Your Amazing Name - Personalized Adventure for Every Name by CrossTimber Review

If you know David and I then you know that for all seven of our children we did not find out their gender before birth.  We also did not really have names picked out for them.  For each one, we went to the hospital, and after birth spent time with them and prayed over them.  We asked God to give us a word or phrase to help us name them and that's how they all got their names.  Of course, once we had A and B we thought it would be fun to stick to the alphabet pattern as well and it happened to work out!  All that to say we don't take names lightly.

I was super excited for the opportunity to review Your Amazing Name - Personalized Adventures for EVERY name! from CrossTimber - Name Meaning Gifts.  I think the hardest decision was to choose which child we were going to made a video for, all of them would be great.  David and I ended up choosing F.  We were given instructions on how to fill out the necessary form online.  In the form, we included personal information for F (which I'm not going to share here), we uploaded a recent photo of him, uploaded a recent piece of artwork from him and David and I were able to write a paragraph and blessing for him about his name.  This is important because at the end of the video the characters read this personal letter from us to F.

Here is a photo of the artwork F completed.  I had him color a picture of arrows as his middle name means arrow maker.

And here is a fairly recent photo of him.

After a few weeks, we received a digital personalized video for F!  It can take 3 to 10 business days to receive your order and rush service is available if needed.  David and I watched the 28 minute video first before showing it to F and the other kids and we were really impressed!  I was surprised by how much F's artwork was included in the video.  It comes in near the beginning of the video and is fairly integral throughout -  - it flies through the air, is rolled into a rocket, launches into space, is used as a parachute and more.  I really like the quality of the animations, the variety of characters who are fun and engaging, and even their unique and distinct voices.  Some of the characters are below.  Your child's name is the central theme of this adventure and I love that the characters explore what God thinks of names and that various scriptures are shown throughout their journey.  This is definitely a faith based product.

Ben (short for Benjamin) the Pencil

 Shine the Star

 Mr. Owl

Rescued the Sheep

F was super excited when we showed him his video.  He had lots of questions and couldn't stop grinning throughout the story.  The other kids really enjoyed it as well.  F's name was spoken over 20 times and shown onscreen in lots of fun and unique ways.  F especially liked "his" room in the beginning of the video.

 We showed F his video on our big screen television.

F's artwork flying through the air at the beginning of the video.


Personalized room - You can see the blocks say We 💗 Flint and the green pillow says Flint Fletcher.

Here is F watching the beginning of his video.

 F's artwork as a rocket!

Here he is in the middle.  I love that D is smiling too!

 He is still grinning at the end.

In the film, your child will see a scroll of the history of their name.

Remember the paragraph that David and I submitted?  It is read at the end of the video, so fun!

I also received a fun file of activity sheets - maze in F's name, namesign, color search, books of the Bible word search, and handwriting sheets with F's name.

Check out this super fun Namesign for F to use on a desk or in his room.

 And this search and find name color sheet is also pretty great.

A colored this sheet for F and I love how it turned out.

This is definitely a very unique and super fun product.  I think it has been such a special treat for F and it turned out even better than I had hoped.  We will enjoy it for a long time.  I highly recommend this company and their personalized products!

Check out the video below to really get a feel for this animated, personalized adventure with your child's artwork, name and more.

Be sure to click on the banner below to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews of Your Amazing Name by CrossTimber and see what others have to say.  And keep reading for a fun giveaway!

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My Plant Stand Teleidoscope

My new Teleidoscope Plant Stand

I have the coolest gift to share with you today, one that my father-in-law made me - it's a plant stand teleidoscope.  If you don't know, a teleidoscope can be used to make kaleidoscopic patterns from objects outside the instrument.  My father-in-law build a plant stand with a lazy Susan bowl and attached a teleidoscope.  You can turn the bowl and look into the viewfinder to see some magical patterns.  The bowl is removable.  We have an additional empty bowl that we can fill with various items and see what patterns they make.  We are having so much fun with this gift!

A front view...

 A side view of our Plant Stand Teleidoscope

 And a view from the top...

 Here I turned the bowl so you can see that the flowers rotate.

 Heading toward the viewfinder...

 Almost there...

 Aren't the patterns amazing?

 Another pattern...

And another!

We have already looked at various items through our teleidoscope - LEGOs, D's gymnastics medals, and stuffed birds to name a few.  What would you want to see?

Science Mill and Lights Spectacular

My family loves the Science Mill in Johnson City!  It offers a fun, interactive learning environment for all ages with cutting-edge exhibits, games, and programs!  Housed in a historic 1880s mill, the Science Mill features more than 50 interactive exhibits, a 3D theater, special events, field trips, birthday parties and even Homeschool Days.

Photo courtesy of Johnson City Chamber of Commerce

Make the Science Mill your go to destination during the opening weekend of Lights Spectacular in Johnson City.  They are open late until 6pm on Friday 11/29 and Saturday 11/30.  You can explore the 50+ exhibits and stock up on holiday gifts at the Science Store.  Then watch as Johnson City transforms into the "Twinkliest Town in Texas," and enjoy an evening of activities.  I'm looking forward to enjoying it with my family!  Hope to see you there.

Admission is free for 0-2 years, $9.50 for 3-18 years (or with student ID), $11 for adults, $9 for seniors (65+), and $5.50 for military.  I have a coupon to share with you for $1 off your admission to the Science Mill through December 31st of this year.

Disclosure: Thanks so much to USFamilyGuide and Science Mill for selecting me for this campaign.  Science Mill will be providing my family with tickets to enjoy the Science Mill in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own.  Stay tuned for my upcoming review!

Jem Strikes Gold and Jem's Frog Fiasco from Kregel Publications Book Reviews

E has been enjoying reading Jem Strikes Gold and Jem's Frog Fiasco, the first two books in the Goldtown Beginnings Series by author Susan K. Marlow and published by Kregel Publications.  This is set to be a six book series.

 Book 1 and Book 2

E with our new books!

This series is geared for readers ages 6-9 and features 7 year old Jem Coulter.  It takes place in 1859 during the height of the Gold Rush.  Jem and his family pan gold in California.  You will journey with Jem on lots of adventures and learn valuable life lessons along the way!  Both of our books are ~ 80 pages in length with ten chapters each.

 Book 1 of the series: Jem Strikes Gold

E diving right into book 1.

In Jem Strikes Gold, Jem's family is trying to make a go of it in Goldtown, California.  Jem's Pa pans for gold while his Mama bakes pies and washes laundry to help make ends meet.  Jem and Ellie, his little sister, do whatever they can to help.  Will Sterling, a rich boy who is mean, picks on Jem whenever possible.  When Will's antics affect Jem's family's livelihood, Jem has had enough.  When a scrawny dog arrives on the scene, Jem might have the answer to all his problems.  And he might strike gold in an unexpected way.

 Book 2 of the series: Jem's Frog Fiasco

Book 2 picks up right where Book 1 left off.  In Jem's Frog Fiasco, Jem has to buy food for Gold Nugget, his dog!  His failed panning attempts for gold lead him to catch bullfrogs for the cafe's owner.  After an argument with Ellie, his little sister, Jem has great success with catching frogs.  When Ellie goes missing, Jem is reminded of their argument.  Can he find her in time?

 New Words List

Both books include a new words list at the very beginning.  I think this is helpful for kids to pre-read the words and meanings so that when they come across them, they will understand them.

 A Peek into the Past

Similarly, both books include a peek into the past section at the very end.  This section in Book 1 discusses gold and mining; whereas, this section in Book 2 talks about coyote holes.

E really likes the illustrations by Okan Bulbul.  Each chapter has one black and white illustration, sometimes they are half a page and sometimes the illustrations are a full page.

 Example of a half page illustration

Example of a full page illustration

There are free language arts educational units to accompany this entire series available here including lapbooks, activity guides, coloring pages and more.  This is a great resource and I highly recommend it!

 Enrichment Materials Available

 Above you can see an Activity Guide schedule for Jem Strikes Gold.  There is one for Jem's Frog Fiasco as well.  There are lots of great activity sheets along with a handy dandy answer key.

The coloring pages are sweet and there are suggested fun activities to go along with some of them as well.

 Here's an activity sheet for Book 1.

 Here is a maze activity for Book 1.

And here is a coloring page for Book 2.

These books are great for young children to read independently and also work as fun read-alouds, especially for younger children.  E really enjoyed reading both of them so much that I am reading them to the younger boys now.  I appreciate that they help make history come alive for children as they can really get a picture of what life was like during the Gold Rush.  If you are looking for a fun adventure series we definitely recommend this one.  We are looking forward to the next books in this series which are due to release March 2020.

As always, be sure to click on the banner below to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews of Jem's Adventures from Kregel Publications.

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Weekend Fun

D at North State

D competed at North State for level 4 gymnastics this weekend.  I'm so proud of her.  She had her best meet this season with 3 scores in the 9's.  I love this girl and her passion for the sport.

F playing soccer (photo taken by Mumma).

F had his last soccer game of the Fall.  I'm so proud of my team, the Honey Badgers.  I'm sad I missed our last game (I was driving D to State) but it sounds like it was amazing.  We have our end of season party this Wednesday and I'm looking forward to seeing the kids for one last hurrah!

B's Volleyball Team - Blue Lightning

I was able to help coach B's volleyball team bright and early Saturday morning.  I think her team is steadily improving and I love that B shows up to play 110% every week.  I couldn't ask for more.

We had a great visit this weekend with Mumma and Puppa.

Mumma took this photo so I could be in it.

We all went to see Uncle Kent perform his 70 years of magic show, it was fantastic!  Hope your weekend was great!