Sunday, September 27, 2009

Journey Through Learning

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I never thought I would get into the lapbook craze. All my friends talked about it and lamented about how much fun they were and how their children got so much more out of unit studies. I clung onto my textbook theory and kept doing things the "traditional" way.


Then my mom who is a public school teacher joined a "teacher share group" and started copying all these amazing things for these folder book things and I thought wow these are kind of neat. Then I received an opportunity through The Old Schoolhouse Crew to review Lapbooks from A Journey Through Learning and my eyes were opened to a new world of teaching.

I have a child that is a very strong visual and active learner so these books were perfect for sparking his interest in learning. They came as e-books which for us is very convenient as we do not have a lot of storage in our house.




The first e-book that we reviewed was Parables of A King. This was the boys all time favorite as they love to dive into the Bible and learn more about God's word. I love how the book breaks each parable down into segments and each parable gets it's own "section" in the lapbook.


Autumn is the perfect lapbook for the beginning of the year. As the leaves start to change color and weather starts to change my children start to ask all the "why" questions. This lapbook helps them to understand all the changes of the season.


What boy does not go crazy about crocodiles and snakes!! My oldest was a big huge Crocodile Hunter fan and he was excited about this book that had so many fun and amazing facts about the reptile kingdom.

Amphibians was my favorite lapbook. I love frogs and thought this was a fun study for children of all ages. It brought back memories of my brother and I collecting a bunch of tadpoles in a bucket and watching them change to frogs. There is something about the life cycle of a frog that totally captivates the interest of children.

The Desert is a really fun lapbook that explores the fascinating world of deserts. Explore the animals and people of the deserts. I loved the Camel section!! My brother was stationed in Iraq twice and shared all kinds of facts about camels that were fun to add to the unit.

The amazing thing about these books is that takes learning to a whole new level. Rather than just reading a book (as I have normally done with my boys), you take an active learning approach. It also gives your child the opportunity to share what they have learned with Grandma and Grandpa as well.

You can instantly download these books from the website for only $13.00. If you want a CD they are $14.00. Do not have a printer? You can get the printed version for $21.00. I know this family will definitely be getting more of these amazing books!

Visit the Journey Through Learning Website!!

Friday, September 25, 2009

My Car and Tractor Bootie Pattern is Finally Available for Sale!!


By popular request from crocheters around the world, I am now offering my tractor and car baby bootie pattern in PDF format. I designed these in 2005 and have been making these booties for 4 years now.

This pattern will allow you to make my famous tractor and car baby booties in two different sizes 0-6 months and 6-9 months.

Visit My Etsy Store For Your Copy of the Pattern

Nature's Friend Magazine

Nature Friend

Nature's Friend is the perfect magazine for any Christian or home school family. Through amazing photography, graphics and stories, this periodical gives you a Christian perspective to all the wonders of God's amazing creation.

My children have learned about owls, woodpeckers and swamps. There is a drawing challenge each month and your child can send in submissions of their photography, drawings and poetry to the magazine for publication.

We have been receiving Nature's Friend for a couple of years so we were excited to have the opportunity to review a new feature to the magazine. Nature's Friend is now offering a new Study Guide with the magazine.

This supplement has more articles, activities and more for your children. This Study Guide is perfect for families that like to do unit studies or for checking your child's reading comprehension. There is a special feature to enhance creative writing. Children can also submit their photographs and learn new photography tips from professional photographers.

The best part about the Study Guide is that if you add it to your subscription, it's already placed in the center of the magazine!! I especially like that as you do not have to figure out a way how to keep the two together when storing them.

A subscription to the magazine is only $36.00 a year. You can add the Study Guide for only $2.00 per issue (or $24.00 per year).


Visit the Nature's Friend Website

Growing Healthy Homes

I am one of those people that when I hear the words "nutrition" or "healthy", I initially want to run for the hills as I'm afraid it means that I will have to eliminate my beloved coffee and Pepsi from my diet. I want to work on improving my health and exercising more, but sometimes I just get wrapped up in life and forget about the importance of keeping my body healthy for my children and for myself.

Nutrition 101: Choose Life was a wake up call for my family. Due to my husband's railroad schedule and our church and children's activities, we have gotten quite lazy in the healthy food part of our diet. This manual helps busy families like ours see that a healthy lifestyle is not as time consuming or hard as it seems.

This book has fun activities, amazing illustrations, and awesome recipes to help healthy habits in your family to become an exciting adventure. I especially liked the way that the book broke down the parts of the body and how things like carbohydrates and fats affect your various body systems. My children absolutely LOVE science and so being able to see colorful illustrations of their "insides" especially intrigued them.

Growing Healthy Homes offers this book in two different formats, CD rom (for $79.95) or book format (for $99,95). It's a great investment into your family's healthy future and I highly recommend it to everyone.


Visit the Healthy Homes Website!!




Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Studypod



Have you ever had pinched nerves in your neck from studying all night? Do you absolutely hate bending your head down to read at the table? Studypod is the solution!! We had an opportunity to review this amazing product and I have to say that I'm really impressed.



The first benefit of this product is the storage. It folds together like a book which makes it excellent for storing on a bookshelf or in a backpack. It also has storage pockets inside for a cell phone or i-Pod.



My family absolutely loved this product. It is the perfect gift for any student whether in public school or home schooled. As I mentioned it easily folds together to fit in a backpack, so an older student in public school or college can take it out and set it up for proper reading posture while studying in study hall or in the library.



The Studypod is only $19,95 and the website. If you purchase two you can get them for $16.95 each.

Visit the Website

Friday, September 11, 2009

College Prep Genius


We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to review College Prep Genius. This set comes with a manual, DVD set and a workbook for your aspiring college student. As one who has taken the SAT and PSAT, I know how hard it is to take these tests without properly preparing.

College Prep Genius walks you through every aspect of taking the SAT. It teaches you how to prepare for the test. It breaks apart the test into sections and teaches you the art of taking the SAT. Using the manual, workbook and DVDs, your child will soar through the test.

Why learn how to take the SAT? Many colleges require a minimum score for entry into their institution. Not only that, a high score puts your child in line for some of the top scholarships. You could possibly qualify for FREE tuition. Preparing for a college entry exam is something that all students should do. Many people believe that the SAT is an intelligence test, however that is not entirely the case. The SAT primarly focuses on a the ability of logic and critical thinking.

There are many strategies to taking a test like the SAT and College Prep Genius uses the 4 DVD set, manual, and workbook to teach them all to you. I have seen many college preparatory materials before, but this one totally blew me away. I could not believe how thoroughly this program goes through the different aspects of the exam.

This program normally costs $115.85, however you can now get this program for only $79 which is 30% off the retail price. When you consider the fact that by excelling at the SAT test your child could possibly obtain the top scholarships, this program is an extremely wise investment into your child's future!

VISIT THE WEBSITE TODAY!!!