Luv'N Lambert Life

Mental Health, Homeschooling, Epilepsy and More

Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Old Testament and Ancient Egypt {Crew Review}

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Veritas Press is an amazing company with amazing curriculum that we truly love.  For this review, we used their Self-Paced History program.  I chose the Old Testament and Ancient Egypt for Emmalee to work through.
Emmalee is 11 and is an exceptional student.  She bores easily when she learns because she absorbs knowledge in lessons so quickly and most programs do not teach enough factual information for her, so I knew this program would be perfect for her to use.  She’s great using a computer and had no issues learning to maneuver through the program.  The fact that it is self-paced was perfect for her since it allowed her to work without having to wait on me to teach her or wait for my other children to reach her next lesson.
Veritas Press courses begin with thorough lessons in how to use their programming.  This section of the lesson really teaches the student how to use every single aspect of the program so they get the best results in learning.  They cover everything from how to move forward and back with the browser buttons, to how to complete online tests and everything in between.  I liked the thoroughness because it alleviated the need for me to be right beside Emmalee as she learned with the Self-Paced History course.
I chose the Old Testament and Ancient Egypt course for Emmalee because she has a recent interest in learning about the old world and way of life.  Her current interest is actually Dinosaurs and Pre-Historic creatures but I knew that this section of history would be of interest to her as well.  She loves learning about the long-ago past and what better way than through a study of the Old Testament and of Ancient Egypt’s life and culture.
Since the course is self-paced, Emmalee was able to work on as many lessons as she wished in a day and take as long as needed to complete them.  In our home, we do not focus on “grades” but we do focus on learning.  The information provided in this program was wonderful for her and she learned so much.
The program does give a grade, as it does test the student in the lessons being covered as the student works through the program.  These tests are done directly on the computer and the student often has multiple choice answers to choose from.  Emma did well with her test but not quite as well as I would have liked because she didn’t have all the needed components for the review until the review period was almost past.  She was missing the very important History Cards that are covered within each part of the lesson.  Once these cards arrived in the mail, her learning increased.  Like me, Emma is a person who needs everything together and ready to go in order to work and missing even one thing will throw her lessons completely off kilter.
The Veritas Press History Cards are beautiful designed flashcards created to go along with the lessons in the program.  They are an important part of the program as they contain lots of information about the lesson being learned.  They are also great for lesson reviewing and reminders between the lessons being learned.  Each section of the program focuses on a different card but some cards are reviewed as the lessons are worked through.  
Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Old Testament and Ancient Egypt covers 32 important historical events from this time period.  The course has 160 class periods to learn in, giving a student a full year of History to learn.  It is expected that lessons range from 30 – 50 minutes each and will depend on the pace of your child.  It is recommended that 5 lessons per week be completed to be able to finish the program in a year’s time.
The program is interactive and includes videos, games, and more.  Some memorization is expected and your child should be independant enough to follow along with the programs instructions before using this program.  Also material testing is a part of the lessons for this program.
Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Old Testament and Ancient Egypt is for students in 2nd – 6th grades.  The website recommends the program for children older than age 7.  Additional literature packages can be purchased to go along with this program as well.  
The cost for Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Old Testament and Ancient Egypt is $199 for a year.  There is a sibling discount available if you have more than one child working through the program.  The Veritas Press History Cards for the Old Testament and Ancient Egypt are available for $19.95.
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End of June Update {Thoughts From Me}

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There’s so much keeping us busy around here lately.  Home and reviews are overrunning with life.  There’s so much to do and so little time.

Days like this I wish I was Born Organized but I am far from it.  My home overflows with stuff and busy days.   Doctors appointments have taken much of my time lately and just keeping the basics done around home.

The small things I do get done fill up fast.  I can’t keep up and I really don’t bother trying.  At this season in life, as long as the kids are happy, learning and fed, that’s all that matters to me.  There’s no way to get anything else in.

At this stage, I’m on a learning mission.  Learning about Faith, Life, Love and yes, organizing it all both physically and mentally.  It’s not an easy lesson but it’s all falling in place as I age.  Every day I come a little closer to making things better for us.

Right now we are facing some struggles.  Laycie is changing medication because hers is no longer controlling as it needs to be and I pray this change is for the best for her.  Jackson has a small bug and a high fever to go with it.  He’s also battling constipation and we aren’t sure where it’s coming from but he’s starting medication to help with that as well.

Winston and Emmalee are troopers as always.  Emma does have her wellness check-up this week and hopefully we can get her going with her orthopedics again soon because that really needs done.  With all the sickness from Laycie and Jax we’ve had to put off a lot in the last year.  Now that we have more balance, I can now deal with those things that we had to put onto the back burner.

Life has been so busy lately that I’ve barely been online except through my phone and I truthfully needed that little break to refocus.  It takes balance to live the life you want and so I’ve been trying to find a good balance to get to where we need to be.  It’s a slow process but we are heading that way.

Library and Educational Services: Go Science DVD Series 2 {Crew Review}

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Welcome to Learning Time with Ben Roy!  Ben Roy is the “teacher” on Library and Educational Services excellent Go Science DVD’s.  He’s so much more than a teacher though as he loves to bring Science to life for children.
Go Science DVD’s have been created to be used with children who are ages 6-10.  For this review, we used the second series of the DVD’s.  Last year, we reviewed their original series.  Because we LOVED those so much, we chose two new videos for review this year.
and
These videos were just as great this year as they were last!  Over the past year, we’ve watched our original Go Science DVD’s multiple times.  I didn’t notice a lot of differences between series one and two.  There are some new transitional effects but the main content is just as great as the originals.
Each video is a little over an hour long with segments in each covering the topics that the DVD is about.  Each segment lasts just a few minutes but packs a lot of information into that time frame.  You can choose to view the DVD by individual segments or to play all.  We like to play all because once we start learning, it’s hard to stop.  Plus Ben Roy really makes Science interesting with his comical ways and his witty humor.  I really learn a lot just listening along!  So do the kids!
Go Science videos are a huge hit around our house and this series is one we go to over and over.  The kids and I both enjoy watching the experiments and we have tried a few on our own after watching.  We’ve also used what we’ve learned through the videos to try out other experiments of our own.  Just viewing these videos has definitely changed our learning process and our own experiments in Science.
Through Go Science DVD Volume 1, we learned about the sounds that instruments make and were able to see an piano that had been taken a part.  Ben Roy showed us how the piano works which was completely new information for me.  Another fun experiment was the screaming soda pop can.  This one can be done at home with supervision.
On the main menu of Go Science DVD Volume 1: Sound, Gravity, Space you can choose between these three topics.  Clicking on each will provide a second menu of experiments that are related to each of these topics.  Between the three topics, there are 15 different segments with experiments to watch and learn about.
Go Science DVD Volume 2: Life Science and Weather starts the same way.  Clicking on each topic leads to a second menu.  Between the two menus, there are 12 episodes with experiments to watch.  Things like a Fire Tornado and Ping Pong Cannon, or How Much Do Your Lungs Hold are covered on this DVD.
Two of our favorites from Go Science DVD Volume 2 are the Naked Egg and Cloud In A Bottle.
The Naked Egg is the experiment where you soak the egg in vinegar until the shells dissolves leaving only the egg membrane and yolk in tact.  The egg feels rubbery and is see through.  This is a great experiment to really show what’s inside an Egg.
Cloud in a Bottle is an experiment where you place a bit of alcohol into a 2 liter soda bottle then pump air inside.  Clouds really form from this experiment.  Watching and learning how clouds are created lead us to find other cloud experiments to complete at home.

We love that Go Science DVD’s leave us thinking and wanting to learn more.  You can purchase these wonderful DVD’s through Library and Educational Services for $8.97 individually or you can purchase the 7 DVD series set for $59.82.
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G is for the Good Things {Blogging through the Alphabet}

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Ben and Me

So I have fallen off the Blogging through the Alphabet wagon for the past few weeks but I will be completing those posts later on.  For now, we are on to the letter G.

G is for Good Things in Life

Lately, there is so much negativity in the world and not nearly enough appreciation for the Good things that we are blessed with in this life.  In the news daily, there is constant death, stealing, bullying, and more.  Concentrating on these are sure to drag us all down and creep into to destroy happiness in our lives.  Many people come to dwell upon these negatives, losing thankfulness for the great things happening around them.

I, personally, share a lot of these things through my Facebook page and then see them shared forward by others.  A few weeks ago, this negativity really hit me straight in the heart.  I realized that this is not what I want to known as: The Negative Facebook Poster.  I, instead, wish to bring light and love to others through our lives, shining like a bright star.

Over the past few days, I have actively chosen NOT to be on Facebook and to share mostly positive things (I’ve been doing that for a few weeks now).  Sure the negative and local news still sneaks through (I often share for some of my local friends who would miss out on the news if not for those posts and have actually asked for me to share them) but I am making an active effort to be choosier about those posts.

A friend tagged me in a post the other day to share positive things, and I felt it was lead to me after realizing I needed to do these things already.  I want to be more appreciative and I know that sharing these small things I’m thankful for will  help me realize just how lucky I am to be blessed to live and love in this life.

So hear are 5 things I’m currently thankful for aka my Good Things in Life:

1.  Always and forever, foremost I am thankful for my children: Winston, Mimi,  Laycie and Jackson.  They are such blessings for us.

2.  I’m thankful for my Husband.  For the love he gives to use and how hard he works to provide a home and life for these kids.

3.  I’m thankful for my Momma.  I couldn’t raise three kids with Epilepsy and Involuntary Breath Holding Spells without my Momma.  She is there when I just can’t do anymore.  She loves and cares and helps every single day and I’m so thankful to be blessed with a Momma that loves me and my children so much.

4.  I’m thankful for Prayers.  Without them, we’d be lost.  So many times a simple prayer has gotten me through, even when my faith was small and frail, these prayers have carried me through.  For that I’m thankful.

5.  I’m thankful for Life, for everyday when I wake up and share the day with my children, family and friends.  So many times, I just go through the process of the day but there is never a day when I don’t see the “Life” we are given as a blessing and there’s never a day that I’m not thankful for another day with my babies.  I know that this can be taken at any moment and I try to live it fully and to enjoy every moment I have.  I try to teach my children to do the same and never take a minute for granted.

These are only a few of the many things I am thankful for.  What are you thankful for today?  What are some things you can do to be more appreciative of your day to day life?  Share with me in the comments below!

A quick June Update {Thoughts From Me}

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I keep telling myself that I am going to come up with a better system for blogging and an idea for weekly posts yet that doesn’t happen.  So hear I am again, giving a blog update very quickly because our busy life is consumed with living and not with writing at this time.  Maybe one day the writing will come but for now I’m content to simply live life.

At this point, I’m back to the house overhaul.  My birthday is coming up and all I can keep thinking is how I want this or that for the house – not a lot for me, myself.  I’d love to put in new bookshelves that are sturdier than the ones we are currently using, made of real wood to hold the weight of all the books we own.  Heck, I’d love to buy a building just to house my books!  That’s a dream in itself!

Speaking of the shelves, my current cleaning is to catalog all the books so that I know what I’m using.  I’m doing this with both Classroom Organizer online which I can use with the laptop or my phone to scan in ISBN numbers.  I’m also using my BookCrawler app so these are stored in two separate places and maybe I can keep up a little easier with what we do and don’t have already.  I’m pretty good though as only a few multiples have made it into our home library!

For now, we have a break in doctor’s appointments for the kids and my Mom.  This small break will be devoted to cleaning and clearing junk in the house and our lives and also to school, field trips and lessons that must be completed.  Yet, another reason our days are busy and full right now.  When it’s too hot or too cold to be outside, we do school!  Oh the perks of living in ole South Carolina!

So that is my update for now, for lack of an idea of anything else to post today.  Perhaps my brain will regain function after I get some of this mess organized.

Until next time…

Hello, Bali {Review}

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Hello, Bali: A Kids Yoga Island Adventure Book is a super cute book about both Bali and Yoga shared together in one amazing little package.  This book, written by Giselle Shardlow, is designed to be used by children ages 2.5-6.  The book is about 50 pages in length.

At the beginning of the book, we meet Tia the Tiger who helps us learn to navigate through the books pages.  Tia introduces us to the book’s main character, Anamika, whose family is visiting Bali on vacation.  Anamika is originally from India.

Anamika takes us on an adventurous tour of Bali.  Each page of the book is beautifully illustrated by Emily Gedkyz and each features a particular word which you can find written in blue to stand out from the original text.  These are great for vocabulary skill building.

The words in blue also relate to the Yoga pose shared on the page of the book you are reading.  Each page of the book features a different, easily accomplished pose for children to try out, with the help of their parent of course!  These are a lot of fun.

At the end of the book, there are a few bonus pages.  Anamika helps to teach us to count in Indonesian and also some essential words and phrases in Indonesian, as well.  There’s also a review of the Yoga poses that are taught throughout the book and a parent guide for using the book and the poses with your child as a sort of lesson plan.

We really enjoyed Hello, Bali.  The poses were great for my little girl to practice her Yoga poses with me.  We already do Yoga in the home and she knows a few of the basic poses but the book was helpful to suggest some poses that we haven’t used before.  Plus the story is adorable!

Hello, Bali is available in paperback for $11.61 from Amazon.com!


*Disclaimer – A PDF copy of this book was gifted to me for free in exchange for providing this review in my own words and honest opinion from Mother Daughter Book Reviews.  I’m including this disclaimer in accordance with FTC regulations and guidelines.

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