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I am Ruth ~ review

I am Ruth ~ review

If you were to ask me what my favorite bible story is, I would have to say Ruth.  Leaving her homeland, marrying and then losing her husband, father-in-law and brother-in-law and then staying with Naomi, it is a story of love and faithfulness.  The commitment that she makes to her mother-in-law, to stay with her and to serve her God, shows courage and strength.  So, when they asked if we would like to review the book, I am Ruth, I counted down the days until it arrived.

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As the front of the books says, it is a story of Loss, Love and Redemption and it is one that I enjoy reading over and over. I am Ruth is a beautiful book that has been published by New Leaf Publishing Group.  The author Brenda Duff shares the whole book of Ruth from the bible throughout this book.  In between the scripture she weaves words that bring the story to life.  This book truly takes you back to the time of Ruth.

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Another amazing element of the book is the photography by Kenneth Berg.  The pictures that he took, really bring the story of Ruth alive.  They capture the beauty, the love, the loss and yes, the redemption of those in, I am Ruth.  The pictures I am sharing, that I took of the book, just does not do it justice.  I am truly having a hard time describing the beauty, the accuracy that the pictures bring to this book.  They really will take your breath away.

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Since I have told you how much I love this book, let me tell you a little more about the details of the book.  I am Ruth is a hardback book that has 96 pages of beautiful words and pictures.  It is 9 x9 in size, with the pages being very sturdy for little hands to be able to flip through the pages.  As I mentioned before, it is published by New Leaf Publishing Group, where you can also purchase it from, for $17.99.  You can also buy the digital version for $9.99.  Be sure to watch the video about the book here.  You can also check what other reviewers are saying about I am Ruth, HERE.

 

How would you like to win a I am Ruth book?

Be sure to come to the Book and a Treat Party that is hosted by Master Books!  The party will be held on September 24th from 8-9pm, CDT!  It will be held on the Master Books Facebook Page.  No only will you have a chance to win a I am Ruth book, you will also have a chance to win a gift from our sponsor of the party, Every Good Gift!  They have a fabulous gift basket up for grabs!

Be sure to go check out this book.  Once you see it, I know you will want to add it to your bookshelf!

 

(disclaimer: I was provided this book in exchange for my honest opinion.  No other compensation was given).

 

 

See The Light is giving away a complete Art Class – 1 Year Set!!!

See The Light is giving away a complete Art Class – 1 Year Set!!!

(disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.  If you purchase a product through the link, I will receive a small portion. All money earned helps to by curriculum and books for our homeschooling journey.)

I know I have shared here before how much our family loves See The Light Art curriculum. We will be using See The Light this year, continuing on with Volumes 5-9. My oldest daughter will be working through several of the Art Projects DVD’s. I will be sharing with you the lessons as they finish them.

So why am I sharing this with you? To start the school year off right, See The Light is having an amazing giveaway! I am so excited to be a part of it. Check below for all of the details!

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See The Light is super excited to announce that they are giving away (1) Art Class – 1 Year set, Volumes 1-9 to one fabulous family.  See The Light has never given away an entire set before, but Autumn is approaching and they wanted to celebrate the magnificent season of change.

What a creative God we serve, huh?

This months special is 10% off the Art Class – 1 Year (Volumes 1-9).

Use Coupon Code: SEPTEMBER

Offer is good thru September 30, 2013. This would make a wonderful Christmas present for the whole family.

Now for the Giveaway!

See the Light will be giving away (1) Art Class – 1 Year set, Volumes 1-9 to one family. We will be picking a random winner September 15 at 11:59p. Winner will be contacted via email and must respond within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen.

All entries will be verified.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Legal Disclosure: No purchase necessary to win. Void where prohibited. Valid only in the United States. Must be at least 18 years of age to enter. Winner will be selected by Rafflecopter and will be notified within 48 hours of the contest’s close. Facebook is not affiliated with this giveaway and the act of liking a Facebook page is not required to win.

Wednesday’s Around the World ~ A History & Geography Link Up is back and with a giveaway!!

Wednesday’s Around the World ~ A History & Geography Link Up is back and with a giveaway!!

(disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.  If you purchase a product through the link, I will receive a small portion. All money earned helps to by curriculum and books for our homeschooling journey.)

UPDATE: Winner of the $25 Amazon gift card is Ticia.  Winner of the $20 CurrClick gift card is Jennifer J.!

Congrats to the winners!

Last year, I started a link up for history and geography called, Wednesday’s Around the World.  I am going to continue on with it this year.  There has been a change in it for this year.  Last year, I was using Bright Ideas Press, Mystery of History, curriculum and had limited the history link up just to Bright Ideas Press History and Geography.  I am not using Mystery of History or All American History this year and will be using My Father’s World instead.  So with that change, I am going to open up the link-up for all History and Geography curriculums.

The link up will still be taking place every Wednesday.  The first link-up for the school year will be next Wednesday, September 4th.  All you have to do is write a post about what you are learning in history and/or geography, then come to my page and link-up with that lesson.  Did you do a project or activity for history that you would like to share?  Write a post about it and link it up!  Here are a couple of examples from last year, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego and Aesop’s Fables, Tortoise and the Hare.

The following week, I will share a little about what we have been studying in our history and geography and then will highlight a couple of those who have linked up!

To start us off for this year, I am having a giveaway!  Actually, two giveaways!  There is a $25 Amazon gift card and a $20 CurrClick gift card up for grabs!  All I need you to do is leave me a comment telling me what history and/or geography curriculum you will be using this year.  I will choose a winner on Sept. 4th and announce it at the beginning of the link-up!

 

N is for Noah: Trusting God and His Promises ~ review

N is for Noah: Trusting God and His Promises ~ review

I am so excited about N is for Noah: Trusting God and His Promises.  This book is by Ken and Mally Ham.  I have heard so much about Ken Ham, and what he believes, but have never read any of his books before.  I was not disappointed in this book and I really think you will like it a lot, as well.

 

Details on the N is for Noah

N is for Noah: Trusting God and His Promises is a hard back, spiral bound easel book that is 10×10 3/4 in size.  The book is well made and the pages are very sturdy and thick, making it very easy for children to look through on their own.  There are 112 pages of beautiful illustrations that are done by Jeff Albrecht.  The illustrations are bright and vibrant, catching your attention right from the start. Along with the beautiful pages, is a rhyming story that takes your from A-Z about the story of Noah and the Ark. Not only does this book teach your children about trusting God and His promises, it talks about why God sent a world wide flood, how people acted towards Noah while he was building the Ark and what happened when the flood ended.

Not only does this book tell the story of Noah and the Ark in a fun way that the kids will enjoy and understand, it also has structured learning for the kids.  Your kids will be encouraged with Biblical concepts and verses.  This book is shaped in an easel-book format.  On one side is a picture and a rhyming sentence for the child to see), on the other side (for the parent/teacher), you have the rhyming sentence, starting point, Bible bits, Let’s Talk, Always Remember, Stuff to Do and a Quick Review sections for you to read and engage the child with.  In the back of the book, there are sections that help you break down the  “letters” even more.  You have the Overview,  Directed Discussions, Core Truth Takeaway and Quick Review Activity. You can even find downloadable coloring pages for this story at www.nlpg.com/nisfornoah_clrpgs.

My Thoughts On This

While this book is geared towards younger children, I think it is a great read for families.  My kids are 7, 9 and 15 and they all enjoyed it.  Yes, even the 15 year old got something out of it as well.  They liked how they took each letter in the alphabet and rhymed the story.  They loved the illustrations that corresponded with the lessons.  Most of all, I loved that I was able to read the story to the kids and all of us understand a little better about the story of Noah and the Ark.

I also think this book would be great for any Sunday School, Homeschool Co-op class or a family to do during the evenings.   You have little mini lessons on each page that you read.  You could do a page or a couple of pages a day and have a great discussion with your children.

Don’t forget about the Book and Treat Facebook Party coming up tomorrow night, August 27th, 2013.  We will be having it on the Master Books Facebook Page at 8:00pm CDT.  The Treat is Sight and Sound Theaters.  They will be giving out a copy of their show “Noah” to one person.  Other gifts will also be given away.  I hope to see you there!!

Disclaimer: I was given this book to review, all opinions and thoughts are my own.  No other compensation was given.

our homeschool area for 2013-2014

our homeschool area for 2013-2014

Disclaimer: There are some affiliate links in this post. The little money that I might make from you purchasing through the links, help our family in buying our curriculum.

Since I shared with you what curriculum we will be using for our younger children and our high school student, I also thought I would share our homeschool area.  I am also joining in with the iHomeschool Network and the 5th Annual “Not” Back-to-School Blog Hop. our homeschool area

When we moved to Colorado, we ended up renting an apartment that was much smaller than what we were used to.  We down-sized a lot and I also had to put a lot of books in storage.  I only tried bringing in what we needed, but when you are homeschooling several children, things do start to accumulate and take up space.  So I have tried using the space that we have and get a little creative with storage.  While it would be nice to have a room just to house all of our books and homeschooling materials, I am making due with the space we have and it is working for our family.  That is the most important thing to remember.  Do what works with your family.

My younger kids and I use the dining room table to sit at and do our book work, projects, activities and crafts.  I am usually sitting closest to the desk top, in case I need to help a child with work on it while I have another child sitting next to me on the other side.  I usually have my laptop sitting in front of me for those times that the kids start asking questions and we go on a rabbit trail.

I found some neat posters to help remind the kids of Fractions, Place Value, the Branches of the U.S. Government and the Rights and Responsibilities of being a Citizen.  I hung those on the wall next to our Van Gogh poster.  I also have a white board leaning against the wall that I sit on the back of the chairs when we need to use it.

The younger kids and I sit at the dining room table.  Sarah will join us on occasion, depending on what she is working on.

The younger kids and I sit at the dining room table. Sarah will join us on occasion, depending on what she is working on.

As you can see, above the desk, there is a shelf and I was able to put our globe, microscope (can’t see it in the picture) and all of our craft and school supplies.  I bought those plastic boxes for a $1 each and was able to separate everything out.  I printed up the names of the supplies and then taped them on the front of the container.  The kids can easily get whatever they need.  I still need a couple of more, to finish separating some crafts a little more.  On the desk, I have the printer and two small 3-drawer containers that hold our pencils and pens.  Next to the printer, we have an electric pencil sharpener.

craft/school supplies and the desktop the kids use for school.

craft/school supplies and the desktop the kids use for school.

I have two bookshelves against the bar area.  On those two shelves, is where I store all of the kids books and notebooks that we will be using for the school year.  I am still in the process of changing last years books out with the new books.  On the bar, I have put “Big Tim”, our timer and this is where we also set our projects that we complete, to show daddy when he comes home from work.

These two bookshelves hold all of our school books, notebooks and readers.

These two bookshelves hold all of our school books, notebooks and readers.

I am still in the process of cleaning out the old papers and books from this past year and adding the new curriculum and readers for the upcoming year.

This big comfy chair is in the corner of the living room.  It is where my oldest daughter sits to do a lot of her reading and school work.  She will go to her room on occasion, when she needs to concentrate a little more.

Sarah's chair where she does a lot of her school work.

Sarah’s chair where she does a lot of her school work.

At the end of the hallway, I have two small bookshelves that are stacked on top of each other.  This is where we keep most of the extra books that the kids enjoy reading for fun.  We also have a few games that are sitting on top, as well as big books that don’t fit on the regular shelf.  The girls’ room and the boys’ room also have a book shelf and this is where they keep their favorite books at.

Hallway bookshelf holding extra books for reading.

Hallway bookshelf holding extra books for reading.

I am happy with the area I have been able to create for us to do our schooling in.  It works for my kids and I.  We have made due with what we have and made the area work for what all we need it to.  That is what I love the most about homeschooling, being able to do what works best for our family.

I am sure you will see many beautiful school rooms as you look through the internet world.  Just remember, you don’t need an extra room.  You can use what you have in your home and make it work for you and your family.  All families are unique.  That is the joy of homeschooling!

Do you have a separate room for your schooling?  Do you use your dining room or living room?  I would love for you to share your area with me!