Posted in Fun and exciting!

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has done it again!

This time, they are offering to anyone a digital supplement to their popular magazine. The theme of this digital supplement are holidays more specifically Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This little gem is packed with a story about the Pilgrims, a thanksgiving activity for the family based on Psalm 136 tons of activities for the children, articles for the mom, recipes, Christmas carols, decorations, handmade gifts suggestions, and many more goodies. I'm quite excited about this supplement and look forward to read the articles in it.

My only sad point would be that it wasn't release sooner so that Canadians can use the Thanksgiving part of it. I guess there is always next year! This wonderful supplement is completely FREE. Click on the image below to get your copy!

Posted in Reviews of other products

Bible Trading Cards By Creation By Design Website: http://www.mybiblecards.com/

About the cards Creation By Design's mission is to create Biblical products that enable children to connect with God's word in an exciting and fun way. In a time where Creationism is debated in the United States as an option to be taught in public schools and the secular culture in inundating our children with the latest in video games, television and trading card fashions, we must find new ways for the next generation to bond with Scripture. Taking the latest in computer digital graphics and a fresh narrative voice, My Bible Cards stands as an alternative to Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh. Creation By Design has devised a Bible Card trading series that can be used as a teaching tool to help children understand the Biblical narratives without forgoing their sense of the latest gaming trends.

• 100% original 3D digital computer-designed Art
• 100% original textual story content
• Fun facts and Timeline sections to tie the information all together
• Kids will want to collect them all!

 

My thoughts I had the opportunity to evaluate this product through PTPA Media, Parent Tested Parent Approved and since they have just release their Holiday Campaign Winners, I can now present you this wonderful card games.

I think this is the best solution for parents who don’t want their kids to be exposed to other card games on the market like Pokemon for example. My oldest was introduced somehow to Pokemon cards when he was going to senior kindergarten. I thought it was a bit too young for this show (not the cards) and since we are not hockey fans per say (we love Olympics hockey though) – I just couldn’t figure out what kind of cards he could “collect”.

Enter My Bible Cards from Creation By Design. When I learned about them, I had just signed up for PTPA Media which allows parents to test and approve products. You receive the product, you test it (use it) and then you answer a questionnaire about it. So I received and e-mail from PTPA Media asking for families who have children aged 7-12 and who ideally are Christians and homeschooling. Which is exactly our situation… So I communicated with them and I received a box of the Old Testament.

Geared for boys and girls whose age is within 5 and 12 years old, these cards will permit them to visualize the stories of hte Old Testament. Each cards has a 3D artwork on the front and 3 sections on the back. The Narrative section which describe the card itself. The Fun Facts which gives more information about the subject of the card in art, literature, history, science and animals. The Timeline which places the event of the card in relation to other trading cards and world history.

I used the cards as a reward when my 5 and 8 year old would behave properly during the school time. I went to the dollar store close to my house and bought them sleeves so that can store the cards and refer to them. We then got a binder to store the sleeves in it. My oldest got in his mind to place the cards by numerical order. So now the cards are in order in the binder and it's easier to refer to them when we look into the Old Testament events. For example, the kids are going through the days of creation at AWANA and we can take the binder and look at the cards related to the Creation days. Pretty neat!

Right now only Series A is available on the market. A packet contains 5 randomly selected cards out of a series of 100. Price of a packet is 3.99$. In a box of 24 packets you would have a total of 120 cards. There is a full set of 100 series A guaranteed in every box. Price of a box is 85$.

Also, you will find in the fun section of their website free wallpapers as well as coloring pages.

I strongly recommended the Bible Trading Cards for whoever who wants to make it more realistic for their kids.

 

Posted in Just life...

Oh I wish I could give good news about contracting but the kind of work we are doing has nothing with computers and programming unfortunately.

For those who don't know, we collect comics.  Mind you it has been years since we bought new ones and recently I've discovered that HULK was red at one point. 

A few years ago, we bought about 186 boxes of comics for a really good price and sold some during a garage sale.   Out of these we have about 35-40 boxes we kept to create two separate collections to sell eventually.   The work we have right now is to bag the comics and price them (we are still waiting for the price guide to come in) and open our basement for potential buyers. 

And let me tell you it is a BIG job.   Alexandre is very helpful and the three of us can do a lot in one afternoon but we are still only three.   We are almost done going through collection #2.  Now my job is to try to place in alphabetical order the 10-15 boxes at one corner of the basement.

So we are having fun.   The funniest thing is that right now it makes me want to read some comics.   It has been a long time since I did that.  

 

Posted in Reviews of other products

Triviathon

By the creators of the #1 SuperBowl Commercial of 2009 “Free Doritos!” Website: http://www.triviathon.com/

About the Game The trivia game where you can compete and win without ever knowing the answer to a question! Triviathon will have players singing, dancing, arm wrestling, cheering, cheating, and more as they compete in a game that puts each player's unique cognitive, physical, and social skills to the test, all while trying to win a race moving at speeds of 0, 1, 2, or 3 spaces based on trivia questions they don't even have to know the answers to - Just answer A,B,C, or D!

Who are the creators of the #1 SuperBowl Commercial of 2009 “Free Doritos!”? Joe and Dave Herbert - The Herbert Brothers made headlines in 2009 when their Super Bowl commercial for Doritos took the #1 spot on the USA Today Ad Meter - just two weeks before the public launch of Triviathon at the Toy Fair in New York City. It was the first time Budweiser did not take the top spot in 10 years, and the feat earned the Herbert Brothers $1,000,0000. Watch the FREE DORITOS! Super Bowl Ad

Our Thoughts Usually, this section is called My Thoughts but since I’ve played the game with my husband I decided to renamed this Our Thoughts for my Triviathon review. First, let me tell you that I have never heard of Triviathon until I joined the group about Cranium on Facebook. Someone has posted that even though they loved Cranium they thought that Triviathon was the best game ever. My curiosity was picked.

What was Triviathon? I had never heard of it and mind you never saw the box anywhere. Honestly, I don’t hang out in stores often and this specific game had not come in any advertisement in my city so far. Could it be because I live in Canada? Maybe. So I decided to contact VP of Sales at Jeezle Pete’s to see if I could review the game. They agreed to do so and also tell me that the game was not specific to Canada at this point. They are so popular that they have been approached by a manufacturer for distribution in my country. L

ast night, I was able to convince my husband to play a game with me. He is not into trivia much because he finds it hard to remember tons of information about specific things. He is definitively NOT a trivia game kind of person (except for the Disney ones…). So Trivia Pursuit is not played often in this household… So when I asked him to play with me so I can review Triviathon, there was a tiny bit of hesitation then he said sure . So we set up the game, made some popcorn, choose our characters and started the game. We had fun. We laughed. I even had to go outside to well “Triviathon is the best game ever!” – yes I did, laughing and all… Fortunately it’s November and not a lot of people are outside in their backyard! ROTFL I wish that one of us would have had to call a friend for help but we didn’t end up on that spot. Maybe next time.

We had a blast and my husband REALLY enjoyed it. He comments are “For once I enjoy a trivia game because I really don’t need to know the answer. The best part is that I am learning at the same time when I learned the results of my choice.” *grin* I’m so glad that he love this game. I give the two-thumbs up to Triviathon just because of that!

To play it is quite easy. Once you have set up the board and choose your special character, you have to start the game. Even the instructions coming with the game are hilarious. The creators are very creative. Your job as a player is to answer the questions (or pick the options that will permit you to advance fast on the board) so that you can win. You can either pick the number of spaces to advance or pick the color on which you want to go. Then you have a series of options A-B-C-D and there is questions on them, you pick one of the options and you will learn how many spaces to advance or which color to go to.

Here’s an example.

To what colored space do you want to move?
A. The color of the dress Peebles Flintstone usually wore.
B. The color celebrated by Protestants in Northern Ireland on July 12th.
C. The color of the lowest valued balls in a game of snooker.
D. The color of the star that appears on the Vietnam flag.

When you have picked your choice, you learn to which color you go. It’s that easy. And it is fun… To add to the pleasure of playing this game, your character has a special task to do during the game. My husband had taken the blue character which was the bully and anytime during the game he could challenge the other players to an arm wrestling match. Did you think I had a chance? None whatsoever, so I lost my turn and he add an extra space to his next move.

Oh and another bonus for you – you can create new characters definition on their website. You can even try to game yourself on the website before buying it. Try it out! You will be amazed by how easy it is to play this game. The game has already multiple awards under its belt since the release in February 2009 - Game of the Year! From Creative Child Magazine, PTPA Winner, iParenting Winner, TNPC Seal of Approval, Nappa Honors from National Parenting Publications, 100 Best Children’s Products! By Dr. Toy, Top 100 Games! by Games Magazine. And I have the feeling that it’s not over - more awards will be coming for this game.

My only concern would be the fact that there is no cover on the box of questions to protect the cards if you bring the game somewhere else. It would be something to consider. My suggestions to the creators are these:

1) Created more questions and offer them as add-on boxes
2) Develop a Canadian version of the game in a near future. *grin*

Triviathon will become a favorite in our family since it is so easy to play. We could play with teams with our children if we want to. Anyone from 8 to 128 years old can play. Preferable to play with a partner or more friends but if you are really bored you could play alone! I would assume that Triviathon is available everywhere in the US. As for Canada, I know that it should be coming soon in a store near you. In the meantime, you can always order it from the Triviathon website!

Posted in Little Blessings!

Check out the cool chocolate my kids got during Halloween...!  Isn't it cute?

The best part is that my kids gave them to me because the REALLY know I love this little creature and that I am known to be the Canadianladybug on the net.   I do have sweet kids!   I love them.  LOTS!

This little ladybug comes in three flavors - caramel, a green paste and a pink paste.   The pink paste one is the best I think - flavor is like cherries.

Posted in Did you know???

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has done it again! This time, they are offering to anyone a digital supplement to their popular magazine. The theme of this digital supplement are holidays more specifically Thanksgiving and Christmas. This little gem is packed with a story about the Pilgrims, a thanksgiving activity for the family based on Psalm 136 tons of activities for the children, articles for the mom, recipes, Christmas carols, decorations, handmade gifts suggestions, and many more goodies. I'm quite excited about this supplement and look forward to read the articles in it. My only sad point would be that it wasn't release sooner so that Canadians can use the Thanksgiving part of it. I guess there is always next year! This wonderful supplement is completely FREE. Click on the image below to get your copy!

Posted in Reviews of homeschooling products

If Animals Could Talk – Creation Speaks for Itself

Written by Dr. Werner Gitt
Published at Master Books

About the book “If animals could tell us about themselves, using our scientific knowledge, if they could tell us about the way they live, the special way they are made and many details about their individual design – what they would say would be unique praise to the Creator.” Did you know that while in flight, the sparrow’s heart can beat up to 760 times per minute? Or that a baby blue whale grows at a rate of 7.28 pounds an hour while it’s nursing, a grand total of 17 tons by the end of the nursing stage? How about that glow worms have a light output efficiency of 100% as compared to only 4% for our incandescent bulbs? Dr. Werner Gitt, one of the foremost creationist speakers in the world, uses his scientific expertise in this book to show the unique design features of some of God’s most captivating creations. All people, young and old, layperson or expert, will be able to understand and enjoy this straightforward book. Told from the perspective of the animals being described, If Animals Could Talk clearly shows the impossibility of life without design. Dr. Gitt uses simple language to provoke a sense of wonder and awe at the marvelous design of the Creator. My Thoughts This book is quite interesting as it gives the perspective of specific animals or human organs – LITERALLY! When you read the various chapters it is written in such a way that it is as though the animal is speaking to you. I find that it makes it more interesting to learn about a specific animal when it is written that way. Throughout the book, you will learn more information about the field sparrow, the whales, the platypus, the swallow, the glowworm, the dragonfly (my second best creature I think after the ladybug *grin*), the human eye, the earthworm, the intestinal bacterium, and the golden plover. Then there is a chapter about the animals that did talk in the Bible. Do you know which ones? If so, please comment at the bottom of this review. I learned a lot from the chapters I have read and I know I am not done yet with this wonderful little book. While I read one of the chapters once, I was reading to my oldest son about some of the things I was learning. He was very interested in learning more and asked to read the book when I am done. Since homeschool permits us to include new books in our day-to-day life, I don’t see why not. I am certain he will enjoy the information that is included in this book very instructive. This child of mine has an incredible memory and will bring up the information whenever it will be necessary and appropriate. I can’t wait to see when he will pull out some interesting fact from this book and tell us about it. You should see him telling out loud about how wrong the museum is when he sees information about millions of years old. I'm so proud of him to be able to voice this information out loud. I strongly recommend If Animals Could Talk for anyone who wants to learn interesting facts about certains animals/human organs. Let it WoW you… If Animals Could Talk is available everywhere even at amazon.ca and indigo.ca. If Animals Could Talk was given to me for review by Master Books.

Posted in CONTESTS!

If you want to win a copy of Planet Earth DVD, click on the button below...   It's a wonderful price to win!!!!!

Posted in Reviews of books

The Tallest of smalls

Written by Max Lucado
Published at Thomas Nelson

About the book An encouraging message for children: When you feel like you’re the smallest of smalls, Jesus’ love can make you feel like the tallest of talls. A delightful rhyming story about the Too-Smalls who live in the Stiltsville. Every evening a six, the Too-Smalls meet in the square where they hope they’ll be picked to receive stilts to strut about above the stilt-less masses below. They come to see if they matter—if they’re awesome, if they’re pretty, if they’re clever, or funny. Ollie, the smallest of too-smalls, pleas to be picked. He wants to be like the high-ups of Stiltsville who are proud of their stilts, the ultimate status. But once he gets stilts, oh how it hurts when he stumbles and tumbles and loses his stilts. That is . . . until he meets Jesus who chose low over high telling him, "Keep your feet on the ground. You matter already.” This book for kids coordinates with Max's trade book, Fearless, releasing in September 2009.

Who is Max Lucado? Max Lucado, Minister of Writing and Preaching for the Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, is the husband of Denalyn and father of Jenna, Andrea, and Sara. On a good week he reads a good book, has a few dinners with his wife, and breaks 90 on the golf course. He usually settles for the first two. Follow Max on his website at http://www.maxlucado.com/ .

My Thoughts and My oldest Son Thoughts WoW! I received this book yesterday and already the kids had their first reading from it. My oldest son, who is 8 years old, sat down with the book first thing this morning and read through it. He enjoyed it very much. Why? I asked him. Here’s his answer: “I like that Jesus is in the book. Also, Ollie realized that he is loved by Jesus for who he is and not for what others think of him. He doesn’t need the stilts to become the Tallest of talls!”. Then after breakfast, I read it to my 5 year old while our almost 4 and 2 years olds listened. The book is a hit in our household. The younger ones loves the colorful images.

When I first saw the book, I thought it was pretty thin. The box from which it arrived was pretty big – let me tell you that! Anyhow, I started flipping through it last night and really enjoyed the images myself. Colorful, bright and very attractive. I had a good feeling about this book. So I wasn’t surprised when the kids enjoyed it so much this morning.

Besides the lesson in it is so real. It is always good to be reminded of the importance of what God thinks of us and not others – no matter the age you are… *grin* This book is also perfect as a gift for a dedication, a birthday or even Christmas. Check out what Max has to say about The Tallest of smalls.

The Tallest of smalls is available everywhere even at amazon.ca and indigo.ca.

This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publisher.

Posted in Thoughts to think about...

You are probably wondering what I am talking about... 

Some of you know that we were trying to plant a church in the downtown area.   Our events - christian raves - were a success having from 50 - 150 people coming depending of the theme.   We had wonderful DJs from outside, Toronto, California and New York coming to spin for us.  We had people coming through the doors and not staying during the service because there wasn't enough people to blend in.   It is hard... and we had to decide to close for the time being.    Two of our leadership members are getting married to each other in December - they need time to concentrate on the wedding.  We need time to seek what God is doing both on the church side and the business side.   Lots is going on.  We have just so much energy in us and we can't duplicate ourselves to cover every bases.

So with wisdom - we had our last service last Saturday.  It hurts.   Lots.  Never though it would hurt like that...  but God knows better...  He feels the hurt as well right?

I figure that a seed needs to die in the soil if we want it to become a plant - like a rose, a maple tree or a simple tomato plant.   Just the same way, HEAT has to die so it can grow while we take a time to regroup, pray and seek God.  

Slowly, God is bringing opportunities to us - both business and church.  Ideas brought to us about our church format.   Ideas that we are slowly consider and bring to God.   Great ideas actually.  

So for now - we pray and seek God...

In the meantime this morning Dominic, age 5, came to me and asked me to come and see his church that he made on his bed.   His stuffed animals worshipping God.   Cute!    He might be unto something a friend told me...  LOL   I don't know.   If church planting would be that easy....   but then again we wouldn't grow would we?  We wouldn't experience pain and seek God for every aspect in our lives.   And we wouldn't trust Him.

I'm thankful for the experience of this past year and a half.   We learned a lot.  Experienced a lot and twicked our service time.   The kids love it - saw God working in our midst and learned the importance of prayer and helping others.   We didn't loose our time.  Definetively not.