Christmas Door Decorating {Church Contest}

We decorated David's 2nd grade Children's Ministry door over the weekend for the Christmas Door Decorating Contest at church.  I love how it turned out.  We used various wrapping papers, burlap, felt, cord and beads.  We even added lights to the star (at D's request)!

A close-up of our wise man riding a camel.

And a close-up of our working lights!

Name Bookmarks and Amazing Name Print Activity Sheets from CrossTimber Review

{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.}

If you are searching for personalized gifts for the holidays, I want to share with you Name Bookmarks and Amazing Name Print Activity Sheets from CrossTimber.  You may remember our previous review of their Your Amazing Name - Personalized Adventures for EVERY name, which F loves!  This time I was blessed to receive 5 of their Name Bookmarks.  I chose to get bookmarks for A, B, C, D and E.  My plan is to use them as one of their stocking stuffers (shh, it's a surprise).  I also received the Amazing Name Print Activity Sheets for G!

 

There are lots of choices for your bookmarks!

There are over 200 styles and designs to choose from when creating your personalized bookmarks.  Above you can see some of the selection for bookmarks with wings.  I ended up choosing one of these designs for A's bookmark because she loves birds.  You can choose from outdoor scenery, ocean sunsets, castles, lighthouses, Faith & Inspiration, meaningful symbols and so much more!  With all the choices it's easy to create a unique design for everyone.  I chose a faith design for B, a drum design for C since he plays the drums, a ladybug design for D, and a jewel design for E.  After choosing your design, you can choose your bookmark quote from 5 different categories - quotes from Presidents, Authors, Definitions of Encouraging Character Qualities, Bible verses to fit the name meaning or custom text.  I chose Bible verses for all of the kids.

A few of our bookmarks

 

A close up of D's

A close up of E's

 

Our bookmarks include each person's name in calligraphy, the meaning of their name and an appropriate scripture in each of the backgrounds I hand picked for them.  I love the way each of them turned out.  Each bookmark is laminated to give them extra durability.  The colors are bold and bright and I am hoping the kids enjoy them too.

As I mentioned above I also received the Amazing Name Print Activity Sheets for G.  They have his name incorporated into tracing, color sheets, mazes, word searches, and many other fun activities.  G loved them and his older siblings helped him with some of the "harder" sheets for him.

G tracing his name.

 

 I showed G how to write his name in red and he traced the bottom line in green.  I think he did a great job for 4.

G coloring his farm!

G following the letters of his name to solve the maze.

 

I love this picture that A colored for G.

 And this owl is pretty fantastic too!

The Amazing Name Print Activity Sheets are lots of fun!  I enjoyed seeing how G's name was incorporated into the various activities in creative ways.  There are various difficulty levels throughout the pages from simple coloring pages to challenging coloring and more.  If you are looking for fun personalized gifts and activities, we would highly recommend CrossTimber and their selection of name meaning gifts!

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Operation Christmas Child Box Ideas

 

 

We have been filling Operation Christmas Child Boxes for many years.  It's a fun activity for our whole family to get involved in and we love coming up with new gift ideas and ways to bless others during the holiday season.  This year each of the kids filled up a box and we dropped off 7 boxes this weekend at our church for distribution!  Let me show you what we put in them.

 

B chose a girl age 2-4 and above you can see what we put in her box - stickers, paper pad, jumbo crayons, toothbrush, miniature doll, straw cup with washcloths inside, bandages, tissues, socks, bracelets, headband, hairbrush, stuffed bunny and baby doll.

 

B with her box.

 

E chose a girl age 5-9 and above you can see what we put in her box - a sticker book activity set, strawberry squishy, journal, colored pencils, toothbrushes, hair ties that look like a lollipop, flashlight, hairbrush, washcloth, tissues, bandages, small toy and a plush cat.

 

E with her box.

 

D also chose a girl age 5-9 and above you can see what we put in her box - a small journal, colored pencils, a marker set with activity book, a magic marker set, hair ties that look like a lollipop, flashlight, hairbrush, toothbrushes, washcloth, tissues, squishy key chain, socks, purple barrette, unicorn ball plush and a purple unicorn plush.

 

D with her box.

 

A chose a girl age 10-14 and above you can see what we put in her box - a small journal, colored pencils, pens, washcloth, soap holder, hair ties, barrettes, hairbrush, flashlight, socks, toothbrush, yo-yo, watch, beautiful necklace and a bear plush.

 

A with her box.

 

 

G chose a boy age 2-4 and above you can see what we put in his box - stickers, paper pad, jumbo crayons, toothbrush, bandages, socks, animal bracelets, water balls, tissues, activity pad, washcloth, car, flip car, sock plush and a monkey plush.

 

G with his box.

 

F chose a boy age 5-9 and above you can see what we put in his box - stickers, paper pad, several small packs of crayons, toothbrushes, bandages, socks, fun bracelets, tissues, activity pad, washcloths, several sets of cars, flip car, sunglasses, flashlight, a small elephant, an UNO game and an otter plush.

 

F with his box.

 

C chose a boy age 10-14 and above you can see what we put in his box - paper pad, pens, toothbrush, tissues, washcloths, combs, sunglasses, cool set of cars, flashlight, ball, yo-yo, sports watch and a dog plush.

 

C with his box.

I hope this gives you some ideas of things that you can put into Operation Christmas Child boxes.  You can check out our post from last year for more great ideas!

Boundary Stone's Economics Online Course Bundle Review

{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.}

If you are searching for a self-paced homeschool economics course, I want to introduce you to Boundary Stone's Economics Online Course Bundle.  While this is a one semester course, we have access to it for a year which is super nice.  A has already taken government so we just need the Economics class.  I am grateful to have extended time for her because she spent some time this semester studying for the PSAT and therefore, started this class much later than intended.  I want to note that if you wish to complete this course in one semester, you need to stick to the daily assignment schedule to stay on track.

Our books for this course!

What's included?  As mentioned above you will have 12 month online access to the course.  You will also receive a physical hardback textbook Basic Economics 4th edition by Clarence Carson as well as a PDF teacher's guide and access to an online Budget Mini Course.  For this course, you will also need Whatever Happened to Penny Candy by Richard Maybury and The Law by Frédéric Bastiat.  A is using the PDF download in the course for The Law.

Above you can see our dashboard and the units on the sidebar.

This course is divided into 4 main units with 6 modules plus a short orientation module at the beginning to help you get started.  This course teaches a natural law approach to economics.  Unit 1 contains module 1 and covers the first five chapters of the text and The Law.  This section helps lay the foundations and basics of economics.  Unit 2 contains both module 2 and module 3 which covers chapters 6-7 and 8-10 of the text respectively.  Unit 3 contains module 4 and module 5, which cover chapters 10-13.  Units 2 and 3 cover the basic principles of economics.  And Unit 4 contains the final module, module 6.  This unit looks at various economies as a whole system within both political and cultural contexts.

Video for Chapter 1.

What does this course look like?  There are online daily lessons that often include specific YouTube videos to portray key points.  There are study guide assignments as well as online review exercises and quizzes.  

 

Above you can see the study guide for chapter 1.

 

A sample of review questions

There are 4 major tests as well.  The teacher's guide contains print versions for all chapter quizzes and tests as well as answers to the study guide questions and more!

What about grades?  The parent or teacher determines the overall grade of this course.  Lesson quizzes and tests are graded online.  While quizzes can be taken as many times as desired, tests can only be taken once.  You may also want to grade or give credit for reading assignments and watching videos, answering study review questions in writing, and the Budget Project Mini-course.  There is an Excel sheet available for you to download to assist you in calculating your student's final grade!

Our Budget Project Mini-course!

Personal Budget Spreadsheet

 

In the Budget Project Mini-course, a student will design a budget for two different income levels.  They will learn that everyone has limited resources and choices must be made about how to live within those resources.  This mini-course is a great addition and super valuable for students to complete.  If you are looking for a self-paced homeschool economics course, we highly recommend Boundary Stone's Economics Online Course Bundle.  It's well laid out and very user friendly!

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No More Braces

No more braces, bring on the treats!!

E got her braces off this week and it was so exciting!  She is officially done with Phase 1 😉.  D is set to get hers off within the next month, just a few days before her birthday so that's exciting as well.  The orthodontist gave E a big cup of all the candy she couldn't have before but she can enjoy now!

E a few days before her braces came off!

The Adventures of Rooney Cruz RINGLEADERS by Truth Becomes Her

{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.}

Today I want to share with you The Adventures of Rooney Cruz RINGLEADERS, a bible heroes for girls book and the latest installment of this series from Truth Becomes Her.

Our new hardback is 9"x9" and very sturdy.  It's full of beautiful and simple colorful illustrations and is written by Erin Weidemann.  The pages have a glossy finish to them.

 

 Our book is divided into 9 chapters seen above.

This is our first experience with Rooney Cruz and what an adventure.  I want to note right here, what is a Ringleader?  It's a girl whose life, love, and leadership come together in perfect harmony to impact the world and make a difference that only she can make.  I love this!

 

 

This series is geared for early readers 6-8 and independent readers 9-11 (and above).  D (10) and E (9) both read this book independently and loved it!  In this book, they met Rooney and the angel Mari and followed them on an amazing journey as Rooney discovered her powerful voice!  This book pinpointed six women, "Ringleaders" in the New Testament (Elizabeth, Mary, The Samaritan Woman, Mary and Martha, and Mary Magdalene), who lived lives with the truth of God's Word.  Their stories proclaim the hope of Jesus and inspire young girls to live their life for God.  I appreciate that this book helps encourage young girls to develop the confidence they need to use their voice and be a Ringleader in her own life.

The girls really liked how the the angel Mari (using Rooney's bracelet) would open "windows" for them to watch the Bible stories.  It reminded them of Superbook, only instead of going into the stories, Rooney watched them.  They also really liked Rooney's bracelet with letters and bells on it.  I have a feeling this may be a part of Rooney's previous adventures so we are going to have to check these out for ourselves!

 

Our Ringleaders Bundle!

D and E were not only excited when we received our book but our special bundle of other goodies as well - a Devotional, Coloring Book, and Journal.

 

D reading our devotional.

Our paperback devotional has 40 days of content.  The girls are really enjoying it and I appreciate having it as a "digging deeper" resource.

 

Above you can see the content for Day 12.

 

 

Our Ringleaders Coloring book is just a fun resource.  The girls have enjoyed coloring several of the pages.  

 

 D with one of her colored pages.

They also like to match them up with the actual pages in the book, see above!

 

 

And lastly, there is our paperback Journal for Mother's and Daughters, one of my favorites!  This is another "digging deeper" resource.  It's an interactive journal for you and your daughter or daughters in my case!  It's a safe place to share feeling, thoughts, ideas and grow together.  I'm only going to share a few pages from this (with permission from my girls) so you have an idea of what I mean by interactive.

Some of our thoughts about Mary.

A scene we like from the story of Mary.

I love this journal because it helps me gain more insight into my girls and what they are thinking and I love reading the thoughts they share with me as we grow in our relationship.

We are really loving The Adventures of Rooney Cruz RINGLEADERS and we would highly recommend this book and set!

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