Saturday, November 28, 2020

Cranberry Christmas

 


The Old Schoolhouse store has a freebie exclusively created by various authors to give you an eBook that will enrich your holiday plans. Cranberry Christmas is packed full of everything cranberry:

* Poems

* Delicious recipes

* Heartwarming holiday stories

* Napkin rings for your children to color

* Amazing cranberry history

* Information and facts for fun family learning

* Internet links

* Projects and activities

* Crossword and word search puzzles

* Pretty place cards for your Christmas dinner table

* Special holiday lesson plans

Get your free copy of Cranberry Christmas today!

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

CrossTimber - Crew Review

 

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Are you looking for a unique Christmas gift? If so, I would like to encourage you to check out CrossTimber name meaning gifts. For this review, I was given five Name Bookmarks and Amazing Name Print Activity Sheets.

The fun part was picking out a unique design for each person. I selected a landscape design for David because he likes to take pictures of nature. I selected a piano design for myself because I play and teach piano lessons. I selected an elephant design for Brieanna because this is her favorite animal. I selected a soccer design for Kaylee because she is a soccer player and coach. I selected a horse design for Isabelle because this is her favorite animal.

The bookmarks are printed on a lightweight paper and then laminated. I only wish they had left a laminate edge around each bookmark and not trimmed them all the way down to the paper. As you can see from Isabelle’s bookmark, after use, the laminate started peeling back and she had to tape it down.

The activity sheets are created using the child’s name. There are a variety of activity sheets – coloring, tracing, word searches, crossword puzzles, mazes, and more. These activity sheets are great for elementary students; but not for my high school student.






John Dehnart created the CrossTimber business to be a blessing to others. After being bullied in a Driver’s Education class, his mom suggested that he use his printing business to make little cards for each student, with an encouraging meaning of each name. He took the time to research each student’s name and he passed out cards to each of the students. This experience has etched Jesus’ words in his thinking – Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. So he researched the meaning of thousands of common names, printed name cards, and began to carry a satchel almost everywhere he went to be a blessing to others.

Through his website, he sells name meaning bookmarks, plaques, mugs, music boxes, and activity packs. Visit the Crew Blog to read more reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.  

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Praise Him

 

An attitude of happiness in life is a matter of our will. Abraham Lincoln once stated that "most people are as happy as they make their minds up to be." Closely related to a Christians happiness is the determination to live a life of praise to God. The goal of every believer should be the overflowing of praise, regardless of the circumstances. Instead of dwelling on the negatives in our lives, we should seek fresh reasons daily for praising our Lord. 

May we be like David and vow as he did in Psalm 146:2 that "While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being." Determine to praise the Lord throughout the day with this hymn - 


 

Saturday, November 7, 2020

Epilepsy Awareness

 

Imagine living in a world surrounded by potential seizure triggers. My husband and I recently had to make a decision for our daughter based on this fact – strobe lights are a potential seizure trigger; and because I will not be allowed to be a chaperone at an upcoming dance where the DJ will be using strobe lights, we told our daughter she would not be able to attend. We know that strobe lights trigger seizures for her and her safety is our top priority. What amazes me the most, is that she completely understood and was not upset about our decision. It amazes me how she has learned to live with her health issues as she gets older – one of them being epilepsy. As I pondered our discussions last night, I was reminded that November is Epilepsy Awareness Month.

Epilepsy is a chronic disorder, the hallmark of which is recurrent, unprovoked seizures. A person is diagnosed with epilepsy if they have two unprovoked seizures.

What happens in the brain during a seizure? The electrical activity is caused by complex chemical changes that occur in nerve cells. Brain cells either excite or inhibit other brain cells from sending messages. Usually there is a balance of cells that excite and those that can stop these messages. However, when a seizure occurs, there may be too much or too little activity, causing an imbalance between exciting and stopping activity. The chemical changes can lead to surges of electrical activity that causes seizures.

Many people living with epilepsy have more than one type of seizure. My youngest daughter, Isabelle, is living with epilepsy and has three types of seizures: atypical absence seizures, atonic seizures, and myoclonic seizures.

What is an atypical absence seizure? These seizures are a type of absence seizure that is atypical. This means it’s different, unusual, or not typical compared to typical absence seizures, which were previously called petit mal seizures. They are a type of generalized onset seizure, which means they start in both sides of the brain. The person will stare (just like in a absence seizures) but they may be able to respond a bit. Eye blinking, chewing movements, lip smacking or slight jerking may occur.

What is an atonic seizure? Muscle tone is the muscle’s normal tension. “Atonic” means without tone. So in atonic seizures, muscles suddenly become limp. Part of the body may become limp. The eyelids may droop, the head may nod or drop forward, and the person may drop things. If standing, the person often falls to the ground. These seizures are also called drop attacks or drop seizures.

What is a myoclonic seizure? Myoclonic seizures are brief, shock-like jerks of a muscle or a group of muscles. “Myo” means muscle and “clonic” means rapidly alternating contraction and relaxation – jerking or twitching – of a muscle. There can be just one, but sometimes many occur within a short time.

I share this information, not only because it is Epilepsy Awareness Month; but because I have a daughter living with epilepsy and want to inform people about this chronic disorder.


Thursday, November 5, 2020

Bible Unearthed - Crew Review

 

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

If you are a fan of Dave Stotts, then you will want to check out his new Drive Thru History Adventures! For this review, I was given access to the Bible Unearthed course. Bible Unearthed is designed as a 12-week course, where you complete one “Adventure” each week. Each “Adventure” includes a video episode and a written worksheet that includes the episode summary, Scripture reading, optional activity, and discussion questions.






Each “Adventure” also includes an answer guide to help the parent work through the discussion questions.



The course provides a sample schedule that one can follow; but our family easily completed each lesson in one day. Please note, I used this course with a high school student as well as my two in college; but if you have younger students, I would highly recommend this sample schedule.

Monday – Watch the episode and read the written worksheet.

Tuesday – Complete the optional activity.

Wednesday – read the Digging Deeper articles.

Thursday – Re-watch the episode while reviewing the written worksheet.

Friday – Complete the discussion questions and compare to the answer guide.

Students learn at different rates, and this course is very flexible so you can set your own pace and do what is best for your family. Our family has been a fan of Dave Stotts for many years. We own several of his Drive Thru History series. Every time we watch an episode we laugh at his humor and discuss materials as we watch each episode. Dave Stotts makes learning history fun! Here is a breakdown of each episode in the Bible Unearthed course –

1 What is Archeology?

2 The Impact of Archeology

3 Locating Archeology Sites

4 The Life of an Archeologist

5 What’s Being Discovered Today?

6 Archeological Mysteries

7 Top Discoveries in Bible Archeology

8 Getting Involved in Archeology

9 Trends in Archeology

10 Weird Archeology

11 Accidental Discoveries in Archeology

12 What’s Left to be Discovered?

Bible Unearthed explores the history, importance and impact of archeology and how discoveries help us better understand the ancient world. Visit the Crew Blog to read more reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.


Tuesday, November 3, 2020

MathandAlgebra.com - Crew Review

 

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Do you need help teaching math? MathandAlgebra.com offers four complete math courses: Basic Math, Advanced Math, Pre-Algebra, and Algebra. For this review, I was given a one-year family subscription with access to these four complete math courses.

Once you have completed the registration and set-up the student’s account, the system is very user friendly. Students simply watch the video lesson, print the worksheet, complete the exercises, and check your work with the answer key. Once the lesson is complete, students mark the lesson as complete and move on to the next lesson.





In Basic Math, students learn about whole numbers, fractions, decimals, ratios, proportions, percent, geometry, number theory, integers, charts, graphs, probability, statistics, and word problems. In Advanced Math, students learn about whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percent, geometry, integers, charts, graphs, and word problems. In Pre-Algebra, students learn about sets, integers, fractions, decimals, exponents, square roots, operations, properties, scientific notation, ratios, proportions, percent, number theory, number lines, coordinate systems, equations, probability, and statistics. In Algebra, students learn about tools for algebra, solving equations, graphing and analyzing linear equations, solving and graphing inequalities, systems of linear equations and inequalities, polynomials, rational expressions, radical expressions and geometry, quadratic equations, and algebra word problems. Each course is broken down into lessons within each chapter, and each chapter ends with a quiz. Each course ends with a final quiz. The materials within these courses are based on the award-winning Math Essentials books.

For the parent who needs help teaching math, MathandAlgebra.com is a great resource to help you teach Basic Math, Advanced Math, Pre-Algebra, and Algebra. Visit the Crew Blog to read more reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.  


Sunday, November 1, 2020

30 Days of Thanks Living

 

It’s so easy to go through every day of our lives and never really stop to give thanks. Thanksgiving is one day in November where we look back over the year and count our blessings; but what if this year we took our thanksgiving into thanks living? What if we intentionally showed the people in our lives that they make a difference and that we’re thankful for what they do? This November, I challenge you to 30 days of thanks living. Reach out to 30 people and say “Thank you for all you do!”

1.       Gift a pen with the note “You just hap-PEN to be very INK-credible! Thank you for all you do!”

2.       Gift a hand soap with the note “HANDS down, you’re the best (career) in town! Thank you for all you do!”

3.       Gift a mask with the note “We simply cannot MASK our gratitude, thank you for all you do!”

4.       Gift a pack of markers with the note “Thank you for a reMARKable job!”

5.       Gift a Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm with the note “Thank you for BEEing a great (career)!”

6.       Gift a calculator with the note “You’re 2 nice 2 be 4 gotten. Thank you for all you do!”

7.       Gift a pack of donuts with the note “You DO-NOT know how much I appreciate you!”

8.       Gift a Bundt cake with the note “I am nothing BUNDT thankful for you!”

9.       Gift an ice cream cone with the note “Here’s the SCOOP, I appreciate you!”

10.    Gift a pack of Lifesaver candy with the note “You’re a LIFESAVER, thank you for all you do!”

11.    Gift a Coke with the note “I can’t keep it BOTTLED up, I just have to say thank you for all you do!”

12.    Gift a Starbucks gift card with the note “Thanks a latte for all you do!”

13.    Gift a Tootsie Roll with the note “Thank you for your ROLL in our lives!”

14.    Gift an Almond Joy with the note “It’s been a JOY being in your class!”

15.    Gift a Starburst with the note “BURSTING to tell you, thank you for all you do!”

16.    Gift a bag of popcorn with the note “Just POPPING by to say thank you for all you do!”

17.    Gift a box of Boston Baked Beans with the note “I’ve BEAN meaning to tell you thank you for all you do!”

18.    Gift a Charleston Chew with the note “If I had to pick 1 person to be thankful for, I’d CHEWs you!”

19.    Gift a box of Gobstoppers with the note “Just STOPping by to say thank you for all you do!”

20.    Gift a bag of gumdrops with the note “Just DROPping by to say thank you for all you do!”

21.    Gift a Good & Plenty with the note “You deserve PLENTY of thanks!”

22.    Gift a bag of Gummy Bears with the note “This BEARly does justice, but thank you for all you do!”

23.    Gift a box of Gushers with the note “I’m just GUSHing to tell you thank you for all you do!”

24.    Gift a box of Mike & Ike with the note “I’d L-IKE to say thatnks for all you do!”

25.    Gift a Reeces Peanut Butter Cup with the note “Have I told you REECE-ently thank you for all you do!”

26.    Gift a bag of M&M’s with the note “Thanks for driving Miles & Miles to bring our mail!”

27.    Gift a KIND Bar with the note “Your KINDness doesn’t go unnoticed. Thank you for all you do!”

28.    Gift a bag of Smarties with the note “Thank you for making us smarties!”

29.    Gift a bag of Werther’s with the note “Don’t know WERTHER I’ve said it enough but thank you for all you do!”

30.    Gift a bag of Candy Corn with the note “This is kind of CORNY but you’re the best! Thank you for all you do!”

Giving thanks should be a part of our every day life. May this 30 day challenge cause us to look for even more opportunities to say “Thank you for all you do!”