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Barefoot bliss

Book Review: My First Hands-On Bible

   My First Hand's-On Bible contains 85 Bible stories in actual Bible text from the New Living Translation, including verse numbers, and though the text is abridged, the experience is more like reading from the full Bible than from a Bible story book.  This Bible is geared toward younger kids, from preschool through primary ages, and it includes "Jesus Connections," colorful illustrations on every page, prayers at the end of each passage, and activities and games to enrich each story.  Both Old Testament and New Testament stories are included, and each page includes opportunities for hands-on and imaginative activities as you read the passages to your child, such as "Pretend you're gathering grain like Ruth did," "Roar like a lion," and "March your fingers around the wall in the picture."  You can either stop and do these as you come to them, or wait until the end of the story and go back and use them to review what you've read.  There are so many things to do with this that it can be revisited again and again, and you can choose the parts to do that appeal to your child's style.

   I love this book and cannot say enough good things about it.  We have read several different Bible story books in our family, and this one is unique because even though it is geared toward younger kids, it is more like a "real" Bible in the format it is written in, and it includes so many enrichment activities of substance.  You could even use it as a Bible "curriculum" for your youngest learners.  I like that the stories are written in the original text without including the scary or more mature parts found in certain stories.  Two characters, a kangaroo named Pockets and a lamb named Cuddles appear at the end of each story with a prayer/life lesson and an activity, and children will enjoy looking for them each time and discovering what they get to do.   For example, the story of Joseph's Colorful Coat includes these activities within the pages of the story:  "Pretend you're a shepherd.  Take out a stuffed animal, and gently guide it across the room."  "Shake your finger back and forth."  and "What colors do you see in Joseph's coat?  Which is your favorite color?"  Then at the end of the two-page story, Pockets shows up and says, "'It's time to pray!'  Lord, you have given us so many wonderful things.  Please help us to be happy when other people get gifts too.  In Jesus' name, amen."  There is a "Jesus Connection," which says, "Jacob loved Joseph and gave him a coat.  God loves us and sent us a special gift--Jesus."  Cuddles appears with a coat-wearing activity, there are some discussion questions, and there is an art activity as well.  Each story has so much to do, that every child will be drawn in, and Mom will love it too.

{Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.}

An alien comes to visit

Green June Beetle

   We decided to grill out for supper, and J-man was being the "helper," bringing Daddy a clean plate when he came running back in the house calling for me to come see this "huge green bug."  We always seem to get the most interesting visitors on our back porch.  After the brothers came to see him too, everyone bravely let the little alien crawl on their fingers before taking him to the edge of the woods so he wouldn't accidentally get stepped on.  The thing they found most fascinating and wonderful about him was the shiny metallic green on his face, legs, and underside.  Can you see his beauty, too?

Summer Rain

 RAIN IN SUMMER

How beautiful is the rain!

After the dust and heat,

In the broad and fiery street,

In the narrow lane,

How beautiful is the rain!

How it clatters along the roofs,

Like the tramp of hoofs

How it gushes and struggles out

From the throat of the overflowing spout!

Across the window-pane

It pours and pours;

And swift and wide,

With a muddy tide,

Like a river down the gutter roars

The rain, the welcome rain!

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

DIY: Upcycled/Recycled Jewelry

   Since it's way too hot to go outside and play, here are some "Christmas in July" ideas for make-ahead jewelry gifts:

Pet tag necklace

Pressed penny bracelet

Bottle cap jewelry

Sea glass necklace

Nuts and bolts bracelet

DIY: Recycled/Upcycled Evil Plastic Bags

     Last month, we had an awful hail storm, and now that all the insurance inspections have been made, we are dealing with repairs.  My car had to spend 8 days in the shop for bodywork, and I LEFT MY REUSABLE BAGS IN THE BACK! 

   We have done so well with using reusable bags at every opportunity, and though we reuse some plastic bags as trash can liners and recycle the rest, once we realized how much plastic we had been throwing away, we became concerned about it.  Bringing home items in plastic grocery bags seems bad enough when you read and hear what they are doing to the environment, but so many items are already packaged in plastic, that our recycling bag gets stuffed full before we get all the groceries put away.  It was really astonishing to realize how much waste one trip to the grocery store generates.  One of my kids said that he thinks grocery stores in the future should have large dispensers of products that you load into refillable containers, such as laundry detergent, cereal, dry beans, rice, and chips (does anyone remember Charles Chips?  They used to come around the neighborhood in a van and refill your metal Charles Chips tin.)

   Here are some amazing ways to reuse those bags and help the planet a little bit:

Plastic grocery bag messenger bag



Plastic bag seed starters

Plastic bag organizer



Plastic bag crochet rug

Map Trek Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to: Jessica:

Jessica said...


This would be a great resource to use with our history curriculum!
July 21, 2011 9:00 PM

Please contact me with your mailing information and Knowledge Quest will send you your book/cd set.

Thanks to everyone who entered!  Stay tuned for more fantastic giveaways...

Friday photo



Happy place.



DIY: Upcycled/Recycled Ramen Noodle Doodles

   Handy Dandy Ramen Noodle Doodle Pad

Save the cardboard outerwrap from a cup o' noodles package, and cut off the front and top panels, leaving them attached to each other.

Cut strips of scrap paper just a bit smaller than the cardboard and staple to the inside, leaving a small flap at the top.  Fold pages to line up with the outerwrap fold.

Put a strip of tape along the flap to reinforce it and punch a hole in the center.  Add a piece of yarn, string, twine, or ric-rac (it kind of looks like a ramen noodle,) through the hole and tie a knot, leaving the ends free.



Fold up your booklet, and wrap the string around it to keep it closed, and tuck in a small (putt-putt golf) pencil.

Perfect for grocery lists, doodles, and reminders to buy more ramen noodles.

Review: The Little Red Book of Wisdom

The Little Red Book of Wisdom offers time-tested principles for professional and personal fulfillment.

Mark DeMoss gathers insights for living wisely from history, Scripture, and a lifetime of listening. The result is a handy, accessible book that gives readers a new way to enjoy lasting success in the work world and beyond. Topics include finding and keeping your focus in life, building a winning corporate culture, and setting aside time for good thinking.

   When I graduated from high school, I would have loved to have The Little Red Book of Wisdom to bring along with me to college.  Mark DeMoss's book would make the perfect graduation gift for anyone moving on to the next phase of his or her life.  As a parent, I will take his advice to heart when teaching my own children about the important things in life.  DeMoss demonstrates that true success is found in living a life with integrity and simplicity while following Biblical principles and common sense.

   Each short chapter of The Little Red Book of Wisdom features an anecdote from the author's own experiences, making the book feel almost like a father passing along wisdom to his child.  But, anyone will benefit from the advice given in this book:  learning to live each moment as if it could be your last, valuing relationships above money, the power of understatement, telling the truth, and "learning to listen more than you speak."  My favorite advice in this book is in the chapter "And Another Thing..." where the author says, "we can't control the rain; we can pull out an umbrella.  We can't control a harsh work leveld at us; we can return with a soft answer."  Focus on the things we can control in life, and hand the rest over to God, live a life with purpose and integrity and keep our eyes on the end result, and most of all, choose to live a life with no fear of deathbed regrets.

{ The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through BookSneeze®, but the honest opinions I have given are my own.}

DIY: Upcycled/Recycled Coffee Cans

  
   Most of the coffee I buy comes in bags, but whenever we buy coffee at Target, the can is the prize.  So, I'm dreaming of ways to reuse it since we have enough pencil holders for now--oh, the possibilities...
  

Coffee Can Birdhouse

Coffee Can Lamp



Homemade Ice Cream in a Can




Coffee Can Bread

Coffee Can Jack-o'-Lanterns



Container Garden

On our bookshelf

  
   We just discovered this book at our local used bookstore, and my 7-year-old can't get enough of it.  This volume includes three stories, and there is something to do at the end of each two-page section.  Some of the "puzzles" involve putting the parts of a story in the correct order or looking for a hidden object in the picture.  There are mazes and riddles, maps and logic problems, and all kinds of goodness in this book.  J-man is perfecting his reading comprehension skills, learning sequencing, plot, and main idea, finding context clues, and having a great time, too.

   From my search on the web, I discovered that there are many more books in this series, but many are out of print :(

   If you are fortunate enough to stumble upon one, your littles will hopefully love it as much as mine does.

DIY: Upcycled/Recycled Summer Scrapbooks

   I love to scrapbook, but between homeschooling three different grade levels and getting dinner on the table, I have fallen WAY behind.  I have done this project with my boys several times so they can create their own scrapbooks to chronicle some of their interests and adventures.  These are a great way to document field trips, vacations, family reunions, sports, and hobbies.  You'll be amazed at what your kids (of all ages) come up with using things headed for the trash can.  When we go on field trips,  my boys tell me what they want me to take photos of, or I hand them the camera and let them click away.  I print the photos wallet-sized on glossy paper so a bunch will fit on the same page. 

Materials used:

Sturdy cardboard cut from empty boxes
Leftover scrapbook supplies (stickers, papers, yarn, letters, etc.)
Clothing tags, discarded file folders
Rubber stamps/ink/paint
Glue sticks
Stapler
Hole punch
Twine
Binder rings
Scissors
Paper cutter or ruler

"g" is for goat, plus a pocket page for the zoo brochure.

   I help the kids cut out their cardboard covers, and once they've chosen the papers they want to use, we cut them all out assembly line style.  Although these journals can be any size, when working with all of my boys at once, I have found it easiest to make the covers and pages all the same size so we don't have to measure over and over again.  If you don't have a paper trimmer, older kids can do the measuring and marking on the papers before cutting them out.  We use whatever leftover cardstock, scrapbook papers, gift-wrap, magazine/catalog pages, and envelopes (saved from junk mail) we have on hand.  The one rule we follow is not to purchase anything new to make these.   Cutting out all the pages is the most time-consuming part--you may want to have this done in advance for younger kids.  Don't bind the pages yet.

Fantasy locker room.

   Once the pages are cut, the kids plan out their theme, choose their photos and embellishments, and get busy putting it all together.  Papers are glued onto the cardboard covers, and inside pages are glued together back-to-back.  The kids love getting to experiment with rub-ons, stickers, rubber stamps, paint dabbers, staples, etc. as they journal, create collages, and arrange their photos.

   Once all the pages are done, place them in order, line them up to punch the holes, and add twine or binder rings to hold them together.  Easy-peasy, and so much more precious than scrapbook pages I could make myself.

   {These also make wonderful grandparent gifts.}



Anything goes...




Priceless keepsakes



History/Geography Curriculum Resource

Map Trek: World + U.S.A.
Hardcover Atlas + Outline Maps on CD-ROM
The Complete Collection of Historical Maps

   How about a giveaway to help you get ready for the new school year, which is quickly approaching?

   If you homeschool, this will be such a valuable addition to your resources for all ages, and if you have kids who attend school outside the home, this will be a great helper for homework and special projects.

   Knowledge Quest is generously offering a  Map Trek:  World and USA Hardcover Atlas and Outline Maps on CD-ROM ($55 value!) to one of my readers.

   This set includes a hardcover book and a CD-ROM to make printing easy.  All-in-all, you will get:

276 Full-color teacher answer maps.

270 Blank outline maps for the student.

Instructions for how to use these maps

15 Grid Maps

10 Blank Grids

Lesson Plans

Glossary of terms

3 Bonus Map Sets

650 total pages

   To enter, visit the Knowledge Quest site, and then come back here and leave a comment on this post telling me why you would like to win this book and CD set.  For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway and leave me an additional comment with a link to your post.  This is open to all, but if you live internationally, you will be responsible for a $20 shipping fee.  If you live in the US, the book and CD set will be shipped to you absolutely free.

  This giveaway is open until midnight EST, Friday, July 22, 2011.

  Please be sure to come back to see if you win--I will announce the winner on my blog, and you will need to contact me with your mailing information.

___________________________________________________________

Comments are now closed--winner will be announced this weekend.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

Curriculum Fair: Español-ish

Power-Glide Children's Spanish

Power-Glide Spanish

  To introduce my kids to a foreign language, I am using Power-Glide Spanish materials.  Over the past couple of years, Power-Glide has been revamped, but we are using the older materials which I bought used.  Because I don't have a strong foreign language background, I like the way this curriculum is organized, and the cds and workbooks walk you through everything, so your students can practically work indepedently.   Our set came with a poster of the Isla de Providencia which is the backdrop for the stories.  The boys can add stickers to the poster and color in the areas as they "travel" through the workbooks. The one addition we made to this was a good Spanish/English dictionary.  The program uses diglot weaves to immerse the learner in the language, and we are finding the dictionary useful with the older level program.  My boys and I are enjoying the format of this program, and the cds are done well, with background sounds and high quality vocals, making them a pleasure to follow along.

   To peak the interest of my youngest and add some more fun to our language-learning, I'm using these books:

Our El Pato Paco book came with a cassette.



Monkey and Me came in a box of Cheerios...



so did Sleepy Head,

and What's Under the Bed?

We love Rosie's Walk and were excited to find the Spanish version.

Another Cheerios prize.

  I'm also going to be on the lookout for more books like these when we visit the used bookstore and the library.  I want the boys to gain an appreciation for Spanish while having a gentle introduction to it during these years before high school, and it's fun to try it out when we go out for Mexican food (our favorite!)