 God's Creation, the universe, stars, suns, planets, rocks & minerals, weather, plants and animals and the human body...can you imagine studying all of these subjects with your children at home - and having tons of fun doing this? Eagle's Wings has developed an easy-to-use science curriculum with homeschooling parents in mind! . . . written with the homeschool parent in mind . . . Would you believe that many public elementary school classrooms don't study science during the school year? I thought that was very curious when I was teaching in the public schools. And as I've talked with children in my church and in other social situations, they've told me the same thing. They rarely study science and history in their classrooms anymore. How sad! The study of the world around us is a natural outlet for hands-on learning. So why would so many elementary school teachers set their science texts aside and ignore them? My biggest challenge in teaching science well in my public school classrooms was that I was only provided with $60 to use for the entire year for supplies for science experiments, art projects, and the like. With around 30 students in my class each year, I only had $2 per child to spend for extra supplies beyond tempera paint, construction paper, and a few other things that were automatically ordered for us each year. Since we didn't have computers in our classrooms back then, and I didn't have my own computer at home, nor did the Internet really exist, I had few resources to enhance our dry textbook approach to science without spending a lot of my own money. I've noticed that some homeschooling families set aside science studies, as well. Why is this? What is it about science that terrifies many trained teachers as well as parents? Maybe it's because in the last couple of generations, the focus in science studies in the school system has swung away from our natural world around us to encourage introductions to chemistry, physics, and other more challenging sciences. Maybe it's because, in the past, women haven't been encouraged to enter fields of science, and many public elementary school teachers are women. The only real science studies I remember doing in the elementary school years was in the 1st grade. Mrs. Arnold helped us study birds and develop a love for all winged creatures. But other than that, I know we read through chapters of science textbooks a few times, but no experiments were ever done, no hands-on science completed in my elementary school years. What a shame! When you read through the Little House on the Prairie books, and watch movies which take place in the 1800s to mid-1900s, you'll see that frequently, those one-room schoolhouse students spent quite a bit of time outdoors, studying nature and the world around them.  For the last 24 years, Eagle's Wings has been providing home schooling families with curricula to meet their needs. In 1987, two home schooling families launched Eagle's Wings Educational Materials from their homes. Their goal was to provide the home schooling community with materials designed to help busy parents stimulate their children's thinking, creativity, and learning. We've used Considering God's Creation for our science studies, and we loved it! We weren't able to complete the entire book, but this is a fabulous, inexpensive curriculum that works very well in the home. Considering God's Creation: Biblical As you can probably tell from its title, this is a biblically-based science curriculum. Since I enjoy using science texts that combine God's Word with accurate science principles, I appreciate this! Especially for younger children in the lower elementary school years, they don't need to be inundated with the theory of evolution and other theories that can wait until a child is older. Considering God's Creation: Hands-on In our studies with Considering God's Creation, not only is this a fun curriculum, but it is also very hands-on. If you have children who enjoy activities, being outside with nature, or cutting/coloring/gluing to make a 3-D notebook, this will work well for your family! Considering God's Creation: Creative! Considering God's Creation is a creative, in-depth encounter with natural science from a biblical perspective. The children listen to interesting lessons read by the parent, are involved in hands-on experiments and activities, and do fun "lapbooking" types of 3-D paper projects that fill up a notebook with some great material to show to grandma and grandpa later on! We have really enjoyed using Considering God's Creation.  The student workbook for Considering God's Creation is 190 pages of well-designed activities to demonstrate knowledge of what has been taught, or to help learn new scientific principles and ideas. We found that none of these pages were what I would call "busy work." They just weren't. What you are seeing here is a sample of the "Scientist Detective" pages which are used to help summarize the biographies of various scientists over time. Here are some photos of the human body we've been working on using Considering God's Creation materials:     The human body systems are really fun to study and learn about by using Considering God's Creation! What a neat project to show a friend or relative at the end of the school year! Each lesson contains new vocabulary to discuss, an introduction for the parent to share with the children, a song or poem (with an audio CD to accompany it), an activity, a notebook project, a Bible reading, an "Evolution Stumper", review questions, and the "Digging Deeper" section. Considering God's Creation: Flexible While Considering God's Creation is designed for children from 2nd through 7th grades, it is easily adapted to older and younger ages. For the younger student, it's not difficult to read aloud the lessons with slightly simpler wording to meet your child's learning level. Younger children may need a bit of help cutting out the paper projects, but they can still learn a lot with this program. Each lesson also provides "Digging Deeper" suggestions to challenge those students who need more. Suggested books to read, ideas to research and write about, crossword review pages, field trip suggestions, and websites to view are offered for students who are ready to look deeper into the topic being studied.  Considering God's Creation: Inexpensive Since Considering God's Creation can be used over a one year time frame or be stretched to as long as three years' use, it is very economical. The activities and experiments are designed to use things you already have around the home, so it's easy to gather up the supplies you'll need for each lesson.  The teacher's manual is 128 pages in length, containing the lessons, activities, instructions for all paper projects, and answer key for written work.  The student book contains all of the paper projects and activities for all lessons. While the student book is 272 pages in length, many of these pages are one-sided so that the student can cut out the 3-D projects to add to his or her notebook or binder. While Eagle's Wings gives families permission to photocopy the student workbook for each individual child in the family or the classroom, there are over 190 pages that would need to be photocopied. Since an additional workbook is only $13.95, it is quite economical to go ahead and purchase a workbook for each student. Where I live, the main office supply stores charge 8-9 cents per page for photocopying, and it will take a long time to photocopy that many pages. Unless you can photocopy pages much cheaper on your own printer at home or somewhere else, and you have a lot of extra time to be making all of those copies, I'd recommend just purchasing a workbook for each child in your family.  Basically, for $29.95, this small purchase will provide your family with wonderfully fun science lessons for one to three years, depending on how quickly or in-depth you move through the lessons! Oh, and an audio CD is also provided with the Teacher's Guide so that each lesson's songs or poems can be listened to in your own home. We LOVED using Considering God's Creation! The only one thing that I could suggest here to do differently with this neat science curriculum is to consider checking out a few library books that contain colorful photos or pictures, to illustrate what is being discussed, if you have visual learners. Or, you could get onto Wikipedia or Google and find photos and graphics ahead of time that would enhance your studies. While the student notebook contains paper projects that are to be colored in with colored pencils, the teacher's guide has no photos or pictures in it, really. Some children may really prefer having a color diagram of different types of rocks and minerals, or the food chain, or a human embryo. My other suggestion is purchase some decent quality watercolor pencils for your children to use to assist them in coloring in the paper 3-D projects. I'd avoid Crayola or RoseArt, and instead use a coupon at one of your local craft and sewing/art supply stores to purchase a higher-quality set of colored watercolor pencils for your children to use. Their projects will turn out much better, and they will enjoy the experience of using colored pencils that don't scratch the paper or make irritating sounds and squeaks. Of course, since those pencils aren't a dime a dozen, you'll probably want a hand sharpener to sharpen those pencils without wearing them down to stubs! You can visit the website for some samples from the 272-page student book, or to listen to some excerpts from the CD included in the teacher book. You can also view frequently asked questions about Considering God's Creation. You may also find it helpful to read other TOS Crew reviews of this same product. I think you'll find that it was a favorite with many families!   Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the Teacher and Student manuals plus the audio CD for the purpose of writing an unbiased, honest review. All opinions are solely my own. No other compensation was provided.
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 Today, when I was ordering a few Awana award pins and supplies for my church's Awana kids' club, I noticed that Awana is now providing a FREE app for download to the iPhone, iPad, or any Android-capable device to share the Gospel! What an excellent and relevant idea, to have a solid, biblical, personal way to help communicate your faith with people you come across in your everyday life, when you may or may not have a Bible on hand. This "Gospel Wheel" app includes three different versions so you can modify the Gospel presentation for adults, teens, or children. When I see helpful apps like this, I sometimes wish to have the type of phone that would handle this. I am blessed to have a cell phone, but it is a TracFone, so I'm not able to use things like this on my cell phone. That's okay. For 2,000 years, a cellphone wasn't needed to share the Gospel with others! But this looks like a neat resource for many people to have available on their phones. You can learn more about this new app by viewing this YouTube video! If you have any difficulties or questions about using this app or getting it downloaded, you can check HERE for help. EnJOY!    It's official. The extravagant and beautiful marriage ceremony of Prince William and Catherine Middleton has concluded, and they are now known to the world as man and wife. Congratulations, |
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| This free photo collage made with Smilebox |
Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
I know this will embarrass my mom, Julie, but I don't care. I love her very much, and I want to share a little bit with you about my mom, not only because it's Mother's Day, but also because she's such an important part of my life!
When my mom was a little girl, she began longing for a family of her own someday. She always imagined she'd have twins; she'd pretend with her dolls that she had twins of her own.
My mom grew up, graduated from college, and met and married my dad. My parents moved to New Zealand before my TWIN sister and I were born. Yes, I said, "TWIN!" God heard the prayers of a little girl and answered those prayers, as He often does, with the birth of multiples. Well, God always answers our prayers, but sometimes it's not with the answer we had hoped to hear. This time, it was in the affirmative x 2!
My mom was very organized and efficient back then, and she managed twins very well. To her, every day was a delight! She smiled at us - and still does - so often. We knew that we were the apple of her eye! And when our baby brother, Bryan, came along, she felt very fulfilled with having her boy and girls.
I remember Mom speaking about us in a positive light frequently. As we were growing up, she would often talk about the great strengths we had and the neat parts of our personalities that she loved. I always felt very loved in a warm and encouraging way. Without her having to push or challenge us, we were willing to try new things because we felt secure in her love.
We were blessed to have Mom home with us, full time, until the economic crisis of the early 1980s forced her to begin working outside of the home.
Was the house less organized after she went to work full time?
Meals less prepared from scratch?
Fewer clothes sewn for us?
The cookie box filled with dry, store-bought cookies?
When my mom was a little girl, she began longing for a family of her own someday. She always imagined she'd have twins; she'd pretend with her dolls that she had twins of her own.
My mom grew up, graduated from college, and met and married my dad. My parents moved to New Zealand before my TWIN sister and I were born. Yes, I said, "TWIN!" God heard the prayers of a little girl and answered those prayers, as He often does, with the birth of multiples. Well, God always answers our prayers, but sometimes it's not with the answer we had hoped to hear. This time, it was in the affirmative x 2!
My mom was very organized and efficient back then, and she managed twins very well. To her, every day was a delight! She smiled at us - and still does - so often. We knew that we were the apple of her eye! And when our baby brother, Bryan, came along, she felt very fulfilled with having her boy and girls.
I remember Mom speaking about us in a positive light frequently. As we were growing up, she would often talk about the great strengths we had and the neat parts of our personalities that she loved. I always felt very loved in a warm and encouraging way. Without her having to push or challenge us, we were willing to try new things because we felt secure in her love.
We were blessed to have Mom home with us, full time, until the economic crisis of the early 1980s forced her to begin working outside of the home.
Was the house less organized after she went to work full time?
Meals less prepared from scratch?
Fewer clothes sewn for us?
The cookie box filled with dry, store-bought cookies?
No!
Her work day, including commuting time, was well over 9 hours per day, and yet she still kept the house organized, taught us how to cook and prepare dinners with her carefully written instructions personalized at our own skill level, sewed all or most of our clothing (second-hand clothing stores really hadn't been available yet), made cookies for us each week for our lunches at school, and kept the house humming.
When my sis and I were in the 9th grade, we learned that a friend of ours from school was about to be placed into the foster care system with her younger brother and sister. We pleaded with Mom: could we bring them into our home so they could all stay together? We prayed and talked about this a lot, and Mom and Dad agreed that we would enlarge our family by another three people. It wasn't an easy path; we were challenged to live out our faith in our own home. We didn't always make it easy for Mom and Dad and the three foster siblings, because we were used to doing things our own family's way, and to bring in jr. high and high schoolers into our home who had lived in a different way was very hard for us. Mom and Dad prayed with us and helped us work through some tough days.
Much of who I am today can be credited to my mom. She taught me to cook and sew, to care for my own home, to decorate cakes and enjoy crafts, and to begin playing piano.
She encouraged me to follow my interests and dreams. Despite having limited income in our high school years, she encouraged my sister and I to plan to attend college. "God will make it possible if He wants you there," she would say. And He did. We were both able to attend private colleges of our choice, graduating with very little debt compared to many of our peers.
She encouraged me to follow my interests and dreams. Despite having limited income in our high school years, she encouraged my sister and I to plan to attend college. "God will make it possible if He wants you there," she would say. And He did. We were both able to attend private colleges of our choice, graduating with very little debt compared to many of our peers.
My twin sister and I both became elementary school teachers. At the beginning of each school year, both my mom and dad would come down to my classroom during the week or two before school began, and they would help me set up my room. They made bulletin boards, labeled file folders, organized textbooks, and so much more. I will always be grateful for their help at such a busy time of year.
When I was preparing to marry my sweetheart, Elmer, my mom began sewing my wedding dress and the bridesmaid and flower girl dresses. She never complained about all of the extra work I was adding into her busy life. She enjoyed helping to make our wedding day extra special.
When our babies were born, Mom was there to help me and pray for me during their deliveries. She sewed clothes, burp rags (those were the best!), and did whatever she could to help me transition from being a DINK (double income, no kids) to a full time mother.
My ministry as a mother to my own children has been much easier because of the godly example that my mom set for me. I owe her so much - I can never fully express in words how much I love her. Love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!
Love,
Julieanne
When our babies were born, Mom was there to help me and pray for me during their deliveries. She sewed clothes, burp rags (those were the best!), and did whatever she could to help me transition from being a DINK (double income, no kids) to a full time mother.
My ministry as a mother to my own children has been much easier because of the godly example that my mom set for me. I owe her so much - I can never fully express in words how much I love her. Love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!
Love,
Julieanne
When I was growing up, I only read a few older books which were owned by my parents or were available in my school library. Most everything I read was much more modern. If it hadn't been for reading out of a King James Bible, I might have had a tough time reading Shakespeare or other similar books in high school.
I didn't necessarily care very much for older books when I was younger. I think a lot of that stemmed from not being introduced to many older styles of writing until I was in my last two years of high school.
But now as an adult, I really enjoy reading older books! In fact, one of my favorite books is going on 100 years old, and I enjoy it immensely.
When I heard that I might have the opportunity to use and review 225 older books via eBook format, I was excited! Then, I looked at the titles being offered. I knew that some of these books were already available at no cost on the internet already, so I wasn't sure how I was going to review this eBook company, Yesterday's Classics, if they were charging money for what I could already obtain on the internet for no charge.
But now as an adult, I really enjoy reading older books! In fact, one of my favorite books is going on 100 years old, and I enjoy it immensely.
When I heard that I might have the opportunity to use and review 225 older books via eBook format, I was excited! Then, I looked at the titles being offered. I knew that some of these books were already available at no cost on the internet already, so I wasn't sure how I was going to review this eBook company, Yesterday's Classics, if they were charging money for what I could already obtain on the internet for no charge.
Yesterday's Classics sells over
22 genres of books in both paperback and eBook formats.
Here is a brief sample of some
of the titles that
Yesterday's Classics publishes:
I had to smile when I saw a few of the titles available from Yesterday's Classics. I actually already owned three of their paperback books; I purchased these to use with Tapestry of Grace curriculum!
Yesterday's Classics republishes classic books for children from the golden age of children's literature, the era from 1880 to 1920. Many of the titles they offer have been out of print for decades and have been difficult to find.
My husband and I have encouraged our daughters to listen to old-fashioned radio programs which are now available via MP3 or CD. It took them a little while to get used to the more formal manner in which people spoke to each other fifty to one-hundred years ago, but now they enjoy most of the audios to which they listen.
I've tried to do much the same with the types of books that our girls have read. We've allowed them to read books "just for fun", and books that are more modern in their language style, but we've also encouraged them to read books that are deeper and more meaningful, and are written with more style and grace than many books these days.
When I received these 225 books downloaded from Yesterday's Classics, we didn't own a Kindle or EPUB type of eReader. That was fine; I'd installed the Kindle for PC application onto both of our computers, so we read through the clear directions that Yesterday's Classics provides and made sure we could read these new eBooks on both computers, if necessary.
I'm going to be honest with you. Yes, many of these older books are available for free online. However, some are not, or they can only be read online and not downloaded to my computer.
The eBooks from Yesterday's Classics are very nice and clean compared to many of the free books that I've downloaded over the years. The illustrations are clear, and the table of contents in each eBook is clickable so that you won't need to page through every page in a book to reach the place where you wanted to start reading. I have found that being able to use a clickable Table of Contents is invaluable! That alone makes Yesterday's Classics books worthwhile.
Many of the eBooks in their large list of 225 older books are used frequently for homeschooling curricula like Ambleside Online, Heart of Dakota, Living Books curriculum, Old Fashioned Education, Mater Amabilis, and Tapestry of Grace. To buy these 225 books separately in printed form would cost a lot more money than I have to spend on an entire school year of curriculum! It's such a great deal to be able to have excellent digital copies of 225 books like these for under 50 cents per book!
Yesterday's Classics republishes classic books for children from the golden age of children's literature, the era from 1880 to 1920. Many of the titles they offer have been out of print for decades and have been difficult to find.
My husband and I have encouraged our daughters to listen to old-fashioned radio programs which are now available via MP3 or CD. It took them a little while to get used to the more formal manner in which people spoke to each other fifty to one-hundred years ago, but now they enjoy most of the audios to which they listen.
I've tried to do much the same with the types of books that our girls have read. We've allowed them to read books "just for fun", and books that are more modern in their language style, but we've also encouraged them to read books that are deeper and more meaningful, and are written with more style and grace than many books these days.
When I received these 225 books downloaded from Yesterday's Classics, we didn't own a Kindle or EPUB type of eReader. That was fine; I'd installed the Kindle for PC application onto both of our computers, so we read through the clear directions that Yesterday's Classics provides and made sure we could read these new eBooks on both computers, if necessary.
I'm going to be honest with you. Yes, many of these older books are available for free online. However, some are not, or they can only be read online and not downloaded to my computer.
The eBooks from Yesterday's Classics are very nice and clean compared to many of the free books that I've downloaded over the years. The illustrations are clear, and the table of contents in each eBook is clickable so that you won't need to page through every page in a book to reach the place where you wanted to start reading. I have found that being able to use a clickable Table of Contents is invaluable! That alone makes Yesterday's Classics books worthwhile.
Many of the eBooks in their large list of 225 older books are used frequently for homeschooling curricula like Ambleside Online, Heart of Dakota, Living Books curriculum, Old Fashioned Education, Mater Amabilis, and Tapestry of Grace. To buy these 225 books separately in printed form would cost a lot more money than I have to spend on an entire school year of curriculum! It's such a great deal to be able to have excellent digital copies of 225 books like these for under 50 cents per book!
Yesterday's Classics has done something else that I really appreciate seeing on their products: a 100% risk-free guarantee. Since I was a bit wary of the clarity and professionalism in these eBooks, this would have allowed me to give it a try and to be able to get my money back if I had bought this set of books and had a problem with what I was viewing and reading.
One of my daughters won a Kindle about a month after I was able to download the 225 eBooks. We were thrilled to be able to transfer them to the Kindle and view them there as well. They are clear and easy to use on the Kindle.
In addition, my hard drive on my computer failed in the middle of using Yesterday's Classics eBooks. I was able to download the books again after contacting the company. Thank you, Yesterday's Classics, for your excellent customer service!
If you'd like to give a sample eBook a try from Yesterday's Classics, you can go HERE. You'll find the link to download The Dutch Twins for free, just to see how it works with your computer or your eReader or iPhone or iPhone Touch. The eBooks are DRM-free, so there's no problem with having them available on several computers and devices in your home.
Bottom line? We are thrilled to be able to have access to high quality e-formats of these classic books! The girls have already read through some nice and enjoyable books, and they are especially enjoying reading these classic books in eBook format on the Kindle.
I do have to say here that if your children are used to reading more "fluff" types of books, like most of the newer books available for children in the last 30-40 years, it may take some getting used to with classic children's literature. But a few read alouds to them, now and then, should help them turn the tide so that they'll more readily enjoy reading classic children's books.
Yesterday's Classics has announced that they are discounting their set of 225 classic eBooks for children to $99.95 through May 31st, 2011. This set normally costs $149.95, so it's nice that they are offering a sale price to families through the month of May.
To see what the rest of the Crew thinks about Yesterday's Classics, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog.
Have you viewed and read any of Yesterday's Classics in your home? If you have, what did you think about them? How did they compare to the regular, free versions that are available for some of these 225 titles? I hope you have enjoyed them as much as our family has!
One of my daughters won a Kindle about a month after I was able to download the 225 eBooks. We were thrilled to be able to transfer them to the Kindle and view them there as well. They are clear and easy to use on the Kindle.
In addition, my hard drive on my computer failed in the middle of using Yesterday's Classics eBooks. I was able to download the books again after contacting the company. Thank you, Yesterday's Classics, for your excellent customer service!
If you'd like to give a sample eBook a try from Yesterday's Classics, you can go HERE. You'll find the link to download The Dutch Twins for free, just to see how it works with your computer or your eReader or iPhone or iPhone Touch. The eBooks are DRM-free, so there's no problem with having them available on several computers and devices in your home.
Bottom line? We are thrilled to be able to have access to high quality e-formats of these classic books! The girls have already read through some nice and enjoyable books, and they are especially enjoying reading these classic books in eBook format on the Kindle.
I do have to say here that if your children are used to reading more "fluff" types of books, like most of the newer books available for children in the last 30-40 years, it may take some getting used to with classic children's literature. But a few read alouds to them, now and then, should help them turn the tide so that they'll more readily enjoy reading classic children's books.
Yesterday's Classics has announced that they are discounting their set of 225 classic eBooks for children to $99.95 through May 31st, 2011. This set normally costs $149.95, so it's nice that they are offering a sale price to families through the month of May.
To see what the rest of the Crew thinks about Yesterday's Classics, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog.
Have you viewed and read any of Yesterday's Classics in your home? If you have, what did you think about them? How did they compare to the regular, free versions that are available for some of these 225 titles? I hope you have enjoyed them as much as our family has!
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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