Prepare for Easter with Pure Flix

I am so excited for Easter!  It's a great time to reflect and remember the sacrifice of Jesus.  I have been so impressed with the incredible library of Easter films and resources offered by Pure Flix.

There are a plethora of encouraging and inspirational films including Risen, The Passion of the Christ, The Case for Christ, The Chosen, A.D. The Bible Continues, Penitent Thief, & so much more!  There are several sections (Enter Into Easter, Easter For Kids, Easter Biblical History and Biblical Epics) that make it easy to find something for everyone in your family, regardless of their age.  You can dig deeper in your understanding and knowledge of the crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

David and I recently watched Risen, the epic Biblical story of the Resurrection told through the eyes of a Roman tribune, Clavius.  Clavius' life drastically changes after he investigates what happened after Jesus was crucified.  I do want to note that there is a warning for violent depictions of war, fighting, execution and aftermath of war and that warning is justified.  This film does a good job demonstrating the historical context.  I really enjoyed seeing the Resurrection story told through this unique perspective. 

Check out the movie trailer for Risen below to see more for yourself.

Are you looking for films to help your family prepare for Easter?  Sign up with Pure Flix today here!  With Pure Flix you can have faith in your entertainment and have access to the top Christian movies and television shows.

I'm excited for the kids to watch The Lion of Judah next.

Disclosure:  Many thanks to Pure Flix for providing my family with our own 3-month Pure Flix subscription for my review.  Opinions are 100% my own.

YWAM Publishing Christian Heroes Then and Now Corrie ten Boom: Keeper of the Angels' Den Review

Disclosure:  I received this complimentary product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW.

YWAM Publishing offered us several choices from their Christian Heroes Then and Now Series of books and we chose to review Corrie ten Boom: Keeper of the Angels' Den.  YWAM Publishing also sent us a digital Study Guide to go along with our book.  Our paperback book contains 15 chapters (~ 200 pages) and is recommended for ages 10+.

 

The Christian Heroes Then and Now biography series brings to life remarkable true stories of fascinating men and women who trusted in God and accomplished amazing feats for His glory!  This series covers Christian Heroes from 1700-1960.  I love reading about the powerful lives of missionaries who have shaped history and it shows us time and time again how God can use anyone who follows Him.

 

The older kids are reading this book on their own while the younger kids and I are discussing it and working our way through it.

 

If you don't know much about Corrie ten Boom, she was a Dutch watchmaker who (with her family) helped many Jewish people during the Holocaust.  Her family was caught and she was imprisoned in a concentration camp.  This books shows her faith, determination and even her forgiveness in the unimaginable of situations.

Our study guide contains guides for using this book in small groups, classroom and homeschool environments.

I want you to know that this study guide is chock-full of ideas for using this book in various curriculum areas including history, geography, essay writing, creative writing, reading comprehension, public speaking, drama, and art.  The hands-on project ideas are super fun!  I also appreciate that the guide reflects a wide range of learning styles.

One of the ideas suggested in the guide is to create a display corner of objects and items related to or representative of Corrie ten Boom and her life and the time she lived.  We have done this for other Heroes of History books and it's always fun.  The guide gives ideas and suggestions on things you might want to include.  You can see the one that the kids and I have been working on below.

 

Our Corrie ten Boom Display Corner

 

We have some library books on the Netherlands and the Holocaust.  I found some fun Dutch food at World Market that the kids have enjoyed trying.  We have a picture of the inside of a watch and on the wall you can see various Star of David badges that Jews were made to wear to separate them from others.

I like the worksheets included - fact sheet for the Netherlands as well as a few maps.

There are currently 50 biographies in the Christian Heroes Then and Now Complete set including Nate Saint, Cameron Townsend, and Hudson Taylor.  I'm super interested in reading their book about C.S. Lewis, hopefully soon!  YWAM books do not disappoint!  My family enjoys them and we highly recommend them.

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Happy Pi Day

This is your friendly reminder that it's not too late to enjoy a slice!  We have chocolate creme, lemon creme, apple and cherry/peach over here 😋.

Happy 44th David

We finally got to celebrate David's birthday yesterday!  With all the sports and activities we had to wait until the weekend.

 

Inside the cake

The girls and I made him a cake, 1/2 lemon and 1/2 strawberry and A used David's cake airbrush kit (he got it for Christmas) to decorate it.  I love the way it came out.

With 44 candles! 😏

 

Happy Birthday David!  You keep this family going and we love you bunches!

Jump 1 Review

 

I have a fun math card game to share with you today from Timberdoodle, Jump 1.  Jump 1 is manufactured by Melon Rind and is a 2-4 player game geared for ages 4 and up.  Each game is ~ 15 minutes or less.

 

What's included in our game?  Our game contains 66 cards and 2 sets of rules.  There are 2 ways to play this game - Fast & Furious or Cool & Clever.  You essentially have 2 games in one!

 Above you can see what the cards look like.

All the frog cards

What's the object of this game?  Be the first player to get rid of all your cards, that's it!

How do you play?  Both versions of the game are set up similarly.  Let me walk you through both games.

Cool & Clever:  Set up the game by taking one card from the deck and placing it face down in the center between players.  Deal the remaining cards face down creating an equal stack for every player.  After all the cards are dealt, players will take the top 5 cards from their stack and look at them in their hand.  The first player will turn over the center card and begin play.  The first player can play a card with 1 more or 1 less than the number on the card.  So if the card is a 4, player 1 may play a 3 or a 5.  Player 1 can play as many cards as possible from the 5 cards in their hand.  If the center card is a 10, players may play a 1 or a 9.

Example of our center pile

Afterwards, their turn is over and they will replenish their hand back to 5 from their pile.  If they cannot play any cards from their hand, they will draw 1 card from their stack and their turn ends.  It is the next players turn.  Also, watch out for frog cards!  A frog card may be played at any time during your turn and any number can be played on a frog card so it's essentially a wild card.  The first player to get rid of all their cards wins!

Fast & Furious:   Set up the game by taking two cards from the deck and placing them face up in the center between players.  Deal the remaining cards face down creating an equal stack for every player.  After all the cards are dealt, players will take the top 5 cards from their stack and look at them in their hand.  To start the game, players say ready go and begin.  Immediately players play cards from their hands on either of the two center cards.  Again, you may play a card with 1 more or 1 less than the number on the card.  If the center card is a 10, players may play a 1 or a 9.  Anytime a player has less than 5 cards in their hand, they can replenish from their stack.  A player may play a frog card on either pile and any time but only the person that played the frog card can place another card on top of it.  The first player to get rid of all their cards wins!  This is a much faster paced game than the first.

The kids really like this game.  It is super easy to play, it's short and it's fun!  I love that it helps reinforce simple math facts for younger kids.  And it's pretty awesome that there are multiple ways to play.  If you are looking for a math related game for your youngster, we definitely recommend Jump 1 🐸.

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Jump 1 in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Happy Mario Day

If you didn't know, March 10th is officially Mario Day!  Hope it's great 😉.

Sports Fun

The kids are currently involved in numerous activities.  I thought I'd give an update on a few of them.  I'll continue this in another post I'm sure 😉.  C is playing baseball and he just joined the Austin Royals track team.  He had his 1st meet last Saturday.  He ran the 1 mile and 2 mile as he prefers long distance running.  There was a mix-up with his 2 mile time (he had to run an extra lap) but he completed his fastest 1 mile time at 6:08!  It's not quite competitive for his age but I am super impressed with his individual performance and his desire to improve.

A competed in the Rodeo Archery competition again this year!  She came in 4th place.  I'm so proud of her.  She improved her score from last year and was competing against girls who have been involved in archery for many, many years.

F is playing soccer and baseball right now.  He scored 3 goals in his 1st soccer game this season and he just got his 1st hit in a baseball game (coach pitch) and it was a beauty (see above)!  I'm super proud of the work he is putting into both sports.

Indescribable Kids from Tommy Nelson Books Review

Disclosure:  I received this complimentary product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW.

I am so excited to introduce you to Indescribable Kids from Tommy Nelson Books!  We received The Wonder of Creation: 100 More Devotions About God and Science by Louie Giglio through the Homeschool Review Crew and love it!  This devotional is geared for children ages 6-10 so it works well for E, F and G 😉.  I have been using it mostly with the boys.

If you don't know Louie Giglio, he is well-known for his powerful messages about science and the Bible.  I love this children's devotional that inspires kids to marvel at God's creation.

Our book has 100 devotions that explore Space, Earth, Animals and People.  I love the quick topic reference above that makes it easy to jump around the book if you desire.

Each devotion includes a Bible verse, a scientific fact or easy activity for exploring faith and a closing prayer.  The boys enjoy the whimsical, engaging illustrations by Nicola Anderson as well as the information and scientific facts.  The devotions are short (2 page spread each); yet, contain great ways to explore our world and learn while growing in faith.  We are having a great time working our way through this devotional.  We definitely recommend it!

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