Thursday, June 30, 2016

The 4th of July


"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. 
We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."
~Ronald Reagan~


 "If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and 
silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."
~George Washington~


 "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
~Thomas Jefferson~


"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
~Abraham Lincoln~


"Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, 
the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and 
refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die."
~Dwight D. Eisenhower~


"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved."
~Franklin D. Roosevelt~


"Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring!"
~Samuel F. Smith~



Tuesday, June 28, 2016

NotebookingPages.com ~ A Reveiw


I have really enjoyed my Lifetime Membership from NotebookingPages.com. Imagine one place with literally thousands of options for copywork, notebooking, projects, blank pages, and so much more.  It is important to note that this is not a curriculum and that these are not worksheets. 



You may be thinking, where do I begin. What exactly is notebooking and how do I get started. Well, first off, start simple. Here are some easy tips to get started. 
  • Choose a subject of interest
  • Find resources such as books, the internet, videos, or any media type of your choosing
  • Read, research, and immerse yourself into the subject
  • Write about what you learned 
  • Illustrate what you learned
  • For the younger student dictation and copywork is great
  • There is no wrong way to notebook because each individual will create there own unique binder, folder, book, or page
  • HAVE FUN
Notebooking allows the student freedom to write and illustrate what they are learning in a fun way. Is a a great supplement to add to any curriculum. Simply put, notebooking is a unique record of learning. There are load of resources online for notebooking ideas as well as tutorials, guides, and ideas. 

I used NotebookingPages.com with my 3rd, 5th, and 8th grade children. 

When I first logged into NotebookingPages.com I was met with a sea of choices just waiting to be explored. My 10 year old daughter has an insatiable fascination with animals so it was a no brainer that I would check out the sections containing animals. My daughter was thoroughly excited when I presented her with a binder filled with notebooking pages of some of her favorite animals. It wasn't long before she was pulling out all of her books on animals. She spend countless hours on the computer researching each animal and finding unique and interesting facts to write about.





While we use set curriculums I have always found notebooking to be a great learning tool. Many of my kiddos notebooking creations throughout the years have become keepsakes. They are portraits of what my children were learning at the time, what their handwriting looked like, how they colored, and so much more. 

My middle school daughter drew a picture of a flamingo and learned some very interesting facts about them. Did you know that the color of a flamingo's feathers are a result of what they eat? 



Audubon Print in the Fine Art Section 



NotebookingPages.com is constantly updating their site. 
They post newly added material. 



Study's include A-Z, Bible/Characters, Famous People, Fine Arts,
Geography, History, Holidays, Language Arts, and 
Science and Nature


Animals



Table of Contents in Animals with a Subcategory of Amphibians



Numerous Options for Printing Pages 



Informative Tutorials 



Informative Videos



Photo Gallery of Completed Notebooking Samples


With Independence Day coming up I had my 3rd grader write out The Pledge of Allegiance using the Language Arts, Star Design copywork pages.




I found a great printout to record books that my kiddos read. 




I have really enjoyed utilizing the amazing resources available through NotebookingPages.com. I would highly recommend this site to my fellow homeschool friends. I plan to utilize this site for months and hopefully years to come. 

To read more reviews click here.

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Monday, June 27, 2016

Veritas Press ~ A Review


My children absolutely loved VeritasBible.com by Veritas Press. Veritas Press graciously gave me a one year family online subscription. VeritasBible.com is a wonderful way for your children to learn God's Word. Through the use of illustrated Bible stories, lessons, and games your child will learn God's truths. Children will love working at their own pace as they walk through the Bible with VeritasBible.com. Parents will love that there is NO PREPARATION NEEDED, everything is online with automatic feedback, while tracking your child's progress. The program is geared for grades 2-6. 


The current VeritasBible.com courses that are available are:

  1. Genesis to Joshua
  2. Judges and Kings
  3. The Gospels
VeritasBible.com is currently working on the following courses for future release:

  1. Chronicles to Malachi and Job
  2. Acts to Revelation
My 3rd and 5th graders used VeritasBible.com. Lessons are broken down parts. Each part consists of varying content such as:

  • Bible Story 
  • Memory Song
  • Scripture Review
  • Lesson Wrap-Up
  • Lesson Review
  • Maps
  • Quizzes 
Each lesson, in its entirety, can be viewed by clicking on the content drop down menu.  displays all parts contained in the lesson. Each part varies in length, from seconds to several minutes in length. In all each lesson takes on average a half an hour to complete. Some days my kiddos could complete a whole lesson while other days they completed only a couple of segments within a lesson. 

The course covers 32 major biblical events. 

Worried about your child skipping parts within a lesson. Each segment is locked until your child completes what they are currently working on. 

My 3rd grader worked through some of Judges and Kings, a lesson or two from Genesis, and  a bit from The Gospels. Her attention span definitely required multiple sessions in order to complete a lesson. I loved that each time my daughter went into the program it automatically picked up where she lasted ended. She found the quizzes to be quite difficult and challenging. Many times she had to go back into the lesson in order to find the answers. The questions asked require extreme attention to detail. My daughter most definitely liked the stories the best. The quizzes and questions were her least favorite part. 


My 3rd grader said,
"I really like learning the Bible with this program. I don't get bored. I learn a lot. Some of the stuff I know from Sunday School but some stuff I don't know. The questions are kind of really hard. If you don't really pay attention you will get a lot of stuff wrong. Some of the words are hard to read."

My 5th grader began with Genesis. She was shocked when it came to quiz time. Students really have to pay attention to details in order to answer the questions. My 5th grader was much more prepared for the in depth details than her younger sister. This program definitely challenges your biblical knowledge. 


My 5th grade daughter said,
"I give VeritasBible five stars! I like that the lessons are split up into small chunks. At first I thought the videos with the people acting were kind of cheesy but then I got used to them and really liked them. I have learned a lot. I like that everything is online and that I don't have to do any work offline. The program makes learning the Bible fun and interesting. Some things that I didn't understand before I know understand better."

Map Trail Through The Judges of Israel


Story Video


Animated Story


Quiz


Catchy Songs That Really Help


Maps


Activity


Quiz Score


Comprehensive Printable Overview of Lesson


My children absolutely loved this program!!! They eagerly spent time learning God's Word with this captivating program for children. I would highly recommend this program to fellow homeschoolers and friends wanting to encourage their child's walk with the Lord. 

I will most definitely continue to use this program as part of our core curriculum. Overall,  I really liked this program. I have been so impressed with the quality of the program that I am highly considering using more of Veritas Press curriculum. I am currently sifting through all of their amazing online programs. That you Veritas Press for creating a wonderful Bible program!! 


To read more reviews click here.

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