A Mom's Journey

~Merry Christmas 2009~

From our home to yours, we would like to wish you a fabulous Christmas! 

We praise Him for His birth...

are in awe of the Gift He gave, dying on the cross for our sins......

look forward in Hope to our resurrection....

and expectantly listen and watch for His glorious reappearing!

May this Holy Holiday season bring Love, Joy and Peace to your hearts and homes.

Love,

The Leepers

He shall be called....

~Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce A. Ware~

I received the following book free from Crossway publishers for the sole purpose of review.  I received no monetary compensation for this review and all opinions expressed are mine alone.

About the book:

With Big Truths for Young Hearts, Bruce Ware, a theology professor, encourages and enables parents of children 6-14 years of age to teach through the whole of systematic theology at a level their children can understand.  Parents can teach their children the great truths of the faith and shape their woldviews early, based on these truths.

The book covers ten topics of systematic theology, devoting several brief chapters to each subject, amking it possible for parents to read one chapter per day with their children.  With this great format, parents will be emboldened to be their chidlren's primary faith trainers-and perhaps learn a few things themselves along the way. 

About the author:

Bruce A. Ware(PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is professor Christian theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  He has written numerous journal articles, book chapters, book reviews, and has authored God's Lesser Glory, God's Greater Glory, and Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

My Thoughts:

 Dr. Ware has written book that is filled with wisdom and great theological lessons to teach your children.  Each lesson is broken down into easy, teachable lessons that could be done once a week or nightly.  They end with a few thought-filled questions and a scripture to memorize.  I appreciate the years of parenting that Dr. and Mrs. Ware share in this great tool.   I recommend buying this book if you do not have a lot of knowledge in biblical and Christian theology, yet want your children firmly rooted in them.

~40 Loaves by C.D. Baker...book GIVEAWAY~

I have another blog where I review books, mostly from Christian publishers. 

I am currently giving away a copy of this book @ my book review blog:

Faithful Grace Reader.

Please click the above link, leave a comment with your email address. 

Only comments with their email addresses listed will be eligible in the contest.

I will draw for the winner on December 28, 2009.

~Maestro Classics~ TOS Crew Review

I received the following product for free, for the sole purpose of review on this blog.  I receive no monetary compensation for this review.

Maestro Classics:

Imagine a child's world filled with music!

Classical Music CDs for Children
The award-winning new classical music CD series for children and families combines classic
stories with great symphony orchestra music. Combining literature, classical music, education
and entertainment, these CDs for parents and children are perfect for ALL kids and interested
parents. Once it was Baby Mozart, Raffi, ClassicalKids; now it is time for Maestro Classics(TM).

Bonnie Ward Simon and conductor/composer Stephen Simon developed and produced the original Stories and Music series for the Washington Chamber Symphony at the Kennedy Center.  An expert in the field of children's music education, Bonnie available to answer your questions about how you can introducethe wonderful world of music to your children from infancy onward. Visit her blog at AskBonnieSimon.blogspot.com

Maestro Classics' Award-Winning CD Series

Each CD set includes:

~An enchanting story set to great music

~Superb recordings by the London Philharmonic Orchestra

~Educational tracks describing the creation of the music, composers' lives, musical composition and more.

~An innovative activity booklet.

Cost:

Purchase one for $16.98 or three for $45.00

Click here to purchase and for a code to receive the 3/$45 deal.

Or phone at 888-540-2811

Titles Available:

Casey at the Bat

The Story of Swan Lake

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

Peter and the Wolf

Juanita the Spanish Lobster

The Tortoise and the Hare

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

 In Our Home:

We received The Tortoise and the Hare for review and the girls loved it.  Listening to story acted out on the CD with the addition of beautiful orchestra music was delightful to them.  They've asked to listen to it several more times. The bonus of having a read aloud mixed with Classical music is a ranks highly with me.  I think this would be a great Christmas gift for a large family that traveled a lot.  Another idea I had was that several families could go in on the cost and then trade them between themselves.  They are a little pricey, but the quality is worth the cost.

To view read what other TOS Crew members think about this product, click the logo below.

This is filled with wisdom!

One of my spiritual mentors was/is Elizabeth Elliott.  Sadly, she now suffers from dementia and no longer writes.  I miss her program Gateway to Joy, but enjoy getting a daily devotion from her.  I always have one of her books next to my computer to read while I await web pages to upload.

The following is the devotion I received in the mailbox today.  She taught me these principles when Jennifer was 2-3 years old and they have stuck with me.  But I also appreciate the wisdom at the end of this piece, I should be careful giving parenting advice to others when I have not walked in their shoes.

Teaching A Child Self-Denial

One of the countless blessings of my life is having a daughter who
actually asks for my prayers and my advice (and heeds the latter). She
phoned from California one morning, describing the difficulties of
home-schooling three children in grades six, four, and one, when you also
have a four-year-old who is doing nursery school and a two-year-old,
Colleen, who wants to do everything. And since Evangeline Mary was born, a
nursing baby now claims attention as well. How to give Colleen proper
attention and teach her also to occupy herself quietly for what seemed to
her long periods? Valerie was deeply concerned over whether she was doing
all she should for that little one.

I reminded her of the women of Bible times--while probably not
homeschooling her children, an ordinary village woman would have been
working very hard most of the time, carrying heavy water jars, grinding
grain, sweeping, planting and cooking while tending children. This was
true also of the Indians with whom Val grew up. An Indian mother never
interrupted her day's work to sit down with a small child and play or read
a story, yet the children were more or less always with her, watching her
work, imitating her, learning informally. They had a strong and secure
home base, "and so have yours," I told her. "Don't worry! You are not
doing Colleen an injustice. Quite the contrary. You are giving her
wonderful things: a stable home, your presence in that home, a priceless
education just in the things she observes."

The demands on Val, as on any mother of small children, are pretty
relentless, of course. She does all the housework with the help of the
children (a schedule of chores is posted on the refrigerator). People
usually gasp when I tell them the number of my grandchildren. "Wow," said
one, "it takes a special woman to have that many children." Special? Not
really. Millions have done it. But it takes grace, it takes strength, it
takes humility, and God stands ready to give all that is needed.

I suggested to Valerie that perhaps she could define the space which
Colleen was allowed to play in during school time, and make it very clear
to her that school time was quiet time for her brothers and sisters. When
Valerie was Colleen's age she had to learn to play quietly alone because I
was occupied for a good portion of every day in Bible translation work, or
in teaching literacy and Bible classes in our house. She knew she was not
to interrupt except for things I defined as "important." At that time
there were seldom children of her age to play with, and she had neither
siblings nor father, yet she was happy and, I think, well-adjusted. (For a
certain period we had the added difficulty of living with a missionary
family of six children under nine whose mother felt obliged to be more or
less available for her children every minute--they were thought too young
to learn not to interrupt. It was not an ordered home, and the mother
herself was exhausted most of the time.)

Does this training seem hard on the child, impossible for the mother? I
don't think it is. The earlier the parents begin to make the laws of order
and beauty and quietness comprehensible to their children, the sooner they
will acquire good, strong notions of what is so basic to real godliness:
self-denial. A Christian home should be a place of peace, and there can be
no peace where there is no self-denial.

Christian parents are seeking to fit their children for their inheritance
in Christ. A sense of the presence of God in the home is instilled by the
simple way He is spoken of, by prayer not only at meals but in family
devotions and perhaps as each child is tucked into bed. The Bible has a
prominent place, and it is a greatly blessed child who grows up, as I did,
in a hymn-singing family. Sam and Judy Palpant of Spokane have such a
home. "Each of our children has his or her own lullaby which I sing before
prayer time and the final tucking into bed," Judy wrote. "That lullaby is
a special part of our bedtime ritual. Whenever other children spend the
night we sing 'Jesus Loves Me' as their lullaby. What a joy it was on the
most recent overnighter to have the three Edminster children announce, `We
have our own lullabies now!' Matt, who is twelve and who can be so swayed
by the world, said, `Mine is "Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross."'"

The task of parents is to show by love and by the way they live that they
belong to another Kingdom and another Master, and thus to turn their
children's thoughts toward that Kingdom and that Master. The "raw
material" with which they begin is thoroughly selfish. They must gently
lay the yoke of respect and consideration for others on those little
children, for it is their earnest desire to make of them good and faithful
servants and, as Janet Erskine Stuart expressed it, "to give saints to
God."

Surely it was not coincidence that my friend Ann Kiemel Anderson called
just as I was finishing the above piece. She had just received little
William Brandt, her fourth adopted son. The others were four and three
years old and ten months. She was thrilled, and not nearly as exhausted as
she expected to be, thankful for the gift of the child and for the gift of
the needed grace and strength for one day (and one night) at a time.

"But oh, Elisabeth!" she said in her huskily soft voice, "when I had only
one, I thought I knew all the answers. There is nothing so humbling as
having two or three or four children."

I needed that reminder. Jim and I had hoped for at least four children.
God gave us one, and that one gave me hardly any reason for serious worry,
let alone despair. She was malleable. What "worked" for her may not work
for another child, but I offer my suggestions anyway--gleaned not only
from experience as the child of my parents and the parent of my child, but
from observation of others. My second husband Add Leitch, whose first wife
had died, had three daughters. "If I'd only had two, I could've written a
book on child training," he once told me. One of them proved to him that
he couldn't.

~Delightful Snow Play~

The sisters took to the backyard hill this afternoon.  They had a fabulous time playing together in the snow.  Similar to the wrestling matches that occur on the living room floor, snow lead to this...

Here are my two snow girls:

And because I am the meanest mother in the world, we will be doing school tomorrow!  I would rather press on in the warmth of our home and be done in the spring.  We will be done early enough to enjoy a warm fire, delicious baked cookies and games. 

~~Praying your home is filled with the warmth of the season,

~Tektoma~ TOS Crew Review~

I received the following product for free, to review on my blog as part of the TOS Crew.

Do you want to learn how to make video games?

Tektoma offers you this:

*Engaging video tutorials

*Tutorials of varying skill levels and topics

*Learn at your own pace in the comfort of your home

*Natural progression helps develop technical skills

*Customize your learning experience

*Low monthly membership fee gives access to all of their resources

*New curriculums are available monthly

Get a FREE 14 day trial.

To trial it click this link.

PRICE: Just $14.95 per month or $140 per year gets you access to all the tutorials as well as online help via the forums. Payable by credit card or Paypal. Monthly fee automatically renews until canceled.

This is a safe way to have your children learn to make their own video games.  It does have certain system requirements, please read them here.  Also you must download a program called GameMaker.

In Our Home:

In our home, Elizabeth really enjoyed using this program and running the cool game she made.  It was simple, but did require some supervision and instruction from her parents.   

To view what other TOS Crew members thought of this product, click the logo below.

~3 P Learning/Mathletics~ A TOS Crew Review~

I received the following product for free, to use in my home and review.  I receive no monetary compensation for reviewing this product.  All opinions expressed are mine alone.
Mathletics:

America's No. 1 Math Website:

Mathletics is the next generation in learning, helping students enjoy math and improve their results.  It is the essential curriculum-based resource for students at school and home. 

Benefits of Mathletics:

*Students love it, becoming highly motivated to improve.

*Phenomenal improvement rates.

*Weekly report emailed to parents.

*Used and trusted by millions of students and schools worldwide.

*Kindergarten to Grade 8 available now.

*Less than $2 a week. 

Mathletics strongly supports homeschool:

Mathletics has a number of unique features to strongly support homeschooling these include:

* A personal mastery dial tracking a student's daily progress.

*Access to live mental arthimetic challenges with questions getting harder as he/she answers correctly.

*Immediate feedback to responses with animated step-by-step report.

Cost:

Mathletics is a subscription and each annual subscription is for one child, as it's an individualized learning path for each child, keeping track their results and progress as they work their way through their individual grade curriculum. Each child also earns points as they are individually rewarded as they achieve mastery of concepts.

An individual subscription to Mathletics is $59.00 per child per year. If you know the Human Calculator's Favorite number, answer is '9', you can purchase a single child subscription for $49.95 per child per year. To purchase go to www.mathletics.com and put in the answer '9' then click submit to receive this special price.

In Our Home:

Elizabeth has loved playing these math games on the computer, I've loved the reinforcement of math facts that she is receiving.  The built in positive reinforcement of certificates and trying to move up the ranks within Mathletics has really inspired her to keep at.  She requests to review and use Mathletics, something that has rarely happened in the past. 

To view other TOS Crew Member's Review please click the logo below:

~All About Spelling* Level 1~TOS Crew Review

I received the following product free, for use in my home and review as part of the TOS Crew.

I received Levels 1 and 2 of All About Spelling to review.  Grace and I have been working through Level 1, this review will focus on it.  Please check out the All About Spelling website to view their other great products. 

All About Spelling is an excellent program if you are just beginning to teach your child spelling, or if your child needs remedial help. Here’s why it works:

• All About Spelling is multisensory. The lessons involve sight, sound, and touch. Children learn best when they are physically involved in the learning process, so we take advantage of that fact with this hands-on approach to learning and teaching spelling.
• All About Spelling is logical. Spelling concepts are taught in a logical, understandable order. Each lesson builds upon the previous lesson. The sequence has been carefully tested to produce long-term results. And this is as much a benefit to you as it is to your student—especially if you’ve been struggling with how to teach spelling.
• No gaps. This is something that you can trust with the All About Spelling program: your child won’t be left with gaps or holes in his or her understanding of spelling. If there is a reliable rule that will help your child out, we teach it. If there is a tip that will help your child master a certain spelling pattern, it’s in there. And it’s all presented in a very logical order.
• The program is mastery-based, not grade-level based, so when students master a specific concept, they move on. If a child needs more practice in a certain area, we allow for that so the child can really master each concept. There’s no sense building on a shaky foundation, because that will cause spelling difficulties down the road when the spelling words get harder. At All About Spelling, we’ve identified the concepts that are most important for your child to master, and we’ve weeded out any busy work.
• All About Spelling has continual review. As the child learns new material, he or she also constantly reviews previously-taught concepts. We don’t just “teach it and forget it”…we make sure that it really sticks.
• Finally, the program is clear. This means that children are taught what they need to know in a direct manner. They don’t have to guess or come to their own conclusions about the English language.

 What is included in Level 1?  Product description:

Level One in the All About Spelling series brings together the three pathways to learning—auditory (hearing), visual (seeing), and kinesthetic (touching). This multisensory approach, combined with a built-in review system and reinforcement activities, ensures that students retain what they learn and understand how to apply it in practical situations.

In a practical, hands-on way, your student will learn:

• How to say and write the first 32 phonograms
• How to segment words into their individual sounds
• Short and long vowel sounds
• How to identify and count syllables in a word
  
  
• How to choose between c and k at the beginning of a word
• When to double f, l, and s
  
  
• How to spell /k/ at the end of a word
• How to form plural words by adding s or es
  
  
• Compound words
• Open and closed syllable types
  
  
• and more!

The multisensory learning tools and activities included in the program help your student master important spelling concepts.

• The Flashcards provide a visual and hands-on way to help your student learn and review phonograms, words, and spelling rules.

• The Spelling Review Box helps you organize the flashcards so you can quickly see which words, phonograms, and spelling rules your student still needs to learn and review. (Flashcards and dividers are included; you supply the 3x5" index card box.)

• The Segmenting Words activity helps your student identify the individual sounds in a word so that he can spell more easily and accurately.

• Concept-oriented spelling lists that are grouped by similar phonograms and spelling rules accelerate learning by organizing ideas in the student’s mind and allowing the student to concentrate on and master one or two main concepts before moving on.

• Key Cards clearly present key ideas, concepts, and spelling rules that help your student thoroughly understand why a word is spelled the way it is and how to apply that knowledge to many other words.

• The More Words and Dictate Phrases sections reinforce current and previously learned concepts, increase the student’s repertoire of words, and allow the student to apply his knowledge in practical situations.

• Tips for the teacher anticipate and provide answers to your questions and give you on-the-spot strategies for helping your student overcome stumbling blocks. Worked seamlessly into the lessons, tips are placed right where you need them, when you need them, so you can continue your teaching uninterrupted.

• The Progress Chart gives your student a visual reminder of how far he has come and motivates him to master the next step.

Features are arranged in three easy-to-follow sections:

• Review: The Review section provides continual review of phonograms, spelling words, and important concepts so your student can advance confidently from one lesson to the next without the frustration of having to re-learn previous material. All About Spelling doesn’t “teach it and forget it.”

• New Teaching: The step-by-step lesson plans lay out new material clearly and concisely and save you valuable time. You don’t need a degree in education or hours of planning every night to teach All About Spelling—all the work has been done for you.

• Reinforcement: The important Reinforcement section gives your student the opportunity to apply what he has learned and to use that knowledge in practical situations.

By the end of Level One, your student will be able to write phrases such as:

The 24 steps of Level One progress in a logical, sequential order. Through direct instruction, students learn exactly what they need to know in order to spell well.

Click here to view a sample lesson plan for Level 1, All About Spelling.

 Cost:

Starter Kit(Letter tiles, magnets, Phonogram CD-ROM)

These are necessary for teaching Levels 1 to 6.  $31.85 if purchased separately.  

$26.95

 Products included are pictured below:

 Cost for Level 1 supplies which includes:

 Teacher's Manual and One Student Material Packet

  $29.95

 To order please click here.

My Thoughts:

Receiving this product has been a huge blessing!  I strongly believe in a solid foundation of phonics in early readers, with a gentle blend of whole language through living literature.  All About Spelling teaches phonics in a systematic and progressive fashion.  The audio CD is helpful for children to understand exactly what the sound should be.  The hands on material are friendly and engaging.

Here Grace is using the alphabet tiles to spell words that I read to her. 

  I appreciate the detail lesson plans within the Teacher's Guide book.  It also has great tips included.  There is built in review and each lesson builds on the previous. 

We really enjoy this product and look forward to using it for many more years to come.  It makes spelling easy on the teacher, fun for the student and a happy principle because his students are learning to be great spellers.

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

~25 Days of Gratitude~

Today I am grateful for...

~^~An enjoyable Thanksgiving day filled with a loving family, yummy food and sunshine!

~^~Financial provision, God has greatly blessed our family and we want for nothing.

~^~The blessings of a relaxing weekend, alone with my beloved.  The girls are enjoying a fun weekend with their Grandparents.

~^~Looking forward to Black Friday shopping.

I am blessed beyond measure!

Wishing you and your family a Blessed Thanksgiving.