Saturday, December 31, 2022

Christmas 2022


I cannot believe 2022 is almost a wrap!  We had such a wonderful Christmas.  David and I decided to create a train this year for presents and it was a lot of fun.  Each kid had their own train car full of goodies from us and David and I had one for each of us at the caboose (my Mom had the engine and yes, she likes gnomes).  Hope you had a great Christmas, here's to 2023!

Extreme Dot to Dot: Around the World Review {Timberdoodle's Customized Curriculum Kit}


D has been using her customized Timberdoodle kit for her 8th grade year.  I want to share with you today one of the fun items included in her math component, Extreme Dot to Dot: Around the World.  If you are not familiar with Dot to Dot books we are huge fans and our family has completed a variety of them.  They are so great for increasing mental focus and we find them fun and relaxing as well.  I am so thankful for the variety and selection that Timberdoodle offers!

 D's book!
 
This particular book is geared for students ages 8+ or 3rd grade and up.  The 32 puzzles range from 400 dots to 2200 dots so the time frame and difficulty vary from puzzle to puzzle.  In this book, you connect the dots to reveal buildings, landscapes and memorable sights from all around the world, hence the name.  I really appreciate that the puzzles do not give away the ending from the beginning, they are a mystery until complete.  And there is a handy dandy key in the back of the book that identifies each puzzle along with fun details and facts.

Above you can see D with her completed Taj Mahal

While I don't want to give away all the featured buildings, landscapes and memorable sights in this book (some mystery is nice), I did want to show you what a few completed puzzles look like so you have an idea of what the book contains.
 
D working on the 2nd dot-to-dot

It's Big Ben!

And remember, these books aren't just for kids!  I have enjoyed them over the years as well (see my review on Dot-to-Dot Philadelphia for proof).  These books are inexpensive, fun and make a great addition to any homeschool curriculum!


Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I will be refunded the purchase price of our curriculum kit in exchange for my honest reviews of our kit.  All opinions are my own.

Friday, December 16, 2022

The Garden The Greatest Gift Review & Amazon Giveaway

 
 
I have a fun cartoon series to share with you today, The Garden.  The Garden was created by Butch Hartman (the creator of several iconic Nickelodeon animated shows like The Fairly Odd Parents, Danny Phantom, Tuff Puppy and Bunsen is a Beast).  The Garden seeks not only to entertain but to also teach kids the word of God.  We are huge Star Wars fans so it is super cool that the character Lenny is voiced by James Arnold Taylor, the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Clone Wars.
 

The Garden features two best friends (Lenny the Lion and Lucy the Lamb) who work inside a magical garden where anything can grow.  Each story revolves around them learning a Bible story or an original song to help them accomplish their goal.  There are 40 episodes being created and a Garden App will also soon be available (every episode contains an original song).  The Garden is currently available on Pureflix and Yippee TV.


We just watched The Greatest Gift episode and enjoyed it.  The theme song is fun and silly.  I was super impressed with the original song "Christmas is Jesus' Birthday."  In this episode, Mr. Toothacher (a beaver) is grumpy and not a fan of Christmas.  As Lenny and Lucy prepare and decorate for the big Christmas Concert they run into some trouble (with a misunderstanding about Joy and peanut butter) and Mr. Toothacher is the only one that can help them out.  This episode is short, fun and silly and reminds us of the ultimate reason for the season, Jesus!

You can purchase "The Greatest Gift" or Christmas episode ($1.99) of The Garden today (and you'll get a free lesson to download along with your purchase!

Ready for a fun giveaway?  One of you will win a $10 Amazon gift card.  Just enter below and good look.  This is limited to US winners only.  Winner will receive their prize after the new year.

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Disclosure:  Many thanks to Garden Productions for providing a sample of The Garden for our family to review.  Opinions are 100% my own.

Monday, December 12, 2022

Timberdoodle's Science Lessons & Investigations Grade 1 & Grade 3 Reviews

I have some fun science books from Timberdoodle to share with you today, Science Lessons and Investigations Grade 1 and Science Lessons and Investigations Grade 3.  Timberdoodle currently has these available for Grades 1-6!  G has been using the Grade 1 book and F has been using the Grade 3 book as their science curriculum this year.

G with his science book Grade 1

G's book covers life, earth, and physical science.  It does this through investigation and observation as the name suggests.  His book contains 14 science units that build upon prior knowledge and experience as you progress through the material.  He appreciates that all the units include a hands-on activity as well.

Questions explored in this book include:

  • How do animals use their body parts?
  • Do animals have babies?
  • Do plants have babies?
  • Do animals from the same species always look the same?
  • Do all roses look the same?
  • Can we predict patterns for the sun, moon and stars?
  • How do we communicate over long distances?

 
Above you can see a few of G's completed worksheets for the unit on how animals use their body parts.

G made a butterfly!

Everything you need to teach this book is included.  There are miscellaneous supplies for various hand-on activities and such that are needed but we have had everything needed already on hand in our homeschool.

Example of Teaching Pages

I like that our books contain teacher support pages and an answer key for worksheets.  There are vocabulary/words to know pages, reading selections with visual examples along with reading comprehension activities, I wonder and research/writing prompts and of course the hands-on investigations (G's favorite)!

F with his science book Grade 3

F's book similarly to G's covers life, earth, and physical science.  His book contains 14 science units.  F's book as expected is more advanced than G's book and is set up for students to learn based of the 5E model:  engage, explore, explain, evaluate and extend.  So students explore and connect with an idea through activities, build on prior knowledge and experience, construct meaning and then use or apply their concept understanding in a fun way.  It's a fun way to learn.

Topics explored in this book include:

  • Both Plant and Animal Life Cycles
  • Group and Social Behavior
  • Fossils of Ancestors
  • Weather
  • Natural Processes and Hazards
  • Predicting Motion from Patterns
  • Magnetic Forces

One of F's worksheets from the unit on plant and animal life cycles.

Above you can see a few of F's completed worksheets for the unit on nature and nurture.

And above you can see an example of what our answer keys look like in the back of our books.  I like the simple and easy to read format.
 
This is my first time using Science Lessons & Investigations books in our homeschool and we are really enjoying them!  I like how easy they are to incorporate and the boys like them as well.  I can definitely seeing us using more in the future.  This is a great science resource!
 

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Science Lessons & Investigations Grade 1 and Grade 3 in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Happy 17th Birthday B

 
B's Volleyball Cookie Cake
 
B is 17 today!

It's only fitting that she has volleyball practice tonight with her club team.  Their 1st tournament is this Saturday and I'm so excited to see them play together.  Happy Birthday B - we love you!!

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

CYBA Winter Concert

The younger boys in the lobby of the church before the concert.

B and C had their Winter Concert last night with CYBA.  It was such a fun time and I loved hearing the different arrangements and pieces they played.  Above is a photo of the Wind Ensemble.

CSB Lifeway Women's Bible Review & Giveaway

I was recently given a CSB Lifeway Women's Bible (the Marigold LeatherTouch Edition) for review and it is so beautiful!  There are so many features as well.

This Bible includes 

  • an in-depth collection of Bible reading helps
  • 100+ articles alongside corresponding biblical text
  • short devotional thoughts throughout the Bible
  • 40+ character profiles of prominent women in the Bible with application questions
  • book introductions with book overviews and timelines for all the books of the Bible
  • inspirational quotes
  • reflection questions to help women dig deeper into the Word
  • word studies, charts, tables, maps
  • and more!

 
I really like the the wide margins and multiple bookmarks.

I feel like I have only just dipped my toes into all that this Bible has to offer.  As I stated above, I really appreciate the wide margins.  This gives me room to journal or take notes and I really like that.  I like the character profiles and I am looking forward to diving into more of the unique features of this Bible as I read through it!

Ready to purchase your own copy of the CSB Women's Lifeway Bible?  Use the code SAVE50LWB and get 50% the retail price, offer only available at lifeway.com and valid through 12/31/2022.  Not only would this be great for yourself but it would also make a great gift for a special woman in your life!  And Christmas is right around the corner, just sayin'

Ready for a giveaway?  That's right, one of you will win your own copy of the Lifeway CSB Women's Bible (Marigold LeatherTouch Edition).  Just enter below and good luck!  Limited to US winners only.

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Disclosure:  Many thanks to Lifeway Christian Resources for providing me with my CSB Lifeway Women's Bible for this review.  Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

Monday, December 5, 2022

CSB Explorer Bible For Kids Review & Giveaway

I have a super fun Bible to share with you today, the CSB Explorer Bible for Kids!  It has fun facts, timelines, great photos and more.  There are even QR codes that bring engaging videos, discussion questions and activity pages to life.  The CSB (Christian Standard Bible®) text is highly reliable and highly readable, it is meant to capture the Bible's original meaning without sacrificing clarity!

This multicolored Bible is geared for kids ages 6-12 and has 1472 pages.  It is available in both hardcover and leathertouch options as well.  I love that this CSB Explorer Bible for Kids is designed for kids to explore and interact with the people, places and things of the Bible and God's creation.  The color-illustrations are fun and help keep kids engaged.  I also think kids will appreciate both table of contents, one in order and one arranged alphabetically to help kids find what they are looking for.  There are so many great elements to this Bible that help make it come alive for kids including Book Introductions, Christ in Context Articles, Excavating the Past Illustrations, Charting History Illustrated Timelines and so much more!  We are really enjoying our Bible and it has become such a great resource for the kids in learning about God and his Word.

 
The younger boys with our Bible.

Ready to purchase your own copy of the CSB Explorer Bible?  Use the code EXPLORERGIFT50 and get 50% the retail price, offer only available at lifeway.com and valid through 12/31/2022.  Not only would this be great for your home but it would make a great gift as well!

Ready for a giveaway?  That's right, one of you will win your own copy of the Lifeway Explorer Kids Bible.  Just enter below and good luck!  Limited to US winners only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  Many thanks to Lifeway Christian Resources for providing me with our CSB Explorer Bible for Kids for this review.  Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

Happy 13th D!

 
 
D is officially a teenager!!  I truly cannot believe that I now have 4 teenagers!  I'm thankful that we got to celebrate her over the weekend on her actual birthday with family and friends, so fun.
 
D is a strawberry girl through and through so David made her a strawberry ice cream cake, yummy!
 
Happy Birthday D, we love you!!

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

The Voice Library - Audio Book Creator Review

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

The Voice Library

I was so excited to receive The Voice Library - Audio Book Creator from The Voice Library for our family to use and review!  This is a way to capture your family's favorite stories in voices and pictures using either your phone or computer.  You can store favorite recipes by creating an Audio Cookbook that has voice, story and even photos.  You can even give voice to your art!  I really want A to do this with some of the pieces of art she created this semester at college when she comes home - how neat this will be!

The basic goal of The Voice Library is to capture and share the joys in your life!  I love this and I love all the ideas and suggestions that came with our package.  As the account holder, I can do everything.  I can also share my library with others to just listen to my content or even record messages about their own adventures to share.  I love the idea of having extended family record messages and stories.  My Mom is on her way to stay with us for an extended period of time and I'm really looking forward to getting her to record some stories for us!

Above you can see one of my recordings.  I have the App installed on my phone.  In G's spelling class at CoOp he has memorized a few poems.  I recorded his sweet voice reciting his poem to me from memory and it's adorable.

I feel like we have barely scratched the surface of what The Voice Library has to offer but I'm excited to dive in deeper this holiday season.  We will be recording some cookie recipes, getting some stories from Grandma, and of course, hearing more about A's artwork.  Stay tuned to see more from us!

Want to know more?  Be sure to click on the banner below to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read even more reviews of The Voice Library.

create audio books


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Friday, November 4, 2022

Happy National Candy Day

 

It's crazy that this is so close to Halloween (or possibly that's strategic) but Happy National Candy Day!

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Happy Halloween & November

Hope you had a great Halloween!  We ended up staying home and handing out candy.  We were hoping to watch the World Series game but it was postponed due to weather.  I can't believe it's November.  

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh Review

I have a fun art product to share with you today from Timberdoodle, Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh.  Inspired by Van Gogh is manufactured by Djeco and is recommended for ages 5-99 or Kindergarten and up!

Our artboards

What's included in our kit?  Our kit includes 4 artboards or cards (inspired by Van Gogh's paintings), 1 double-ended wooden stylus, and a full-color instructional booklet filled with design ideas.  Each artboard is a separate project taking anywhere from 30-60 minutes to complete.

I decided to use this art kit a little differently in that I wanted several of us to complete our artboards instead of one kid completing all four.  I thought this would be a good way to demonstrate the end product with a larger age range, so the girls and I have been enjoying making our boards.  D made one, E made one, B and I tagged team on one and we are saving the last one for A (we want to see what a college art major can create).

Above you can see a collage of the artboard D created.

I absolutely love her final product.

Above you can see a collage of the artboard E created.  I love the flowers!

I love the way it turned out and that she signed it up near the left top corner.

Above you can see the collage that B and I did together!

I am pleased with the way it turned out.

Above is the artboard we are saving for A to do when she returns from college over the break.  Stay tuned to see her masterpiece.

These artboards are a great way to boost both fine motor and visual discernment skills.  The stylus is used to scratch through the ink to uncover a colored layer beneath.  I like that you can scratch simpler patterns or scratch off larger areas to reveal hidden surprises.  And honestly, these artboards are just relaxing and fun to complete!

Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh is currently included in Timberdoodle's 6th grade curriculum kit.  This fun resource will help children develop artistic skill and art appreciation.  Don't be afraid to complete one yourself as well.


Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.