Name Meaning Bookmarks (A 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.

 

What does your name mean? If you've never thought about it and want to know, or you want to get that meaning on "paper" in a cool and useful way, with personalized pictures, check out CrossTimber's Name bookmarks and gifts. I love bookmarks and was very excited to receive these five custom bookmarks with mine and my children's names on them along with their name's meaning and a picture chosen especially for them. They turned out beautiful and very well made.

We received 5 custom bookmarks for this review. Each one has been created with the receiver in mind, even the pictures in the background.

We also received a printed packet of AmazingName Print Activity Sheets featuring my 9-year-old's name. It's full of mazes, puzzles, activities, and name writing pages. He might already know how to write his name in print, but this packet has quite a few challenging things for him still. Besides, he loves seeing his name on things. I love how personalized name gifts can really make anyone feel special. There are 28 pages of fun included in this packet! An emailed (PDF version) is only $3, and a printed version is only $6 (plus shipping).

A packet of personalized name puzzles and games for my son Alex.

An example of the handwriting page. It's a little more of a challenge for him as cursive, but oh so important. I have learned the importance of helping my children develop their own signature because soon enough they are signing papers! Even sometimes as a kid or teen. Help them prepare for that early! A signature is such an important part of our name. What a great way to learn to recognize and develop that with activities and handwriting that features their name!

AmazingName Print Activity Sheets handwriting practice. A signature is so important to develop!

 

This is my second time reviewing for CrossTimber and both times I have been equally impressed with the name meaning products. It's really fun for anyone to discover and learn the importance of their name. Any of the CrossTimber name meaning gifts would make a great Christmas gift for this time of the year as well!

If you'd like to see what others have to say about CrossTimber, click on the banner below!

Wordless Wednesday: LEGO turkeys

 Today's challenge: Thanksgiving Turkeys built from LEGO's

Aric's turkey:

Alex's Turkey:

Mom's Turkey: (I can't take all the credit for this one. I found the directions to build at Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls blog.)

A Bible Study (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.

 

Julie Polanco from Julie Naturally has two new Bible studies that I've been able to try out and look over for this review. These studies are from her new Faith Journeys Series, and are both separate multi week studies. The Faith Journeys Bible Study Series: Romans bundle is an 8-week journey with accompanying videos to watch along the way. The Faith Journeys Bible Study Series: Philippians is a 4-week journey. Both journeys can be printed up and come complete with memory verses, questions, and a few coloring pages and surprises. Both are PDF downloads, but the videos are available to watch through the website.

Lets start with the Book of Philippians study. This study covers the whole Book of  Romans and is designed with the hoemschool momma in mind. A passage of scriptures is assigned to each day of the 4 weeks and then there are questions to answer/ponder. There are verses to memorize along the way, and cards to print up that help with that. The pages that contain the questions have enough room to write the answers down in the space below the questions, so printing up the whole study is highly recommended.

The second study I received is the Book of Romans bundle. This one has many of the same features as the Philippians journey, but it's a bit longer with 8-weeks needed to complete it, and it has a video component. There is a video to watch at the beginning of each week that helps prepare you for the reading and questions in the week ahead.

For these studies Julie recommends using the 1984 NIV Bible. I used the King James Version because that is what I prefer, and it worked. This is what my study spread would look like Scriptures and the current page of the study I am working on. I chose not to print up the whole file because I just wasn't sure about using all the ink, but I think I would definitely print it up next time. It's nice to have a place to write things down. I did print up the memory verses. They print up very nicely with several on a page, ready to cut out.

An example of what the Philippians study looks like for me. Bible and page side-by-side.

I love really diving in and reading scripture and pondering what things mean for me in my life. I did enjoy the questions. Sometimes they were hard to answer! I wasn't able to get very far in either study, but it was interesting to see another point of view. The Julie Naturally website has some great content, and these Bible studies done by her are a great way to dig deeper into the Bible. If you'd like to see what other crew members had to say about these studies you can click on the banner below!

Homeschool Code Academy (A 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.

 

 

I have some very tech-savvy, computer oriented kids around my house. They are always saying they want to learn more about code for homeschool, but there's no way I can teach them! I know the basics of computers and programming, but that's it, only the very basics. That's why I am so glad that there are so many great online resources available for learning coding and programming for my boys. I have been given the opportunity to look over Homeschool Code Academy to use for my boys as one of these awesome resources. 

Homeschool Code Academy website home page.

 

A view from inside the lesson.

The course that we received, Python for Beginners: Learn Coding at Home, is recommended for about 5th grade and up and anyone who is an absolute beginner. There is a bit of math knowledge required including adding, subtracting, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and geometry. The course is set up to move step-by-step through each lesson, with each lesson building on the previous ones, so there's no jumping ahead. But, the student can go back and review. The lessons are taught through videos and text with the majority of the lessons containing short videos.

Why is learning coding a benefit for homeschool kids? Besides the obvious fact that technology is huge in our world today, there's also the logic, problem solving skills, math, and creativity that comes with learning any kind of coding program. This course, Python for Beginners: Learn Coding at Home has challenges and activities that the students complete throughout each lesson that will allow for critical thinking and building up of games and programs that the kids get to play with immediately. They will have fun learning along the way! 

My boys have loved every coding program that has come their way, and I'm sure they will love using this one in the future. If you'd like to see what others had to say about this Python coding course, you can click on the banner below.

Our Weekly Notebook: Space Force, Election night, and Baby Yoda

Life this week...

I realized this week that we are getting quite the stack of journals/books from The Thinking Tree curriculum. This includes books for two boys and I. I have two journals as well! I am really enjoying the journals in our homeschool. They encourage  my boys to write and color more and that's a definite need for them. They also encourage creativity. I have to admit I'm excited for some of the topics that they will be studying!

 

Homeschool this week...

Alex learned about the Space Force as one of his chosen topics for his All About Space Journal. I learned some too watching the videos with him!

Helpful homeschool tips and advice to share...

Discovery and learning takes time. Slow down a little and remember to let your kiddos take some trips down "rabbit holes" or build or create something. I know sometimes the time consuming, messy, creative and "weird" projects can be easy to push aside because "we just have to get math done". But, don't forget to slow down and let them discover.

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

We took a walk to the Post Office and the park. I really, really needed a walk. And, apparently the boys did too. There was much complaining for probably most of the walk until we got to the park. It was tough, but we made it. It ended up being good for all of us. And, I am pretty sure I made sure to point out every. single. leaf to the boys. They loved it. Not really. But, they noticed things!

 

My favorite thing this week was...

Watching the fall foliage just burst with beautiful colors everywhere. The reds, yellows, oranges, browns, and greens are just so gorgeous right now.

 

My kids' favorite thing this week was...

Scoring a baby Yoda at Costco. It was one of the last 3. The last time we tried they were out.

Things I'm working on...

I am working right along with my kids to be thankful and find gratitude. We are starting each morning with our Thanksgiving unit studies and writing down something we're thankful for. 

 

Random things the kids worked on... 

Alex built this tower with tree cookies and tree sticks cut up for a completely different project because I had them all sitting on the table. He decided to put his mini-fig on top. Natural materials make fun building blocks, don't they? 

 

Something I accomplished...

I made this not-so-pretty cake for election night. The picture I had in my head was much nicer. Oh well! It tasted good.

 

What we're reading...

I started this book, Father-ish by Clint Edwards. I am enjoying it so far.
 

 

Movies we watched... 

I don't have a picture, but we watched The Christmas Project. Good movie! It's funny and has a good message.

Games we played...

We played a new game this week, Election Night!, which happened to be on Election night. It was fun and frustrating for some. I think the red side ended up winning that night.
 

I'm cooking...

Popcorn for dinner tonight! Because we had a huge lunch of steak and baked potatoes.

I'm grateful for...

The start of a new week. It always feels like a fresh start.

That about wraps up our week! How was yours?

Drive Thru History (A 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.

 

We have loved watching Drive Thru History® Adventures ever since we discovered Dave Stotts and his fun history videos a few years ago. My boys seem to be drawn to his humor and his cool vehicles in every episode of history we watch and the filming/scenery is very memorable and awesome. Watching this new series Bible Unearthed, for this review, was just as intriguing and fun, and drew my boys in just as much as any episode we've watched before even though it was a bit different format. I'm excited to share this new series all about archaeology!

 

As soon as I heard about this review and that it included Drive Thru History and archaeology I knew my boys would be interested. My boys are in 4th and 7th grades. One loves dinosaurs which obviously deals a lot with archaeology, and the other really likes to watch or listen to history lessons, so I knew this series would capture their attention. It did! The videos from Drive Thru History are very memorable in their presentation and really capture the attention of the audience. This new series, Bible Unearthed, is a bit different in format and presentation since there is less driving around and more just talking with clips of places being visited, but it still has the same quality of content and information that we've come to expect from Dave Stotts and his crew.

Watching the videos:

There are 12 videos/adventures in the Bible Unearthed series, each video roughly 14-16 minutes in length. The videos can just be watched independently with no outside work, or students can dig deeper into the course and use the optional course materials with questions about the video and other resources to research and read about. We mostly just watched the videos straight through, but I did decide to print up the questions to ask the boys throughout the video so we could have some discussions during and after the episodes. The videos alone are very informative, but I was thankful for questions already laid out for me to ask. The other material shared with each lesson looks like it could make for a very interesting full course about archaeology! 

A screen shot of episode 4

What are the videos about? They are all about archaeology, but not just any archaeology. It's a little about how archaeology is done, but there's a lot about how truths of the bible have been uncovered and proven through archaeology. They share a lot of stories and pictures and replicas of artifacts that have been unearthed by archaeologists, and sometimes they do show clips of their travels to some of the places/cities that have been uncovered. My middle schooler also made a few connections with books he's reading which made him excited to watch more!

An example of the questions worksheet to print up.

As we make our way through each episode I am amazed at the wealth of information these guys offer in each video and how well done the videos are. They really make archaeology interesting and fun, and bring out some great Bible truths. If you'd like to see what others have to say about Drive Thru History you can click on the banner below.

 

Mathandalgebra.com (A 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.

Math is a tough subject for many kids. Understanding the concepts and really getting them down is important as they move their way up through the "math ladder" to the, often dreaded, algebra stage. What if there were a way to kinda get a student going in that direction quickly? What if there were concepts missed or not completely understood before moving on? What if you want your student to be prepared for their algebra courses when they get to high school (or sooner)? I think Mathandalgebra.com has the keys to unlock some really fundamental math and algebra skills that can help kids excel and gain confidence in their own math abilities.

For this review we received online access to all levels of Mathandalgebra.com for a year. The levels included are Elementary, Intermediate, Pre-algebra, and Algebra. With that subscription we could enroll up to 3 students (1 student plus 2 free), and they can move through the levels freely. I had my elementary student (4th grade) work on this review starting with the Elementary level. It turns out my 4th grader, Alex, really enjoyed this math program!

This is the screen shot inside the first Basic Math Lesson. The video is there, and the button to print the worksheet is just below the instructions (not shown in this picture).

How does this online math program work? It's really simple! There is a video with each lesson that demonstrates/talks about the lesson, teaches the concept, and then the student works on a worksheet to practice problems on their own. As they move through the lessons they can mark them off and the program will show their progress. The worksheets do need to be printed up and graded by the teacher. There's no automatic grading with this course. I actually love the paper worksheet aspect! It takes my kids' eyes off the screen for a bit, and I get to be more involved by grading.

I also love the simplicity of these worksheets. They are very clearly laid out with groups of problems, some review, most new concepts learned in the lesson, and they almost always have a word problem or two. There is also a little nugget of advice or reminder of a math concept in the middle of the page. As seen in the picture below of the worksheet where it shows an example of where to put commas in a very large number. Little details like these can sometimes be quickly washed over or easily forgotten in lessons for regular math curriculum. It's such a good way to remind students of what's going on in the page in front of them.

My 4th graders 2nd worksheet.

 

Lets talk about the videos! These are the "gold" of the program, I think. They are so well done and easy to follow. The man that does these videos goes step-by-step through everything. He doesn't leave anything out. He even goes so far to remind kids at the beginning of almost every video to get a paper and pencil and write the problems down that he is working through. Do you know how many times I tell my kids to get paper and pencil and show their work? More times than I'd like to say! I'm so glad this is part of these videos. He also gives great explanations, works slowly, and points everything out that he's thinking as he works through problems. My 4th grader got it! I have to admit when I saw fractions and decimals in the elementary portion I got a little worried that it would move too fast through concepts that he doesn't understand yet, but it's all at the right level as long as the student watches the explanation videos and works through each lesson building up the skills they learn.

An example of the video from the Algebra course.

 

I feel like this math program is very valuable in helping my kiddos get ahead in math and algebra. I think the videos are great, and the worksheets complement very well and are very well laid out. Will we continue to use this program, absolutely! I am curious to see how far my boys can get. I also looked at the Intermediate, Pre-Algebra, and Algebra courses. They are all laid out basically the same. Even some of the topics are the same, but the difficulty is a little greater as they move up.

If you'd like to see what other crew members have to say about this math program you can click on the banner below:

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas?!

I found Christmas music today on the radio and loved it, and these Christmas lights at the zoo got me just a tad excited.

Crazy LEGO mom

I finished something yesterday! Not the boys, but me, the mom. I am happy to say that I built a LEGO startburst candy machine. Did I really  need a starburst candy machine? No, but I wanted one! It caught my attention, and I decided that would be a good project for me to take on since we'd be getting candy for Halloween. I don't get to build LEGO's very often myself, but I love doing it. I found this idea at Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls. Finding some of the pieces was a bit of a challenge, so it doesn't look exactly like hers. I had to grab what I could find.

 

Here is a picture of the process. Even though I had some sorted out yellows and other colors we didn't have all the correct pieces. All the LEGO's are in the boys' room so I got to sit in there and bug Aric about pieces I couldn't find. He was a great help sometimes, and pretty knowledgeable about different pieces. I enjoyed hanging out with him. Not sure if he felt the same way though! Lol!

Less than a couple hours later the creation has already met its demise. A piece had come loose, causing it to jam, so Alex took it apart to see if he could fix it. He aborted the mission soon after when he realized it was a lost cause. Not sure if I'll rebuild or not. It wouldn't be too hard, but I think I want to build something else now. There are so many fun ideas out there!