2014

Kinder Cottage Publishing: Peter Rabbit Series {Crew Review}

June 5, 2014 by Dana

Who doesn’t love the beautifully written childhood tales of Peter Rabbit? As a child this series was one of my favorites. I remember wanting to hear more and more about Peter and the other rabbits story as my Mother read them to me, and later I read them to myself.

Kinder Cottage Publishing has moderately redesigned and published the Peter Rabbit series to be shared with yet another generation of children. For our review, we were gifted with two beautiful copies of the Kinder Cottage Publishing series: Peter Rabbit at the Farm and Peter Rabbit and Jack the Jumper. I was able to choose our books from the series list.

I chose Peter Rabbit at the Farm because of my children’s love of Farm animals. We already know Peter’s tale by heart so I felt these new stories would continue that love we have of this dear rabbit and his mischievous ways. I knew Peter Rabbit at the Farm would be a favorite for Laycie and Jackson for years to come.

I also chose Peter Rabbit and Jack the Jumper because I tend to hunt out books that contain my children’s names. They enjoy hearing stories of children and animals that share their name and it builds an interest in them that is special and wonderful to watch blossom. Right now, Jackson is not even two but I know as he grows up, Peter Rabbit and Jack the Jumper will be one of our favorites to read together. After all, my own little Jack is quite the Jumper himself!

Both these books are just gorgeous. As an avid collector of books for our home library (what homeschooler doesn’t have a library??) I tend to seek out books that are beautifully written and that contain equally gorgeous images illustrated inside. These books fit that bill.

The books are small, for children’s sweet hands. They are also hardback, making it easier to hold and easy to wipe of the covers when those tiny hands have a bit of goo on them. Inside, the pages are thick and not frail like many books today. These books were designed to be used by children and it shows. They will stand up to time and use for years to come thanks to this design.

The title page of the book is printed directly into the front covers so that children are not affected by the presence of the page as they are viewing the book. As they read, they are able to dive directly into the words written on the pages, getting straight to the story, as many books in the past were designed for children as well. This is something I really liked about the series, since my children are often distracted by the publishing page when trying to read their books at home.

The font used throughout the books is large. It’s made so that children can see it and so that they are able to focus on the words themselves. This large font is great for reluctant readers because it makes it seem as though there are less words, making it less overwhelming for them to read and learn. Plus it’s easy to point out a word that isn’t easily read or understood. These are the types of books I have spent many years hunting out to use with my own struggling readers.

Each page in the books contains an accompanying color illustration. These illustrations are gorgeously designed with simple lines and muted but beautiful coloring. They are not overwhelming and bright as many images used in books today are. They do not stress the senses while viewing and reading but bring about a curiosity many books today miss completely. This was another part of the book’s design that I truly appreciated.

These books were very easy for all of my readers to use. I enjoyed reading them to the kids. My struggling reader found them interesting to read, which is rare for him and my avid reader loved reading them to her little sister and brother as well. Even Laycie was able to read these books by simply telling me her version on the story through “reading” the picture illustrations throughout. I truly love books that all my family enjoys.

The Peter Rabbit series from Kinder Cottage Publishing has deeply impressed me. This is definitely one series and one company we will be looking to add more books from into our library at home.

You can purchase Peter Rabbit at the Farm or Peter Rabbit and Jack the Jumper from Kinder Cottage Publishing. Both books are $4 each. There are many more books in the series that you can choose from. The series does not need to be read in order in order to read.

Please click the banner below to read more reviews of Kinder Cottage Publishing’s Peter Rabbit Series:

Progeny Press: Little House in the Big Woods Study Guide {Crew Review}

June 4, 2014 by Dana

For this Schoolhouse Review, we were given a PDF copy of Little House in the Big Woods Study Guide by Rebecca Gilleland, published by Progeny Press. This guide is designed to go along with the novel Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was given to us for free in exchange for our opinion of the product which is shared in this post.

Little House in the Big Woods is a story written by Laura Ingalls Wilder to portray what life was like living as a child in the Frontier days. This wonderful book has been read by many over the years and is a core part of many homeschoolers reading lists. The entire series is a great asset to any homeschooling library.

Little House in the Big Woods Study Guide by Rebecca Gilleland is a wonderful addition to the book. It helps to get students thinking about the information they are learning and to compare today to yesterday. This brings Little House in the Big Woods to life.

Little House in the Big Woods Study Guide was designed for use with students in Grades 4-6, those in Upper Elementary school. It is reproducible for students meaning Homeschooling families can print the guide over and over for each student within their homeschool classrooms. This makes it able to be used again and again for students who may be learning at different levels.

Little House in the Big Woods Study Guide is a Literature Guide. It is designed to be broken down over a period of 6-10 weeks depending on the speed of the readers using the guide. Preferably students should first read the novel, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder and then work through the study guide, rereading at their own pace. Completion of at least one page of the study per day is expected to be done daily while using the study.

As with most materials we use, we did this one together. The guide was simple enough to understand. Progeny Press writes explicit informative guides for students and teachers to easily follow along. The guides begin with an introduction to the materials and a section explaining their expected use and lesson guide. This makes it easy to begin the study right away.

We read Little House in the Big Wood aloud together. We briefly reviewed the information about Laura Ingalls Wilder which we had previously learned about through another Schoolhouse Review we completed last year. This made it easy for us to move forward quickly in our study.

We also reviewed past lessons on Paul Bunyan who happens to be one of our favorite American Tales and a person of interest in our homeschooling since we have a long family history of Lumberjacks aka Loggers in our family. Paul Bunyan is a household name around here!

This also lead to us reviewing our last field trip to Josh’s work where we saw the equipment at work and discussed the many differences in past logging and logging today. Living in a town that is centered around the International Paper Mill and has survived over many decades due to the logging industry, these lessons were easily added into our study. In fact, much of our lessons with this guide were easily expanded upon because of our lifestyle at home. Many of the words covered within this guide were ones we already know from other lessons we have completed or simply from life itself.

I’d say most of this guide was a review for us but much of it allowed us to take a longer look at the things that surround us. Though we may not live where Laura lived, much of our home is like Laura’s was back then and many of the things that affected Laura’s life can be found right here daily in ours. It was odd to see how much we have in common while seeing how much different our lives are from technology today as well.

This study guide is interactive, allowing completion right on the guide. This made it easy to use the guide to talk together and answer the questions together as well. I did print out the vocabulary sheets as review for our study. We also looked up a lot of things online, learning some differences between today and yesterday within our study that were easier seen through videos and past photos.

The Little House in the Big Woods Study Guide is 56 pages in length from cover to cover. It contains questions for each chapter of the novel, crosswords, word finds and other activities to make learning fun, vocabulary to fit the lessons, and many suggestions for games and other fun things to bring learning to life. Each chapter of the guide is different from the previous one so that children do not bore with rote learning while completing the guide.

Little House in the Big Woods Study Guide is available to purchase from Progeny Press for $16.99 as an e-guide. It is designed for grades 4-6. The novel, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder, must be purchased separately and is necessary to complete this guide.

You can find Progeny Press in the following places online:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/progenypress

Twitter – https://twitter.com/progenypress

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/progenypress/

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/ProgenyPress

To read more reviews of other Progeny Press products, please click on the link below!

E is for Epilepsy {Blogging through the Alphabet}

June 2, 2014 by Dana

I totally spaced last week and missed my D is for… post but I will go back and do that one soon. We are now on letter E and for us it is and will always be

E is for Epilepsy!

If you are a follower of our blog, then you already know we have a multi-generational family who has Epilepsy. I have had it since I was an infant and now three of my four babies have it as well. It’s a huge part of our daily lives and I use every post I can to help others understand how we live with it.

You see, starting out as a parent, I never thought I would be raising three beautiful children with this disorder as well. My oldest child missed the Epilepsy boat and I am truly thankful as he is a huge help with his siblings. When my oldest daughter came along, I thought “okay, she’s got it and that’s that”. Then came my baby girl and it was truly a surprise to me that she also developed this disorder. It was something I never expected, thinking that only one child would have it.

Imagine my surprise when my last child began having seizures as well! I’m thankful that by this point, I was aware that it was a possibility though I had hoped he’d also miss the Epilepsy boat like his older brother. We just were not that lucky.

To be honest, I guess you can say our lives revolve around Epilepsy. We are constantly on the watch for seizures. We have to plan our days around my children’s triggers – the girls often have seizures in the morning right after waking and the baby usually has his episodes at night.

When we aren’t watching for seizures, we are sharing about them. I tell everyone I know about Epilepsy. I advocate the right way to help those who are having a seizure and share my knowledge as much as I can, both online and in real life. That is the only way the stigmas of this disorder will change.

I enjoy telling others our story and I enjoy blogging about Epilepsy so that others can understand what our life is like through this blog. To learn about us and about Epilepsy, all you have to do is look for our Epilepsy Awareness tab at the top of our page or simply search our blog using the side panel and the keyword: Epilepsy. You will find tons of posts about our day to day journey with Epilepsy and I can promise you there will be many more to come!

Thanks for joining us! Until next time…

Update from us for May {Thoughts From Me}

May 31, 2014 by Dana

This week has been a long one for us, not leaving me with a lot of time online. Mom had gall bladder surgery last Wednesday and that means my usual help is not available. Having her out of commission has been hard on us all.

I’m truly thankful for all my Momma does for me – she helps me every day with the kids, especially with Jackson. She’s always there to run to the store or to simply keep an extra eye out so I can keep up with the household stuff and have one on one time with each child. It’s great.

This week, she’s not been able to help out as much. Her surgery went great and she’s feeling better every day. I’m hoping in a few days she will be back to her normal self and we will be back on track again.

So until then, my posts will be short and my time limited. Just wanted to give this quick update about where we are at! Blessings to all!

Apologia: What We Believe Series {Crew Review}

May 30, 2014 by Dana

If you follow our blog, then you know that I absolutely LOVE Apologia Educational Ministries. I was introduced to Apologia’s wonderful curriculum when we first began looking into homeschooling when Winston was four, nine years ago. It took me a while to invest in any of their curriculum but as soon as I did, we were immediately hooked. The kids LOVE Apologia just as much as I do and enjoy every curriculum purchase we have made from them. For this review, we used Apologia’s What We Believe: What On Earth Can I Do?, What On Earth Can I Do? Notebooking Journal, What On Earth Can I Do? Junior Notebooking Journal and the What On Earth Can I Do? Coloring Book.

We discovered Apologia’s What We Believe series for Biblical Studies the very year they came out. I was thrilled to find that Apologia had created a set of books just for educating children on how to study the Bible and build their relationship with God. It was such a blessing to me to find these materials through this one company which we loved so much and I knew that my children would enjoy these books as much as they have the Science curriculum we previously purchased from them. I wasn’t wrong.

We’ve been using Apologia’s What We Believe for quite a while now, each year diving deeper into the books. Sometimes going back to previous chapters to review the curriculum and put it to use for our lives in their current path. The books never fail to teach us something new from the first time to the review of different sections.

Apologia is one of our favorite review items from the Schoolhouse Review team. We look forward to seeing what they have available each year and to learning from the beautifully written books to the intriguingly designed curriculum. When the vendor form popped up for the What We Believe series’ fourth book, What On Earth Can I Do? I knew it was a product I definitely wanted. Not only does this fourth book complete on of our favorite Apologia curriculum collections, it is also a series my children and I love to enjoy and learn from together. I was estatic to be chosen to review this in the last of our series with my children.

The What We Believe series is a Biblical study designed to be used with students and children in grades 1 through 6. It is a Biblical Worldview series, teaching stewardship to those who use it. It is easy to follow and easy to understand, making it work well for family use.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know a lot about the intended plan of using this program any more simply because I have used it so long that it just flows for us. We use it together as a family, from oldest (Me aka Mom) to youngest (Jackson at 21 months listening along). We take turns reading through, though I am usually the one doing the reading to ensure my children grasp the knowledge behind the lessons and stories shared throughout the books.

We read the text straight through, section by section. Sometimes we do this daily throughout our school year and other times we do it several times a week. How you choose to complete your lessons is completely up to you as it is with any Apologia curriculum.

At the end of each section, there are almost always questions to help reflect on the things we have read. We discuss these together and talk about the answers as a family, helping each other build our knowledge and a stronger connection to God through our reading. We enjoy sharing with each other and learning in this manner.

We also enjoy reading about different people throughout the lessons and listening to the stories of others who have shared in God’s work over time. Some of the stories are serious and some are funny but they always have a message to convey. The differences in each makes the curriculum well-rounded and enjoyable all together. This is important to us since it keeps learning fun!

There are quotes from the Bible and quotes from important Christians shared throughout these lessons too. We often use these quotes as copywork or I will put them onto a printed image or a post it and place them around our house as reminders of the things we have learned from our study. I do the same with new words we learn through the Words You Need to Know section of the curriculum and also the Hide It In Your Heart section which is there to help instill the word of God in your heart and lives.

There are also prayers shared throughout the curriculum which help teach your children how to pray. This helps to show them the prayers of others to help them strengthen their ability to pray and their understanding of how others pray, as well as their own prayers. We also pray these sections together with one of us reading the prayer and then we add to it however we feel is needed. I like to take turns on these sections so that my children strengthen their voice when it comes to speaking prayers to others.

What We Believe: What On Earth Can I Do? was written by John Hay and David Webb. This textbook is hardback and is 294 pages long. The book contains 8 lessons with around 15-20 sections each. There are four books in the What We Believe series. What On Earth Can I Do? is the fourth and final book in the series.

This curriculum offers additions as well. There is a website with extras created specifically for the course. This can be found on the Apologia website and a special code is provided for log-in at the front of the book in the How to Use This Book section. This is a great bonus of material that we always enjoy from Apologia.

Additionally, there are Journals which can be purchased to go along with this series. We love these journals! There are two choices to use: the What On Earth Can I Do? Notebooking Journal is for older students while the What On Earth Can I Do? Junior Notebooking Journal is for younger students. There is also a coloring book available for the youngest of students.

I think the What On Earth Can I Do? Coloring Book is my favorite! I love the simple clean lines of the images and the words shared on each page. These pages are perfect for the littles and the older kids alike. The coloring book contains 64 pages to color.

The What On Earth Can I Do? Junior Notebooking Journal is another favorite of mine. It’s easy for my younger students to comprehend, around grades 1-4. The work inside isn’t too taxing or boring for them. Additionally, there are coloring pages found in this spiral bound, softcover journal. Lesson plans can be found in the front to help guide the use of the journal appropriately along with the curriculum. I used them for a while and found them very helpful.

The Junior Notebooking Journal contains lots of fun activities from crosswords, to word finds, and even books, songs and stories to help build upon the lessons learned in the textbook. We enjoy reading these extra books and sharing the songs and stories with each other during our lessons as we work through them.

There are also note pages that are included in this journal. We use those in many ways. Sometimes we will draw a picture depicting the topic. Sometimes we will write a story or just a few sentences. Sometimes we cut out pictures from magazines to paste showing what these topics mean to us. Each time we try to do something different from the last activity to keep our lessons from becoming rote and boring for the kids.

Lesson plans are also included in the front of the What On Earth Can I Do? Notebooking Journal. They are a great addition to each of these books and very helpful to help you get an idea of a plan that works for your family. As I mentioned above, we used them for a while until we adapted the lessons to better fit us.

The What On Earth Can I Do? Notebooking Journal is designed for older students to use. I’d say it’s perfect for grades 4-6. The work inside is a bit more challenging than the Junior Journal and the page designs are a little more serious than the other journal. There are question and answer pages that are more thought provoking. We generally do these together and write in our responses. There are also word finds and crossword puzzles but these are also lengthier and more challenging than the Junior Notebook.

Each journal contains work to be completed in accordance with each lesson in the textbook. These are also broken into sections so they are easily found and completed. There are mini-books which can be found in the back of the journals to use additionally with the lessons and help bring the book to life.

We love each and every piece of this curriculum and how each piece builds into the next helping us to grow closer in our relationship with God and to better understand our purpose here on Earth as his servants. I personally enjoy the Biblical Worldview provided in these books which allows my children to grow in Faith outside of our little piece of the world we live in. We all enjoy seeing how other people live in other countries with the same kind of faith that we live with, worshiping God just as we do. This has been a blessing for our family and broadened our lives, our faith and our tolerance as Christians.

You can purchase a copy of Apologia Educational Ministries What We Believe: What On Earth Can I Do? for $39 for the hardback textbook. The What On Earth Can I Do? Junior Notebooking Journal is available as a soft-cover spiral bound book for $24. The What On Earth Can I Do? Notebooking Journal is also available as a soft-cover spiral bound book for $24. The What On Earth Can I Do? Coloring Book is available in paperback for $8.

You can find Apologia online in the following places:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/apologiaworld
Twitter – https://twitter.com/apologiaworld
Google+ – https://plus.google.com/105053356034237782125/posts
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/apologia/

To read more reviews of What We Believe: What On Earth Can I Do?, please click on the banner below!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered {Propeller Review}

May 27, 2014 by Dana

There’s a brand new series that has recently aired on The Hallmark Channel. Signed, Sealed, Delivered was written and developed by Martha Williamson. Mrs. Williamson also created the long-running series Touched By An Angel.

Sign, Sealed, Delivered showcases the lives of four postal detectives who track down the recipients of undeliverable mail. Each of these intriguing individuals must work together to find out who the letter of the day belongs to and make sure it’s delivered. This takes them on some interesting adventures.

Beneath the surface of Sign, Sealed, Delivered is a freshness that most other shows lack these days. Steeped in the rich word of the Bible, this show is sure to soothe the soul and bring joy back into television viewing. This show is different from most I’ve seen lately, bringing God to the forefront.

Sign, Sealed, Delivered is a family show. This is something I can share with all of my family, from the youngest to the oldest. I don’t have to worry about them taking away negativity from the episodes and know they will surely take away a verse of scripture or an important lesson each week we watch.

The episode that I viewed aired on May 25 on the Hallmark Channel. This particular show was about a letter that was found jammed in the drawer runner of an old desk. The letter was missing the address and name of the recipient and could not be delivered but the team behind Signed, Sealed, Delivered was on it!

Through various sources, the team was able to figure out this letter was written by the lovely Ellie and they were able to track Ellie to a local flower shop. Ellie was very excited to have her letter back and it reminded her of some important things she’d been putting off. You see, Ellie was in love and had been since she wrote the letter around 7 years ago for a school project where she was to write a letter to her future self. She still wasn’t married to her beau because Ellie and her beau have Down Syndrome. Her family wasn’t supportive of them marrying but reading the letter, Ellie was reminded how strong she was and that this was a dream she truly wished to have happen. And it did – Ellie made a beautiful bride!

You can view Signed, Sealed, Delivered weekly on The Hallmark Channel. The show is scheduled for Sundays at 8/7 central. It’s one show you will not want to miss!

To see a clip of Sign, Sealed, Delivered and find out more about the show, please visit their website. And don’t forget to follow them on Facebook as well! You can also find Martha Williamson on Facebook!

*Disclaimer – I was offered the chance to view an early preview of Sign, Sealed, Delivered from The Hallmark Channel for free ahead of the scheduled release by Propeller Reviews in exchange for my honest opinion shared in a blog post. I’m including this disclaimer in accordance with FTC Guidelines and Regulations.