The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls book series (A REVIEW)

 The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls

My kids enjoy reading chapter books about kids traveling back in time through history and experiencing the adventures first hand while looking at the world during a different time, and trying to figure out clues along the way. This series of books from WorthyKids, an imprint of Hachette Book Group does just that with kids going back to biblical times, and living the stories and adventures from the Bible. It is kind of fun to see the Bible stories we all know and love come alive through a child's eyes.

A while ago we received the first 2 books in the series for a review, and my son enjoyed reading them, so I was really happy to see that we were going to be doing this one again with books 3 and 4. We received sofcover copies of The Great Escape (Book 3) and Journey to Jericho (Book 4). The kids (grades 2 and 5) and I read them together at bedtime each night for just about 2 weeks. They didn't take long to get through, and they would ask to keep reading each night. They are a pretty easy read that my 5th grader could have easily read on his own (which he did with the first 2 books), but the 2nd grader wanted to hear them too so I read them aloud. It worked out good because I wanted to hear them too since I didn't really read through the first 2 other than what my 5th grader told me.

The Great Escape (Book 3)

Prologue: Peter and his sister Mary are spending the month with their Great-Uncle Solomon who is an archaeologist that collects artifacts and treasures. He has special scrolls that can travel back in time, and that is how Peter and Mary would travel back to the biblical times.

In Book 3, The Great Escape, they travel back in time to Egypt and the time of Moses. They meet a young girl that turns out to be Pharoah's daughter. She helps them by giving them a place to stay, so they are in the palace right where all the action is when Moses comes and begins to ask for Pharoah to release God's people. Peter and Mary witness and experience the 10 plagues, and then they also experience the escape from Egypt and the Egyptian soldiers right with the Jews. They encounter danger and excitement along the way, and they meet other characters like Michael the angel who also helps the kids at certain points in the story, the magician who tries to replicate the plagues that Moses casts, and can't forget Hank (their dog) who traveled back in time with them.

Journey to Jericho (Book 4)

At the beginning of this book Great-Uncle Solomon tells the kids (Peter and Mary) about how he used to be a spy, and he shows them a few of his spy tools. He tells them to dress like spies for their next adventure back in time to the city of Jericho. Being dressed in black they are in the land with God's people again, and are mistaken for real spies at first. They learn that the Israelites are trying to get to the promised land, but the walls of Jericho are in the way. Peter and Mary want to help the Israelites conquer the city of Jericho. Along the way they meet people who help (like Michael the angel), and hinder (like satan). The kids see some suspicious men and follow them into the city. The suspicious men turn out to be spies, and Peter and Mary offer to help since they are "spies in training." They are finally on a secret mission to help the Israelites. They have to escape more than once from the guards of Jericho. In the end they are marching around the walls of the city with the Israelites, and they learn how God keeps his promises.

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls

A common theme throughout all the books is the secret scroll. In each book there is a new secret message in the scroll that the kids have to solve throughout their adventure. They have 14 days to solve it or they will be stuck in that time. As they gather information from the people and events in their adventure they slowly unlock the secret message in the scroll. It relates to the story that they are in, and teaches a little message to the reader along the way. This is an important thread throughout the book, and kind of ties it all together. It's a little mystery puzzle to keep the kids thinking as they read. I know my kids were definitely trying to figure out the missing words as we read.

We really enjoyed reading these books. Even as a read aloud it lead to some discussion as the kids noticed similarities to the Bible stories that they have read. They got to ask, did that really happen? In most cases yes (when referring to the facts of the bible story itself), but it is a fictional book so you know there is a lot of make believe too. These books are great for all elementary aged children even a little older or younger would enjoy it too.

If you'd like to see what others had to say about these books you can click on the image below to find other reviews from the review crew.

Field trippin' through the alphabet: A is for Apple Store

I'm excited to share our first field trip in this blogging through the alphabet series! The Letter A will actually be for Apple. The Apple store that is. As I was thinking about places we could go for a field trip that started with A it occured to me that the Apple store would be a cool place to visit if it offered anything educational for kids. A tour, or something. They do offer tours for school groups, but I found something even better. A coding class for my boys.  I also found a lot of other educational classes and labs for adults, kids, and families that they offer right in their stores! These classes/sessions all involve use of Apple products, techniques, and technology, so it's a fun way to try it all out.

The entrance to the Apple Store in Washington Square Mall

While we waited for the class to start there were plenty of ipads and idevices to explore.

Alex trying out a new game on an ipad set up for kids

It's fun to try all of them while we wait.

We arrived nice and early so there was plenty of time to get settled and watch people all around the store. If you've never been to an Apple store it's bustling and full of people. It's a fun upbeat place to visit. Nice and bright. We easily found the table where the class was going to happen. The one with the nice big TV that says "Coding for Kids." The class was small, only 5 kids, which was great for getting a lot of help.

These boys were pretty excited. Ready to get going. The lab would start soon!

They provided each kid with an iPad and a Sphero Bolt robot  to use for the duration of the class, if they needed it. Two of the kids that were in the class brought their own devices and robots that they hadn't learned how to use yet. It was a great way for them to get to know their new toys.

The lab will be starting soon! The robots and the iPads and the instructor finally came out!

Watching the instructor get set up. He was able to project the screen on his ipad so all the kids could see. Technology is just fascinating.

The first challenge was getting all the robots and iPads linked up. It went pretty fast, and the instructor was so great and patient.

The next task was making an image that is unique to each kid and their Sphero.

Alex making his flag design. This will be the design that shows in the lights inside his robot.

The next challenge was learning how to make the robot go forward and back. These Sphero robots move pretty neat by just rolling.

When it was time to make the robot go and start their code the rule was that they had to move to the floor so they wouldn't roll off the table. It was finally time to try it out...

After the kids mastered getting it to move forward and back, and then in a full square they finally got to try getting the robot to go through obstacles. This was a lot of fun. All of the kids really had to think about how to best get their robot through and over obstacles.

It took a lot of thought and trial and error to figure this obstacle out, but Alex did it! Watch the video below to see it in action.

The boys had a great time, and they learned a lot while having fun. Check out an Apple Store near you to see if they have any fun labs or classes for kids. I don't know if they offer the same ones everywhere, but there are a lot of other ones to choose from.

That about wraps up our Letter A field trip. I am linking this up to abc blogging through the alphabet.

IXL Math (A REVIEW)

IXL homepage--The place to login and where all the grade levels are laid out. It also gives an idea of how many skills are included in each.

In all my years of homeschooling I have discovered that I really do like math. I think that is because I've come to realize that there are so many more great ways to learn and apply it besides straight out of the textbook. While I've had my children learning at home for the past decade we've had the opportunity to learn math through many different channels and methods, and one of my favorite tools to use for math is the computer and online programs. I have found many online games and programs to be very effective in helping my children learn and retain a lot of math facts and concepts. We used an (new to us) online platform IXL Learning for that very thing, mastering math skills for the 5th grader in our home.

After clicking on the 5th grade link, this is the page that opens up. He's allowed to pick from any math topic to work on. He can also pick a different grade level if needed.

We received an annual subscription to IXL in exchange for this review. It is all accessed online with a login for all members, parents and children. I only had one child working on this program for this review period, and he mainly focused on the 5th grade math level, but he is free to choose any level and any topic. There is also a tab for diagnostics. The child can answer a series of questions, and from that the program will find recommendations for him to work on. On the parent/teacher side it's a great program with Analytics to get instant feedback on where your child is at in certain areas, and you can see where they might need to work a little more or receive a little more instruction.

This is an example of the different tabs my child had the option to choose from. Also an example of the recommendations for him in math.

After the child answers a certain number of questions in a section and they complete it they can earn awards. Awards are fun and very motivational. It also shows progress. I would receive an email with certificates (pictured below). On the child's page they can see their awards by clicking on the awards tab. It opens up a page with a grid of squares that have hidden prizes under them that they can uncover as they continue practicing.

Opening the envelope in the email brings up a Certificate that can be printed. I could have changed the name to his real name, but never did. I might do that before we continue on. He just wasn't real interested in the awards anyway, so I didn't bother.

My boy liked working IXL on the iPad the most. He liked that he could just use the touch screen, and he could sit comfy wherever he wanted to practice his math. So, we downloaded the free app, and he primarily worked on there.

He loves to do IXL on the iPad that my son liked.

He really liked the touchscreen feature of the ipad/app. Our laptop is not a touch screen, so it would have been just typing in the answers. On the iPad he is given the option to write in the answers with his fingers, and the app instantly recognizes the numbers and changes them over. I love that it helps him with writing numbers as he still needs some practice there.

Using his finger to draw the numbers is a nice feature on the iPad.

IXL has more than just math! My son could have also worked on Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Spanish. We received the package with all of those, so they were all available for our use. There is also available for purchase a single subject package, and a combo package with just math and language arts, all for different monthly fees. If you want a way to see where your child could use more instruction the core subjects like math, language arts, science, and social studies this is a good program to get started in. It's also a great way to get some review and practice.

Click on the image below to see what other review crew members had to say about this program!

Another round of ABC blogging through the alphabet!

I am excited for a new round of ABC blogging starting this week! This time we are field trippin' through the alphabet. I probably have enough pictures and field trips from the past 5-10 years already, but I am hoping to TRY to share a new field trip each week going in ABC order. I am sure there will be weeks where we just don't get to it, in which case I have plenty of field trip reserves, but I am excited to get some new field trips and learning opportunities under our belts over the next few months.

Thinking back on the field trips we used to take in our early years of homeschooling, we used to go on some pretty awesome trips...

Suspension bridge on hike in Oregon

And see some pretty neat things...

Tanks at Evergreen Air and Space Museum

Some field trips were just for fun and play...

Bubble room at the Gilbert House in Salem, OR

 Some field trips were child specific...

April's first visit to the American Girl store

Some field trips we have taken are a once in a lifetime experience...

Huge dock washed ashore from the Japan tsunami

Some field trips are so packed full of new information, and yet so fun...

Rosse Posse Elk farm in Mollala, OR

There are field trips that involve a day at the beach, and an adventure...

Oregon Coast quest

And, some field trips we get to see new people and cultures...

Summer reading program, Wilsonville library

I feel so lucky and blessed to find so many great field trip opportunities for the kids. I am looking forward to finding some more as we field trip through the alphabet.

 

Heirloom Audio: For the Temple audio theater (A REVIEW)

I am a big fan of audio books in our homeschool. I am always on the look out for something new to listen to. Usually it's just a fiction book that is recommended for my kids' ages. But sometimes we get to try out audio books that are more than just an audio book. That is the case with this particular listening adventure, it is an audio theater with characters voices played by different people, sound effects, music, and a lot of emotion. It's like an audio book coming to life!

Heirloom Audio is the creator of this G.A. Henty Adventure: For the Temple. We have enjoyed our past audio dramas from Heirloom Audio, and this one was just as great.

We received two audio CD's with about 2.5 hours of listening time. They came in this nice fold out CD case. This was nice in that we could easily take this in the car, and listen all together. Our car has amazing speakers, so it feels almost like we are in a theater watching a movie, without the big screen so I can drive and participate too. The sound is pretty amazing in these stories, and it's so easy to get immersed in the story.

The storyline:

This is a story from a time in history of the Jewish-Roman wars. It has a lot of battling, a bit of a love story, and a lot of twists and turns.

Young Jews John and Mary are to be married someday. They go out on an unexpected boat ride, and are rescued by a man who upon meeting them decides to recruit John in his army. John says yes, to help protect the Temple. He goes off to fight many battles, becoming a very big name among all of the people (Jews and Romans). He makes friends with a Roman warrior through his kind actions. This friendship proves to be his key to getting back to his family after the wars are over. I won't say what happens to the temple, but he knows he fought his best for something he loves, and he puts down his weapons of war for good.

For the Temple study guide

I (we) listened to this story without knowing much about the actual history part of the story, so it was interesting to learn all these new things as we went along. One thing that really helped (besides a little research on the computer at the end) us along was a study guide that we received through email. It has questions for listening well, digging deeper, and vocabulary. We mostly used the listening well questions, and the vocabulary. The vocabulary is rich in this story with some less commonly used words for our day, so it was fun to explore those words more. With the pictures and short explanations of the history behind some of the parts of the story the study guide proves to be helpful when listening to a complex story like this one with all the different battles and keeping track of the people as well. It really helps to break the story down and absorb more of the information, so it can be a great way to use this for history time as well. The study guide was a great resource, and we used it when we had more time to sit and talk after each track.

The Review Crew always has a great time listening to these stories. You can click on the image below to see what others had to say about this Christian audio drama!

 

Wordless Wednesday: Face

Nothing ever looks the same once you find its face...

LEGO movie 2: why you should see this one

We love Legos around here. 

That's for sure. 

What's even better than Legos? Fun movies made entirely out of them. We loved the first movie, so it was a bit exciting waiting for this one to come out. One of my boys was especially excited about going to this one in the theater. Me too. I do love to see a good movie in the theater, and this one made the cut as we don't always see movies in the theater unless they look like it's worth the money.

So, I made plans to go to our favorite theater in Canby, Oregon (it is by far cheaper, and not usually super busy) on Friday, November 8 at 1:30. I planned it during the school day so that it wouldn't be too busy, and opened it up to all our local homeschool group. Thankfully, one Mom and 2 of her kids showed up. It's always more fun with friends.

As expected, the theater was nearly empty. I think there were 2 or 3 other adult pairs or families. We got to sit up in the center. I let the kids each pick a candy box at the counter, so we proceeded to eat way too much candy.

The movie started out pretty much right where the first one left off, and continued on with a great story and dialogue between the real life brother and sister through their Lego playing imaginations.

The Sister wants to play with her brother.

She plays differently, and sometimes gets into things she shouldn't.

Brother gets upset.

Toys suffer "armomageddon" (they get put away because Mom is done with the fighting).

Brother comes around.

They play together.

All this happens through the eyes of the Legos in the Lego world while the kids are playing with them with glimpses of what's going on in the real world home.

Such great messages, and as a Mom of boys who love their Legos many of those scenes were very familiar. I have to admit I might have even had some watery eyes at one point. Not saying this is a sappy movie in anyway, just some Mom tears as I could relate so much to how things played out between the kids.

As far as the Lego storyline of the movie goes it was a fun one. Of course the Legos made up their own interpretation of the events happening around them.

Life became desolate and hard since the arrival of the "aliens" that kept coming to destroy anything nice they made.

One of their own gets taken by aliens.

Emmett leaves his world on a mission to save his friend.

He finds the "systar system" where she was taken.

It's a whole new world.

They learn what the aliens really want.

It's a fun plot with many of the names of things referring to something in the real world, but pronounced differently. Definitely a funny upbeat movie.


A Lego build to go with it...

I had picked up these special Lego Movie 2 sets a while back for this special occasion. They built according to the directions first, but then they decided to do an alternative build (a build of their own creation with the pieces from the set.

Taking apart the original build to build an alternative scene.

Alex built a flying wheeled contraption, grouping them all together.

Aric made some Segway's for his spaceship friends, along with a flying ship of some sort...

A better angle so you can see the segways. As you can see this is not the original intention for this set they were just having some fun.

If you can't see it in the theater, definitely rent or buy it. It's a fun one that I think kids and adults will enjoy alike.

Oh, and Target will be having a LEGO movie 2 event in their stores this Saturday, February 16, 2019 that looks super fun too. It might be happening at a Target near you! I know we're going to try to make it.