 Can you infer? Are you good at inferring things? Can you read between the lines? Some people are really good at understanding inferences, and others are not. When people don't read between the lines well, it can cause some major communication problems to crop up. I thought it was important for me to cover this topic with my youngest. Even though she's in the 6th grade, I wanted to see how well she was doing at making accurate inferences in her reading. Was she truly comprehending what she was reading? Or was she not quite reading between the lines as well as I thought she needed to be at her age?  When Inference Jones: Beginning came in the mail, I glanced through it, and my first thought was, "Yes! This is going to be very easy to implement and see how she does with inferences!" The introductory notes were very simple to read through together, and then I had Brittany begin working through the first lesson. Because she's a quick reader, it didn't take her very long at all. As we corrected the assignment together, we both noticed that a few things she and I would have selected were actually wrong. This was a great way to practice the skill of inference and see when to use it - and when not to. As Brittany worked through lesson after lesson, they quickly became easier for her. She began to receive 100% on all of her lesson assignments! Yes, part of this is because she is a bit older than the target age, but also, she began to quickly understand the key concepts in making proper inferences. This is a very simple product to use, and I'm so glad we received it for review! I highly recommend everything we've ever used from The Critical Thinking Company. This company had great products available when I was teaching in the public schools, and many of them easily transfer to the homeschooling community as well. As a side note: Inference Jones: Beginning has a readability level appropriate for grades 3-4 but can also be used as a remedial resource for older students (grades 5-12+). Inference Jones costs $11.99 at the time of this review. You may also look at a couple of sample pages at the link, above. Check out what other TOS Crew members thought of Inference Jones!
Disclaimer: I received one copy of Inference Jones: Beginning as a member of the TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review of this product. No other compensation was provided.
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 Science, for our family, has meant more hands-on fun for everyone! We haven't always been consistent in our science studies, although in the last couple of years, things have gone much better. It's not that we haven't thoroughly studied science concepts; it's just that we've not studied science in a systematic manner.  We received these fun and easy-to-use science DVDs to review in our family, and I just have to say that the experiments that were chosen to include with this are so much fun! Brittany is our hands-on, fun science girl of the family, and she has always enjoyed science. I couldn't wait for her to take a look at these DVDs! Here's a quick preview at some of the experiments that are on the two DVDs: When we first started playing the first DVD, the girls immediately said, "It's the MathTutor guy!" And yes, this is Jason, who also sells Math Tutor DVDs. The filming, editing, and work on this video was done well. This wasn't a lame movie made in someone's backyard. We were impressed with the quality of the content and the form. We did notice that Jason tended to be repetitive at times, restating concepts numerous times in only slightly different ways, as if he was nervous about having the lesson be too short in length. But other than that, we liked the videography, the science concepts that were introduced, and the ease of using this as part of a science program in our home. (My girls are videography snobs, since one of them makes her own movies several times a week, so that fact that they liked the videography in this DVD series impressed me!) If you'd like to learn more about www.ScienceAndMath.com's new science DVDs, you can look here for a lot of science hands-on fun! Here are the experiments that you'll see in these two DVDs:
The Amazing Science DVD, Volume 1 costs $19.95; the download price is $17.99. If you'd like to have a supplies list to print out for these DVDs, Ami from Walking In the Way.com has prepared a list and has received permission from the publisher for others to print it out!   Want to read some more opinions and reviews of the Amazing Science DVDs? Check out what other TOS Crew members have to say!
Disclosure: I received one copy of the Amazing Science DVD, Volume 1 as a Member of the TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review of this product. No other compensation was provided.  Here's a sweet and delicious homemade treat that I rediscovered a couple of months ago from a favorite muffin cookbook of mine! I haven't yet tried making this with whole wheat pastry flour, but I don't think it would be as light and fluffy as with white flour. I know, some of you prefer to never use white flour, but our family uses it sparingly, on occasion, for just a few recipes each year. Lemon Tea Muffins 2 cups flour ½ cup lemon juice 2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts ½ tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. light brown sugar 1 cup margarine or butter, softened 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 cup sugar 4 eggs, separated Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add egg yolks; beat until light. Gradually stir in lemon juice alternately with dry ingredients (do not overmix). In small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 egg whites into batter; fold in remaining egg whites. Fill paper-lined or greased (2½”) muffin cups 3/4 full. In another small bowl, combine remaining ingredients; sprinkle evenly over muffins. Bake 15-20 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve warm. Makes about 18 muffins. From The Muffin Cookbook: Muffins for All Occasions EnJOY!
 So, THIS is what happens when my 14-year-old, Kelsi, has too much time on her hands...and knows how to use Photoshop! Nightmare? Or not? She does have a sword in her hand. Hmm. Maybe this is actually a dream come true for her! What do you think? Shall we take a vote? Nightmare? Or Dream Come True?
 I hated history. As a child. As a teen. And as a college student. Now, we've taught our children to not say "hate" unless it is regarding something evil and worthy of that word, so please don't be "hateful" and think that we talk like this all the time! Growing up, though, I had little discretion on when and where it was appropriate to use the word "hate." And history was nearly at the top of my "hate list." Why? Because I had a really hard time memorizing dates, places, and names of people. And history was taught by reading boring chapters and answering questions at the end of the chapter, followed by a hard test. And that was what learning history was all about, right? Ugh. I even flunked my first midterm in college, in my Bible history class, because we were supposed to list all of the Old Testament kings and prophets in order, chronologically. Except that the prof never mentioned we'd ever need to know that information or do that in order. I barely escaped passing the class with a D. Sigh. So when my girls were much younger, and we were going to be just starting out learning history, I knew I wanted to do something different than how I learned in school. But what? I hated history, after all, and didn't look forward to teaching it to the girls.  Brittany and Kelsi in 2007 I did, however, enjoy reading historical fiction, starting around my junior high school years. Hmm. Maybe we could choose a curriculum that included lots of literature books. After lots of searching online, dial-up internet, no less, I found a curriculum that would meet our needs. And we have loved it, over the years! It wasn't TruthQuest History, although I did take a quick glance at their online sample all those years ago. This spring, however, I've had the opportunity to use and review TruthQuest History with our family, as a part of The Old Schoolhouse (TOS) Crew. We were able to select which era of time we wanted to use and review. Since I am currently beta testing another history curriculum in great depth, I decided to select Age of Revolutions III (1865-2000) because this selection would easily accompany the era we were already learning about at home. 
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Disclosure: I received a PDF version of the TruthQuest History Guide: Age of Revolutions, Volume 3 in exchange for an honest review of this product. No other compensation was provided.
LOVE’S SACRED SONG
by Mesu Andrews
A love story about King Solomon, in the old days of Israel.
A love story about the little Shumenite woman who knew from her early childhood that she would one day be his bride.
A story woven with the intricacies of court life in and out of a harem, the political picture of the time, and the many underlying schemes which always go along with people who want to sway a king to their own opportunities.
A very powerful story with a definite basis in the Bible (especially in the books of Samuel, Chronicles, Kings, and of course, Song of Solomon in the Old Testament).
Sometimes it is difficult to see how God is working in our lives, but this story makes it clear that even though we cannot see His way, we should abide by His commands and promises and let Him do His work. The little shepherdess, Arielah, captures the promises of her Lord and never gives up on His promises to her. This is a woman raised by very godly parents who also know the promise and do their part to fulfill it.
Many interesting facts of life during that time are made known, and it is eye-opening to come to an understanding of all the intrigue and mystery going on amongst the leaders and even the lowliest of citizens during the time of Solomon. He, indeed, was a wise man, as wisdom was the gift given him by the Lord, but he was also a man and one who made many mistakes.
Though Love's Sacred Song is a work of fiction with a basis in the truth of the Bible, it is wonderful to have this part of history brought to life in such an interesting and loving way.
by Mesu Andrews
A love story about King Solomon, in the old days of Israel.
A love story about the little Shumenite woman who knew from her early childhood that she would one day be his bride.
A story woven with the intricacies of court life in and out of a harem, the political picture of the time, and the many underlying schemes which always go along with people who want to sway a king to their own opportunities.
A very powerful story with a definite basis in the Bible (especially in the books of Samuel, Chronicles, Kings, and of course, Song of Solomon in the Old Testament).
Sometimes it is difficult to see how God is working in our lives, but this story makes it clear that even though we cannot see His way, we should abide by His commands and promises and let Him do His work. The little shepherdess, Arielah, captures the promises of her Lord and never gives up on His promises to her. This is a woman raised by very godly parents who also know the promise and do their part to fulfill it.
Many interesting facts of life during that time are made known, and it is eye-opening to come to an understanding of all the intrigue and mystery going on amongst the leaders and even the lowliest of citizens during the time of Solomon. He, indeed, was a wise man, as wisdom was the gift given him by the Lord, but he was also a man and one who made many mistakes.
Though Love's Sacred Song is a work of fiction with a basis in the truth of the Bible, it is wonderful to have this part of history brought to life in such an interesting and loving way.
About the author:
 | Mesu Andrews is also the author of Love Amid the Ashes and is an active speaker who has devoted herself to passionate and intense study of Scripture. Harnessing her deep understanding and love for God's Word, Andrews brings the biblical world vividly alive for her readers. She lives in Washington. |
Available March 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
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Disclaimer: I received one paperback copy of Love's Sacred Song from Baker/Revell Publishing in exchange for an honest review of this book. No other compensation was provided.
Okay.
Let's be honest here.
How many of you have stashed something away for Christmas, as a gift for someone you love, and you forget about it?
Then, when you're cleaning out your bedroom closet, or dusting up high, or looking for something that you know is stored under your bed, you find it?
That's what happened to me this week.
Only it wasn't a gift that had been secretly stored away.
It was a beautiful DVD set that I had been sent to review, clear back in November.
Oops!
How could I have missed writing this in on my calendar?
Let's be honest here.
How many of you have stashed something away for Christmas, as a gift for someone you love, and you forget about it?
Then, when you're cleaning out your bedroom closet, or dusting up high, or looking for something that you know is stored under your bed, you find it?
That's what happened to me this week.
Only it wasn't a gift that had been secretly stored away.
It was a beautiful DVD set that I had been sent to review, clear back in November.
Oops!
How could I have missed writing this in on my calendar?
Imagine my surprise when I found this as I was cleaning up the computer desk. I'll admit it - it was buried under a pile of papers and "important" documents on my desk. So important that I hadn't gone through them in obviously a few months.
Uh-oh!
Journey to Christmas is a fascinating “reality show meets documentary” that follows five modern explorers as they trace the story of Jesus’ birth on site in the Holy Land. Filmed in Israel, this four-episode production guides viewers on a remarkable journey through the culture, history, people, and archaeology surrounding the Nativity story.
Using a reality show format, the four episodes chronicle the diverse experiences of the five travelers: an agnostic political analyst, a First Nations youth worker, a Christian singer, an artist, and a boisterous radio talk show host. They discover the history of Christmas through on-site experiences in the Holy Land. Viewers will follow them as they explore ancient ruins relevant to Christ’s birth and ministry, learn archaeological and historical context surrounding the Nativity, and even perform ancient carpentry that Jesus practiced.
Culminating with Christmas day in Bethlehem, the journey is guided by a local Christian historian (Nizar Shaheen) with on-camera commentary from a team of Bible experts. Stunning high-definition cinematography, exotic locations, and enlightening commentary make Journey to Christmas perfect holiday entertainment for the family. The discussion guide included in the DVD menu makes it a wonderful small group and church resource for the Advent season.
My take on Journey to Christmas?
Well, I think the five people selected for this DVD set/reality television documentary accurately represent many people in Christian churches in the United States today. Lots of agnosticism; many people who aren't sure what they believe or who they believe in; others who say they need to experience a miracle or mighty touch from God in order to believe in Him; even more who learned about Christ as a child, and maybe even prayed a prayer, but it hasn't had an impact on their lives as adults.
The cinematography is fabulous. The geographical and cultural visits throughout this movie are beautiful and inspiring. I would add, though, that not much Scripture is shared in this movie, and it has been filmed more for "seekers" rather than those who have a solid faith in Jesus Christ.
You can find this movie here at Christian Book.com, as well as many other online and local bookstores. The Journey to Christmas is an inspiring movie, especially for those who haven't seen or learned much about the culture and geography of the Holy Land.
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Disclaimer: Tyndale Publishers has provided me with a complimentary DVD set of The Journey to Christmas, in exchange for my honest review of this product here on my website. No other compensation has been provided.
Hi! I'm Julieanne!
You'll find me in the kitchen
trying new Trim Healthy Mama recipes, loving God, and carrying out that love as I bless my husband and teen daughters.
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