Memoria Press: 8th Grade Literature Guide Set Review ~ TOS Review

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We find ourselves nearing the end of our fourth year of homeschooling, and so many things have become easier. My top priority each year is finding the right curriculum for each child! Memoria Press has become such a big help with that! Which is why I was so excited to review the 8th Grade Literature Guide Set from Memoria Press. Answer this question.....Have any of you ever had your child read a book for English/Literature and then have to hurry and read it yourself so you can put together study questions for it? I know that I have!!  And let me just add that it isn't all that fun! That is one BIG reason that I am so thankful for Memoria Press.

 

A Little Bit About the Company:

Memoria Press is a family-run publishing company that was founded by Cheryl Lowe in 1994. It produces wonderful, simple to use Christian education materials that benefit Homeschool families as well as private schools.
 

What I Received:

When I opened up my box from Memoria Press I was so excited to see that I have 4 sets of Literature Guides for my review.

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Teacher Guide
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Student Study Guide
• As You Like It Teacher Guide
• As You Like It Student Guide
• Treasure Island Teacher Guide
• Treasure Island Student Study Guide
• The Wind in the Willows Teacher Guide
• The Wind in the Willows Student Study Guide

Then we just went to the library and checked out the books to read as we worked through the curriculum.

 

How We Used It:

 

My daughter decided to start with Treasure Island first. We were able to check out the book and dive right in! At the beginning of the study guide there is a couple pages about the author of the book, which I found to be a great addition to the study guide. Then what you find when you open up the Student Guide are several sections for each chapter that is read. The sections are split up into: Reading Notes, Vocabulary, Comprehension Questions, Quotations and Discussion Questions. Your student can work through the study guide and fill in the blanks.

 

When I decided to start homeschooling it was because my daughter was struggling with reading comprehension, so watching her work through this study guide and build her reading comprehension at the same time was very rewarding for me.

 

My Bottom Line:

This is a great product! At this stage of the game, I find that the simpler something is.....the better. Memoria Press and the 8th Grade Literature Guide Set is a lifesaver for me! This makes adding books to a reading list simple and easy. Now homeschool parents everywhere have a little helper when it comes to reading comprehension guides. Memoria Press does a great job of not just making their products simple and easy-to-use, but also very affordable! Order yours today!

 

Social Media:

 

If you are like most people these days, you have found the benefit of staying connected through social media.

 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/memoriapress/
Twitter (@MemoriaPress) - https://twitter.com/MemoriaPress
Instagram (@memoriapress) - https://www.instagram.com/memoriapress/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/memoria-press?trk=nav_account_sub_nav_company_admin
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/memoriapress/
Google+ - https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/102017568472649365859/104379865092561103366/about?_ga=1.103684480.147808133.1453409903

Unexpected Fruit on the Trail

 

  

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Life sure has a way of getting busy quickly. Sometimes before I know what is happening I am overcome by innumerable details and deadlines. Have you ever been there? Have you ever become so busy that the people you care about the most seem to only get the worst of you, or the leftovers? Well, I most definitely have!!  If I can be completely honest with you, I have probably found myself in that place more than once!  And.....That is exactly where I found myself on this particular day. So much to do and starting to feel overwhelmed and agitated.....so I did something surprising, and I went on an adventure with these three beauties!

I know it seems counterintuitive to escape to the woods with deadlines looming, but what I found is it had the exact opposite effect. Although the time I spent away from my "obligations" was spent.....(time I will never get back), it did several things for me.

The most obvious is this.....I love every second I can spend with my girls, and we have a wonderful time no matter what we do.  Even though the park was muddy and it was too early for there to be leaves on the trees....Actually.....it was too early for the bathrooms to be unlocked at the park! Ugh!! That's a completely different story altogether.

 

Next, exercise is always good for you....and it helps you clear your mind and build your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. It is important that we spend time caring for ourselves....that is a hard one sometimes!

 

I think the most important reminder I received was about the truth of God's Word. You see God tells us multiple times in His Word the importance of rest for our bodies. He led by example as we can read in Genesis....on the seventh day He rested. Do you really think the God of the universe was tired? No.....He was teaching us that we need to take some time to rest and rejuvenate ourselves. When we are faithful to walk out the precepts of God's Word....it will always produce fruit in our lives. We will see growth and development in ourselves because of it.

 

That is exactly what happened! After my little adventure with my girls I was able to get right back to work and was actually more productive and got more done is a shorter amount of time! Not to mention, we were able to make some silly and wonderful memories along the way! I love watching the Truth of God's Word in my life!



 

 

Logic of English: Essentials 2nd Edition Review~ TOS Crew

 

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Recently I received Essentials 2nd Edition from Logic of English to work through with my daughter. So for the past several weeks we have been hard at work! The second edition of Essentials make it not only easy, but fun to learn the Logic of English.

Essentials 2nd Edition is great for homeschool families because of the wonderful way that it is created. Essentials is designed to teach students at multiple levels of learning. Because of this fact, Essentials can respond to each students growth as they move from one learning level to another. 

 

What you will find when you begin a lesson, is that each one contains essential concepts your student must learn as well as all three levels of spelling lists, grammar practice, and vocabulary instruction. We were so excited to dive into this amazing curriculum and check it out for ourselves.

 

We received:

• Essentials Teacher's Guide Volume 1
• Essentials Student Workbook Volume 1
• Spelling Journal
• Phonogram & Spelling Rule Quick Reference Guide
• Basic Phonogram Cards
• Advanced Phonogram Cards
• Spelling Rule Cards
• Morpheme Cards Set 1
• Phonogram Game Cards (Green)
• Phonogram Game Cards (Blue)
• Spelling Analysis Card 3
• Phonogram Game Tiles
• Essential Reader pdf
• Essential Reader Teacher's Guide pdf
• Essential Reader Student Activity Book pdf

 

My decision to homeschool was mainly because my youngest daughter was needing some additional assistance and seemed to be slipping through the cracks in the "brick and mortar" education system. Although she seemed to be a great reader, her reading comprehension level was below grade level and causing her so much frustration! At that time we began a new journey! Thankfully, Essentials is now a part of that journey!

 

How we used this product:

 

 

I was able to plug this product into her schedule so that we could get started with it right away! I found the Teacher's Guide to be very instructive and well written. Each lesson is split up into 5 parts...one for each day of the week. You begin with the essential concepts that will be taught throughout the lesson. Then throughout the week your student will move through a Spelling Rule, Spelling Journal, Building Words, Spelling Analysis...or tips for the spelling list, Grammar, Parts of Speech, Dictation, Vocabulary, Composition and Reading. We also were able to utilize the Essential Reader pdf and the Activity Guide pdf as well. These were a "bonus" for us. It was a great way for us to practice these concepts more fully.  The flashcards were also a wonderful addition to the learning process. You know that kids seem to forget things easily...this method of learning helps take these concepts from short term to long term memory! What a wonderful way to solidify the concept. Practice truly does make perfect!

My bottom line:

This is an INCREDIBLE curriculum!!  From the start it will engage your student and take them on an amazing journey teaching them the Logic of English. You will find that the variety of different learning methods do what they were crafted to do. You will see your student learn by leaps and bounds as they work through this curriculum, which is what we always want!!
Purchase yours today!

Social Media:

If you are like many others, you love staying connected through social media. Please take some time to check out these social media links.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLogicOfEnglish/  @LogicOfEnglish
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LogicofEnglish
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/logicofenglish/
 

Lavished with Love

 

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 We recently returned home from a family vacation. As we were away for the week, my husband and I found every opportunity to lavish our girls with not only wonderful things, but unique opportunities. We found great joy in hearing them squeal with delight and giggle with joy! Then as I read this verse all these thoughts flooded my mind and started me thinking about my Father God and how much He loves us.

 

I John 3:1 says, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."

 

God loves us so much. Just as we love to lavish our children because of our great love for them, our Father loves to lavish us because of His great love for us!! You can’t earn his love. You can’t earn his recognition. God is love, and he loves you unconditionally. If you want to be a happy person, you need to relax in God’s grace every day.

 

 

FishFlix.com: War Room Review ~ TOS Crew

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Thank you for supporting my blog and homeschool!

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Inspiring movies are few and far between these days, or at least they used to be! There have been quite a few wonderful movies that have broken onto the scene recently, and War Room is one of them! I was so thankful when I received the DVD War Room from FishFlix.com to review for them, and what a treasure it is!

Some of you may not be familiar with FishFlix.com. FlishFlix.com is a one stop shop for Christian movies that inspire and entertain! I am the mom of three girls and they all have different taste in movies, that's why I am so thankful to have found FishFlix.com. You will never have to wonder what to watch again...It is easy and affordable to build your DVD collection based on the options on this site. There are countless options, no matter what your taste in entertainment is.

What I received:

I was sent a physical copy of War Room to watch for this review. My family and I had a wonderful time watching it together.
 
How we used the product:

There are so many ways to spend quality time with your family, but sometimes it is nice to put a movie in, snuggle up under a blanket, and watch a family friendly movie together. War Room is an amazing movie from start to finish. We all loved it!

For those of you who haven't watch this film, I don't want to give anything away....but know that this movie is spectacular and challenging. I particularly loved the impact it made on my girls.

Here are some quotes from my sweet kiddos.
My oldest said: "I love that movie! It made me cry 3 times! It was inspirational and showed me how important it is to have a strong and consistent prayer life. This movie showed me that prayer needs to be the first thing you do.....especially when life happens."

My youngest said: "I loved it!"

My middle said: "It was funny and inspirational. It was funny how they showed real life situations and the struggle that Elizabeth had as she tried to learn how to pray. My favorite part is when she was sitting in her closet eating potato chips and drinking sprite. This movie also helped me to remember the power of prayer."

My bottom line:

What is there not to love about this fantastic film. Well done!! 

I found the cast to be amazing, and the message a critically important one. God's Word is clear that He desires us to cast our cares on Him. Prayer should always be our first line of defense when we come up against a difficult situation....and this movie shows just how difficult life can become.  Tony & Elizabeth Jordan are facing insurmountable odds in their relationship and the world seems to be crumbling down around them. If it weren't for Miss Clara taking Elizabeth under her wing, this family would have seen a different outcome. Instead, we see the importance not only taking things to prayer first and foremost, but also of passing on what we learn.

Without the mentorship of Miss Clara, Elizabeth would have continued to try to solve her problems on her own, but that isn't what we were created to do. God is faithful and He will work all things out for us, we just have to allow Him to. I know that I have people like Miss Clara in my life, and how thankful I am for them! War Room was a great reminder of just how important they are to me.

War Room is the best movie I have seen this year!

Social Media

If you are like so many other people, you love staying connected over social media. Take some time to check out these links.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fishflix
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/FishFlix @FishFlix
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ChristianDVD @ChristianDVD
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fishflix/