Friday, March 7, 2014

Asia: Its People and History Review

A great new book  Asia:Its People and History by Bonnie Rose Hudson is hot off the press! This book will teach your children all about the countries of Laos, Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran, China and Vietnam.  Not only will they learn about geography and daily life in those places it covers their spiritual needs as well. The book is written for children ages 8-10, but a wide variety of ages will glean so much from this resource!  As a mom even my eyes were opened to a great many things! The book is written in Biblical Worldview and will give families and idea on the needs of the people of Asia.

One thing that I loved about book was the way it's laid out.  You can tweak it to fit your own schedule of course  but I liked the suggestions of covering each country in 2-4 weeks.  At his rate the material will last you 16 weeks. Another great feature was the book list. Lots of the books listed can be downloaded for free! IF you want to add more to the unit you can visit the authors website for bonus content and download even more activities.

After reading each story segment there are activity pages that enhance to learning.  Another great feature was the book list. Lots of the books listed can be downloaded for free!

The story that moved our family the most was the one called "Jesmin's Journey." This bought to light the fact that may kids not not live in a safe area and may not have enough food to eat. My kids really wanted to know how they could help out so we are looking into sponsoring a child through Gospel for Asia, Compassion International or World Vision, Inc.

  The E-book version of Asia: Its People and History is available at the Schoolhouse Store at: http://www.theoldschoolhouse.com/product/asia-its-people-and-history/  Use the promo code 02asia14! (include the explanation mark in the code) to save on at the Schoolhouse Store through 3/15/14.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Asia: Its People and History by Bonnie Rose Hudson

We were blessed to be chosen to get a sneak peek a new book called Asia: Its People and History, written by Bonnie Rose Hudson of WriteBonnieRose.com. This is a sixteen week introductory unit study that covers 6 different Asian countries including Laos, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Iran, and Vietnam. The book includes stories, activities, and discussion questions. We are learning so much with the book already! I just know that you and your children will enjoy it as much as we are.

If this is something that you are interested in you are in luck! It come out next week! You can save money now by preordering it here.

Bonnie just did a great interview that you can read bwlow and get to know her heart and how she goes about the writing process.

When writing a new book, how do you go about planning for it? Do you have a method you use, or is each one different?

I’m a planner by nature. I love to lay out all the details and know where I’m going before I take the first step. But, I’ve noticed that God often likes to remind me that I’m not the one who is in charge of my life, He is! So I usually start a project with a hook and an outline. I need to know the heart of the project before I start. That’s what gets me excited about writing it. What will its purpose be? What will it illustrate? I write an outline, or have one in my mind, but the story or project always takes lots of unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes the research doesn’t pan out and I have to choose a different direction. Sometimes the outline doesn’t go far enough. I remember working on the first book-length project I tried to write. I had a beautiful outline for the entire book. I had covered the entire outline in four chapters! I had some major re-planning to do on that one!

Do you have a certain writing space, somewhere you go *just* to write your books? An office, a lake cabin, a hotel? What do you love about that space? How does it inspire you?

I don’t have a writing space. I do have an office/library that I enjoy sometimes when I write because I can close the door and enjoy being surrounded by books! But I will write anywhere, anytime I get the chance, including on grocery lists at the store, in the car (provided I’m not driving, of course), on a notepad by my bed, it really doesn’t matter. I can get lost in an idea almost anywhere!

What would you say to a young person who aspires to be a writer? What advice would you give?

Don’t give up. Write everything down that you feel God has put on your heart to write about. Twenty years from now, you might look back on a story you wrote and think it was really silly. I did. I started writing my first book when I was around 11 or 12. When I read now what I wrote, I see a lot of mistakes I didn’t see back then. But that’s not what matters. I wrote down the story that was on my heart.

As you learn more about writing, you will probably find yourself feeling frustrated and discouraged at times by all the rules and all the details. You might wonder why something you thought sounded just fine didn’t get published. The most important thing to remember is that being published isn’t what makes you a writer. If you are a writer, it’s because that’s what God has called you to do. You may get published; you may not. You may not make a living by being a professional author. But that doesn’t change God’s call. Listen to Him, grow closer to Him, and obey Him. That’s what matters.

How did you get your start in writing/getting published?

One key to remember is that writing and getting published are never the same thing. A writer is a writer because that is how God fashioned them to be. Publication is exciting and can feel like a confirmation of that calling, but it’s not what makes you a writer. Alton Gansky recently wrote an incredible blog post about that topic. (HYPERLINK to his blog post:http://altongansky.typepad.com/writersconferences/2014/01/in-praise-of-amateur-writers.html)

The first thing I ever had published was a short story in 2005 called Nick of Time Heroes, which followed a string of rejected short stories and a novel. (HYPERLINK Nick of Time Heroes to http://www.christianwomanspage.org/ArticlesAll.aspx) I continued writing and continued receiving rejections. My next piece was not published until 2011. Shortly after that piece, I began writing for SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

What do you recommend for others who are getting started?

Praying and listening to God are the most important. He is the only One who knows the big picture. Work to learn the skills you need to learn, get used to letting other people read and edit your work, and be patient. You will never ever know everything there is to know! And even if you write a perfect piece (if there is such a thing) someone will have suggestions on how to make it better. It comes with the territory. Writing is an art, and just like any other art, there is a certain amount of subjectivity involved in judging whether a piece is the right fit for a publication or assignment.

Another thing that I have found incredibly encouraging is reading the stories of other Christian authors. I have a book that I bought years ago called Behind the Stories by Diane Eble. It shares the stories of dozens of well-known Christian authors. What touched me the most about the stories in the book was that no two stories were the same. God called men and women in all stages of their lives from countless professions and backgrounds. There is no cookie-cutter shape you must fit into as a writer. As I read and reread it, I think, “If God has a place for each of them in His plan, maybe He has a plan for me, too.”

What is the 10/40 window, and how did you become interested in it?

The 10/40 Window is a geographical area of the world roughly between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. The significance of this area is that it is home to over 4.5 billion people, over 8,000 different people groups, and some of the largest groups of unreached people in the entire world. More than 80% of the world’s poorest people live in the 10/40 window. It is an area that many people are taking intentional steps to pray for and reach out to the people who live there. You can read an excellent description of the significance of the 10/40 Window on JoshuaProject.net (HYPERLINK to this page, please:http://www.joshuaproject.net/10-40-window.php)

Several years ago, God began to turn my heart’s attention to the stories of the persecuted Church. I had always had a heart for the persecuted in China, but I never grasped how widespread the persecution of Christians was until much later. I started reading about men and women who lived in Laos and Burma, India and Pakistan, and many other places. They were suffering terribly for their faith in Christ. This wasn’t the stories of the heroes of the faith of yesterday that I had grown up hearing about, or what I had thought were isolated stories from one nation. These were stories of families–including children–who were suffering right at that very moment for their faith.

Reading their stories gave me a burden and broke my heart. I had to do something, but I didn’t know what. Writing and sharing about their stories gave me a way to process what I was reading and feeling and a way to hopefully encourage others to become involved and share their stories as well.

Is there anything else that you would like readers to know?

Nothing is impossible with God!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

2014 Winter Olympics Lapbook Review

The Winter Olympics are almost here! We loved doing a unit a few year back on the Summer Olympics so we decide this time we would dive into the Winter Olympics!

This week to get ready we decided to do this great lapbook with study guide. We are not new to lapbooking, but if you are she explains how to put the booklets together very well! A picture of the completed lapbook is included for visual people like me. That takes the guess work out of where to place things. So much is covered while working on these templates: history, copy work, character, vocabulary and much more.

We have used several Knowledge Box Central products in the past in our homeschool. This definitely will not be the last! Now the girls have a special keepsake to show others what they have learned and can look back over the material anytime they want.

Customer service at Knowledge box central is amazing. They are always quick to rely to any question that you might have. They are so kind and really have a heart for homeschool families!

Knowledge box central carries many lapbooks for a wide range of topics. Check them out today you will not be disappointed.

It's on sale at Currclick.com for just a dollar! Grab yours today and have fub going for the gold!

Monday, November 18, 2013

Rose Art Extreme Air Brush Studio Review

At our house we love to get creative. We were super excited to be chosen to review the Rose Art Extreme Air Brush Studio.

It come with markers, stencils, motorized pump and sprayer. It's super easy to set up. No assembly required! Put in the batteries and you are ready to create. Gotta love that!

The Extreme Air brush studio transforms any RoseArt Super Tip marker into a motorized airbrush. Children will be able to do this on their own and will have hours of fun with this toy. It's super simple. Just select any RoseArt SuperTip Marker and load it into the handle of the motorized sprayer. Make sure the marker is inserted all the way into the handle. Adjust the marker forward or backward slightly to achieve the desired spray pattern. Select your favorite stencil and lay it on a blank sheet of paper. Turn on the motorized sprayer, press the red button on the handle and spray away! You can use the stencils that it comes with or just create your own masterpiece!

Be sure to head to youtube to view a video of this awesome toy in action!

If you think your child would love to see this under the tree you are in luck! Walmart will be selling this for $9.97 instead of $19.97 on Black Friday.

Emma wanted to give a video review of the product! Check it out here!

We love RoseArt product. The company is celebrating their 90th anniversary this year! Be sure to like their page on Facebook and enter their giveway. There are weekly prizes for VISA gift cards as well as Rose Art products.

Here are are few of the great art pieces we made with the Rose art Extreme Air Brush Studio.

We look forward to making many more great pieces of art with this great item!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Cicadas Express Lapbook Review

During our nature walk one afternoon we discovered several cicada shells on our trees.

We headed to the internet to find out more and ran across this unit study/lapbook. This inexpensive resource was filled with all information that we needed to learn more about these odd creatures!

If you are new to lapbooks, have no fear. Helpful links as well as photos are included to help you understand how they are put together. The download has everything that you need to get started. Lapbook pieces, background information, as well as fun internet links for hands on fun are all at your fingertips! You can add in other resources if you want to but it's great on it's on! Great value! We enjoyed this product and will look for more of these products to enhance our unit studies.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Infinity Permanent Markers from The Write Dudes

We love to craft with markers so when we were sent two packs of Infinity Permanent Markers from The Write Dudes we could not wait to put them to use! They came at a great time! We were just starting to work on a booth for the library to enter in the local fair. These markers helped to make our project fun! They worked on a variety of surfaces. We used them on a wooden sign:

We also used them to color in the vines and leaves on our banner made from a drop cloth

My daughters are also putting them to use ona variey of paper crafts on a daily basis!

These markers are bold, bright and fit nicely in your hand. As you can see they write well on a variety of surfaces! No crafty home should be with a least on set of these markers! Give them a try today, you will not be disappointed.

The markers are sold at department stores, crafts store and online!

Autumn Leaves! Mini Science Project

This is a simple experiment with a great visual of why and how leaves change colors. I loved the fact that this product is simple to use and easy to implement. This items that you need are common household items! Just alcohol and coffee filters! Fun and educational, can't get better than that!

If you want to give it a try click here!

You can see the green climbing up the coffee filter here!