YaHWeH

There was a moment when Moses had the nerve to ask God what his name is. God was gracious enough to answer, and the name he gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH.

Over time we’ve arbitrarily added an “a” and an “e” in there to get YaHWeH, presumably because we have a preference for vowels.

But scholars and Rabi’s have noted that the letters YHWH represent breathing sounds, or aspirated consonants. When pronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing.

YH (inhale): WH (exhale).

So a baby’s first cry, his first breath, speaks the name of God.

A deep sigh calls His name – or a groan or gasp that is too heavy for mere words.

Even an atheist would speak His name, unaware that their very breath is giving constant acknowledgment to God.

Likewise, a person leaves this earth with their last breath, when God’s name is no longer filing their lungs.

So when I can’t utter anything else, is my cry calling out His name?

Being alive means I speak His name constantly.

So, is it heard the loudest when I’m the quietest?

In sadness, we breathe heavy sighs.

In joy, our lungs feel almost like they will burst.

In fear we hold our breath and have to be told to breathe slowly to help us calm down.

When we’re about to do something hard, we take a deep breath to find our courage.

When I think about it, breathing is giving him praise. Even in the hardest moments!

This is so beautiful and fills me with emotion every time I grasp the thought. God chose to give himself a name that we can’t help but speak every moment we’re alive.

All of us, always, everywhere.

Waking, sleeping, breathing, with the name of God on our lips.

Artwork Artist Unknown

Written Words Author Unknown

I take no credit for the above art or written words. 

American Coaching Academy

Disclaimer:  I received this complimentary product through the 

Homeschool Review Crew.

American Coaching Academy is an amazing resource for PE teachers, coaches, and parents needing to find a way to get their students and children motivated to exercise, eat healthy, and take care of their bodies. You will find hundreds of printable activities, games, lesson plans, Escape Room challenges, skills stations, performance tests, and so much more. Healthy Habit Trackers in 5 minutes a day helps children to establish healthy habits. What is great about this program from the homeschool standpoint is you are able to print out as many trackers as you need so that all of your children can participate. Or maybe you are teaching a co-op health or PE class and need a way to track your students progress over the school year. Healthy Habit Trackers is intended for ages 6-18. What is great is MINIMAL EQUIPMENT is needed. Once you purchase the package which right now is just $9.95 you will have access via PDF download in 30 seconds. American Coaching Academy is so confident that you will like their product that they even offer a no question 60 day money back guarantee. There is a warning before beginning the program. Consult your child's doctor before having them start any of the 30 day challenges. 

The 12 monthly challenges included to help build healthy habits and make fitness a bit more fun:

1. Month One - Muscular Endurance
2. Month Two - Household Chores
3. Month Three - Healthy Body
4. Month Four - Kindness
5. Month Five - Nutrition
6. Month Six - Locomotor Movement
7. Month Seven - Boot Camp
8. Month Eight - Yoga Flow
9. Month Nine - Cardio Endurance
10. Month Ten - Flexibility
11. Month Eleven - Muscular Strength 
12. Month Twelve - Bee Healthy

Each Tracker Includes 5 Daily Health and Fitness Tasks

Every time your child completes a task they get to color in 

a section on his/her tracker. Your child is encouraged and 

motivated as they see their tracker sheet fill up! As a teacher or 

parent you can choose to offer a certificate or reward for each completed

30 Day Challenge. 

Each tracker challenge chart is uniquely different. No two look the same. The workout or completion exercises are easy to understand and follow. They are not too difficult that most children would be unable to complete the daily tasks. Keeping in mind that some children may have health conditions or disabilities that make it extremely difficult or impossible to do certain tasks. When special circumstances arise simply modify an activity for your child so that they can be successful. American Coaching Academy does have Blank Tracker Templates. They are usually given as bonuses. 

In the Cardio Challenge children are asked to 

complete five exercises. 

One Minute Jumping Jacks

One Minute Run in Place

One Minute Jump and Reach

One Minute Freestyle Dance

One Minute Hop in Place

I am sure that for a far share of children the Nutrition Challenge

will be the most difficult. For my children it would not as they

love fruits and veggies! Maybe drinking the suggested amount of 

water may be a challenge. I think that this challenge is WONDERFUL!

The Healthy Body Challenge has a couple of great 

tasks: drinking 5 glasses of water a day, playing outside

for 30 minutes, and sleeping for 9+ hours a night. 

Overall, I think that Healthy Habit Trackers is a wonderful way to help your children build healthy habits. The old saying, habits are formed in 30 days is just wrong. The things that bring us pleasure in life will be learned fast. The things in life that we know are good for us but we don't particularly enjoy will often take much longer to form as habits. So many variables go into forming both good and bad habits. As parents, teachers, and caregivers helping children learn good healthy habits at a young age will hopefully grow with them through adulthood. Be sure to read what My Fellow Crew Members had to say about Healthy Habit Trackers. 

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanCoachingAcademy/ 
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/americancoachingacademy/_created/ 

IQ SIX PRO ~ A Timberdoodle Review

If you enjoy puzzles

get ready to have fun!

With 120 challenges IQ Six Pro is a cognitive skill building brain game. IQ Six Pro is part of   Timberdoodle's Ninth-Grade Curriculum Kit. This puzzle game helps to develop your child's visual-spatial skills through logical building steps. The recommended age for IQ Six Pro is 8 and up. The price on the Timberdoodle site is $11.99. 

The set includes:

1. a two sided puzzle board 
2. 12 colorful, hexagonal puzzle pieces
3. 1 puzzle booklet with 120 challenges with solutions

IQ Six Pro is fairly small and fit in the palm of my hand. The product dimensions are 5.71 x 3.94 x 1.14 inches. It is a great game for home, on the go, traveling, and sharing with friends. 

The IQ Six Pro has 120 puzzles to solve. There are 36 2D puzzles on the black board, 36 2D puzzles on the butterfly board, and 48 3D pyramid puzzles. The solutions for all of the puzzles are included in the booklet. There are 5 levels of difficulty: Starter, Junior, Expert, Master, and Wizard. 

 

This is the 2D butterfly board. There are 36 puzzles to solve on the butterfly board. 

The black board is for 2D puzzles as well as for building the 3D pyramid puzzles. You can see the shape of the pyramid in the center of the board. 

My 19-year-old sat and worked through many of the various puzzles and was fairly good at them. She did not want to tackle the pyramid levels. 

My mother is always excited when I get a new game to review. She loves games. She sat and worked through several of the beginning levels of the 2D puzzles. She commented that grandpa would really like this game. I need to send it home with her so that he can play with it. He fractured his back about two weeks ago and this would be a great way to pass some time. 

Look at my mother's concentration. 

My father-in-law loves puzzles. When they came to town I handed him this game. I explained what to do and he did one of the puzzles and then handed it back. He was not too sure about it. About 5 minutes later he asked for the IQ Six Pro back. He then sat and worked through more puzzles. He said the game kind of grows on you. My father-in-law is in his 70's. 

This is the outer, outside board of the IQ Six Pro. After completing each puzzle you are left with a beautiful, colorful butterfly. 

Isn't the finished butterfly puzzle beautiful?

My 14 year old worked through puzzles in all of the various challenges. She liked the butterfly board the best. She gave up on the 3D pyramid puzzle challenges. She is not one to sit and really take time to figure something out if it takes too long. 

I am trying hard to build this pyramid.

Okay, not quite a full pyramid but I am proud my attempt.

I worked through some of the 2D puzzles and was determined to solve the pyramid puzzles. It took me a long time to figure out how to place the pieces based on the instructions. Once I figured the first one out I felt a bit more confident. That was until the puzzles introduced blank spaces. You have to figure out the pieces that go in those places. The pyramids are 6 layers high. Pieces can be placed horizontally or at an angle. A piece many only take up one layer of the pyramid or several layers. There is only one solution for each puzzle. 

Pyramid SUCCESS!

My 22 year old was determined to solve the pyramid levels. She said that after figuring out the strategy of successfully building the first one the subsequent ones were easier. Of course the greatest challenge in building the pyramids as you move up in levels is the blank spaces that you have to figure out for yourself. 

The only drawback of the game is that when you are finished playing you cannot just place the pieces any which way and close the lid. You have to place the pieces strategically in order for them to all fit. I simply go the the Starter Level, Number 1 which is fairly easy to solve. 

My daughter is a part-time nanny. The 10-year-old boy loves to read, play games, and do quiet activities. My daughter brought IQ Six Pro over to let the him try it out. He immediately got hooked. My daughter texted me after he had been playing for an 1 1/2 hours and said that he didn't want to stop to do another activity. He was even able to tackle the pyramids! He told my daughter that he wanted to get the game. She sent me the following pictures. I called my daughter and she had me on speaker. I told the him that he could keep the game until tomorrow and he was so excited. 

This is 1 1/2 hours into playing and still going strong! 

IQ Six Pro is a great game for the whole family. Whether you are purchasing it for entertainment or as part of your child's curriculum you will not regret the purchase. We have several Smart Games® brand puzzle games from Timberdoodle and my family has loved all of them. Beat the summer heat and give your child a great way to build their problem solving, logic, and concentration skills while still having fun. If you are a homeschooler or are thinking about homeschooling check out all that Timberdoodle has to offer. IQ Six Pro is part of Timberdoodle's Ninth-Grade Curriculum Kit. Timberdoodle has kits available for Newborn through 12th grade. 

The Critical Thinking Co. ™

Disclaimer:  I received this complimentary product through the 

Homeschool Review Crew.

The Critical Thinking Co.™ offers over two hundred books and software in reading, writing, math, science, social studies, critical thinking, as well as test prep. Supplemental workbooks as well as full curriculum options are available for students in Preschool through the 12th grade. Over the past weeks Building Thinking Skills® Level 2 -Grades 4-6 (Ages 9-12). The Building Thinking Skills Series® is the #1 selling Thinking Skills Program in the World! There are 412 pages and 10 chapters in the Level 2 workbook. Critical thinking skills are essential in all subjects as students progress to middle and high school. Level 2 first presents activities in semi-concrete figural-spatial form and then in abstract verbal form. This workbook is considered a full Curriculum. 

The 10 Chapters in Building Thinking Skills® Level 2 (Color) include:

1. Describing Shapes
2. Figural Similarities and Differences 
3. Figural Sequences
4. Figural Classifications
5. Figural Analogies
6. Describing Things
7. Verbal Similarities and Differences
8. Verbal Sequences
9. Verbal Classifications
10. Verbal Analogies

In every exercise students must use critical thinking skills in order to complete what is asked. The wide variety of activities requires students to think through problems from many angles. For example, in Chapter 1 students are shown a shape on a grid and are told that each dot is 1/2" to the next dot. They are to then estimate the square inches of the shape. In Chapter 2 students are shown a half shape on a grid and then are asked to draw and color each shape as it will look when unfolded. In Chapter 5 students are asked to draw a figure to complete each analogy using a dot grid. In Chapter 8 students are given a grid and are asked to follow a set of directions. 

Some of the Level 2 skills that your student will learn are:

Figural-Spatial Skills

• Describing Shapes
• Describing, Enlarging, Reducing, Copying Shapes
• Stacking, Rotating, Folding, Symmetry
• Classifying, Identifying, Organizing
• Analogies and Diagrams

Verbal Skills

• Reading Maps
• True/False, If/Then, Yes/No, Compare/Contrast
• Directions, Orientation
• Writing Descriptions
• Sequencing 
• Analogies: Create, Explain, Association, Type

Here are a few examples of activities. 

Estimating Area

Tumbling (Rotating) Figures

Paper Folding

Complete Figural Analogies

Which Figure Does Not Match?

Describing Solids

Building Thinking Skills® Level 2 would be a great summer enrichment activity workbook to help your child develop necessary critical thinking skills. Maybe your are looking ahead to the upcoming school year for a full curriculum in Critical Thinking. The skills learned are will help students in their reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and standardized tests. This 10 chapter workbook with a full answer key in the back of the book has your covered. My Fellow Crew Members have reviewed many The Critical Thinking Co.™ materials both supplemental and full Curriculum. Be sure to check out all of the reviews that range from Pre-K through grade 9. I would highly recommend Building Thinking Skills® Level 2 for grades 4-6. I would add that younger students working through the workbook may become frustrated with the activities and may need some help. I would also add that as a homeschool parent you may find Level 2 is a great fit for your child outside of the suggested grade range. The Critical Thinking Co.™offers sample page of the Level 2 workbook. You can also browse their site to look at the many levels of the Building Thinking Skills® to find the perfect fit for your child.