Download N Go Winter Wonders Review

Snowflakes, sweaters, hot chocolate, pine trees...  The crisp, cold air and the frosty windows- it must be Winter Wonders!  We thoroughly enjoyed our Autumn Treasures study last fall, so it was exciting to get to learn all about Winter with Download N Go as well!

The Download N Go unit studies include everything you need- you can literally download it, and then go with it! I really appreciate the fact that even though extensive book lists are included they aren't required.  It is so frustrating to spend money on a unit study and then find out that you have to spend more money on a large stack of books that are vital the the study!  All you need for the Winter Wonders is the study and an internet connection.  All of the information needed can be found in the links included.

You will find all of the expected topics in Winter Wonders, such as temperature and polar animals.  But there are also unexpected surprises, too, like learning about Snowflake Bentley!  Who is this "Snowflake man", you ask?  Well, I guess you will have to get Winter Wonders and learn all about him!

One of my favorite parts of the seasons series is the encouragement to get outside and enjoy a nature walk each day.  There is so much to learn right outside your window, and- particularly in this cold time of year, we often forget to go out as much as we should.  We haven't taken our walk every day this week, but we spent more time outside then we would have if we weren't doing this Download N Go.  They even include little journaling pages to document your walks and all the great finds you come across!

The video links in Winter Wonders were so fun to watch, especially since winter is generally very dry and sunny in our part of the world.  (even though it's still cold.  That's just not fair!)  :)  I love watching the videos, and the kids really like them as a change from me reading the facts to them.  We especially appreciate the videos that are informational because the little ones seem to retain the learning so well.

The back of the Download N Go units have some fun lapbook pieces, and Winter Wonders includes pretty recipe cards and a pocket for them.  We had fun writing down our favorite winter recipes.  There are also lots of links at the end of each day and a big list at the end of the study.  These are great for stretching the  unit  into a couple weeks or even a month.  If you put the book suggestions to use, there are even more ideas.  Some of the units include coloring  pages, puzzles, videos, websites and more.

There were a lot of fun worksheets and coloring pages in this unit, but our favorite were the pages for day four.  We got to learn about several winter animals, and there are backgrounds for drawing them on and worksheets to fill in about each one.  And, like always, there are lots of beautiful pictures, poems, quotes and Bible verses to enrich your learning.

Don't forget to visit the Download N Go blog to read more reviews about this and other great unit studies, 

and check back often for more reviews here! 

I received this product free of charge for review purposes. I promise to be honest and fair in my reviews, and I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. You can visit the Download-N-Go blog to read more reviews on this product.

Review: Precious Moments Storybook Bible

What's cute and lovable and full of the Truth of the Lord?  This Precious Moments Storybook Bible!  This is a large hardback book with a soft, padded cover, which seems to be a new fad.  It is a heavy thick book, with plenty of stories.

The pictures are just adorable, like you would expect from Precious Moments, but they are even nicer then many I have seen.  The pages are full of bright color with nice borders, instead of the small pastel picture in the center of a white page that you used to see in some  Precious Moments books.  I love how the pages with the writing are decorated, as well.

I was a little confused with the depictions of Moses and Jesus, however.  They are drawn realistically (instead of in the well-known Precious Moments style) while the rest of the characters, both adults and children, are as you would expect.  I don't think this detracts from the book at all, especially for children who will probably not even notice- it is just odd to me.

I am pretty picky about what I classify as a "Children's Bible".   I don't think I could put this book in that category, but it is VERY close.  I would call it a Bible story book with excellent upgrades.  :)  It has some very special parts, such as the birthdate and baptism date pages in the front, which make it seem much more like a Bible.  It also includes passages that you would not find in a Bible story book, including selections from Psalms and Proverbs.  The Bible stories are paraphrased from the International Children's Bible, and they include the chapter and verse references.   However, it is hard for me to label something as a "Bible" when it only has some of the scriptures included and they are paraphrased to make them easier to read.

Does that detract any from the value of this book?  Not at all!  In fact, I would say that this has to be one of the best Bible Storybooks I have ever seen.  It is more complete then almost any other book for this age level, and it is very nicely done.  Some of the included passages are "Jesus Teaches the People" from
Matthew 6; "Protection and Guidance" from Psalm 121; "The Light of the World" from John 3; and "The King of Peace is Coming" from Isaiah 11.  I would actually go so far as to recommend this book to every family with young children.  There is just so much more here then in most Bible story books.  There is even a section in the back with well-known hymns and prayers.

Math Facts Now Review

Math Facts Now is a basic, no-frills way to drill math facts.  Picture a computer program, with customizable "lessons", that are really sets of drills.  This is not a game.  There are no rewards, no goofy characters, and nothing to distract your child from what you are wanting him to do- learn those math facts.

This program is downloadable from the website for $15.95.  This is handy if you want to get started right away!  It is a small program, so anyone- even those with a slow connection- should be able to use it.  If you prefer, you can also order it on a CD.

There is a lot to like about this program.  It is extremely customizable; you can choose what operations to drill, (It includes all four), what numbers to use,  the amount of problems, and you can add a reward (such as ice-cream, watch a movie, etc.) for a perfect score.  You can also change the length of time the child hasto answer each problem.


I thought that the consequence for a missed or timed-out problem was extremely creative and effective.  The child must type out the complete problem a minimum of two times (you can raise this number for older kids).  After several times of this, that math fact really sticks!  This program is like souped-up electronic flashcards, and it really works.



So what did we think of it, personally?  Bop doesn't like it.  At all.  She has been in tears over it.  But really, it wasn't that bad.  I gave her ten problems.  I don't feel like math drills are supposed to be "fun", so I am not concerned about this.  The biggest struggle that she had with it was typing out the missed problems.  the more she tried it, the more frustrated she got, and then she started "forgetting" problems that I KNOW she knows.  I think this program works, and works well.  I plan to keep using it, some.  But it will not be our main source for drills until the kids are older.  It is hard for her to try and type out the symbols ( +, = ) and she sometimes get a problem wrong because she kits the wrong key.  This does not seem like it will be an extremely useful program for her, right now, but I think it would be much more helpful for middle- and upper- elementary aged children.

You can read more reviews for this program at The Old Schoolhouse Crew blog, and you can visit the Math Facts Now website to learn more about it, and try it free!

I received this product free of charge

as a member of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew,

for review purposes. I promise to be honest

and fair in my reviews, and I received no

other compensation in exchange for my review.

You can visit The Old Schoolhouse Crew blog

to read more reviews on this product.

Free complete phonics program!

The people behind "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons"  have created an interactive computer program, Funnix.  They are offering this program free for the month of January!  This does not seem to be a temporary trial, but the full, two-year program.  This program was wrote by Siegfried Engelmann and he says on the website, "We've been trying for years to do things that make schools successful, particularly with young kids and lower performers....Why not make the electronic package available to anybody who needs it? It doesn't cost us much to do it, and it could help in a small way to counteract the effects of bankrupt schools and dismal times."



I have downloaded and installed this so that I could check into it before I recommended it.  I really like the theory behind the 100 Easy Lessons book, but it was a little boring for my kids.  Add color, stories, and interactive games, and this becomes really tempting!  Especially when it is free.

This is not something that you sit your kids down in front of  (thank goodness!) but instead you are running the mouse and observing, while the children listen and respond to the program.  They have to talk, read, and point to the screen.  There seems to be a lot of 'introductory' type material here, so with my kids who have already learned a lot of phonics, we are going to skip to lesson 10 and maybe even later.

If you have never read one of Siegfried Engelmann's books, you do need to know that material is presented rather quickly and in a different order then most phonics programs. You can go to this page to learn more about the team behind this program.   So far, this looks like something I will really like, and I think it will go great along with the Progressive Phonics books we are using now.  This has quite a bit of material in it so even if you have early readers who are past the phonics stage, there may be something here for them in the form of sight words and practice.

Check it out at the Funnix site!

Positive Action for Christ Bible study review

The heaviest burden on the heart of any Christian parent, is that mandate to teach our children the truth of the Word of God, and instill a love for our LORD in their hearts.  This job is given to all Christian parents, not only those who have chosen to educate their children in their home.

I have had a great desire to give my children a Bible education like I had, and to make it even more personal and practical.  Because of this, I have been very picky and nowhere have I found a product that fulfilled all of my wishes.  Until now.  This has been the biggest blessing of our school year, and I am praising the LORD for showing us this program!

Everything I was looking for is here in Positive Action For Christ's elementary Bible study program.  Sound theology.  All the Bible stories, well known as well as obscure.  Practical personal development, based on the passages.  Basic Bible knowledge, such as chapters, verses, and how to find them.  A knowledge of the great hymns.  And it even has a great feature that I didn't expect- colorful workbooks!

Since we have started using Positive Action for Christ it has become the favorite part of our homeschool day. Not just for me, but for my children as well.  To be completely honest (and I always try to be completely honest in these reviews) I cannot recommend this program highly enough.  My husband even asked, upon hearing my talk about it, if we could buy all 12 years right now!

There are 35 lessons in each yearly program, and each lesson is to be used for one week.  The teachers manual contains everything you need to teach to program and is non-consumable.  It comes in a three ring binder and is packaged amazingly well.  Each year's curriculum is $33.95, plus $12.95 for the student workbooks.  Since you can re-use the teachers manual for later kiddos, it gets cheaper as you go!  The elementary program is grade-specific, and they build on each other.  You can see the scope and sequence on the Positive Action for Christ website.

The teachers manual has helpful information for homeschoolers and Sunday School Teachers, including how to use the program for several ages at once.  They recommend picking a grade in the middle of your children, so it will be usable for all.  The concepts are easily taught to children that are a little older or younger, the only problems might be in the workbooks- writing is required in the first grade level that we received.  That's not a problem for Bop, but CJ is four and he gets frustrated by too much writing.  Even taking that into consideration, I think he could handle the workbook without too much trouble.

I really appreciate the level of personal application that this program contains, even in the first-grade book.  So many Bible programs are nothing more then watered down Bible stories, with little relevance to the actual passages, and even less personal value.  You will not find that here!  I was very impressed when our very first lesson, about the first verses of Genesis, discussed Jesus being the Light of the world.  It even has a short story talking about how we can show the light of Jesus to others!  All in the very first lesson about Creation.

You will find the memory verse for the week and the song selections at the beginning of each lesson.  The children learn one hymn and two "choruses" every two months.  This really gives time to learn all the verses of the hymns, but I may add in a few and shorten that time.  It just depends on how well they pick them up.  The Bible verses are cyclical, so each verse is covered at least twice during the elementary program.  I really like this feature.

The workbooks are very high quality, bright full-color on heavy pages.  I think you could easily do the program without them, especially if you have a workbook-resistant child.  But it does add something to the program, and Bop just loves it.  I think we will be doing first grade again next year, so it will be easier for CJ to keep up with as the levels get harder.  We will certainly be using this program in the years to come!  It may be a little more expensive then some programs, but what subject is more important in your schooling?

There have been only two very minor changes I have made in this program so far.  The teachers manual has recommended plans for using each lesson in a homeschool setting.  They have lesson plans for 3-day, 4-day and 5-day weeks.  I found them highly confusing, and when I went to the actual lessons it was very simple to just plan out each day according to the reading for that week.  I decided the lesson plans that they had just complicated it.

The only other change I made, was the choice to leave out the section on personal salvation.  That was totally a personal choice based on the maturity and spiritual levels of my children.  And to be fair, that section does have a footnote to let you know that you may want to skip it until your child is older.

I really recommend this program for every Christian family- it would be a wonderful, fun tool for family devotions.  The lessons, when divided up into four or five days a weeks, don't take very long to cover so would be perfect to do while sitting at the supper table.  I think this is a great Sunday School program as well, since so many of those have  been turned into nothing more then water-down playtime.  In case you can't tell, this is a subject I am pretty passionate about, and I am absolutely thrilled with Positive Action for Christ!

Read more reviews for Positive Action For Christ at The Old Schoolhouse Crew blog, including reviews for other levels.

I received this product free of charge

as a member of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew,

for review purposes. I promise to be honest

and fair in my reviews, and I received no

other compensation in exchange for my review.

You can visit The Old Schoolhouse Crew blog

to read more reviews on this product.

Family Pictures- Here We Are!

My beautiful family.  

I am so blessed.  :)

No Regrets

I am a perfectionist by nature.  Not one of those everything-is-perfect, no-hair-out-of-place, don't-sneeze-in-my-house kind of perfectionist.  (My goodness, with all the dust you probably will have to sneeze in my house!)  No, I am the kind of perfectionist that is the poster child for the saying, "If you can't do it right, 
don't do it at all".
And because we can't, we don't.  

Anyway, I think we all have a bit of this perfectionist side in us.  But when you get right down to the heart of perfectionism, it's pride.  Pride tells us that we have to be the best, the cleanest, the fastest, the busiest.  But like all pride, perfectionism comes with a fall- and it is one of the biggest and scariest falls of all.  Compared to the pride of having the best body or the best house, the pride of perfectionism is subtle.

When I am focusing on perfectionism, I am by definition focusing on the little things.  

Sheets without wrinkles.  

Alphabetized bookshelves.  

Stacking the blocks in the box instead of throwing them in.  

Writing blog posts more then once a month.  Okay, maybe not that one.  ;)  

But do I look back on my home three years ago, and think with happy thoughts of my neatly folded sheets?  Do I have memories of great meals eaten with polished silverware?  No, I can't even recall those things.  Unfortunately, too many of my memories are of little voices asking me to play.... and me saying 

"Not now. "Mommy's busy".  

One of the greatest gifts my husband has given me is the desire to live with no regrets.  In fact, he saw the title to this blog post (before I had wrote anything else) and he commented that it was a good one.  :)  He has told me many times that he is living his life with no regrets.  True, there are some.  There are always some.  But in recent years he has constantly had the "big picture" in front of his mind.  And that has changed my life.  I am certainly not as good as it as he is, my perfectionist nature still raises it's head too much, but I am growing, little by little, into that person.

My beautiful friend has this wonderful quote written under her Facebook picture:

Striving to become an old woman 

with few regrets.

With the beginning of this new year, many people are writing resolutions.  I do not have any 'resolutions' for this year.  I have a goal for my life, and I try everyday to keep the big picture in front of my eyes.  I am striving to become an old woman with few regrets.

God Bless!