Book Reviews

Product Review—Homeschool Easy

August 25, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

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 been using the 1st Grade Entire School Year Curriculum from Homeschool Easy with Little Miss lately. She finished her preschool and kindergarten books about a month ago, and was eager to learn to read, so I thought this level would be a good fit for us. She was excited about trying something new, too.

We received the entire year of materials from Homeschool Easy in a zip file.When I extracted it, I found seven folders, one per subject, plus two PDF files about how to use the curriculum and an overview of it. Each week, I opened each of the folders, found the folder inside that for the week we were ready for, and printed the pages for the week. We simply worked our way through the worksheets each day, going back to the guide for some of the subjects in order to find the links we needed for videos or online books. It took an hour to an hour and a half a day to do all the work, which I thought was pretty good. Little Miss enjoyed most of this schoolwork, and it took little enough time that she didn’t get bored.

We started most days with the Math. I was very surprised, when we started working with this math course, that it jumped right into place value. Obviously, children are expected to know their numbers when they start this course! Little Miss is quite advanced with her numbers, so it wasn’t a problem for her. We cut out the paper place value blocks that were provided, and she enjoyed building each of the numbers she was told to. She quickly caught on to place value and had no trouble with it. By the fourth week, she had worked on ordering numbers up to 200, and was adding, too. This course seemed to move ahead very quickly; I have some children who wouldn’t have been able to handle it as well as Little Miss did. Looking ahead, I see that addition and subtraction are pretty thoroughly covered, as well as skip counting. Money and graphs are also introduced. In this photo, she had built the number 145 with the paper place value blocks.

We usually worked on Reading next. This presumed that the child would know the entire alphabet and how to sound out words already. The first lesson introduced a number of sight words. I made a number of changes in how we used the program in this subject, since Little Miss wasn’t ready for reading sight words yet. She learned a few of them, and I helped her read the content in the lessons. Each lesson introduces a group of words (words with a particular short vowel, or long vowel, or other combination, or simply high-frequency words). The first page has a word list and several sentences using the words. Then there are several pages of flashcards to print, cut out and glue together, and then a couple of pages of sentences with blanks to fill in. There is a crossword puzzle and a word search with the week’s words, and some comprehension activities.

The next thing we usually did was Grammar. We learned what makes a sentence, and then about different kinds of sentences. Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are introduced later in the year. Each week has a page for each day, in which the child either copies a sentence correctly or writes their own.

Little Miss’s favorite subjects were Book Reading and Science. She especially loved the Book Reading. We were able to access books online to read together by clicking a link in the monthly guide. Most of the books are very simple and repetitive, and she loved helping me read them, and enjoyed answering the questions on the worksheet, too. Some of the books are nonfiction, and some are fiction. She wants to keep on doing them! For Science, we often watched YouTube videos and then answered questions about them. She didn’t like the first one, but she enjoyed the rest (the first was “too silly”). We studied plants while we used this course; bugs, mammals, birds and water animals come up later in the year. This was one of her favorite science projects—she has always loved picking flowers!

History is one subject we struggled with in this curriculum. It is very American, and the first month’s theme is Patriotism. We don’t live in America, so it didn’t apply to us. We simply skipped a few things, like the page that said to color the country we live in—it was a map of the United States! Month 2 covers the Presidents, and Months 3-8 study the geography and history of the United States.

I appreciated the Writing subject. Each week there are two writing prompts given, with several lines on which to write a short story. These have been very helpful. We are part of a writing group, and it’s hard to come up with topics. Using these papers has really helped Little Miss come up with things to take along to share with the group.

It was interesting to use a new curriculum for a few weeks. I was disappointed in how advanced it was, since it was for first grade. I would have expected it to start out a lot simpler. Little Miss is advanced enough that I would have been able to teach her to read using this, but it would definitely have taken longer than the schedule allowed for. Most of my children, however, would not have done well with this. There are very few directions for the teacher; you need to know how to teach a child in order to use this. If you are confident, however, and just need a framework, this might be a very good choice for you. The cost is fairly reasonable for a full year of school curriculum, and since it’s digital, it’s fully reusable for other children. A lot of printing is required, so that has to be factored in. All the materials needed, though, are available online and easy to find by just clicking links. Have a look at what other people have to say about this curriculum—I’m especially interested in reading some reviews of other levels, since there is a complete year’s curriculum available for grades 1-5. Click on the image below to find the other reviews.

Homeschool Curriculum for Grades 1 to 5 {Homeschool Easy Reviews}

Book Review—Love Her Well

August 21, 2020 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Love Her Well by Kari Kampakis, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Love Her Well
Author: Kari Kampakis
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: August 18, 2020
Genre: Christian Living/Parenting

Moms are eager for tips and wisdom to help them build strong relationships with their daughters, and Kari Kampakis’s Love Her Well gives them ten practical ways to do so, not by changing their daughters but by changing their own thoughts, actions, and mind-set.

For many women, having a baby girl is a dream come true. Yet as girls grow up, the narrative of innocence and joy changes to gloom and doom as moms are told, “Just wait until she’s a teenager!” and handed a disheartening script that treats a teenage girl’s final years at home as solely a season to survive.

Author and blogger Kari Kampakis suggests it’s time to change the narrative and mind-set that lead moms to parent teen girls with a spirit of defeat, not strength. By improving the foundation, habits, and dynamics of the relationship, mothers can connect with their teen daughters and earn a voice in their lives that allows moms to offer guidance, love, wisdom, and emotional support.

As a mom of four daughters (three of whom are teenagers), Kari has learned the hard way that as girls grow up, mothers must grow up too. In Love Her Well, Kari shares ten ways that moms can better connect with their daughters in a challenging season, including:

choosing their words and timing carefully,
listening and empathizing with her teen’s world,
seeing the good and loving her for who she is,
taking care of themselves and having a support system, and more.

This book isn’t a guide to help mothers “fix” their daughters or make them behave. Rather, it’s about a mom’s journey, doing the heart work and legwork necessary to love a teenager while still being a strong, steady parent. Kari explores how every relationship consists of two imperfect sinners, and teenagers gain more respect for their parents when they admit (and learn from) their mistakes, apologize, listen, give grace, and try to understand their teens’ point of view. Yes, teenagers need rules and consequences, but without a connected relationship, parents may never gain a significant voice in their lives or be a safe place they long to return to.

By admitting her personal failures and prideful mistakes that have hurt her relationships with her teenage daughters, Kari gives mothers hope and reminds them all things are possible through God. By leaning on him, mothers gain the wisdom, guidance, protection, and clarity they need to grow strong relationships with their daughters at every age, especially during the critical teen years.

Buy your copy here!

My Thoughts:

Sometimes I request a book for review because it sounds interesting—and sometimes because I think it might be helpful. Love Her Well was one of the latter. I currently have three daughters. One is an adult; the other two are quite young. For several years now, I have had a very good relationship with my oldest daughter, and hope to have the same with the younger ones as they mature, so I hoped to glean some wisdom from this book.

There are 10 chapters in this book, each one elaborating on one point in a list of “10 ways to find joy and connection with your teenage daughter.” This list, in itself, is very helpful. A few of the points are to choose your words (and timing) carefully, make your relationship a priority, enjoy her, laugh often, and have fun, and pray for her and empower her through faith. Actually, these points, in themselves, apply to raising sons as well as daughters!

Though all these points are very good to keep in mind, and apply equally to all our children, I struggled somewhat with the book itself. For many, if not most, modern mothers, it would apply well. However, it just didn’t resonate with me very much. Why? Because most of the book seemed to presume that all teenage girls will be going to school, which creates many problems socially, which is what the mother needs to help them through. I simply can’t relate to very much of the book, because we have always homeschooled our children, and thus avoided these issues.

Even though much of this book did not speak to me, there were a number of points that stood out. It was comforting to read that, “Every child is just one decision away from stupid, one decision away from making you look like the worst mother on earth.” (So nice to know I’m not alone!) I also appreciate the reminder that “You can’t control your daughter, but you can control your attitude, actions and choices,” and “God is found in the present. Not in the future, not the past, but the present.”

At the end of the book is a list of 50 prayers to pray for your daughter (or son). I should print these out and keep them handy!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are mine alone. I was not required to write a positive review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kari Kubiszyn Kampakis is an author, blogger, and national speaker from Birmingham, Alabama. Her books for teen girls, 10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know and Liked: Whose Approval Are You Living For?, have been used widely across the country by teen youth groups and church groups to empower girls through faith.

Kari’s work has been featured on the TODAY Show, TODAY Parents,Yahoo! News, EWTN, Proverbs 31, Ann Voskamp’s blog, The Huffington Post, and other national outlets. She and her husband, Harry, have four daughters and a dog named Lola. Learn more by visiting www.karikampakis.com or finding Kari on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

CONNECT WITH KARI: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(2) winners will receive a print copy of Love Her Well by Kari Kampakis!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight August 17, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on August 24, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.

Book Review—Dual Power of Convenience

August 19, 2020 by NZ Filbruns 3 Comments

About the Book

Book: Dual Power of Convenience
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 28, 2020

When Richard Danforth inherits the family estate on Merriweather Island, he doesn’t have time to deal with it—especially not from halfway across the globe. He’s too busy working to become the world’s newest billionaire and avoiding the women who would detract him from his goals.

Enter Lyla Santana. Fresh out of Oxford University with a degree in antiques and a relationship that nearly killed her to leave, she’s eager for the isolation and treasure trove that is Danforth Hall. Lyla also is determined to avoid men at all costs. Forever.

It was supposed to be a match made on paper. With him halfway across the globe, they’d never have to see each other again.

So, what’s Richard doing on Merriweather just weeks after the wedding? And how will his arrival test Lyla’s faith, not to mention stretch their so-called relationship?

In a twist on billionaire romance and marriage of convenience, this “Merriweather book” kicks off a new series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.

The Independence Island Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.

My Thoughts:

I read Dual Power of Convenience while Chautona Havig was writing it—one of the perks of being in her launch team! Actually, it’s a perk, but it’s also a nuisance, because I can’t just sit down and read the whole book in one go (as if a busy mother can do that, but anyway…) I have to wait for her to write the next chapter! I reread it last week, though, for the purpose of writing this review, because I forgot to write one the first time around. This series is rather interesting; six authors each write a book based on one of the five Independence Islands, an imaginary set of islands off the Atlantic Seaboard of the southern United States. I loved the introduction to the series, Christmas on Breakers Point.

Near the end of Christmas On Breakers Point, Mallory had the idea of starting a mobile bookstore. At the beginning of Dual Power of Convenience, she has started her shop, and is selling books, coffee and snacks. One day, she sees a stranger approaching from the ferry. Lyla has arrived to take up the job of sorting and cataloging the contents of one of the old mansions on the island, the Danforth Estate, for Richard, the absentee owner—who just happens to be on the verge of becoming a billionaire.

Soon, Lyla runs into problems managing the house, and Richard comes up with the perfect solution—a marriage of convenience. He doesn’t want a wife, and she definitely does not want a man in her life, so they’ll get married and never see each other again. Win-win situation. Except that Richard shows up at Danforth Hall a few months after the wedding. What is going on? What is Lyla going to do about this twist in her plans?

Not only is this book a very entertaining story that I enjoyed almost as much on the second reading as the first, there are a number of truths woven into it in such a way as to make them memorable. How should a husband and wife interact with each other? How can you learn to trust again when you have experienced a horrible betrayal? How far should a friend go in pushing someone to do what is right? If you enjoy light romance with a serious side, you’ll love this book. If you enjoy a serious book with a lot of humor in it, you might enjoy it, too. One thing I found really fun was the way Lyla was poking fun at popular “tropes” in romance books!

I received a free copy of this book from CelebrateLit, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

About the Author:

Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her on the web and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

More From Chautona:

Did I Really Agree to Write a Romance Series?

When my fledgling little idea for a single book transformed into a series that then transformed into a SERIES, I kind of missed the part where I agreed (and likely suggested, if truth be told), that the books should be contemporary romance.

I mean, beach reads. Romance. Duh.

There’s just one problem? I rarely write a straight-up romance. And if I do, it’s usually a short novella in a collection—often at Christmas.

Why?

Isn’t it obvious?

Despite nine kids and being married for almost thirty-two years, I am THE most unromantic woman on the planet. No habla amor. Or something like that.

So there I was, toodling down the 395 (a treacherous bit of road between my house and the publisher’s) when all of what I’d agreed to exploded in my brain. I’m still scraping brain matter off the windshield and trying to stuff it back in. I need every last one of those “little gray cells,” thank-you-very-much!

Romance. My heart sank. Boy meets girl. They like each other. They fight. They get back together. They live happily ever after.

It’s a thing, folks. A formula. And if you deviate, true romance readers get annoyed. What was I going to do? I didn’t want to write romance. Not really. I had ideas. The prequel book had been all about trying to bring a young woman back to the Lord. That’s more my speed, okay?

The wheels began churning.

The ones in my head, I mean. The tires still rolled along the ground. Fortunately, my cranial explosion hadn’t caused an accident or anything. Just in case you were curious.

I considered making each one loosely related to a fairy tale retelling. I’d have a Cinderella story, a Beauty and the Beast, a… nope. That made it that far and I just couldn’t. The minute we got to Sleeping Beauty, I’d have my readers in comas. No. Thanks.

Next came Rom-com. We’d make it funny. All the stuff that happens in beach romances gone wrong. Why not? We live once!

I was yawning before the thought finished forming.

Right about then, I think, is when I wondered what kind of tropes I needed to consider.

See, romance tropes are a thing. I even talk about them on my podcast. The tingling sensation that comes when a good idea is brewing happened. A grin formed.

Tropes. I’d play with tropes. I’d take all those familiar things and twist them somehow. Why not? It would be fun.

And it was.

Right about then is probably when I began recording my ideas. Creosote and sage whizzed past at breakneck speeds (let me dream. I’m not a speed demon, but c’mon… for the sake of poetic license and all?). And the ideas whizzed faster (no license needed. They really did).

Book 1. Marriage of convenience. I mean, those are always fun, right? So why on earth would someone need to get married?

Every idea I came up with has been done… and done again.

That’s when I upped the stakes. Authors do that, you know. We come up with a way to torment our characters, and then we say, “Okay, now how can I make this worse? Nope, I need it even worse. Oh, and…” Bam! The story goes from interesting to can’t-put-it-down. All because we’re not afraid to be cruel to non-existent people. Score!

How’d I do it with this one? I added in another trope. One I personally just can’t “get.” People love the things, and I’ve got no idea why. But it answered my first question of why someone might need a marriage of convenience or… as my gal puts it… “a paper marriage.”

My guy became the world’s newest billionaire.

Yep, you read that right. I wrote a “billionaire romance.” Sort of. Now, if I could figure out how on earth I’d take two people on opposite sides of the world and get them together.

insert hands rubbing together in fiendish delight

Oh, yeah. I did it. And even more than that, I love it. I made my characters do some stupid things. I really did (you know, like how two Christians didn’t even pray about their marriage decision? Like how they didn’t even ask if the other person was saved? Why should they? They’ll never see each other again… they said. Ha! The Lord had other ideas. Sorta. This is fiction, right? Oops! I suddenly feel like that crazy Kathy Morningside in Miss Congeniality).

From Adelanto to Kramer Jct., I planned out that first book—Dual Power of Convenience.

(the title gives away that reason for marrying, no? Also, links may be affiliate links that provide a small commission at no extra expense to you.)

It was almost too easy.

Then I started playing with the next ones, and the series became a reality to me.

– Dual Power of Convenience—when a woman too afraid of men goes to work for a man who is too busy making money to want anything to do with that whole marriage and family thing.

– Bookers on the Rocks— This couple’s marriage is on the rocks (that’s the trope, of course), and neither of them has a clue. They’ve been married for twenty-five years, neither is having an affair, no one wants a divorce, life is good, so why is it on the rocks? You’ll see…

– Directing Hearts— The Crawforths got tricked into allowing a reality matchmaking show film on their islands. Brooks Crawforth tangles with the director until their verbal battles turn into a different kind—a battle for their hearts (enemies to “lovers”)

– Just a Memory— In this one, Mallory Barrows (who makes appearances in all of the books) comes across an old journal that tells a story she’d never heard. It’s the old Patti Paige song “Go On with the Wedding” but over forty years later! Mallory knows something that might just create a (here comes the trope) second chance at romance.

–Printed on Her Heart— After being instrumental in so many couples’ relationships, it’s Mallory’s turn in this dual-trope story. In this one, we get a mashup of friends to more and love at first sight. Can’t wait to share it. Squee!

Okay, that’s the deal. Yes, I really did agree to write a romance series.

And yes, it probably was my idea.

I might deny it to my dying day, but it is also a whole lot of fun… so far.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Book Review—Tempting Tait

August 12, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

About the Book

Book: Tempting Tait
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance
Release Date: July 30, 2020

He chose to be a dad before he realized he’d need a wife, too.

When Tait took in an abandoned girl, he had no idea it would change his life.

Tait Stedtmann–accountant, fledgling do-it-yourselfer, and all-around nice guy. He’d been more than a little interested in Bentley Girard and had finally worked up the courage to ask her out. That was before that fateful day at the rest stop when he saw a girl shoved from a car and abandoned there.

She’s not like any girl he’s ever met, and now she’s given him an ultimatum. Adopt her baby, or she’ll abort it.

Eden doesn’t think he’ll do it. She can have the abortion and move on with her life–far away from these creepy Christians in Fairbury. But when Tait agrees, she finds herself keeping her word… and the pregnancy.

Nine months later, Tait is wracked by guilt as relief sets in when Eden leaves and terrified as he decides he can’t do this daddy thing alone. Bentley figured out how to make marriage happen for her.

Would she help him, find someone, too?

Tempting Tait is the second in the Marriages of Conviction series.

My Thoughts:

One of my favorite books last year was Blessing Bentley. It was such a different book, with a completely different approach to marriage than I had seen before—I loved it! Chautona gave us a teaser at the end, with the first chapter of the sequel, Tempting Tait. I’ve been looking forward to Tait for a year, and now he’s finally in his own book. And a wonderful book it is!

At the beginning of the book, Eden was terrified that her boyfriend would leave her, so she tried her mother’s trick to get him to stick around longer. It backfired—Tait watched in horror as the boyfriend abandoned Eden and left her injured. Of course, he helped her get medical treatment, but then she learned she was pregnant. There was no way she was going to raise a baby, so she just planned to get rid of it—Tait was horrified at that thought, too, and begged her to allow him to adopt the baby instead.

Fast forward nine months: Tait was now a single dad, and realized that it wasn’t working. God’s plan included two parents. Bentley had made marriage work for her; could she help him out? Who would be interested in marrying Tait just so that the baby he saved from abortion would have a mother? If he found someone like that, would Tait learn to love her—and she, him? Hold on for the wild ride as this story unfolds!

I actually read the book twice, once as each chapter was written and again after it was all together. I loved it both times! I even found myself reading later than I should have one night, on the second time through, just because it was such a lovely story. It’s quite different from Bentley, but just as good. Don’t miss this book! It’s not only very much worth reading for the story, and for the spiritual truths that are shared so naturally all the way through, and the example of how Christians should respond to abortion, it’s funny! I loved the interactions within one family who feature strongly in the story, although I wanted to shake some sense into the one man. It was also fun to figure out Tait’s big secret throughout the story. This is easily one of my favorite books for this year. Oh, and in this book Chautona takes us right into the bedroom. She never does that—but there’s a good reason here, and I’m not going to tell you any more about it. You have to read the book to find out how and why.

I received a free copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

About the Author:

Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

More From Chautona:

How One Man Turns A Mess into a Miracle

It’s been ten… maybe fifteen years since Eden Pohl waltzed into my brain and settled in. Despite my focused attention on other books, her taunts never strayed far from my hearing.

If you really believed what you say about abortion, you’d tell my story.

You just don’t want to have to write the messy stuff.

Ouch. Worst of all, she was wrong. And she wasn’t.

I don’t mind attacking the hard things when it’s the right time, but I only had half a story. I knew what would not happen but not what would.

So, she languished there in what is probably the longest pregnancy in fiction.

After my friend, Sandy, killed my dreams of combining Tait and Bentley’s stories and added Tait’s (and therefore Eden’s) into a series, things clicked. Duh. Tait would need a wife. Being a single parent is hard. It isn’t how God designed things, you know? We’re supposed to have help. A spouse, extended family, the church.

But sometimes things don’t work in this fallen world. Sometimes we find ourselves parents—even by choice—without the daily support of another parent. Not only that, sometimes our own parents aren’t in a position to be able to help. Age, illness, or distance can remove us from the God-given networks we should have and don’t.

Finally, our decisions sometimes cause us to isolate ourselves even from God’s family, and the result can mean we don’t have that help that we otherwise would.

One verse came to mind over and over when I planned out the rest of Tait’s story.

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)

Sometimes the words tried to transform themselves into, “It is not good for a father to be alone, so God will find him a helper parent suitable…”

And I had to silence that voice.

First, because we don’t just change Scripture to suit our purpose. Or rather, we shouldn’t.

Second, because that’s even more out of order than having a baby before marriage. It happens sometimes—sometimes by choice, as in Tait’s situation. However, the healthiest marriage will usually put a strong emphasis on the marriage relationship first (after the Lord, of course) and then focus on the children. Why? Because it is best for the children if their parents are in unity. Children find security and strength in knowing their parents love and are committed to each other.

So many times, I started to put that emphasis in the wrong place struggled to get it right. Then one day I realized that this was the very thing I needed to do. Show that struggle. I needed to show that Tait’s focus was wrong—that he created problems he could have avoided simply by being a good daddy… but also by being an even better husband.

I hope you’ll enjoy Tait’s story, and I pray that his heart for the unborn will touch your life in a real and tangible way.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Product Review—Journey Homeschooling

July 29, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

About six weeks ago, we were presented with the opportunity to do a course from Journey Homeschool Academy, and had to choose between two topics. The children and I spent our science class time for a few days checking out the various sample lessons offered for the two courses, and decided that Experience Astronomy: Elementary looked pretty interesting. We learned a lot just from the two video lessons that were available as samples! We’ve been using this program now for five weeks, and are really enjoying it. We’re watching the lessons with the whole family, while the evening dishes are being washed. We’re only doing one lesson a week, so just one night a week is spent on astronomy. I decided to do it this way so that Gayle and the older boys can learn about the heavens, as well. We haven’t spent much time with astronomy, so this will plug a gap for them.

So far, we have had an overview of astronomy, learned how the earth revolves and rotates around the sun, the seasons, the phases of the moon, and what constellations are. The lesson about the phases of the moon was one of the sample lessons, so for the past month we’ve been observing the moon as it went through a complete cycle. Watching the lesson for the second time was very good to help cement the concept. One thing we really liked about it was that the teacher showed the way the moon appears in the Southern Hemisphere! Almost everything is aimed at the Northern Hemisphere, it seems like, since most educational materials are produced in the United States. This is, too, but he teaches about both. We could really relate to what he was saying, since we’ve observed the differences ourselves when we traveled back for a visit.

Each lesson, as I mentioned, has a video. This is usually about 15 minutes long. It is accompanied by a 2-3 minute Memory Video, with the main points the teacher wants us to remember. There is also a PDF with supplementary material. This always includes some suggested books to read, a craft activity, several pages of handwriting practice, notecards with the memory points, and a quiz. We’re using the notecards (I have them taped to a cupboard door) and the quizzes, and we’ve done a couple of the crafts. Mr. Imagination loved making a “planetarium!” I like the quizzes to help us think about the video lesson again the day after. It also makes a very easy science class!

Another project we did, which the children really enjoyed, was creating a constellation from marshmallows and toothpicks. Can you guess what the favorite part was? Eating the marshmallows afterward!

These lessons are very much based on the Bible. In every lesson so far, we have been taken on a “field trip” to some ancient archeological site where there was evidence of ancient man worshipping or studying the heavenly bodies (the sun, moon, or stars), but the teacher is very careful to point out that worship of these things was not what God wanted. Also, one of the assignments for the course is to memorize Psalm 8. Most of my boys already know it, so they recite it along with him when he quotes a verse.

Looking ahead, I’m seeing more lessons on the constellations, and then some about eclipses and meteors. After that, it looks like we’ll be making a trip through the solar system before a couple of final wrap-up lessons. This looks like fun! I’m really enjoying this course, and I know some of the rest of the family are, too. Some won’t admit it, but they all sure pay attention when I put the computer on the table and turn it on. Since we do this on a night when the big boys are on dishes duty, they are a captive audience, too. We often quit using review products as soon as the review posts on my blog, but this is one that we’ll continue using till we reach the end.

Sixty-seven families have been using programs from Journey Homeschool Academy. If you’re curious what others say about these courses, as I am, click on the image below to read their reviews.

Experience Biology: Elementary Level, Upper Level and Experience Astronomy: Elementary {Journey Homeschool Academy Reviews}

Product Review—Progeny Press

July 10, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I first heard of the study guides from Progeny Press before I even had children. Back then, I had never even heard of using anything for school except proper “schoolbooks,” and the idea of reading a story book and studying it was quite a novel idea to me. I wanted to see what these study guides were like, but never had the chance to look at them until they were offered for review recently. I had the choice of study guides for several books, and chose A New Coat for Anna Study Guide. We don’t have the picture book A New Coat for Anna, but I was able to find it in an online library we use, which made it possible to study the book.

A New Coat for Anna is a delightful story about a little girl who needed a new coat, which was unavailable in the years right after World War II in Europe. I read the story to Mr. Sweetie (age 10), Mr. Imagination (age 8) and Little Miss (age 5), and then we worked through the study guide together. One of the advantages of the downloadable PDF, besides the fact that it is immediately available, is that I was able to print just the pages we actually needed, and as many copies as we needed. Little Miss doesn’t read or write yet, but the other two do, so they each had a set of the pages. We started out by finding definitions for some of the words from the story and writing them down, and then answered questions about the story. The children enjoyed taking their measurements the same way the tailor in the story took Anna’s measurements for her new coat. (Mr. Sweetie was delighted that he is still a little bit bigger than Mr. Imagination!)

After several pages of questions about the story, we did a study of patience. We talked about how Anna and her mother had to have patience, and about some times that we needed to have patience. We also talked about the qualities of a noble woman, from Proverbs 31, and how Anna’s mother displayed those qualities. To wrap up the study, the suggestion is made to have a party like Anna and her mother did in the story. We didn’t do that, but one of my boys wants to make the cake that is suggested! We did do the activity at the end of the study guide. To do it, the boys had to find the missing words in sentences from the story, and then find the words in the word search. At the very end are suggestions for more books to read, by the same author and of related interest.

This guide was laid out very well. It was based on a very interesting story, which my children loved reading. The questions were good ones, and I liked the studies of patience and the noble woman. The study made my children think, but they enjoyed doing something different. I will be happy to use more of these guides in the future; they make a nice change of pace from our normal schoolwork. To read the opinions of 64 other families, click on the image below.

Study Guides for Literature - A New Coat for Anna, In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson, My Side of the Mountain, Animal Farm & Little Women {Progeny Press Reviews}

Book Review—I Am

July 9, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

About the Book

Book: I AM
Author: Diane Stortz
Genre: Juvenile nonfiction, Bible stories
Release Date: 2016

Creator, Comforter, Healer, Friend. God’s names tell us who He is, what He is like, and what He does. This beautiful book covers 40 of the Bible’s many names and descriptive titles for God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, including Jehovah Jireh, The Lord My Shepherd, Immanuel, Rabbi, and I AM.

Through Bible stories, short devotions, and prayers, children discover the meaning of each name and how it relates to their lives. As they develop understanding of God’s character and His love for them, children will grow to know, love, and trust the great I AM more and more.

“Those who know your name put their trust in you.” –Psalm 9:10

My Thoughts:

I like to read Bible stories to my children every morning after breakfast, before we start our homeschool day. We have read quite a number of Bible story books, but a new one always catches my eye. When I saw I Am: 40 Reasons to Trust God available for review, I knew I wanted to check it out. I was hoping to be sent a print copy, but one of the downsides of living in New Zealand is the cost of shipping. Oh, well. We were sent a PDF copy, and have been enjoying it. I just open the file in the computer every morning and find the next chapter.

I Am is unlike any other Bible story book I have ever seen before. It tells stories from the beginning to the end of the Bible, like most, but each one focuses on one of God’s names. The first story, about the creation of the world, uses the name Elohim, or Creator—and I’m glad that there is a pronunciation given for these Hebrew words! The second story, about the fall of man, talks about God as El Emeth, God of Truth. There are stories about Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, and Daniel in the first half of the book, and the second half tells stories about Jesus, with three at the end about the early church and the future.

Each two-page spread is a beautiful full-color painting. They are slightly cartoon-style, but not so much that it was offensive to me. At the end of each story is a section to help children apply the truths to their own life, a prayer, a couple of points to remember, and a sentence leading into the next story. My 5-year-old loves to see what the next day’s story will be!

This is a delightful Bible story book. I would love to have a print copy of it on our shelf. I have not found any inaccuracies in it, and the pictures are the kind that my young children love to spend a lot of time studying.

I received a free copy of this book from CelebrateLit, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

About the Author:

Diane Stortz is a multipublished author who writes to make God’s wonders known to the next generation. Her children’s releases include the best-selling Say & Pray Bible and I AM: 40 Reasons to Trust God, both from Tommy Nelson. Diane’s books for women, A Woman’s Guide to Reading the Bible in a Year and Encountering God’s Heart for You, both from Bethany House, encourage women to get to know God through His Word, the Bible. Diane and her husband have two married daughters and five grandchildren—all boys! Visit her at www.DianeStortz.com.

More From Diane:

You can often guess someone’s age by considering their name. Diane, for example, was popular in the 1950s, so . . . that tells you something about me.

But God’s personal name? Well, it’s ageless. Just like Him.

When Moses met God at the burning bush and received the task of leading the Israelites out of Egypt, he wasn’t exactly thrilled at first. He peppered God with questions, including, “When I tell the people that I met you here and you gave me this assignment, they’re going to want to know your name. What should I tell them?”

The Israelites had just about forgotten who the God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was.

But God hadn’t forgotten them. Not at all. God told Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. . . . Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14).

I AM WHO I AM. I always have been. I will always be. I will never change.

Choosing a book title is rarely easy, and choosing a title for this book about the names of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit took a long time. I couldn’t be more grateful to the Tommy Nelson publishing team who developed and settled on the title I AM: 40 Reasons to Trust God.

My prayer for every child who reads this book and every family that goes through the book together, and for myself: May we all grow mightily in our understanding of who God is and our relationship with Him! As Psalm 9:10 says, “Those who know your name put their trust in you.”

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Product Review—MaxScholar

July 8, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I was quite interested to see how the MaxScholar Orton-Gillingham Software from MaxScholar works when I heard about it. Nine or ten years ago, I had two boys who were not learning to read, no matter what I tried. I came across some online programs that taught math skills, but I couldn’t find anything I liked that would teach reading. In answer to prayer, I finally found a physical program that worked. It was an Orton-Gillingham based program, so that made me curious about how MaxScholar was set up.

We actually haven’t used this program a lot. Little Miss (age 5) has used it more than her brothers; she really enjoys it. She started out with a test to find out what she knew. It turned out that she knew the sounds of 14 letters of the alphabet—more than I thought she would! She used MaxPhonics for several days after finishing the test, and then discovered Maxreading; both options are available for her when she logs in. With MaxPhonics, a letter is introduced by name, and then a keyword beginning with the sound is introduced (“yawn” for y, for example). After practicing the name, keyword and sound a few times, the student is to draw the letter “in sand” and on a line, using the mouse. Little Miss had a hard time managing that, but she enjoyed it. The last activity with each letter is to choose whether or not a series of words begin with the sound of the letter being studied. If a she got the word wrong, it was given to her again a few words later.

Little Miss was put into Level 0 of MaxReading. In this level, she chooses a “chapter”, which is actually a picture. The program asks several questions about the picture for her to think about, and then she moves on to a series of questions with multiple-choice answers. Each question and answer have a button beside them, which when clicked read the sentence aloud. After she chooses an answer, the program moves on to the next question. She’s really enjoying this section of the program.

Mr. Imagination was put into Level 2 of MaxReading. He chose the first book in the list, “Australia”, and has read the first two chapters. Vocabulary words are highlighted; he is instructed to click on them to read the definitions, then read the entire story. After reading the story, he is supposed to highlight the topic of the story, the main idea, and important details, then write an outline of the story. After that he is instructed to write about the story, choosing either to write a summary, answer an open-ended question, or answer a general question. The final activity for each story is a 5-question multiple-choice quiz. Once again, each question and answer have a button to click to hear it read aloud.

For MaxPhonics, he has the choice of working on consonants and short vowels, consonant blends, or digraphs. There are also several games available. I saw a memory game and one where you are to chose the missing part of a word. There is also a section called MaxWords, which teaches rules for breaking down words into syllables, and also covers prefixes and suffixes.

Mr. Sweetie was placed in Level 5 of MaxReading (out of 12 levels). His stories are more advanced, but follow the same progression for each lesson. His options for MaxPhonics and MaxWords are the same as the ones available for Mr. Imagination. He has several other programs available, though: MaxPlaces, MaxBios, MaxMusic and MaxVocab. MaxPlaces begins with a world map. A lot of cities have green dots beside them, and when you click on the dot you get to read a story about that city and then answer some multiple-choice questions about it. MaxBios contains short biographies of people in many different careers, with a quiz after the story. Based on the categories I saw, this is not a program I want my children to spend much time with. MaxMusic contains the lyrics of songs from many different performers and groups—once again, a program I’m not happy for my children to use. MaxVocab looks fun, though, with three types of games to play: Hangman, Definitions, and Word Search.

The teacher’s dashboard contains a wealth of resources. Of course, there is a section for generating reports of each child’s progress in the program, but I also found a section of materials for the teacher. These are actually lesson plans and techniques for teaching a child to read. They look very useful and doable! This program looks quite useful, however, since we already have the other program and have been using it, I will continue to use it. However, I can see it working well for families that need the extra help of letting someone else do part of the teaching. The games will be fun for my children, too. I like to have access to educational games for the odd time when the children want to play on the computer. This program is put together quite well and high quality. If you want to try it out for yourself, there are some lessons that can be watched to see how it works. Also, be sure to click on the image below to see what 60 other families have to say about MaxScholar!

MaxScholar Orton-Gillingham Software {MaxScholar Reviews}

Book Review—Chemicals and Christians

July 2, 2020 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

About the Book

Book: Chemicals and Christians
Author: Martha McLaughlin
Genre: Non-fiction
Release Date: January 31, 2020

“Just because you’re set apart doesn’t mean you’re set aside.”

Martha McLaughlin and her husband served as international missionaries for 10 years, ministering in a variety of ways, including helping to identify unreached people groups. When her physical breakdown forced them to return to the USA, she feared it was the end of her missionary journey. But instead, God told her, “Just because you’re set apart doesn’t mean you’re set aside.”

Today Martha feels called to try to help a different kind of unreached people group: the isolated sufferers of toxic illness, a growing but largely invisible population. Yet, like the canaries once used in coal mines to detect poisonous gases, they are a wake-up call to the effects of the thousands of chemicals used daily in our modern society.

Expertly researched and written, Chemicals and Christians: Compassion and Caution is loaded with valuable information and biblical counsel for hope and avoiding harm in our increasingly chemicalized environment. It provides steps for biblical health management, offers practical resources, and shows Christians ways to help.

My Thoughts:

I have never read a book quite like Chemicals and Christians before. The description of this book caught my attention for several reasons. I know there are some chemicals that I am sensitive to, and I know some people who are very sensitive to chemicals. For many years I have been working to cut down on the amount of chemicals, especially frangrances, in our home. This book sounded quite interesting to me, and I learned a lot from it.

Martha McLaughlin has written a very interesting book about the effects of toxic chemicals, especially common fragrances, on people. Most people can handle certain amounts of these chemicals with no obvious problems—but for some people, these chemicals cause major problems. She talks about the sequence that most people with multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) go through. First, they begin to get sick, and then they search for answers. Then, they sift through the things surrounding them and remove all they can that makes the sickness worse. Most of these people find themselves needing to separate themselves from other people just to survive. They strike out at the illness, and then sigh—grieve for what they have lost. After going through the scream and seethe stages, they salvage what they can of their life and then learn to smile where they can.

I found it incredible that many people are unwilling to stop using fragrances even when they know it bothers or harms people around them. The author makes a very good point that, as Christians, we need to do all we can to help those around us—and one of those ways is to avoid fragrances that harm them! The number of things in the environment that cause problems for supersensitive people was unbelievable. I was not surprised at some, such as driers venting out of other houses, but reroofing a house in the neighborhood? That made me pause—it was a new thought to me that that could be a problem!

I also learned some things about myself while I was reading this book. I have often, ever since I can remember, had a headache on Sundays. Is it because of the fragrances, especially from drier sheets and personal care products, that people in church carry with them? And the headaches I almost always get after going shopping—could they be from the chemicals in the supermarket and not just the stress of driving an hour or two? It’s hard to know—but I wonder.

This is a very well-written book that will make you stop and think about what is around you. What is in your life, or my life, that causes invisible harm to my family and to others? What can I do to cut down on the harm done to myself, my little children, and people in the church or community who are sensitive to chemicals? There are many helpful suggestions, and a long list of resources in the back of the book. This book is a good reference to have around and refer to when someone needs help with chemical sensitivities.

I received a free copy of this book from CelebrateLit, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

About the Author:

A professional writer since 2006 with a BS and an MEd, Martha has had more than 500 articles published. Alongside her husband, she served as a missionary in South America from the late ‘80s through the late ‘90s. A widow with two young adult sons, Martha lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and enjoys outdoor activities.

More From Martha:

When people talk about taking the road less traveled, the implication is generally that there was a choice involved. I’ve made choices at times to wander down lonely trails, such as deciding to become a missionary and move to a country in crisis. Water and electricity were rationed, grocery store shelves were empty, a cholera epidemic raged, the president disbanded congress, inflation hit 10,000 percent, and active terrorist bombing shook our house on a regular basis. Most mission organizations and all non-essential embassy personnel left the country and those of us who chose to stay found ourselves on a very sparsely populated path.

At other times in my life I’ve ended up on roads less traveled not by any decision of my own, but by circumstances beyond my control. During my decade of missionary service, my health steadily declined and I was forced to return to the States to look for help. It wasn’t easy to find, but I eventually learned that Lyme disease, mold exposure, and the chemical onslaughts of a third-world megacity had overwhelmed my detoxification system. I discovered I could climb out of bed and function if I avoided anything that would make my full metaphorical barrel of toxins overflow. I also discovered that was much easier to do in theory than in practice because of the overabundance of untested and unregulated chemicals in common, everyday products.

My health condition introduced me to a world of chemically sensitive people, all of us living isolated lives, unable to safely access most medical care, shopping, schools, and churches. I’d been deeply saddened at having to leave the mission field and wondered why God had removed my ability to serve, but not the sense of call I felt. I gradually began to understand that I still had a calling, but to a different population. I felt God asking me to speak for people who are generally unseen and unheard. I want the Christian church to not only see us, but to find ways to open their doors and provide the spiritual nourishment and connection we so desperately need.

As I was discovering the needs of the chemically sensitive population, I was also learning how quickly it’s growing and how easy it is for anyone to join. I began to understand the connection between everyday chemical exposures and common mental and physical health conditions and symptoms. So the other side of my call is to warn healthy people, or those who haven’t yet connected their chemical exposures and health complaints, that it’s wise to be careful – that being a good steward of the physical body doesn’t just mean getting eating, sleeping, exercise, and relaxation right, but that avoiding toxins is a huge piece of the puzzle.

I’m not someone who always had a burning desire to write a book. I wrote it because I had something to say and a conviction that God wanted me to say it. I want healthy people to stay that way, and I want chemically ill people to be seen, heard, and reached with God’s love. My deep desire is for Chemicals and Christians to help save people from unnecessary suffering.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Book Review—Exploring the U. S. Lifesaving Service 1878-1915

June 18, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

We were not overly interested in learning about the U. S. Coast Guard—but when I saw that Exploring the U. S. Life Saving Service 1878-1915, 17 Workshops with 120 Activities, by Rebecca Locklear, included a chapter about safety when hiking or boating, I was interested in reviewing this book. As you know if you have followed my blog for a few months, I have some sons who love to go hiking, and our whole family actually went on a longish hike a few weeks ago. I thought it would be good for the boys to go through some material on ways to be safer. Once we got the book, we found that there are some very interesting stories in it! We spent awhile looking at the pictures and reading the stories together.

We read the chapter titled “Prepare to Stay Alive” in a couple of sittings. The first time, we read the first couple of pages and discussed a scenario in which a lone hiker gets hurt—what should she do, in a cold, wet wind, to stay alive? What will her priorities be? That scenario sparked quite an animated discussion! I appreciated the suggestions given in the book.

We read the rest of the chapter as we were traveling over the mountains (in the safety of our van!) last weekend. We discussed, at some length, what ten items it would be wise to have in pockets for survival in various situations. Because the boys have had some experience in the mountains, they did pretty well at thinking through the most important items to have on their bodies (as opposed to in a backpack, which could easily be lost), but it was good to have ideas for boating excursions, as well. One of the things we hadn’t ever thought about was a way of signaling for rescue. The boys bought several survival blankets, which fold into a very tiny parcel but open up into something large enough to wrap up in. These can also double as a signaling device—they are a valuable little item! One very interesting project suggested in this section was making a solar still, for distilling fresh water from salt water. We’re in the wrong time of year to do this here (we’ve seen the sun for an hour this week), but we built one of these stills just to see what they’re like. Even just sitting in the house overnight, some drops of water formed on the underside of the plastic wrap, so it looks like it would work. Maybe we’ll get some seawater next time we’re at the beach and give it a better try. I hope my boys never need to apply the survival tips we read about and discussed, but it was good to talk about what could happen and how to deal with some possible scenarios.

This book begins by telling the history of the U. S. Lifesaving Service. There are a number of old photos, as well as text that tells the story. The next several chapters describe life at the stations. We enjoyed the skit titled, “The Bird We Didn’t Eat.” We didn’t act it out, but read it together, with different people reading the different parts. The skunk stories were quite funny, too. Several chapters describe rescues. We found that fascinating. We didn’t do the activity in which real-life situations were described and teams were to figure out whether the people involved lived or died—but I think it would be a great thing to do on a trip. This would make for some lively discussions!

At the end of the book are suggestions for art activities and music, and suggestions for topics to research further. They look quite interesting—but we didn’t have time to even explore these areas. There is also an appendix of recipes. This book is crammed full of information and activities—it would make a great summer unit study for the whole family! Be sure to visit Rebecca Locklear’s website and sign up for her emails. She is gifted at putting together projects that groups can use to learn about history by doing things.

Sixty-two other families have been using this book and one about the Mayflower. Click on the image below to read more reviews of these amazing books!