Favorite Curriculum Over the Years

Oh wow!  This picture is bittersweet!  My girl is 13 and in 8th grade now but this brings back so many wonderful memories of homeschooling. And a lot of those memories were created with great books! I thought I would list a few of our all time favorites. 

All Time Favorite Curriculum
Before Five in a Row/FIAR
Explode the Code
Hooked on Phonics
Heart of Dakota {LOVE!!}

History for Little Pilgrims

Draw Write Now
Draw and Write Through History
Song School Latin
A Child's History of the World
IEW's Writing Courses
Apologia's Science
A Pioneer Sampler
Mystery of History

All Time Favorite Books/Readers
Grandpa's Box
Mr. Pipes Books
Viking Quest Series
One Small Square Books
The True Story of Noah's Ark
Daughters of the Faith Books
The Family Under the Bridge
The Little Riders
Toliver's Secret
Twenty and Ten
Life in the Great Ice Age

There are many more books and curriculum sets that we have enjoyed but the ones listed above bring back the sweetest memories of sitting together and just enjoying life and learning. ♥



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©2010-2017 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Max Gives Thanks to God Book Review

I received this adorable board book in the mail today. Now I do not have any children who are young enough to appreciate this book, but it is so cute, I just have to share.

"Max shows everyone how he thanks God for everything in his life such as flowers, trees, birds, friends, family and more."

It's really that simple and so sweet!  Each two page spread shows a scene from Max's day where he gives thanks to God for everything he has. It's written in rhyme which I think is one of the best parts of the book. I will always cherish the years reading to my daughter when she was young. It's books like these that they will remember forever. Children will love it!

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Inspirational Nursery Rhymes or on Amazon. It's just $8.99 and is a board book.

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©2010-2015 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

A Rare Nativity Book Review

I'm sure you are familiar with the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas".  It's a song that is fun to sing and usually leaves you breathless at the end. :)

A Rare Nativity by Sam Beeson, is an unexpected twist to The Twelve Days of Christmas. It is clear that the writer holds a nasty grudge as he sends his worst enemy crude and unwanted gifts, gifts fit for the garbage.

"On the first night of Christmas I gave my enemy 

a briar from a tanglewood tree. 

On the second night of Christmas I gave my enemy 

two rotten eggs."

Each night the gifts multiply - shards of glass, rusty nails, and more.  How would the writer's enemy feel after receiving these horribly offensive gifts?  Become angry?  Hurt?  Want revenge?

His response will surprise the reader and showcase the true meaning of Christmas!  An act of forgiveness and a reminder of Jesus, who was sent as a sacrifice for our sins.

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life.

My Thoughts:  This is a unique take on a traditional Christmas song. I loved the raw black and white pictures throughout and the special meaning at the end. 

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Amazon.  A Rare Nativity comes in a beautiful hardbound book for just $16.19.  You can also find out more at Shadow Mountain Publishing.  

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The Case of the Cursed Dodo Book Review

Review by Funny Bunny:

The Case of the Cursed Dodo: A Jungle Noir, by Jake G. Panda, is an exciting action-packed fiction book about a mysterious suitcase, endangered animals, rats, birds, bears, hares, and, of course, a panda - Jake G. Panda, to be exact!

The Case of the Cursed Dodo leads Jake all across the world, where he finds a lost suitcase and inside it a mysterious carving of a jade dodo. It's up to Jake to keep it safe from animals that want to take it, like a no-good pack of rats and a sticky-fingered salamander and his partner, a crocodile.

He also needs to rescue his friend, a buzzard named Daisy, before it's too late. And on top of all this, can the Jade Dodo help Jake recover the last remaining dodo birds?

I really enjoyed The Case of the Cursed Dodo! I loved it because it was funny and full of action.

I especially liked the "jungle noir" style writing. It was written with enough suspense to keep me on the edge of my seat. The way it was written also made me feel like I was in a movie theater, watching the scenes unfold, and this book would make a really great movie, too! The climax was exciting and the ending surprised me.

The last chapter sort of suggested that another book is going to be written. I really hope one will be - because I can't wait! The Case of the Cursed Dodo was a wonderful book, one of my favorites, and I really enjoyed it!

Find Out More: You can find out more online at The Endangered Files, where you can watch the book trailer or purchase a copy for yourself.  The Case of the Cursed Dodo: A Jungle Noir is just $3.99 for Kindle or $9.99 for paperback.

You can also follow on Facebook or Twitter.

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Just Sayin' by Carol McAdams Moore Review

Just Sayin' by Carol McAdams Moore is a fun book for girls, packed with 90 devotions they can write, draw, or hide in their heart.

It's definitely not the typical 90-day devotional book.  Almost like a personal journal, girls will learn more about themselves and their faith, while also expressing their thoughts and emotions into doodles, pictures, and writings.

Each of the short devotions has relevant topics, quotes, and Scripture, along with journal prompts, puzzles, activities, quizzes, and more.

It's a great way to read something about God, learn something about yourself, then express it on paper.

Thoughts of an 11-Year Old:  Just Sayin' by Carol McAdams Moore is a devotional book just for girls. It's fun and has lots of ways to draw and shine for Jesus!

I like Just Sayin' because it is fun and interactive, and I love love love to draw.It is a fun way to get to know Jesus' word.

My favorite pages so far are 24, 27 and 30. It's fun to draw, but even more fun to draw God's word!

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Zondervan.  Just Sayin' is only $9.99 and great for girls ages 8-12.

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©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

If He Had Not Come Book Review

Every year in December we pull out all of our books about Christmas and place them in the family room so we can snuggle on the couch and read them each night.  I've found a wonderful book that I'll be adding to our Christmas book stack.  It's called If He Had Not Come, by David Nicholson.

If He Had Not Come is a classic Christmas story originally written by Nan F. Weeks, and now reintroduced to a new generation by David Nicholson, and illustrated by Charles Jaskiewicz.

David Nicholson is a retired teacher and short term missionary.  He discovered Nan Weeks’ story when his children were young and later decided to reintroduce the story to today’s generation of families with classic style illustrations.

If He Had Not Come is a story of a young boy named Bobby, who finds out on Christmas Eve what the world would be like if Jesus had never come to Earth. Before going up to bed, he and his dad sat together for their daily Bible reading.  His dad read from John 15:22 - If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

He couldn't get those five words out of his mind - "If I had not come."

The author takes us on a journey through a world without Jesus.  There is no Christmas, no churches, no places to help people who are sick, homeless, or in need, and no Bible!

In the end, Bobby realizes that the gifts under the tree aren't the most important thing about Christmas.

Included in the back of the book are interactive topics for families and Sunday School teachers. There are some great open-ended questions that are intended to encourage interaction and discussion.

There is also a page that goes a little deeper by exploring what the Bible says about the birth of Jesus by asking children several thought-provoking questions.

Lastly, there is The Gospel Message.  For those who have never heard it, receiving God's gift of salvation is as easy as A-B-C.  So simple and I love that the author included it in his book for all to read.

My Thoughts:  I read this book aloud to Funny Bunny, my 11-year old daughter. We both really enjoyed the story as well as the beautifully illustrated pictures.  I would highly recommend that all families add this title to their Christmas book collection.

Thoughts of an 11-Year Old:  If He Had Not Come is a good book, with beautifully illustrated pictures. It shows what it would be like with no Jesus in the world. It was a good book to understand what the meaning of Christmas is all about. I liked it and would recommend it to all young readers.

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at David Nicholson.  If He Had Not Come is $18.95 for the 40 page, 8.5x11, Casebound Hardcover or $3.99 for the E-Book.  This story is recommended for ages 6 and up.

You can also find more on Facebook.





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©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Apologia's iWitness Series Review

We have had the opportunity the past couple months to read and review three books from Apologia Educational Ministries.

These three new apologetics resources are part of the iWitness Series.  iWitness Biblical Archaeology, Old Testament iWitness, and New Testament iWitness.

This iWitness series help children get answers to questions about the Bible, historical places, people, and events.  Each book digs deep to prove the truth.

Doug Powell, who has a masters degree in Christian apologetics, is the author of these interesting and interactive books.  He describes each book as a "stack of documents the reader has to make sense of as if they’re doing their own investigation".  

iWitness Biblical Archaeology digs into the history of the Bible, from The Flood to The Burial Shroud of Jesus.  Did The Flood really happen?  Where is Noah's Ark located?  This book really delves into how we can answer the questions and more.

Reading about the Dead Sea Scrolls and how and where they were found was interesting, as well as the section about Jesus' World. 

Pictures of Peter's house and a Galilee boat are just a few of the many pictures that really bring the story alive!


Old Testament iWitness explains how the Old Testament is different from the Hebrew Bible.  It inquires into who wrote the books of the Old Testament and how they were collected.

From reviewing old manuscripts to looking at the prophets, this book takes the reader on an interesting and thoughtful journey.

I thought the sections on the major and minor prophets were especially interesting.  Each is listed with their name, dates, and purpose, along with pictures.


The New Testament iWitness I think is my favorite and most interesting of the three books.  It uncovers by sorting through all the information. Who wrote it and how do we know?  How was it handed down?  Were there any books left out and why?

This books investigates canon criteria, church fathers, The Gospel, rejected books, and recovered texts.

One of the most interesting sections for me was about the differences in the copies. Sometimes scribes made intentional errors because they thought something needed correcting.

My Thoughts:  Overall I think these three books are well presented and visually stimulating for both child and adult.  Funny Bunny and I sat together and I read them aloud.  She is 11 years old, and although some of the topics were a little confusing to her, she understood and appreciated most of it.  We enjoyed looking at the beautiful pictures.

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Apologia Educational Ministries. iWitness Biblical Archaeology, Old Testament iWitness, and New Testament iWitness are just $14 each and are recommended for ages 11 and up.

You can also find Apologia on Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and Pinterest.





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©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Diary of a Real Payne Book 3: Oh Baby! Review

Look out, Spooner, Wisconsin (and the whole rest of the world!) - it's EJ Payne!

And with her is an adorable new little bundle of trouble, Faith Payne! With a new little adopted sister, EJ can't wait to watch Faith's first steps in Converse All-Stars and hear her cute little giggles.

But not all is going right. CoraLee McCallister is as mean to EJ as ever, and the Space Invader, Isaac, is still going on his space-invading career. And although these things may seem bad, EJ knows the good things - her best friend Macy, her babysitting class, and her two favorite neighbor's wedding - in life will always be there for her, and so will God!

In the third book in the Diary of a Real Payne series, EJ faces the challenges of 5th grade, babysitting, her mean church-and-class mate, CoraLee McCallister, and wedding worries, and her cute but scream-y (and smelly) sister, Faith. EJ makes decisions based on what Jesus would do. And most of all, she lets her imagination run free!

I really liked Diary of a Real Payne Book 3: Oh Baby! because, like the last two, EJ is as silly, imaginative, and unsophisticated as ever, while she still praises and learns about God. I think EJ relates to a lot of us, because, like she says: "I'm a lot like Anne Shirley. Well-meaning but accident prone." I think we all think like this at one point!

The book was outstanding and it definitely made me (as always, with EJ) want more!



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©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Riley Mae and the Sole Fire Safari by Jill Osborne Book Review

Riley Mae is back!

Or, at least, that's how she wishes it would have been. But she isn't back anywhere. She was shuffled onto a plane, smashed in between friends, and dropped off in - smile! - Kenya!

But Riley isn't smiling, and sometimes, neither are her friends and family on the trip. Because even in the triumphs and sorrows, running races and Kenyan schools, lions, elephants and rhinos, 5 A.M. prayer services, teaching kids about Jesus, teaching kids about softball, and, of course, handing out free Riley Mae shoes and photo shooting:  The enemy they have tried so hard to avoid may be right here in Africa with them. 

Join Riley Mae in her third adventure in Kenya, Africa. As she readies herself for the photo shoots and tries to fit in, she realizes the importance of Jesus in your life. As she begins praying and spending time with Him, she slowly starts to realize what His purpose for her might be. But just as things are going well between her, her new schoolmates, her old friends, and God, something terrible happens  that makes her wonder if He even cares. Can she find her way back to God while solving the mystery and putting together the pieces?

I have always liked the Riley Mae series, so I was super excited about the new Sole Fire Safari book. It was as good as always, with just the right amount of suspense, quirkiness, and of course Godliness and faith to keep me on my toes. It was excellent and very  hard to put down. As always, it beat the last one and I can't wait to see if there will be any more to the series!  

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Zondervan.  Riley Mae and the Sole Fire Safari is just $7.99 and great for ages 8-12.

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©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Riley Mae and the Ready Eddy Rapids by Jill Osborne Book Review

Funny Bunny was not only excited to receive another new book in the mail to review, but happy to see it was book two in The Good News Shoes series, Riley Mae and the Ready Eddy Rapids by Jill Osborne.

Review by Funny Bunny

"Shoe-girl" Riley Mae is back, and wherever she goes, adventure, excitement, and a lot of shoes always follows!

This time, it's a secret cabin - actually more like a resort - that the story takes place in. After that accident on the Half-Dome in Yosemite, the Hart family head out on a surprise vacation to Flip and Fawn's luxurious cabin. Just a few of the things they meet there are a family of Christians from Kenya, Africa, a bubbly nurse named Diane, and a ferocious bear named Herod.

But even if the whole "surprise vacation" thing seems great, there's still mysterious things going on, Riley is sure. And when Mom (the extra-suspicious police officer) arrives a little later with her brother and her friend, Rusty, the girls decide that there's definitely something strange happening.

Riley and Rusty are forced to push the worries to the back of their minds, however, as an even more worrying situation comes up - the Riley Mae Ready Eddy River Sandal photo shoot. And the most thrilling part: Riley, Mom, Fawn, and Matt (their guide) are going to be riding the rapids for the shoot!

Everything goes smoothly for the shoot - in the practice rounds. But as things go wrong, one by one, Eric (Flip and Fawn's long-lost brother) suddenly disappears, and someone purposely overturns the raft, everyone starts to suspect that an enemy is closer then they realized. And maybe, just maybe, that these accidents are linked.

Maybe, just maybe, these accidents aren't accidents at all. 

Find Out More: You can find out more online at Zondervan.  Riley Mae and the Ready Eddy Rapids is available in paperback and just $7.99.

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©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

You Can Draw Bible Stories for Kids Book Review

Funny Bunny and I received You Can Draw Bible Stories for Kids by Sandy Silverthorne in the mail to review.

This is a fun book filled, not only with Bible stores from Adam and Eve to the Resurrection, but also with simple drawing lessons.   

You can discover amazing truths in the Bible while you learn to illustrate stories with awesome cartoons.

Each chapter begins with a Bible verse and story.

Then several pages of drawing lessons that pertain to the story follow.  The story is then continued...with more drawing lessons.

Each chapter ends with "What's the Big Idea" to pull it all together.

Funny Bunny loves to draw and {I think} is quite good at it.  She followed the lessons in the book to draw her own scene.

Find Out More:  You can find out more online on Facebook.  You Can Draw Bible Stories for Kids is just $7.49 for the Kindle Edition or $8.09 for the paperback.  You can also find out more online about the author Sandy Silverthorne.  Sandy has written several other books for children and has also made drawing video tutorials which you can see on his website, Facebook page, or at http://youcandrawbiblestories.com/

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©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Diary of a Real Payne: Church Camp Chaos Review

Funny Bunny was ecstatic when she received in the mail the second book in the Diary of a Real Payne series, Diary of a Real Payne: Church Camp Chaos, by Annie Tipton.

She read and reviewed the first, Diary of a Real Payne: True Story back in October and couldn't wait until the second book came out!

Review by Funny Bunny

EJ Payne is back, and her adventures get even wackier in Diary of a Real Payne: Church Camp Chaos by Annie Tipton.  With her faithful pup Matthew Cuthbert T-Rex (Bert for short) at her side, EJ takes on everything that comes her way – including summer, her 11th birthday, and camp!

Emma Jean Payne (EJ for short) can’t wait for 4th grade (including EJ’s strict teacher and CoraLee, a girl who is usually mean to EJ) to end, welcoming that wonderful time – SUMMER!

With her 11th birthday right around the corner, EJ is in the happiest mood ever.  Plus, this summer will be her first ever to spend a whole week at Camp Christian, the place that includes friends sharing bunks, marshmallows around the campfire, a humongous zip line, and chefs dressed in crazy costumes – and nothing, not even the Space Invader (yes, that pest of a brother Isaac), and the other kindergartners visiting for day camp, can spoil EJ’s excitement!

But worries arise as Macy, EJ’s best friend, tells EJ that she might be moving.  Even worse, EJ’s parents are acting a bit mysterious, so EJ suspects that something BIG is happening…maybe even too big for the little town of Spooner to hold.  But when a letter arrives to EJ at camp from Mom, everything suddenly makes sense, and EJ is reminded that no matter what, God and His plans for the Paynes will always work out in the end!

I really liked Diary of a Real Payne: Church Camp Chaos, and thought that it was just as good as the first book!  My favorite part was when EJ received her mom’s letter at camp, explaining the reason why she and Dad were behaving a bit suspiciously.  It’s really cool how it all unfolds together, making you think, “Oh, now I get why that happened!”  It is a super great book and I can’t wait to read the next!  Church Camp Chaos is awesome and I love it.  Hip hip hooray for EJ! 

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Barbour Publishing.  Diary of a Real Payne: Church Camp Chaos is available for just $4.49 for paperback.

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©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/