December Daily

  
   For the past few years, I have made a December Daily album.  Each year, I have made my album ahead of time and created a page for each day in December.  This is such a neat way to hold on to the memories of the season, and my kids love to look back on our past Christmas activities.  This year, I only managed to make my cover, but I have all the supplies I need to make the pages as I go.  I don't plan to document every single day of the month this time, but I'm going to see what I feel inspired to do.  It seems to me like time is flying by, and I want to maintain the perspective that this is for fun, not work.  Here's a peek at my front cover:

Now I just need to remember to get my camera out more often and start documenting our days.  The countdown begins tomorrow!

DIY: Holiday Cheer

Clove oranges

Happy Thanksgiving!

DIY: Thanksgiving for the Birds

   Taking advantage of our warm, sunny weather, we headed outside to make a Thanksgiving feast for the birds. 

   We used one of the small pumpkins the kids brought home from the pumpkin patch, cut off the top, and scooped out the seeds.

   Then all we had to do was cut some holes in the side with an apple corer, string some twine through to make a hanger, and add some seeds.  We'll be watching to see who discovers their feast.

Review: Bound for Glory

   Bound for Glory by Timothy Botts is a unique book which showcases a collection of his calligraphic paintings, visual interpretations of African American spiritual songs, along with reflective readings from Botts and African-American writer and speaker Patricia Raybon, lyrics from the spirituals, and Scripture verses from the New Living Translation.  This hardbound book is perfect for holiday gift-giving for anyone who loves music, art, and history.  It serves as both an art/history book and a meditative devotional.

  

 I was immediately struck by the colorful artwork and the unique style of the paintings.  Combining both words and pictures, Timothy Botts captures the essence of the verses he depicts.  I found myself spending time studying each picture and flipping from one to the next the first time I picked up the book, before reading the accompanying text.  Patricia Raybon's reflective readings give the reader even more to think about, and they enhance the artwork along with the Scripture verses and Botts' commentary on his inspiration for each picture.  The book is divided into sections on "The Bible Story," "Times of Trouble," "True Testimony," and "Heaven Bound," and includes a Scripture Index at the end. 

  

 Appropriate for all ages, this book will be used in our homeschool as we study American history.  My music lovers will appreciate that aspect of the book, the youngest will be struck by the colorful pictures, and all of us will learn more about our heritage.  This is one book that you can definitely "judge by its cover," as it begs to be picked up, and once you do, you won't be disappointed by what you find inside.

 

{The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.}

  

  

Review: Prairie Storms

   Today has been a stormy day here in our neck of the woods, so I pulled out Prairie Storms, and we read it together while we snuggled in and watched the weather from our window.  Another valuable resource from Sylvan-Dell, Prairie Storms follows the changing weather in the prairie during the year.  Each page highlights a month of the year and a weather pattern for that month, as the prairie animals prepare and adapt.  Not only does this book have beautiful color illustrations, but it is packed full of learning opportunities as well.  From drought to lightning, snow to hail, and tornadoes to flooding, this book covers the seasons.  Kids will learn about animals, grassland habitats, weather, months of the year, and seasonal changes. 

  

   Fantastic teaching activities are included at the end of the book as well as on the Sylvan-Dell website (a 52-page full-color guide,) making this more than just a picture book.  These resources provide activities in reading and language arts, science, math, and geography, and they offer quizzes, coloring pages, state standards, and links to additional website resources.  Prairie Storms is available in both print and ebook format.  We enjoyed it today while we learned about storms, and we will surely revisit it again and again.

{The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.}

Nature Exchange Send-off

  
   We're sending our treasures off to Illinois today.  We collected several things from our nature walks and were inspired to create a few things as well. 

Guest-posting today

   I'm guest-posting at New Leaf Publishing Group Blogs today.

Friday Photo: Fall Visitors

Nature Search

   We have joined the Nature Exchange at The Magnifying Glass, and we've almost collected everything we need for our swap buddies.  It's been fun to hunt treasures with a purpose, and the boys have found some interesting specimens to share.  So far, an abandoned wasp nest, a gall, goose feathers, a snail shell, a granite rock, and some pressed leaves.  We're still collecting, and we're also going to include a couple of postcards.

   The best part is taking time to enjoy the fall scenery where we live and taking advantage of the balmy weather.

Review: How Do We Know the Bible is True?

      How do we know the Bible is true?  Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge have edited a wonderful volume that addresses this issue with Biblical authority to better equip Christians to face the culture we are living in.  The essays in How Do We Know the Bible is True? address areas such as the reliability of scripture, miracles, salvation, poligamy, evolution, mythology, the age of the earth, and atheism.  Many questions both Christians and non-Christians have about these subjects and more are answered in these essays.  Popular culture topics such as The DaVinci Code are also addressed.  Because this book is labeled as "Volume 1," I assume there will be much more subject matter to come.

   My kids have learned so much from the "Answers" books by Ken Ham, and I was excited to get this one for myself.  I especially enjoyed the essays dealing with evolution and the age of the earth, as these are two issues that I have struggled with.  These notions are contradictory to everything I was taught in school, and I always felt an inner struggle with making what I was taught line up with what the Bible says is true.  I appreciate books such as Ken Ham's for giving me a resource to answer my own questions, as well as the questions my kids often pose.  If the Bible says that "God is the Creator of all things," then how could we have evolved over millions/billions of years?  The essay "How Can We Stand on Scripture in an Evolution-Pushing Culture?" by Jim Gardner, tackles this issue head-on:  "People need to understand that evolution is a worldview teaching that man got here without God being involved...Evolution is the foundation of humanism." 

   How Do We Know the Bible is True? is a reference book that I will return to many times, and I will look forward to the next volume.

{The publisher has provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.}

Remember Veteran's Day

http://www.va.gov/

Remember to thank a veteran this week!

Some things to do:

   Send a care package, letter, or postcard to a soldier.  Check AnySoldier.com to get an address.
   Download a free Veteran's Day Teacher's Guide to learn more about what Veteran's Day means, and a Save Our History teacher's guide and timeline from the National WWII Memorial.  
  
   Check out some books to share with your kids:

Strange Days Indeed

   A great thing about pets is the learning that happens along with having them.  We have two green anoles, and the male has been through a mishap involving his tail, the lid of the tank, and our fat cat.  His tail was hanging out the side of the roof, and he was on the bottom of the tank one morning.  Eeeew!!

   The amazing thing is that his tail is growing back, and he now has a little stubby stump.  We watched him shed his skin the other day, which was quite a long process.  We have a Green Anole guidebook, and any time anything happens, we look it up in the book.  The kids have learned to do research when they have questions, and they have become really good green anole owners.

Book Review: Heaven is for Real for Kids

   Heaven is for Real for Kids is based on the New York Times bestseller Heaven is for Real, the story of Colton Burpo's miraculous journey to heaven and back at the age of three.  This book for children presents Colton's message that heaven does exist, that God wants us all to go there one day, and that Jesus loves children.  Each part of Colton's story is illustrated in soft, soothing colors, and Bible references are included alongside Colton's retelling of his experience.  Parents will find answers in this book to questions often posed by young children about what heaven is like, and it provides a nice way to share heaven with children and open up lines to further discussions about what the Bible says is true.  It is also a gentle reminder to adults to come to God with childlike faith.  I think Heaven is for Real for Kids would be especially comforting to children who have experienced the loss of a loved one.  Colton's journey reassures us that what might be considered a frightening event is really a time to feel the peace and love that is in God.  It is best suited for preschool through early elementary ages.

{ 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.}