A Journey Through Learning Deals

A Journey Through Learning is running a great deal on Apologia Lapbooks. Spend $30 in lapbooks, get an Apologia Lapbook for just $5! Use the code apologia5.

Additional AJTL deals:

• My Favorite Insect – $5.00 (DOES NOT INCLUDE A STUDY GUIDE)
• Flowers Express Lapbook –  $1.00
• Bees Express Lapbooks – $1.00

Notebooking Pages Birthday Sale-A-Bration

I love making my own printables for notebooking, but Notebooking Pages is one of my favorite resources. I always check there before I spend the time to create something. Check out this great deal on becoming a Notebooking Pages LIFETIME Member during their NotebookingPages.com 7th Birthday Sale-a-Bration Event:

• Save $25 on your membership
• Receive access to 150+ current notebooking products
• Receive ALL future notebooking products
• Receive up to two years FREE access to their notebooking (& copywork) web-app, The Notebooking Publisher
• Receive a $100 e-gift Bonus Bundle from various homeschool publishers
• Earn a chance to win some great prizes – an iPad mini, $100 Amazon.com gift card, LIFETIME access to The Notebooking Publisher, and a LIFETIME membership to MomsToolBelt.com.

Check out the many Free Notebooking Pages too! It’s a great way to see what Notebooking Pages is all about before spending any money. Notebooking Pages is having a Facebook party on May 21 at 9pm Eastern. Get more info here on their Facebook event.

Do your kids like lapbooking and notebooking? 

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Jonathan and I have been working our way through Who is God?, which is the first volume in the What We Believe Series from Apologia. Apologia gave Who is God? and the additional resources to us to go through so we could share our experiences and thoughts with you. We finished it a few weeks ago. So what did we think?

Who is God? – Not a Bible Study

Who is God? is not a Bible study. It’s a worldview curriculum. It talks about right beliefs and ways of thinking that are based on the Bible. There’s plenty of Scripture throughout the book, but please don’t mistake this book for or use it to replace Bible study. Who is God? explains what a worldview is, why we need to have the right worldview, the nature of God, and salvation.

Who is God? – Additional Resources

In addition to the text book, the What We Believe series has a journal, coloring book, and audio CD for each volume. Jonathan prefers to have me read to him, so we didn’t use the audio CD much. If you have children who like to listen and read along, the audio CD would be a great resource.

The notebooking journal was too advanced for Jonathan in most cases. It’s on par with the regular notebooking journals that Apologia has for the elementary science series. We did some of the word searches, crossword puzzles, and copywork, but we spent more time in the coloring book. Jonathan is not usually a big fan of coloring, but he did enjoy listening to me read while he colored a picture that corresponded to the reading. The coloring book is a great option for younger children.

Who is God? – Scheduling

We started this book at the beginning of Jonathan’s Kindergarten year when he was just 4.5 years old. Apologia recommends the book for ages 6-14, but because Jonathan had already decided to be a Christ-follower and was academically advanced, I decided to go ahead and start the book. It can easily be completed in one school year by an elementary student and older kids could even complete it in one semester. We ended up taking two school years to get through the book. We went more slowly in the beginning and sped up as we moved forward.

Who is God? – Our Thoughts

So what did I think? I loved it. The book was well-written and easy for a child to understand. For that matter, it’s great for an adult too. If you’re a new believer as an adult or lacked foundational training in Christian worldview and basic doctrine as a child, it would be a great book to go through.

What did Jonathan think? He loved it too. He got to a point where he’d beg for more. He looked forward to worldview days. He says the coloring book was his favorite part.

Post about or inspired by Who is God?

During our study of Who is God?, I wrote a lot about it. Check out these posts for more information about and posts inspired by Who is God?

• Kids in the Word Wednesday ~ September 14
• Kids in the Word Wednesday ~ September 21
• Kids in the Word Wednesday ~ September 28
• Kids in the Word Wednesday ~ November 9
• Kids in the Word Wednesday ~ November 16
• How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids ? Chapter 5
• 7 Tools Book Club: Worldview
• Kids in the Word: 4 Things to Help Your Kids Understand Disappointing Election Results
• Homeschool Mother?s Journal for 11/16
• Kids in the Word: God Meets Our Needs
• Kids in the Word: God Made You and Provides for You

Who is God? and the additional resources are available for purchase on the Apologia website. If you’re heading to a convention where Apologia will be this summer, you can get 25% off your purchase by joining their email newsletter list.

Follow along with us this next school year as we review the next volume in the What We Believe Series, Who am I?

Your Turn!

Have you used Who is God? or other books in the What We Believe Series? How have you kept your kids in the Word this week? Share in the comments or link up a blog post!

Material Disclosure: Apologia gave us the Who is God? text and additional resources in exchange for an honest review.

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iBlog is a new book from some of the bloggers in the iHomeschool Network. It’s packed full with almost 400 pages about blogging from 30 different bloggers. As a member of iHN, I received a copy of the book to review.

iBlog is for both newbies and established bloggers. Especially ff you’ve been thinking about starting a blog, you need to read this book. Topics range from finding your niche to SEO and design to balancing family with blogging. Check out the full table of contents here.

You can get your copy for $7.99 at iBlogTheBook.com.

I also have 3 copies to give away to my readers! Use the rafflecopter form below to enter. Don’t want to wait to purchase a copy? iHN has graciously agreed to refund your purchase if you purchase and then win a copy.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Can’t see the Rafflecopter form?

Don’t wait to enter. This giveaway ends Friday at 11:59:59pm Eastern!

Disclosure: I received a free copy of iBlog.

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1. The school janitor doesn’t do such a great job. There are piles of dishes and laundry and toys more often than I’d care to admit.
2. Sometimes we don’t do everything in our curriculum. Yes, we sometimes skip math problems or science labs. We just can’t do it all.
3. There are times when we take an unexpected day off. We’re not always as consistent as I’d like to be. Life happens and we have to roll with it. This is especially true when toddlers and newborns are a part of your homeschool. Sometimes movie schooling or backyard schooling is the best way to deal with a bad day.
4. My children are not always motivated to learn. I am not always the most understanding teacher. Yes, I’ve threatened to send my boys to the public elementary school down the road more than once.
5. There’s an idyllic picture particularly in classical and Charlotte Mason philosophies of happy children sitting at the feet of their teacher mother listening to read-alouds. I don’t read aloud to my children as often as I’d really like to. When I do read, I have to stop to tell my active little boys to be quiet and listen. Legos help, but it’s still imperfect.

Homeschooling is wonderful and I wouldn’t have it any other way, but please don’t think it’s easy or always goes perfectly the way you plan it.

Signed,
An imperfect homeschool mom

Read about other imperfect homeschools with the iHN bloggers.

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Teach Them Diligently in Spartanburg was wonderful again this year. It was a great time for my family to get away, hear great speakers, and get our hands on awesome homeschool curriculum. Here are some of the highlights of our weekend…

10 Highlights from Teach Them Diligently

1. Jumping on the hotel bed. This is a must when you walk into a fresh, clean hotel for the first night.
   
   
2. Meeting up with friends. It’s always a highlight of an event like this to meet up with some of my blogging friends. Check out all the blogger babies!
   

   Photo Courtesy of Kathy from Kathy’s Cluttered Mind

3. Chatting with Sally Clarkson. Sally spoke at our blogger meet up, but I also had a couple additional opportunities to chat with her. She gave me a copy of The Mom Walk to review. Look for that review later this summer.
   

   Photo Courtesy of Kathy from Kathy’s Cluttered Mind

4. A flash mob? Yes, there was a flash mob at Teach Them Diligently. It was put on by the students and Apologia. See it here.
5. Books, Books, Books. I picked up the whole set of Heroes of History from YWAM Publishing. They run an amazing deal on the full set at the conventions.
   
6. Rhea Perry‘s sessions. Rhea shares the story of how her entrepreneurial son was making enough money to bring Dad home from his job and then support the family when Dad died of cancer. Her second session about online careers was so full we couldn’t get in so I plan to get that one on mp3.
7. Mp3′s for just $3. That’s a deal! There were a number of sessions that we couldn’t get to so I have a list of sessions to buy when the mp3 are available in a couple of weeks.
8. Hal and Melanie Young‘s session on adolescence. We have a few years before we have to worry about having teens, but this session was so helpful for us. It helped us start thinking about how to structure our family and prepare for that transitional time in our sons’ lives.
   
9. Kapla Blocks. This was the place to be for the kids in the vendor hall. Building blocks spread out on the floor and the freedom to play. It was tough to pull my boys away from that booth!
10. Creating a Masterpiece Art DVDs. We’re going to be reviewing this DVD for you soon. We picked up all the art supplies right when we got home and Jonathan is dying to make “Nemo.”
    

Bonus: The Raising Real Men booth has these awesome wooden swords.

Disclosure: Teach Them Diligently gave my family free admission.

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Desperate: Conclusion

My family and I spent this past weekend at the Teach Them Diligently Convention in Spartanburg, SC. I had the wonderful opportunity to gather with a small group of bloggers and Sally Clarkson before the convention began. My biggest take away from her chat with us was the idea of diligence vs neglect. She didn’t say it quite like that – that’s my paraphrase. As a work-at-home(schooling)-mom, I must be diligent. Things in my home will never be perfect, but am I neglecting my home and family in order to work and homeschool or am I diligently doing my best?

Similarly, my biggest take away from Desperate was that I need to be diligent in caring for myself and pursuing what God has called me to do. I’m not responsible for the outcome, just being obedient and doing my best. In addition, I’m not alone when I feel depressed or desperate. I just have to take baby steps in the right direction.

Be diligent. Let God take care of the rest.

What was your biggest take away from Desperate?

Share

It’s your turn. Share your thoughts on this chapter of Desperate in the comments here or on Jodi’s post. If you’ve written about this chapter on your own blog, feel free to leave the link in the comments.

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Come to Teach Them Diligently with Me!

I’m at the Teach Them Diligently Convention in Spartanburg this weekend. It’s finally here! I’m so excited to hear great speakers and check out curriculum from wonderful companies. You can virtually come along with me to Teach Them Diligently with me in these ways:

• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook

Teach Them Diligently Marketplace

Teach Them Diligently also has new Marketplace events coming to 9 locations around the country this summer. If you can’t get to one of the regional events, check out these Marketplace events. Registration is only $15 per family!

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What’s in the Bible? Volume 11

We’ve been watching the new What’s in the Bible? Volume 11 DVD at our house. The wonderful folks at Jelly Telly sent it to us to watch. Insert squealing little boys here! (By the way, did you see our review of volume 10?)

This volume is all about the Book of Acts and spreading the good news. My favorite part is at the beginning of the first episode when science is explained. The tools of science are insufficient for explaining God and Phil does an excellent job conveying this in ways that children can understand.

What about Paul? How do you explain a guy like Paul to a child? Phil talks in this video about how he created the visual representation of Paul and why. I think he succeeded.

My boys of course played the outtakes over and over again. Who can resist outtakes?

What’s in the Bible? Downloads

Coloring Pages are available again with this DVD. If you have hands on kids, they’ll love these sheets that caturre scenes from the DVD.

Discounts at What’s in the Bible?

Looking to make a purchase at What’s in the Bible? Take a look at these offers good through 6/1/13:

A Giveaway at What’s in the Bible?

It’s almost Mother’s Day and What’s in the Bible? is celebrating with a pretty cool giveaway.

Enter to win a Kitchen Aid mixer from What’s in the Bible? here. You’ll also get access to a Mother’s Day Fun Pack printable activity and card.

Your Turn

Have you seen What’s in the Bible? Volume 11 yet? Do you have a favorite part? How have you kept your kids in the Word this week? Share with us in the comments and/or link up a blog post about kids and the Bible, character, or worldview.

Disclosure: We received a free copy of this DVD without conditions and without expectation that we’d share a review.

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A new friend, Wendy, is sharing about including bible study in your family life today. You’re going to love her suggestions!
-Amanda

1. Decide whether you will use a study guide or devotional book, or if you prefer to simply use the Bible alone. When we began doing this last year, we chose to use a study that was put out by our church. We loved our church and the leaders there, so we knew their devotional book would be filled with godly wisdom. The Bible itself is a wonderful choice and if you prefer to simply use it, no aids included, then that is a terrific method, too!

2. Include your younger children, even if the content seems ?over their heads?. By this I mean younger children, of elementary age. They may not ?get? everything, but God?s word does not return void and they will pick up more than you think.

3. Make coloring books or other drawing materials, even quiet toys, available to your very young ones while reading. If you are a family that has children of a wide age range, much like we do, you know that the little ones do not always sit quietly. While we have not included our littlest two in our evening readings yet, we will soon and this is the strategy I plan to include to help keep them quiet and engaged. We have done this in the past with our homeschool read alouds and it has worked very well!

4. Ask questions. Many devotionals, study guides, and bibles include questions for you to answer as you read. They are often very thought-provoking questions, and discussing what you have read with your children will help you all to remember it. You may also be surprised at the insightful answers and different perspectives your children bring to the discussion.

5. Pray together. Be sure to begin or end (or both!) your study time together with prayer. One thing we have done after our readings is to ask each person to name their favorite thing from that day. We felt it would be a good way to show gratefulness, much like giving a praise report. Most of the time our children have not been able to choose only one thing! Our hope and prayer is that, as we continue with our studies and they grow older, this will be a very special time for our family and that it will draw us closer together and to Him.

6. Talk about what you are learning throughout the day or week. Apply the verses, questions, and answers to your daily lives! This will help you to see where you or your children need to correct attitudes and habits, as well as where you are already making great progress.

I do hope you will consider using these strategies to include bible study in your home if you have not done so. And if you are already enjoying family bible time, I would love to hear how YOU do it. Please leave a comment to tell me YOUR strategy!

Wendy is a homeschooling mama to five who loves to encourage others along the homeschooling journey. She also considers herself a ?foodie? and is always ready to try a new recipe in the kitchen. You will find Wendy writing about homeschooling, food, and other life events on her blog, Following in His Footsteps. She has also recently begun a new venture with Southern Test Kitchen, and is a brand new allergy-friendly recipes contributor over at Managing Your Blessings, so be sure to look for her recipes and ideas in the coming months! Be sure to visit and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter, too!

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The following is a post from a fellow iHomeschool Network blogger. Enjoy!
-Amanda

5 Favorite Free Internet Games for Toddlers

We are in the age of the internet.  It’s hard to imagine what life was like before it’s invention in 1973.  Just think–no Facebook.  No Twitter.  No e-mail.  No on-line calendars.  No Pinterest.  No blogs.  I suppose it goes with the times, but the latest word on the street is that some schools are not even teaching their children cursive writing anymore because other than signing their name, most children who grow up in today’s world will complete most of their writing on a computer or other techie device.  Once my littlest one turned one, we began experimenting with a few free internet games just for fun…for maybe 5 minutes or so to give her the opportunity to begin to learn a few basic computer skills.  She loved it!  And, it was educational.  She learned a lot just by playing a few short games.

Now I am by no means recommending lots of time online as opposed to playing hands-on with your child, but spending a few minutes with your child on the computer a week can provide both a relaxing cuddle time for you and an engaging informative time for your child.  My recommendation, especially for little ones is to set a time limit of 15 minutes or so, or else, just like Dad and Mom, children can zone out on the computer for hours.

With that said, here are 5 of our favorite games that both my daughters (18 months and 3 years) enjoy playing.  Have fun getting your game on and learning a little in the process!

1.  The ABC’s Zoo Learning Game–This game is provided by Fisher Price and we love it because the children learn the letters of the alphabet, the names of animals (including some not-so-familiar animals), and the sounds of the animals.  In addition there are two levels of playing so that a child who can only press a random key on the keyboard can play as well as an older child who is learning to click with a mouse.

2.  Laugh and Learn Learning About Opposites–Also put out by Fisher Price, this game makes learning about opposites fun.  With the littles we usually just talk about the opposites and I click the answer they point too but my oldest now points and clicks the correct answer by herself.  Fisher Price also provides a host of other infant, toddler, and preschool internet games on their website that we also enjoy.  For a full list, check out their website.

3.  Kneebouncers–Kneebouncers is actually a site that hosts several toddler computer games but we like nearly all of them.  While they do provide an extensive list of games provided you pay a small fee, we have found that the free games provided each month are more than enough to keep us occupied whenever we have computer time.  Our current favorite is “Who says..Moo,” an e-book about animals and the sounds they make.  Babies can click through the book with just a tap of a key.]

4.  Which Clifford–This is a fun game to learn about opposites as well, specifically large and small.  Similar to Learning About Opposites, usually my daughters just point to the answer and I click the answer with the mouse.  PBS Kids also provides many other preschool internet games on their website that you may also want to check out.

5.  Night Animals–Can your child guess the name of an animal by only hearing the sound they make?  These animals are in the dark; children can only see the animal’s eyes and hear the sounds they make.  After they guess, they get to “turn on the light” to see if they were correct.  This is just one of many toddler games linked at Baby Gamer so you may want to check out their website for links to even more fun games.

Got a favorite free internet game you like to play with your little one?  Please, share the link in the comments below to spread the news.

Kathy Gossen is a developing domestic diva drawing on the divine who writes about her domestic adventures on Cornerstone Confessions.  She?s a child of God, a wife, a homeschool mom of two, a daughter, a friend, a sister, an undercover organizer,  a musician and an aspiring techie who is learning what it means to apply God?s Word in the everyday.  She prays her life song sings of her love for her Lord and hopes to encourage others along the way.

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