CrossTimber

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My kiddos have been enjoying their fun Name Bookmarks from CrossTimber. We were also sent the fun AmazingName Print Activity Sheets for one of my children. For the most part CrossTimber uses the King James Version of the Bible for their Bible translations for verses. If clarity is needed they compare other versions and adjust the wording from there. Do you have an unusual name? Don't worry they have you covered. Names have such rich and insightful meanings. CrossTimber has a wide variety of gifts on this website. 

Here was my experience

At first, I found it confusing as to how to start the process of ordering the bookmarks. Once I figured out the process for making the first bookmark the rest were easy. I wish that the website was more user friendly. I was given the opportunity to get 5 bookmarks. I chose to make the bookmarks for my 5 daughters. There are options for backgrounds. The categories are:

• Symbolic
• People
• Outdoors
• Creatures

You are not able to choose the exact quote you want for your bookmark. You are given categories and they randomly choose a quote to put on your bookmark. The categories are:

• Presidential
• Famous Authors
• Bible Verses
• Character Qualities
• Custom Text on the Front

I chose famous authors for all of the bookmarks. The bookmarks tell what language of origin your name is from. It then tells what your name means. Finally, it has the quote. The bookmark is printed on photo grade card stock and is laminated. The only thing about the bookmarks that I wish would have been different is if there would have been an excess edging around the bookmark. After minimal use the edges start coming up and it goes right to the bookmark itself. 

Here are the 5 bookmarks that we got. 

I love all of the quotes that came with the bookmarks. The designs and colors are vibrant.

This was for my 12-year-old daughter. 

This was for my 18-year-old daughter. 

This was for my 24-year-old daughter. 

This was for my 20-year-old daughter. 

This was for my 14-year-old daughter. 

My daughters loved their bookmarks. 

AmazingName Print Activity Sheets

This fun activity set has your child's name included over 80 times!

Your child gets 25+ pages of activities such as mazes, word searches,

coloring pages, and handwriting/cursive pages. 

There are multiple levels of difficulty included in the activities from

easy to are you crazy! 

This set is recommended for ages 3-12. 

This sheet that she is working on was a level EASY sheet. 

This word search is a level ARE YOU CRAZY? 

On this page my daughter had to seek and find her name and 

within the picture. 

This word search was a level EASY. 

There were multiple cursive pages as well as manuscript pages. 

I GIVE UP!

CrossTimber has many gifts to choose from such as Name Plaques, Coffee Mugs, Music Boxes, Scripture Plaques, NameCards, AmazingName Cartoons, and more. Definitely check out what my Fellow Crew Members reviewed from CrossTimber! This would make great holiday gifts. 

Social Media

Facebook: www.fb.com/meaning.name
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/crosstimber

Crazy Aarons Mixed By Me Thinking Putty Kit ~ A Timberdoodle Review

 

My daughter is really into making slime right now. I was super excited when I was given the opportunity to review the Mixed By Me - Holographic Thinking Putty Kit through Timberdoodle. When the kit came in the mail my daughter immediately opened the kit and got to work mixing up different putty colors. The kit comes with 5 tins of clear putty, 3 glitter concentrates, 3 sparkle effects, 6 colored pencils, 5 customizable tine labels, and 1 mixing mat with ideas for color formulas. There are 5 steps to creating your own unique putty:

1. Get inspired
2. Start mixing
3. Twist & fold
4. Create your color
5. Decorate your tin

This Mixed By Me Putty Kit is intended for ages 8 and older. Your child will have so much fun creating their own putty. 

Here is everything that comes in the kit. 

My daughter is checking it all out!

She was so excited to start making her putty. 

She loved the cute little tins that came with the kit and that you got to 

decorate the tins and name the putty. 

This is one of the tins of clear putty. It looks really liquid like but it isn't. 

The clear putty has a gummy like feel.

There are 6 glitter concentrates. Only 4 are shown in this picture. 

This is the consistency of the glitter concentrate. 

It was kind of hard to get it out of the bags. My daughter 

tore the bags down the side in order to get all of the concentrate out. 

Starting to mix the clear putty and the glitter concentrate together. 

The two mix together very well. It was fun watching the two mix together. 

Clear putty and glitter concentrate. 

Mixing the two together was so much fun!

Clear putty and glitter concentrate. 

Completed Putty!

My daughter loved the sparkles in the putty. 

This is the Silver. 

Completed Putty!

With this putty my daughter actually added in two different concentrates,

Magenta and Yellow. 

Completed Putty!

This is the Galaxy.

There is no odor to the putty. Even after two months the putty still feels the same as it did when we first got the kit. The putty actually bounces! You can stretch it, pop it, tear it, and fold it. My daughter gave some of the putty to her 20 year old sister who said, "This putty is wonderful for playing with while doing school work. It is great for relieving stress. It is very therapeutic." This would be a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS GIFT for the child in your life. Be sure to check out 

Mixed By Me - Holographic Thinking Putty Kit. 

Boundary Stone

 

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Economics Online Course Bundle from Boundary Stone  is an online self-paced, semester long Basic Economics course. This course includes a hardback textbook titled, Basic Economics, A Natural Law Approach to Economics, Fourth Edition, a 12 month online access to the course, a 128-page PDF teacher’s guide, and access to a Budget Mini Course.

Basic Economics ~ A Natural Law Approach to Economics covers the following material:

The Framework of Economics 

1. Why Basic Economics
2. In the Nature of Things
3. Government
4. Society and Morality
5. Property

The Production And Distribution of Goods

1. Scarcity and Economy
2. How We Get What We Want
3. A Medium Exchange - Money
4. The Age of Inflation
5. The Market and Prices
6. Failed Attempts To Control Prices
7. Monopoly and Competition
8. The Means of Production
9. The Entrepreneur and Production
10. The Distribution of Wealth 
11. International Trade

Politico-Economic Systems

1. Manorial-Feudal System
2. Mercantilism
3. Free Enterprise
4. Corporatism
5. Welfarism
6. Communism

We received an email that included a downloadable link with a PDF of the teacher’s guide. The teacher’s guide included a course syllabus, an overview of the semester, lesson plans, along with answer keys and tests. This was WONDERFUL! The course was all laid out. We were also provided with an online version of the United States Constitution, and a printable PDF of the book, The Law by Frederic Bastiat. To complete this course you will need to purchase, Whatever Happened to Penny Candy by Richard Maybury. We actually already owned this book from older sibling using this book in their Economics classes.

Before we go further, lets answer the question, Why Economics? "Economics is a study of the thrifty use of scarce resources to satisfy human wants."

My daughter started by going over the Orientation Module found in the online lessons. Since I had a parent account I decided to go through the course myself. I never took an Economics course in high school or college. I was excited to learn more about how Economics worked. We both started out and got a good start and then COVID hit our house! Let's just say that I am very grateful that this course is self-paced and that Boundary Stone has graciously given us a 12 month access to the online portion of the program. It is quite ironic with all of the craziness that 2020 has brought us with shortages of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and so many more things that we are studying Economics which covers topics such as scarcity, supply and demand, etc. We are going through a perfect time right now to be studying Economics.

The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough

of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first

lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics. 

Thomas Sowell

There are two separate budgeting projects with the Budget Mini Course that the student starts at the beginning of the semester and completes at the end of the semester. 

I appreciated that the course incorporated Biblical principles of economics. Economics began in Genesis when God created Adam and Eve and commanded them to take dominion of the whole earth. This is known as the Dominion Mandate. "Work was instituted to achieve a purpose. The reality that we must work to produce things and, thus, that there will always be a cost connected to the things we what, has always been a part of the human condition." I think that most individuals would have no clue that government is ordained by God and that the structure of the government is set in the Bible.

Each chapter has a Chapter Content box showing what content is in the chapter. 

This is very helpful.

Throughout the chapters there are grey boxes with definitions, important tidbits of information, breakdowns of economic activity, famous quotes, etc. 

At the end of each chapter there are Study Guides. I really liked that this was included. Each study guide includes at Chapter Summary, Points of Emphasis, Identification, Taxation Terms, Review Questions, Activities, and For Further Study. 

The textbook is 379 pages in length and is hardcover. The layout of the book

and how they have the chapters broken down into sections is very helpful. It 

does not seem so daunting when chapters are in chunks instead of one long chapter.

The added boxes of highlighted information was very informative. Highlighted

vocabulary was helpful. 

The Economics Online Course Bundle is a wonderful complement to

 the Basic Economics textbook.

This course goes deep into the history of economics, government, 

and the way they affect economics. Your student will have video lessons,

online reading assignments, quizzes, tests, and more. 

 

The videos where engaging and relatable to a high school and 

adult audience. Both my daughter and I learned so much from

the videos. They really helped to solidify the information that we

read in the textbook. 

Here is a screenshot of one of the quiz questions from the

online course. The quizzes are automatically graded. 

Your quiz score is tabulated and shown right after the quiz is taken.

I really liked this page Natural Law vs. Positive Law that was 

included as part of the online course. 

Overall, I was very impressed with the Economics Online Course Bundle from Boundary Stone. I would most definitely recommend this course to other educators and homeschoolers. The course is a rich, solid, Bible based, Economics course that incorporates important historical insight into Economics. Please be sure to read what my Fellow Crew Members had to say about the curriculum. 

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrPaulCleveland
Twitter:https://twitter.com/DrPaulCleveland
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf4qWz28QJO80oB-aanH9Sw

My Daughter, The Artist...

This is my college age daughter's latest artwork. It is for a class she is taking. 

I am always completely awed by her talent. 

 

Drive Thru History® Adventures

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Over the past weeks my daughter has been working through Bible Unearthed from Drive Thru History Adventures. "Bible Unearthed is a 12-part series that explores the history, importance, and impact of archaeology - and how discoveries help us better understand the ancient world!" This course is a digital, online course that is designed to be completed in 12 weeks. One Adventure is to be completed each week. Each adventure includes a video, a written exposition/breakout, worksheets, and "Dig Deeper" articles. This is intended to be a self-paced course so students can definitely go at their own pace. Younger students may need more time, while the older student may be glean from the extra additional reading that is suggested. 

So what does a week look like?

Monday: Watch an episode and read the written exposition

Tuesday: Complete optional activity

Wednesday: Read the Dig Deeper articles and/or other research

Thursday: Re-watch the weekly episode and review the written material

Friday: Complete worksheets 

For the older, more advanced student Drive Thru History® Adventures recommends, Unearthing the Bible by Titus Kennedy. 

The following episodes are included in Bible Unearthed:

1. What is Archaeology
2. The Impact of Archaeology
3. Locating Archaeological Sites
4. The Life of an Archaeologist
5. What's Being Discovered Today
6. Archaeological Mysteries
7. Top Discoveries in Bible Archaeology 
8. Getting Involved with Archaeology 
9. Trends in Archaeology 
10. Weird Archaeology 
11. Accidental Discoveries in Archaeology 
12. What's Left to be Discovered? 

Episode 6 entitled, Archaeological Mysteries, is 14:38 in length. The discussion is very intriguing as Dave Stotts and his colleagues tackle many archaeological mysteries such as, Where  is the Ark of the Covenant? and Why was Stonehenge actually built? These are just two of the many mysteries that are covered in Episode 6. 

Directing beneath the video there is text that the student is to read. The

text is more or less a summary of the video. It includes pictures of 

important archaeological items discussed during the video. 

Each video has a scripture reference to go along with it. For 

Episode 6 the scripture reading is, Isaiah 64:8 which says,

“But now, O Yahweh, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; 

And all of us are the work of Your hand.” 

The Optional Activity for this Episode is for the student to, "Drawing pottery and recognizing its type and date is a useful skill in archaeology. Look at some pottery images, make some basic sketches of them, and try to identify the date and type (bowl, lamp, cooking pot, krater, storage jar, jug, cult vessel)."

There are two Dig Deeper Articles for this Episode. The first is entitled, Pottery in Archaeology and the second is entitled, Solomonic Gates. 

Here are some of the discussion questions from various episodes. 

My daughter said, "I haven't ever studied archaeology before. I found Drive Thru History® Adventures, Bible Unearthed to be interesting. I have learned a lot from these episodes."

Be sure to check out what my fellow crew members had to say about Bible Unearthed. 

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drivethruhistory
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drivethruhistory/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/drivethruhistory