Today I am especially grateful for...

~His love....I am so undeserving He is so faithful and abundant in His love...

~a great night's sleep

~a warm shower

~a fun afternoon at a park with my 3 favorite girls...

Today I am grateful for.....

~Answered prayer...I have been praying about something for a long time.  This weekend I finally got the fact that I was standing in the way of God answering my prayer in His way.  I kept trying to fix/solve the problem.  Within hours of surrendering it to the Lord, He answered my prayer in a great way. 

~Great husbands.....my is the best!

~Grandparents....We had a fun time with Grandparents at our Keeper's Grandparents luncheon.

~My dog Belle....She is such a great dog and she likes me best!

Sleeping on my leg.

Poor dear, Grace dressed her up! 

For review I received of CD of lesson plans for free, from American Heritage Education Foundation, Inc.  As part of the TOS Crew my obligation is to provide a review of this product.  All opinions expressed are mine alone.

AHEF is a non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation dedicated to the understanding and teaching of America's factual and philosophical heritage to promote constructive citizenship and Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility among our students and citizens.

AHEF accomplishes this patriotic mission by writing, producing, and distributing FREE K-12 lesson plans to teachers, students, and families in all 50 states and through additional initiatives, programs, and partnerships.

AHEF's History:

Our History

The American Heritage Education Foundation (AHEF) is a non-profit (501.c.3) corporation established in January 1995.  In 1993, current members of the Foundation worked with the Houston Independent School District (HISD) to establish American Heritage Month. Today, schools throughout HISD and the nation celebrate our nation's heritage each November through creative activities and projects. AHEF has assisted HISD in the development and subsequent revisions of an American heritage curriculum guide for grades K-12, entitled America's Heritage:  An Adventure in Liberty.  This curriculum continues to be introduced and activated throughout school districts in Texas and the nation.  American Heritage education workshops have also been developed to assist teachers in fully understanding and putting into practice the ideas and concepts included in the curriculum.

America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty is a curriculum project designed and written by teachers with AHEF and HISD and is available in Texas and National Editions with correlating standards and objectives. The initial phase of the project included development of material designed for middle school students, published in 1996. The curriculum was later expanded to include lessons for K-12 and was published as a first complete edition in the spring of 2001.

How do you get your FREE copy?

It is available free of charge as a download, in hard binder format, or in CD format via mail.

Please click here to order.

My Thoughts On This Product:

I have read through the CD that I received from the company and scanned their website.  We currently are not studying American history and I was not lead to use this resource when we did.    The foundation of this course is to teach the students about the four key themes of Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility--to educate students in our founding father's beliefs and perserve our nations founding principles.  These are detailed lesson plans that use historical documents such as The Mayflower Compact, The Declaration of Independence, Federalist 47, the First Amendment, and a government letter on religious expression in public schools.  It is a good supplement to your US History studies and it is FREE. 

To view other TOS Crew Members review please click the logo below.

Today I am grateful for...

~love...faith...and continually answered prayers

~a beautiful teenage daughter who helps willing around our home

~two sisters who play together and claim to be "best friends"

~a husband who diligently prepares our home for winter, he is the best!

~a Friday tea party with loving Grandparents.

~health!  We are all so healthy! Thank you Lord!

I am blessed!

As part of the TOS Crew, I received the following two books free from Bright Ideas Press, for review.  The opinions presented in the review are solely mine. 

Why take the time to “Crack the Code” of Classical Music?
     • Music is from the Lord. He created it, and He created us with the ability to both make and appreciate music.
     • “Classical” music is uniquely part of our Western civilization.
     • Research suggests that both listening to and playing classical music aids brain development.
     • Even rudimentary exposure increases one’s level of enjoyment and understanding.

This course provides a close-up look at famous composers, their music, and their times, with special attention to character traits and Christian testimony (or lack thereof). Even the musically challenged will enjoy this course! It’s perfect for grades 4–8 but is easily adaptable for younger and older students. Minimal teacher prep will return maximum enjoyment!

Within the book there are a variety of great learning activities to use within your home.  Some of them include

• 32 Weekly Lessons
• 26 Bios of Famous Composers
• 6 Eras of Music Explained
• Easy-to-Use Comparative Timeline
• Easy-to-Use Maps
• Composer Info-Cards & Game Directions

• Note-taking Pages
• Quizzes
• Answer Keys
• Listening Suggestions
• Intricate Coloring Pages
• Resource Books

Authors:  Maggie S. Hogan and Melissa Craig did extensive research and writing to bring this great resource.  They had music expert, Richard B. Pinkerton edit the book as well.

Cost:

CD-Rom Book
Price: $29.95

 To purchase click here.

 In Our Home:

We've been using this great resource for over a month.  At least twice a week I read through the detailed lesson with the girls.  They take notes on their provided note-taking pages.  Then we fill out a composer card.  The composer card is a place to collect all the facts about each composer.  There are also thinking questions to apply the interesting facts gleaned through the lesson.  Then using the supplied map, we map where the composer was born.  Each composer is divided by style of music and a great history of each music style is provided. 

I like the way everything is self-contained for our Classical Music discussions now.  I don't have to search for the perfect book to read, assemble the notebooking pages and make-up a timeline.  The only thing missing for me from this curriculum is actual music to listen to.  I want my daughters to also be able to recognize the composer's main pieces when they hear them.  It is easy to find CD's or the pieces online though to add to the curriculum. 

This is a picture of the folder that Jennifer has been putting together as we study Classical music.

Written from a Christian perspective, Hands-On Geography will get you excited about teaching an oft-forgotten subject. Includes specific instructions for many activities, games, and projects designed to be appealing to kids and easy for parents. An easy, yet thorough, introduction to a very important subject. Grades K – 5.

 Written by Maggie S. Hogan.

This is a large paperback book stuffed with wonderful Geogrpahy resources.  The beginning chapter has information about the National Geography Bee. 

Also present in this book are directions for six homemade geography games for the early elementary years. Fun stuff that uses items you already have in your home to reinforce geography.

 Included in this book is an extensive section of outline maps to copy.  Then Maggie S. Hogan has a large chapter on ways to use these maps called "Maps Galore".  Things like sticker geography, jigsaw maps and booking maps to name a few.  There are sixteen projects in that chapter.

 Jennifer did the chapter on Joseph's Journey, this is a detailed map and geography questionnaire to enhance her learning as we studied Joseph's life.

A chapter on nature geography was filled with tools on how to include nature in your geography study.  A great guide to making your own field guide is on my to-do-list for the spring.  We will be using her helpful pages on studying birds that live in our area this winter. 

This is a valuable resource that is well worth the cost of $14.95

Orderhere.

Maggie S. Hogan has written an extensive amount of great Homeschooling curriculum. 

Please click the logo to read reviews of her other products.

Today I am grateful for~

~full days...filled with grace, love, hope and joy!  Many activities and lots of smiles.

~daughters with tender hearts.  Grace and Elizabeth came home from Awana's wanting to send their favorite stuffed animals in the Operation Christmas Child boxes.  They have a shopping list started for what to send. 

~faithfulness....a faithful God who always their to speak loving words to me.  A spouse that is faithful in so many ways.  Children that are faithful in their learning.  Parents who are faithful and taught me responsibility. 

~a warm home and warm bed...

I am blessed!

As Jennifer begins her high school years, we are all beginning to ask the question, what next?  Jennifer has some ideas, but has struggled to put those ideas into tangible work opportunities.  Even more important to us is that Jennifer has a job that fits her talents and desires. 

As part of the TOS Crew I received a free month's subscription to ACT Discover to review.

DISCOVER can help you choose a career, find training, or learn how to find a job.

This is an inventories based assessment tool. The inventories help you think about yourself, and which occupations would fit you best your interests, abilities, and values. As you grow older, you become more certain of your interests, abilities, and values.

DISCOVER offers inventories to people based on your grade level.

Inventories available:

To view other TOS Crew members review of this and other great products click the logo.