Review~ Books from Carole P. Roman

Please Note~ This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. 

Once again, I get to share with you some wonderful story books from Carole P. Roman. These fun and engaging tales are from  Carole P. Roman books and collections. Readers will travel the globe and learn a variety of interesting facts.

Last year, we reviewed a few other titles from Carole P. Roman, so we were thrilled to receive the chance again. Her stories are filled with fantastic pictures and a ton of information. Children can't help but enjoy her stories.

For this review, we received three books to read and discover.... If You Were Me and Lived in... Ancient China, If You Were Me and Lived in... Colonial America, and If You Were Me and Lived in... The American West.

There are so many choices to choose from. Parents can easily build a wonderful collection of books for their own personal home library. Children will eagerly read and reread these fantastic stories.  All the stories included beautiful illustrations. A few even included real pictures in the story. At the end of each book, Carole P. Roman includes a section about various famous people from the time period and a glossary of words used in the book. This is a wonderful resource for eager learners. I love the glossary. It allows children to truly understand the story and the new words they come across. 

If You Were Me and Lived in...Ancient China is about Ancient China  and the Han Dynasty. Young readers will travel back in time to the Han Dynasty which ruled from 206 B.B to 220 A.D. Readers will learn where China is located by looking at a map included in the very first few pages of the book. 

Readers will see what an ancient city in China might have looked like. They will learn about the Chinese people, their customs, their religions, how they would have lived, what their houses looked like, how their family life might have been, and the roles of each family member. 

Readers will learn about jobs they might have had, the Silk Trade Route, and what a dynasty in China was. The story is filled with important facts, dates, and people. The beautiful pastel pictures add an extra bonus to the story. The images bring to life the tale of the Chinese people. 

If You Were Me and Lived in...Colonial America is a story about what life was like in the early days of colonial America. Most young readers are familiar with the tales of early explorers and the pilgrims, but this story brings so much more to the table. The beginning of the books introduces readers to London, England. They will learn about King Henry the VIII. A brief introduction about various religions is presented in the book. This helps explain why the Puritans left for the new world. 

***None of the religions are presented in a negative way. This allows parents to explain the division between the Catholic Church and Henry the VII, the Church of England, and the Puritan religion according to their own religious beliefs. The book then goes into detail the journey across the ocean, the new government, and the daily life of the pilgrims. 

Young readers will learn about chores that needed to be done, food they may have eaten, clothes they would have worn, games they would have played, and how hard life would have been that first year. Native Americans are introduced in the book and the story of the first thanksgiving.

If You Were Me and Lived in...The American West is all about the wild west. I can't imagine any young boy not wanting to read this book. This story is all about the Oregon Trail.

Readers will mosey back to the year 1843. They will learn about the California Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail, wagon trains, and the great plains. Readers will learn all about the difficult journey many settlers faced as they traveled west. Long days traveling, river crossings, mountains, and chores are just to name a few of the things covered in this story. Young readers will see what it was like for these families to pick up everything they owned, travel across the country, and start a whole new life. The western town will be introduced.

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Till Next Time, Monique

Happy Palm Sunday!

....blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Till Next Time,

Monique

Reviews~ A La Carte from Home School in the Woods

Over the years, we have purchased a wide selection of the hands-on history unit studies from Home School in the Woods. These prepared lessons are filled with tons of information and offer students a variety of project and crafts to supplement their studies.  Learning history is fun!  Now, Home School in the Woods offers many of their hands-on history projects  Á La Carte.

With the wonderful selection of Á La Carte projects offered by Home School in the Woods, it was hard to decide on which ones to review. It did help us narrow it down a little since many of the hands-on projects we had done already in the past. Over the years, we've used the Time Travelers U.S. History Studies, Project Passport World History Studies, and the Hands-on History Lap-Paks. We've even done a few of these great history resources as reviews for the Homeschool Crew Review.

Project Passport~ Ancient Egypt

Project Passport~ Ancient Greece

Wonders of the World Lap-Pak

U.S. Elections Lap-Pak

For this review, we were chosen to review two of the Á La Carte projects, the Science, Invention, and Mathematicians Timeline and The Art of Quilling. These are just 2 of the 60 hands-on history projects offered. You can choose timelines, games, art projects, and so much more. These projects are the perfect way to supplement your learning. The kids and I have always loved hands-on learning. Over the past 9 years, I've realized that these hands-on projects really help young students learn their history and help them retain the information that they have been presented with. No boring facts here!

The Science, Invention, and Mathematician Timeline is a timeline of important people and inventions over the years. The timeline starts at 1,000 B.C. and goes until about 2010 A.D. There are 120 people, inventions, and events from history will be placed along the timeline. Students will learn about areas such as space exploration, advances in medicine, important agricultural inventions, and a variety of new technology that has advance our society.  Even if your students have used previous timelines in the past from Home School in the Woods, they will now learn about 47 new people, inventions, or events. The timeline pages are predated and have the spaces marked on where students should place the images. This makes this timeline perfect for younger students. It is geared for students in grades 3rd through 8th, but I think 1st and 2nd graders could easily work on the timeline with some help. There is a teacher's key included in this download.

I chose to create one master timeline for Michael and Therese. Since they are already working on a timeline in the history and science class, I didn't want to add another one to their list of things to do. I printed the timeline out on green card stock and then printed the labels out on plain, old copy paper. We went through and talked about the various people, inventions, and events as we glued them on together. I was thrilled to see when they remembered a certain person from a previous timeline we had worked on from Home School in the Woods. It made this mama proud and it helped me realize that hey they do listen!

Once our timeline was completed, I taped the pages together and hung it on the wall for the kids to use as reference. We may even add to it during the year. 

The Art of Quilling is a 3-dimensional art project made with rolled up paper. Quilling also goes by paper scrolling, filigree, and mosaic. This beautiful art form has been around for centuries. It was extremely popular during the Stuart, Gregorian, and Regency time periods. They even believe it goes as far back as the Ancient Egyptians. I'll be honest, I had never heard of this type of paper art form before or if I learned about it in art history I somehow forgot all about it. After a quick google search and a look around Pinterest, I was impressed and intrigued.  Some of the designs created are absolutely stunning.

The Art of Quilling from Home School in the Woods provides students and parents with background information about this form of art and instructions on how to create different shapes. Students will learn how to create the tight coil, loose coil, ovals, teardrops, leaves, squares, and triangles. They even offer a simple template to give this paper rolling thing a try. 

I did purchase a starter kit online to complete this project. it came with the tools needed and strips of colored paper.

After practicing a few of the techniques, Therese and I went on to create our own flowers. My only wish for this project would be to have more than one template to try out. It would the students a few different projects to complete and display.

The project was a little trickier than I first thought it would be, but it was fun and easy to learn. Younger students would need some help from older siblings or mom.

I think we'll be trying to create some new master pieces soon.

Want to learn more about the variety of projects that can now be purchased? 

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Till Next Time, Monique

Living Like a Saint~ March 18, 2018

Till Next Time,

Monique

Review~ Dating, Courting, & Choosing a Mate... What Works?

In a month, I will have two teenagers in the house. It's hard to believe! As they've gotten older, I've started to think more about their adult futures. College, dating, marriage, etc. are just around the corner. When I was given the opportunity to review Dating, Courting, and Choosing a Mate...What Works? from Parenting Made Practical, I knew I needed to watch this informative DVD. I want to help my children navigate the world of boys, girls, and dating. I want to help them find the mate that God has chosen for them. Of course, I have no idea where to begin!




Parenting Made Practical is a Christian company that focuses on helping parents raise their children in a Christian way. Their main goal is to guide, encourage, and equip parents with proper, yet practical, information to raise children that are obedient, responsible, respectful, and love God. This is not an easy task when the culture of society goes against that day in and day out. The offer parents a wonderful selection of videos and books geared for parents with children of all ages. Taming the Lecture Bug and Getting Your Kids to Think Why Can't I Get My Kids to Behave Navigating the Rapids of Parenting What Every Child Should Know Along the Way Whether you have preschoolers, elementary age children or teens Parenting Made Practical has a resource that can help you along the crazy, whirlwind journey of parenthood!

For this review, we received a physical copy of the Dating, Courting, & Choosing a Mate... What Works? DVD and workbooks.  The DVD is 108 minutes long and is broken up into two parts. Session 1: Developing Your Dating Philosophy (50 minutes) Session 2: How to Make It Work (58 minutes)
The workbook is a wonderful resource that compliments the DVD.  It takes the Sessions presented in the DVD and provides parents (and teens) with key notes. The diagrams used to demonstrate the key points are included. They are a great tool to teach your teen how to date "correctly." I feel the visuals help the lessons sink in and shows how things can work or get way out of control.  The workbook follows the DVD and is broken up into two sections. The session 1 section in the workbook is smaller, but its main goal is to hit the key points in developing your dating philosophy. The Session Two section goes into much more detail. This is where your teen and you will learn how to make it all work. You work together with your teen to decide on what your dating ideas are and hopefully come to an agreement.
The very first decision for parents and teens to make is are they ready to date. How do they know they are ready? How do parents know? After that is decided, parents and teens will work through four areas to figure out what type of relationship they will have.
Mental  Find more about the person, but don't share too much until a balance of trust can be made
Physical To be holy and pure before God, Keeping themselves pure until marriage
Spiritual Do they share the same beliefs and faith Are they spiritually compatible
Social Learn how they interact with friends and family How do they behave in social settings and are they compatible
At the very end of the workbook are a few pages of testimonials from parents and young adults. These were great to read. It was nice seeing what other families thought, what they took away from the DVD and workbook. I think it's especially important for young teens to read testimonials for other teens, so that they can see they are not alone. When live in a society were dating is pushed on children younger and younger. Teens get too serious and too physical way too quickly. Our teens are bombarded with images every day that glorify the cultural way of dating. It's nice for them to hear from other teens who have given friendship dating a try. How Did We Use Dating, Courting, & Choosing a Mate... What Works? I watched the video along with both of my children. They are not yet dating but are getting to the age where they will start to want to. I felt the DVD provided us with a wealth of information that could help them (and me) along this important journey. I loved how Joey and Carla Link stressed that this should be a decision that is made with the teen. They have to be mature enough to talk about dating or they just are not ready. I also was impressed with them stressing that each child has to have his or her own plan. No child is alike, so no relationship will be alike. I loved it when they encouraged the teens to keep a list of traits that they find attractive in another person. By keeping track of these traits, it helps them narrow done what type of person they like. I remember dating quite a few guys that I had nothing in common, but that was normal for my friends and me. I wish I had seen this DVD when I was a teen. It would have saved a few broken hearts. The idea of Friendship Dating presented by Joey and Carla is phenomenal. I love this term. I truly believe this is extremely important in today's society. We have become lost in the cultural world of dating and lost touch with finding someone that we can spend our lives growing old together. It's not about finding your soul mate, it's about finding a friend you love to go through all the ups and downs you face in life.
Michael enjoyed the humor of Joey. He laughed at the story of presenting his daughter's date with a resume to fill out. He admitted he lost track after that and then admitted his just not ready to date yet. 
Therese found the DVD filled with a lot of important facts. She agreed that most parents just joke about when they can start dating. Her daddy has joked around quite a bit about how she can't date until she's 30. She likes the idea of friendship dating and having a plan decided upon between her and us. She doesn't want us to pick her husband for her (not that I would) and we don't want her to go out blindly to pick out a husband. She also said she's not ready to date.
So, for now, we'll continue to talk about the good traits we find in others and then we'll come back to the dating when they are more ready!
Find Parenting Made Practical on Social Media Facebook Twitter Pinterest Want to learn more about some of the resources I listed at the top of this review? Well, you're in luck! The review crew reviewed all the resources I listed.  Just click on the image below and find out more.
Till Next Time, Monique

Living Like a Saint~ March 11,2018

Saint Joseph, Ora Pro Nobis

Till Next Time,

Monique

Review~ CursiveLogic Quick-Start Pack and The Art of Cursive

Both Michael and Therese already knew how to write in cursive, however they needed a little more practice to make their writing more legible. After working through a traditional cursive curriculum for three years, I knew we needed a different approach. I wanted them to feel more comfortable writing in cursive. When we were given the chance to review the CursiveLogic Quick-Start Pack and The Art of Cursive from CursiveLogic, I knew this was just what we needed!

"True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, as those who move easiest have learned to dance." 
~Alexander Pope
CursiveLogic was founded by Linda Shrewsbury.  One day while volunteering with a literacy program she was asked by one of her students if she could help him learn how to write his name in cursive so he could sign his name. She knew this young gentleman didn't have the time (days, weeks, months) to practice. She was so touched by this young man that she set out to find a way to help him. She came up with a shorter, simpler way for students to master the art of cursive writing. As a fellow homeschool mom, she knew this new technique would make learning to write in cursive fun. It longer would be tedious and students would hopefully no longer get discouraged!
First, let me tell you that CursiveLogic is not your traditional cursive handwriting curriculum. Students will not work slowly through the alphabet one letter at a time. It won't take them months to form a simple word like dog and cat. CursiveLogic is a shaped-based approach. Students will learn to string together four letters that each share a common shape. For example, the very first lesson has students practice the orange oval letters.  They will learn how to form all the letters that have an oval shape. The best part of the lesson, I feel, is that students will immediately start to learn how to connect letters. This helps them know how to string letters together. It truly is an amazing way to teach. Students will see how letters can connect together and feel how the letters will just flow into to each other. It is kind of like an intricate dance.  The system of teaching uses a multi-sensory approach to their lessons. Students will use color, shape, auditory, and verbal tools to learn the CursiveLogic technique. Colors are used to introduce the various shapes. As students form each shape and letter string, they will repeat a catch phrase to repeat. It's simply a description that students verbally say to help them learn the basic shape they are forming! Each color and shape have their own catch phrase. This is a great well to help the student learn the letter formations.

For this review, we received two products from CursiveLogic the  CursiveLogic Quick-Start Pack and The Art of Cursive.

The CursiveLogic Quick-Start Pack includes one CursiveLogic workbook and access to the instructional webinar that carefully explains the patent-pending Cursive method step-by-step. The pack retails for $49.00

The CursiveLogic workbook is spiral bound. The spiral is at the top of the book making it easy to use for right-handed or left-handed students. Both my kids are right handed, but I grew up with a left-handed sister and I clearly remember her complaints about traditional notebooks. The spiral was always in the way. The book contains 112 pages. Students will work through the front of the book completely, then flip t over and continue to work through the rest of the book. It's simple to follow. Follow the blue page numbers and then follow the mauve.  The pages are a nice sturdy weight. They won't easily tear and fall out. The book also includes three pages that are laminated for more practice with a dry erase marker. 

The workbook addresses key points to help students create their very best handwriting. Students should be aware of their body position, their paper, and their pencil. The workbook goes over each point and helps the students learn the proper way to sit and hold their pencil and paper. 

Students will work through the four colors and shapes. Learning how to form all the letters in the alphabet and learning how to connect them. Once they complete all the lessons about the different shapes, students will then learn how to connect the different shapes together. Within the first week, students will be writing words in cursive!

Lesson will take students about 45-60 minutes to complete. My kids completed the lesson is about 35 minutes, but they had already had 3 years of cursive.

The Art of Cursive is an adult coloring book that combines coloring and writing cursive. The book offers the CursiveLogic handwriting method conveniently intertwined in a relaxing coloring book for adults. Older teens will enjoy this book after they have completed the CursiveLogic workbook. 

The Art of Cursive contains four brief lessons to help adults learn the CursiveLogic way. After completing these lessons, you can move on to coloring the beautifully detailed pictures. There are 27 stunning images to color! The paper in the book is fairly thick making gel pens and markers an ideal media to use. Of course, colored pencils can work just as well. Each picture has a quote on the opposite page to practice your handwriting skills. The book cost $15.95.

So What Did We Think of the CursiveLogic Quick- Start Pack? I loved it. Cursive comes from the Latin word cursivus which means running. I love that this quote was included in the book. Writing cursive has always seemed to be a faster, smoother way of writing to me.  CursiveLogic is simple to follow. The kids could work through the program by themselves. Younger kids would need more supervision. The webinar was a great help for the kids to understand the whole technique being taught. They both said the lessons were not as boring as traditional cursive writing curriculum. The felt it moved at a better pace and thought it would encourage students to write a real word in the first week. They both remember learning one letter at a time and they both agreed it seemed like it took forever before they could write a word. 

Michael liked the program more than Therese. He rarely writes in cursive, so the technique worked for him. For him, it was like learning cursive all over gain. I'm hoping this will encourage him to write in cursive more and make his writing more legible! Therese forms many of her letters in the traditional form we had already learned. She didn't like how some of the letters were formed with CursiveLogic. She has modified the letters to fit her needs. I have noticed an improvement in her neatness though. I'm not sure if it's the CursiveLogic technique or just the fact that we are reviewing cursive again.  CursiveLogic has been extremely gracious and has offered a discount code to our readers. Right now, you can head on over to their website and purchase the CursiveLogic Quick-Start Pack with a 20% discount. Don't wait too long though. The discount expires on March 31, 2018! Find CursiveLogic on Social Media.... Facebook Want to learn more about CursiveLogic? Just click on the graphic below and read some more fantastic reviews from the crew!
Till Next Time, Monique

Review~ Magic Stix Washable Markers & Giveaway

Recently, the kids and I were given a fun item to review.... markers! Often reviews require the kids to study, read and work hard, but Magic Stix Washable Markers from The Pencil Grip, Inc. was all about creating some art! The kids were thrilled and excited to be working on a more creative review.



The Pencil Grip, Inc. offers families a variety of useful items. Parents and students can enjoy tempera paint sticks, pencils grips for improved writing, pencil sharpeners, scissors, and an enormous selection of office and school supplies. They even have a magnetic whiteboard erasure shaped like an apple! I just may have to get that for my religion education classroom.

For this review, we received the 24 pack of Magic Stix Washable Markers from The Pencil Grip, Inc. The markers come in a sturdy, plastic carrying case. We loved the handle. It made moving the markers from room to room easy and hassle free. Since the case was a sturdy plastic, we didn't have to worry about the box falling apart like a few other marker brands. I wouldn't have to head out to the store to pick up a plastic pencil case to hold the markers. Each marker has its own slot and lock in place. For picky people like myself, the markers can stay in the order that they came. I love when my crayon, pens, and markers are organized in the colors of the rainbow.

The variety of colors was impressive. They are bright, bold, and vibrant. You'll get a wonderful selection of reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, and purples. Of course, you're given the basics too. You'll find gray, brown, gold, and black. The markers color smoothly. I din't notice any little fuzzies being left behind, some markers do that and it frustrates the kids and I. They work great on paper and on poster board.

The markers are washable. They do wash off your hands and tables fairly easy. Since my kids are older, we didn't get any stains on our clothes. I'm sure a few of the other crew members with younger children discovered whether or not the markers were washable when it comes to clothing.

I have to tell The Pencil Grip, Inc. claims the markers won't dry out for 7 days with the cap off. Seven whole days without the lid on. They guarantee this! I was a little skeptical. Every marker we've owned over the years dries out with no lid.  I, of course, wanted to put the markers to the test. I took a gold and left the cap off. Yes, on purpose! Each day, I went back and wrote with it. These markers are amazing! Not only did it not dry out, but the color stayed bright and vibrant. I have never seen anything like this before. They were amazed and Michael keeps wondering what is in the markers that make them not dry out. Even on day 20, the color was still strong. I have no idea how they do it, but this is impressive. Any mom with kids knows that lids never get clicked back on tightly. Over the years, I can't tell you how many markers we've thrown away from being dried out. I wish I would have known about these markers when my kids were little. It would have saved us quite a bit of money over the years.

Now for the fun part! One lucky reader will be able to win a set of the 24  pack of Magic Stix Washable Markers of their very own! The Pencil Grip, Inc. has offered to send out a set of markers to one lucky reader! This giveaway is for U.S. residents only.

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Till Next Time, Monique