What's in the Bible DVD Sale!!

Right now you can get the What's in the Bible DVDs for 20% off!  And if you order $15 or more, you can get FREE shipping!  Just click the link above!

We love these DVDs and have the first five in the series!

Homeschool Mother's Journal 7-13-12

In my life this week…  

we have been busy with Vacation Bible School.  Funny Bunny had a great time with her class and I helped with the crafts.  I met a lot of great ladies too!  Tonight is their performance.

In our homeschool this week…  

we finished our second week of 4th grade!  History this year covers Creation to the late 1900's so here are a few pictures Funny Bunny drew this week and last.

I am inspired by…  

all the wonderful volunteers at church!  There are so many people who give their time and talents to help.  I am hoping to get more involved this year.

My favorite thing this week was…

watching Funny Bunny practice for her part of Maria in the VBS play.  She only had a week to learn her lines so it has been a challenge for her.  She performs tonight at 5:30.  Wish her luck!

I’m praying for…  

what to volunteer my time for.  Funny Bunny will have a busy year with activities and I am trying to decide what she {and I} should be involved with.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

here are two more pictures from FB's school work.  The first was her science experiment.  It's an animal cell made out of jello.  We even took out our old CC science cards and sang the song for the parts of animal and plant cells.

The second is her written narration of the story of "The Great Flood."

Wordless Wednesday: Cute Hairstyle

Funny Bunny went to a birthday party last week and they had a few hairstyles to choose from.  This is what she came home with.  Isn't it cute?!!

Child Training Bible Review and Giveaway!

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6:7

Have you heard of the Child Training Bible yet?  When I read about it I just had to check it out.  I have been looking for something like this for a long time.

The concept is simple!  Use Scripture in training your children for the Lord.

But is it really that simple?  Here's the scenario:  Your child does something wrong and you want to quote a verse from the Bible, but you can't remember it.  You then look through the pages of notes that you have written on little pieces of paper all shoved near the back of your Bible, to find the right verse, which takes some time.  You finally find it and look it up, and now your child is on to something else, and you have lost that moment for training.

This problem is solved with the Child Training Bible!  Mindy, a homeschooling mom of four, along with her husband, Nathan, have created the Child Training Bible, which consists of a Child Training Bible Key, three Scripture Tabbing Charts, and a set of instructions.

All you have to have is a Bible {preferably 9x6}, a set of post it flags and highlighters, both in 7 colors, a pencil, and double sided tape.

Using your double sided tape, place the laminated Child Training Bible Key on the right side of the first page of your Bible.

The Bible Key includes 20 key areas {Anger, Defiance, Laziness, etc} with a complete section dedicated to the Gospel.  These key areas correspond to color-coded tabs and highlighted text throughout the Bible.

The three Scripture Tabbing Charts assist with tabbing the pages and highlighting the text.

And on the back of the charts, Mindy and Nathan have included ways to help you discuss the problem areas with your children.

There are questions to ask, referring once again to scripture, and they have included sample prayers you can pray together. 

My Thoughts:  I was excited to get started on putting my Child Training Bible together once I received everything in the mail!  I happened to have an extra children's Bible on hand, and it was not 9x6 {but I made it work anyway}!  It took me about 2 to 3 hours to put it all together.

Now when Funny Bunny has a problem with, let's say, disobedience, I can easily flip to several verses in the Bible that specifically address it, and I have ideas for discussion. 

 

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at the Child Training Bible website.  The Chart Set sells for only $9 and includes a Child Training Bible Key, three Scripture Tabbing Charts, and a set of instructions.  Group rates are also available for orders of 10 or more.

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GIVEAWAY!!

So, here's how to enter to win one (1) Child Training Bible Chart Set {Child Training Bible Key, three Scripture Tabbing Charts, and a set of instructions)!!  For each comment, you will get one (1) entry.

1. Leave a comment telling me why you would like to win

2. Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect

3. Like Our Homeschool Reviews on Facebook

4. Like Child Training Bible on Facebook 

5. Follow OurHSReviews on Twitter

**Remember to please leave a separate comment for each entry**

Contest ends on Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at 11:59 EST.  The winner will be chosen by Random.org.  This contest is open to U.S. residents who are 18 or older.  If I am unable to reach the winner by email within 48 hours, an alternate winner will be selected.  Your entry is only valid if you include a way for me to contact you (either an email address in your comment or on your profile).  The winner's name will be obtained and publicly announced.  The number of eligible entries determines the odds of winning.  No purchase is necessary to win and this contest is void where prohibited by law. 

Disclosure:  This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the products to the vendor.  I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.

It's HOT Out There!

The SchoolHouse Review Crew is talking about ways of beating the summer heat...and this is perfect timing because it is HOT out there!

Here are some ideas for your and your family:

1.  Start School.  I know for some it is hard to grasp, but we start school in the summer so we can take off in the fall and spring when it is cooler.  I would rather be outside when it's 80 instead of when it's 100+.

2.  Go to the Movies.  Our local movie theater runs movies for kids every  Thursday and the cost is only $2 for the movies, a drink, and a popcorn. What a deal...and in the air conditioning!!

3.  Try the Library.  Many libraries have summer reading and event programs.  These are great for kids of all ages and FREE!

4.  Water Day.  If you are like us, you don't have a pool, but why not set up a backyard water obstacle course.  Put out a couple sprinklers and just let the kids have fun for a couple hours.

5.  Crafts.  Pull out all those crafts that have been stuck in the back of the cabinet or drawer since last Christmas...you know you have them.  ;)

6.  Play Doh.  I don't know about you, but my child can play with this for hours.

7.  Cooking.  Have a baking day and make some homemade bread or muffins.  We are planning to make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread and Biscuits this week.

8.  Car Wash.  It may seem like a chore, but just let the kids have fun with it...maybe even set up the sprinklers around it.  Hmmm, I think I'll put this on our schedule this week!

What are you doing to beat the summer heat?

miscellany monday

~one~

this past week was funny bunny's first week of fourth grade.  it went pretty well so i'm ready to get started today!  I'll try to post some things we did a little later.

~two~

but before we started school, there was some pampering the week before.  ;)

~three~

last night was the first night of vbs.  funny bunny was very excited and had a lot of fun!  She was also asked to be in the short play {which is usually reserved for the older kids} on performance night.  she is super excited about that and working hard to memorize her lines!

oh, and I am helping with the crafts each night, so both of us will be exhausted by the end of the week. 

~four~

we made banana splits this week

~five~

i am looking forward to friday, which is our local homeschool convention!!  it is something that funny bunny and i look forward to going to each year!

Hewitt Homeschooling Review

Hewitt Homeschooling, have you heard of them?

For almost 30 years Hewitt has provided personalized evaluation services, standardized achievement testing for Grades 3-8, and high-quality curriculum. As a non-profit corporation they are dedicated to helping home-schooling families provide their students with the best education they can.

Many companies carry everything including the kitchen sink. At Hewitt, they hand-pick each book, because they think it is the best for that age and subject. Some material is Christian-oriented; others are from secular publishers.  

Hewitt is well known for their Lightening Literature program for junior and senior high students, which is now becoming available for lower level students, starting with first grade.  Lightning Lit guides use full-length novels, autobiographies, plays, essays, short stories, and poems to teach deep reading and composition skills.

We were given the opportunity to review another one of their products called My First Report.

My First Report was developed no only as a tool for inspiring young children to be creative in their writing, but also to develop initial skills such as penmanship, vocabulary, reading, and critical thinking. 



The following My First Reports are available:

My First Report: Music
My First Report: Transportation
My First Report: Weather
My First Report: Me
My First Report: Famous People
My First Report: Large Mammals
My First Report: Small Mammals
My First Report: Pets/Farm Animals
My First Report: Bugs and Worms
My First Report: Birds
My First Report: Reptiles/Amphibians
My First Report: Plants
My First Report: Solar System
My First Report: Marine Life

We received My First Report: Pets and Farm Animals

Included in the packet was an Introduction, 14 different animal topic sheets {the cover of the packet indicates it would include 12 or more topics per packet}, and a Unit Study on Pets and Farm Animals.

The Unit Study includes the following areas:  Bible, History/ Geography/Social Skills, Reading, Language, Math, Science/ Health, Physical Education, Music, Art, and Field Trips.

Also included are a additional resources, a crossword puzzle, two Bible verses to use as copywork, and three copywork pages with different ruled line heights.

This particular set of reports was designed to be used one per week so that it could be completed in one quarter.  Of course, the nice thing about it is, that you can use as much or as little of it as you would like. 

My Thoughts:  I really like the idea of these reports and they are perfect for families who enjoy unit studies.  However for us they did not work out the way I would have liked.  Unit studies have never really been our thing and since Funny Bunny is already advanced with her writing, it seemed a little too easy for her.

I did let her pick her topic and she chose Dogs.  I gave her the topic sheet that is shown above and let her work on it independently.  She used her dictionary and an animal research book that we have, and she wrote a nice one-page paper on dogs, answering most of the questions that were asked.  She just did not want to continue with the unit study.

I do want to stress that even though this didn't work for us, I think it would be great for others.  I wish I would have found something like this when she was a little younger!

Thoughts of a 9-Year Old: My First Report was about Dogs and I liked because it got me thinking about dogs and I want to know more about my own now.

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Hewitt Homeschooling.  Each My First Report packet is only $8.95.  You can purchase a set of five for $24.95 and all 14 for $69.95.  They are written with grades 3-4 in mind, but grades 1-2 can do them with parental direction, and grades 5-8 for remedial work.  Individual reports are packaged in an envelope and three hole punched so they can easily be placed in a 3-ring binder. 

My Crewmates are also talking about Hewitt Homeschooling, so you can check out what they think about it HERE.
 

Disclaimer:  This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor.  I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.

And the Dry Idea Winner Is...

Comment #90:  Allisha Gold...I like you on facebook as Allisha Gold

I used Random.org to pick the winner and I have already notified her via email.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Dry Idea Giveaway via Our Homeschool Reviews and thanks again to Dry Idea for allowing me to offer this great product! 

And don't forget, you can still enter the Dry Idea Advanced Dry Sweepstakes.

Brew Over Ice: The Cool Side of the K-Cup

I love my Keurig coffee maker!!  We don't drink a ton of coffee so when I am the only adult home during the week, just one cup is enough for me.  And making my coffee with K-Cups is so simple, Funny Bunny will often make it for me.  :)

What I didn't know though, is that there are now K-Cup packs from Green Mountain and Celestial Seasonings that are specially blended to brew directly over ice!!  So now, not only can I make my favorite hot coffee, I can make my favorite iced drinks as well.

I love iced tea, but I'm not big on brewing a big pot of tea on the stove and then putting it in the fridge for later.  No one else at our home even likes iced tea but me.  But now, I can pop in a K-cup and brew myself a cup!

I liked the iced teas better than the iced coffees, but they were all good.   The two teas I tried were Half and Half: Black Tea and Lemonade and Southern Sweet Black Tea.  They were both sooo YUMMY but I think I liked the Southern Sweet Black Tea the best!

For more information, visit Brew Over Ice on Facebook!


 

Wordless Wednesday: Squirrel

This guy had pushed in the plastic covering to take a seat in the bird seed.  He stayed there for at least 30 minutes enjoying his lunch.  I've fixed it and filled it back up again, so hopefully the cardinals will come back.