationship skills.

 

Above you can see an example from each suit

These cards seem to be geared towards kids in a traditional school setting.

• Your friend told your teacher that you took her cookie from her lunchbox.  You didn't take the cookie but saw someone else do it.  How would you respond?  How do you get them to believe you?
• You bring a fancy pencil to class, and it falls on the floor.  Another student picks it up and says it's their pencil.  What would you do?  What would you say?
• You're playing soccer, but some students aren't playing fair.  The teacher on duty stops the game and says no one can play soccer for the rest of the week.  What would you do?  Why do you need to respect this decision even when you did nothing wrong?
• Your class is split into two teams to play a trivia game.  Your team loses.  Your friend from the winning team comes over to talk to you after the game.  What would you say to your friend?  Can you feel good and bad emotions at the same time?
  

We attend a weekly homeschool Co-Op and multiple sports and these settings present similar situations so it's been fairly easy to apply them to ourselves without any issue!  These ready-to-use cards are both practical and valuable for parents to use both at home or on the go.  I really like that these communication starter cards help kids learn valuable social skills like empathy, communication, self-awareness, relationship strengthening and so much more.  It's been fun to see how G thinks and talk about numerous life situations with him in a relaxed environment.  He is a very intelligent young boy with a great awareness for others!  Our family also absolutely loves playing card games so having another deck is a bonus.

 

There are additional card sets available as well.  You can also purchase the 52 Essential Interview Skills from Timberdoodle - we definitely need to check these out!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received 52 Essential Social Skills in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.