Review~ Heroes from History Ronald Reagan: Destiny at His Side from YWAM Publishing

Disclaimer~ I received a complementary product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Recently, the kids and I were given the opportunity to review a wonderful, informative book from the Heroes of History series from YWAM Publishing. We have read and reviewed a few of the other book titles offered from YWAM Publishing. We've enjoyed all the books we have read over the years. They make a wonderful addition to a family's home library. 

YWAM Publishing is an amazing company that offers families a fantastic collection of books. Two of their most popular series are Heroes of History and Christian Heroes: Then & Now.  The first series is about heroic tales of important people from history. The second series is tales from the missionary fields about daring, faithful Christians. There are 50 titles to choose from in the Christian Heroes: Then & Now series. Heroes of History has 29 titles to choose from. I love how these two amazing series provide readers strong, faithful, determined, and patriotic men and women to learn about and look up to. True heroes to look up to.

For this review, we received  a physical of  Ronald Reagan: Destiny at His Side from the Heroes of History Series. This extraordinary book tells the story of Ronald Reagan, the fortieth president of the United States. From his humble beginnings in rural Illinois to his greatest role in the White House, "Dutch" was always looking at the future and trying to figure out to achieve his dreams. Whether he was helping his family through difficult financial times, pursing opportunity after opportunity, or leading our great nation, Ronal Reagan, used his skills and knowledge to achieve his dreams, to better the world around him, and to finally leave his imprint in the world that would last forever.

"I know in my heart that man is good, 

that what is right will always eventually triumph, 

and that there is purpose and worth to each and every life."

~ Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan: Destiny at His Side is recommended for readers ages 10 and up. The paperback book is 221 pages long. It's well written and easy to read. I love how the book brings to life the personality and ethics Ronald Reagan had. The book draws in readers of all ages. It's not a difficult read, so kids will have no problem reading it. It works great as a read aloud for younger readers and works just as well as an independent read for older readers. It's a great, engaging biography.

~Unit Study Guide~

To accompany the book, the company offers a unit study guide to use. This is a great way to use living books in your history lessons. We received the digital download of the unit study to accompany the book. We chose not to use the unit study guide for this book, but have used a few of the others in the past. Next year, Michael and Therese will be studying year 2 of United States history, so I may use pieces of the study guide then. 

"I don't believe in a government that protects us from ourselves."

~Ronald Reagan

The Unit Study Guide is meant to go along with the book. The unit study guide is meant to be used by the parents and teacher as a way to help reinforce learning and focus on the information being presented in the book. These books with their unit study guides are perfect for a living history style of teaching. We love and have enjoyed this style of learning. There are no boring textbooks! It always amazes me what the kids retain about history when they learn this way.

The unit study guide offers curriculum that covers geography, history, bible verses, reading comprehension, vocabulary, creative writing, essay writing, art, and drama. Parents and teachers can look through the study guide and use what they like or they can use the entire study. One of the nice things about homeschooling is parents get to pick and choose what they want their students to work on and what works best for their families.

If a family chose to, they could use all the history titles offered from YWAM Publishing and create an entire class using the books and study guides!

Over the past few years, we have been blessed to reviewed a few of the other titles offered from YWAM Publishing. 

Be sure to check them out too!

Heroes of History: Corrie Ten Boom

Heroes of History: Douglas MacArthur

Heroes of History: Theodore Roosevelt 

Heroes of History: Davy Crockett

Heroes of History: Abraham Lincoln

Christian Heroes, Then and Now: Betty Greene

Learn more about YWAM Publishing and all the great books they offer.

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

Want to learn more about the other great titles YWAM Publishing has to offer?

Just click the image below and read a few more reviews from the other crew members.

Till Next Time,

Monique

 

Happy Birthday, America!

Please Note~ This post may contain 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. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

Wishing everyone a happy and blessed Fourth of July!

~Happy Birthday, America~

Till Next Time,

Monique

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Review~ The Mayflower at Cape Cod by Rebecca Locklear

Disclaimer~I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

I was extremely excited when we were asked to review The Mayflower at Cape Cod- Stories, activities, and research that connect 1620 with life today by Rebecca Locklear. Since both Michael and Therese are taking U.S. History next year, I though this would be a wonderful introduction for them!

For this review, we received a link to download the The Mayflower at Cape Cod eBook. The eBook can be purchased through Teachers Pay Teachers. A printed book can be purchased on Amazon or by contacting the author directly.

The Mayflower at Cape Cod is geared for students in grades 6th-12th. The eBook is 74 pages long. 

~ What is The Mayflower at Cape Cod eBook~

The Mayflower at Cape Cod eBook covers the time from when the Pilgrims anchored off the coast of Cape Cod on November 21, 1620 through the five weeks they remained there. Students will discover how the Pilgrims found food, how they searched for a settlement, how the the Native Americans responded to the presence of the Pilgrims, and how the Pilgrims survived during the 5 weeks before they settled in Plymouth.

The Mayflower at Cape Cod provides students with short stories, pictures, activities to work on, and research projects to complete. Students will cover topics like community, epidemics, cross-cultural communication, freedom, religion, immigration, migration, environmental concerns, judgement, language differences, marine mammals, self-sufficiency, materialism, tribal issues, slavery, societal conversations, and wildlife survival skills.

After a brief introduction, the lesson units begin. The Mayflower at Cape Cod contains 7 Units covering the Pilgrims and the Native Indians. 

~Unit 1~ 

The First Encounter between Pilgrims and Native Indians

~Unit 2~ 

Exploration Overview

~Unit 3~ 

The Mayflower landing at Cape Cod

~Unit 4~ 

Search Expeditions

~Unit 5~ 

Native Indians

~Unit 6~ 

After the First Encounter

~Unit 7~ 

Present Awareness

Cross-Cultural Communications and Travel Tips

Native Indian Issues Today

The seven units contain 70 creative activities and 80 research topics for the students to work through. 

~Examples of Creative Activities~ 

Art projects

Poetry

Freeze Pantomime Drama

Leaf Art

Survival Kits 

Cooking

Games

~Examples of Research Topics~

Separatists

Native Indians

Weapons

Disease and Epidemics

King Philip's War

Religious Freedom

Slavery

Each Unit contains an objective, a story, a summary, a list of activities, and a few research topics. Parents and teachers can have the students complete all the activities and research projects or they can pick a few to complete.

~What We Thought About The Mayflower at Cape Cod~

The short eBook provides students with some valuable information about the time period from when the Pilgrims landed at Cape Cod and those 5 weeks they anchored off the shore. This important time period is often overlooked in history books. The stories are short enough for a brief class or can be easily done over a few classes. 

I found that many of the activities were recommend for groups. This can be a little difficult if you only have one or two students working through this eBook. Some of the activities were not appealing to my two high school students. There was no way they were going to act out a skit or create a diorama. Many of the activities they had already done over the years.

The research topics were plentiful, however I think some of them overlapped and could have been combined. Older students can easily take a few of the topics and work on a 10 page term paper.

I personally feel The Mayflower at Cape Cod eBook would be a better fit for students in 6th-8th grade. It would be a fantastic resource for a co-op class or a regular classroom setting. Students could easily spend a few weeks working through this eBook. They would learn about this important time period from history, but also see how it affects us today.  The discussion questions are outstanding.

After reviewing The Mayflower at Cape Cod, I felt it was not a great fit for us. I do plan on having the kids read more of the stories when we study this time period next year. I did find a few research topics that I wan them to research and write a paper on. Even if a family decides not to use all the activities and research topics, I think they could easily find a few activities or topics to implement into their homeschool lessons.

Learn more about the products offered by Rebecca Locklear

Blog

Facebook

Be sure to sign up for Rebecca's email newsletter to stay up-to-date with all that she has going on.

The crew were given the choice between two eBooks to review:

The Mayflower at Cape Cod

and

Exploring the U.S. Life-Saving Service 1878-1915

Check out the Review Crews thoughts about these to fantastic eBooks!

Till Next Time,

Monique

 

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Happy Flag Day!

Please Note~ This post may contain 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. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

Till Next Time,

Monique

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Review~ The Hidden Message

Disclosure~I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Do you love history? 

Do you enjoying digging into the mysteries that surround our great nation? 

Well if you do, I have a book for you.
Recently, the kids and I were able to review The Hidden Message of the Great Seal: How Foundational Truth and the Dawn of Liberty May Rescue a Republic in Peril by Michael Kanis from The Hidden Message, LLC.

"The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful and virtuous."

~Frederick Douglas

For this review, we received a physical copy of the book, The Hidden Message by Michael Kanis. The high quality paperback book is a little over 250 pages. The cover is a glossy card stock and seems extremely durable. The pages in the book are glossy and thick. The book is filled with colorful pictures, detailed illustrations, helpful charts, and inspiring quotes from our founding fathers. The book is geared for an older audience. Parents and high school students can easily read this book. Aspects of the book can be shared with younger children, but they would have a difficult time understand the language and information being presented as it is written. 

The Hidden Message was written by Michael Kanis. Michael has a BA in Business and a MBA in Finance and Operations. He has traveled globally and interacted with people from all walks of life. He is a man of deep faith and follows a Christ-led life. After a visit to Valley Forge, PA, he became fascinated by our nations Great Seal. He spent hours researching through the National Archives in Washington, D.C. He is thrilled to share all that he discovered about this national treasure. He strongly believes it's vital for all Americans to understand the message our founding fathers presented to us.

"Bad men cannot make good citizens. 

It is when a people forget God that tyrants forget their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. no free government, or the blessing of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles."

~ Patrick Henry

What is The Hidden Message?

If your family is like mine, I'm sure you have seen the National Treasure movies with Nicholas Cage. I found those movies fascinating. I've always been interested in hidden messages, conspiracy theories, and mysteries surrounding our nation. It's intriguing to think there may be a deep, dark secret to uncover. 

O.K., I will admit The Hidden Message is not just a book about some crazy conspiracy theory. It's a detailed, historical book filled with facts. Evidence is presented to support the information Michael Kanis brings to light. After reading the book, readers can see how much time, effort, and research he put into the book. The book investigates historical fiction and facts. 

The book contains 24 chapters.

1~ Introduction

2~ Time Capsule

3~The Significance of the Seal

4~ Setting the Stage

5~ A Tale of Two Systems

6~ Studying the Seal

7~ How Could it Have Been Hidden So Long?

8~ Charles Thomson

9~ Francis Hopkinson

10~The Pyramid

11~ Annuit Coeptis

12~ Novus Ordo Secorlum

13~ The Eye

14~ The Early Designs Part 1

15~ The Early Designs Part 2

16~ The Covenant

17~ The Front of the Seal

18~ The Four Pillars

19~ Virtue

20~ Freedom

21~ Providence

22~ Unity

23~ Unexpected Connections

24~ Conclusion

The Hidden Message digs into the message behind the National Seal of our great country, the United States. What do the symbols mean? What do they represent? Do they mean anything at all? What did our founding fathers want us as a nation to understand? Like many people, I've head the occult and free masons theories behind the seal. I honestly think we watched a show about it on the history channel a few years ago. After watching the show, I've often wondered if it was accurate. How do we know? I always tell my kids to dig deeper when they want to discover the truth about something. The Hidden Message does just that. It cuts through all the fiction, fluff, and myths to present a clear message. 

The National Seal was designed by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, & Charles Thomson in 17176. This was same year the Declaration of Independence was written. I didn't know this interesting tidbit. I had never heard of Charles Thomson before this book. See, you do learn something new every day. 

The book digs into the meaning behind the eye and the pyramid. Are they there because of Ancient Egyptians? Are they pagan in nature? Do they represent something dark and mysterious? 

As a Catholic, I was surprised to see the link to the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. I had no idea some of the seal was inspired by this stunning work of art. 

The book doesn't just deal with just the symbols. It also goes into great detail about the pillars of our nation...virtue, freedom, providence, and unity. We learn why these four pillars were so important to our founding fathers. If we look at our world today, we can easily see why we need to be reminded of these. We need to realize that freedom doesn't come for free. We need know and understand what our founding fathers wanted and why they fought so hard to gain that knowledge. We need to read and understand history, if not we are in danger of loosing the freedom our fore fathers fought for us. Freedom is much easier to lose than it is to gain.

What We Thought of The Hidden Message?

"I think with you that nothing is of more importance for the public weal, 

than to form and train up the youth in wisdom and virtue. Wise and good men are, in my opinion, the strength of the state, more so than riches and arms."

~ Benjamin Franklin

This is a fascinating book. It's a wonderful addition to any high school American history curriculum. I read the book first and then Michael. Michael enjoyed the book. He liked learning about the different symbols and messages. He loves history and loves discovering the mysteries from past. 

Therese will read the book sometime this summer. Both kids are doing American history next year. I thought this was a fantastic book to get the kids excited about learning American history next year. I'm hoping it will create some interest (and excitement) for the upcoming school year. 

Right now, readers can purchase The Hidden Message from their official website for 50% off the cover price. To receive the discount just head on over to the website, apply the coupon code HOMESCHOOL at checkout. Shipping is always free.

Discount code is good until May 30, 2020.

 Want to learn more about The Hidden Message?

Check out their social media site.

Don't forget to stop by and read a few more review. 

I know The Hidden Message will be a great addition to your American history curriculum.

Till Next Time,

Monique

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Review~ History on Horseback: The Early Years

Disclosure~I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

History is one of our favorite subjects here up on the mountain to study. There are so many exciting adventures to discover when studying history. The kids were thrilled when we were given the chance to review History on Horseback: The Early Years from Sonrise Stable Books. 

For this review, we received a physical copy of the book History on Horseback: The Early Years 1493 to 1866 from Sonrise Stable Books. The book is 8.5 by 11 in size. The paperback cover is made of a thick, glossy stock-paper. The cover has beautiful colored images. The inside of the book is black and white. There are plenty of black and white pictures to bring the stories to life. The book allows readers of all ages to discover all the amazing, yet different, roles horses have played throughout the history of the United States. This particular book focuses on the years from 1493 to 1866. The book is a non-fiction book that contains information about actual horses, historical characters from history, and events that took place.

The book is geared for students 12 and up, but can easily be adapted to students of younger ages. The book contains 53 chapters and is over 180 pages. Each chapter is 2 to 5 pages long, so making this an easy book to get through. History on Horseback is a wonderful addition to any homeschool history curriculum. It adds some new exciting stories for all students, especially horse lovers. Of course, the book can be read all on its own. There's no need to add it to any curriculum either. 

Just a few of the interesting stories, facts, events, and people that will be presented are....

Arrival in America

The Palomo, the Dream Horse

Lewis & Clark

Coal Mining

Oregon Trail

Stagecoach Travel

Old Bob & Old Douglas

Pony Express

Brave War Horses

Union & Confederate Horses

Buffalo Soldiers

How to Use History on Horseback: The Early Years?

This amazing book can be used as stand alone read, a supplement for a history curriculum, or used as a full curriculum if it's use with the study guide. The study guide is currently being worked on. It should be available later on in 2020.

Two more volumes will follow. The second volume will pick up with the post-Civil War and the third volume of History on Horseback will bring readers up to the present day.

What We Thought of History on Horseback: The Early Years?

I found this book to be very interesting and highly enjoyed reading it. The stories are short and easy to read. I love how they are broken up. The stories can easily be added to any homeschool curriculum, which is what I plan on doing next year when we start learning about United States history again. Both my kids are in high school, so they each read the stories on their own. Since we were focusing on the middle ages for history, I had them pick a few of the stories to read themselves. My goal is to use the entire book in its entirety next fall.

Therese has always loved horses. In fact, as a little girl, she often asked for one. She found History on Horseback to a fun book to read. She said the stories were interesting, definitely not boring. She likes reading books like this rather than old, boring textbooks. This probably because we like living books for our history lessons. 

Michael loves learning about American history. He can't what until next year. He enjoyed this book immensely. The stories were informative, interesting, and exciting. he especially loved the stories about the west and how the horse played such an important role in the expansion. 

Both kids felt the book was a different approach to history. The enjoyed reading about the different horses, people, and events. History was not just being presented with boring facts. 

Discover more about History on Horseback: The Early Years

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

YouTube

Be sure to head on over to read all the great reviews the rest of the Review Crew shared!

Just click below...

Till Next Time,

Monique

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Our State Scrapbook~ New York

Please Note~ This post may contain 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. Thank you. 

O.K., I have to admit that this post is a little old. I started it awhile ago (actually a few years ago) and somehow never finished it. So I thought I would finish it up and share what the kids did.

As usually, we headed to the library to find some fun, yet educational books about New York! Our favorite book to read about states are the alphabet books. They provide a ton of information and cool facts!

                                                        


The kids worked on their coloring pages....

New York State Flag Coloring Page 

Postage Stamp Coloring Page

State Bird and State Flower 

New York State Map and Activity Page

State Quarter Coloring Page

Statue of Liberty Coloring Page

Rose Coloring Page

Brooklyn Bridge Coloring Page

Niagara Falls Coloring Page


For our New York recipe, we made Cheesecake! It was creamy and delicious. It taste amazing with cherries on top!

You can find the recipe here. This picture does not do this cheesecake any justice. I wish I was better at photographing food!

This will be my last post for our State Study. The kids chose to end it here. They felt they were getting too old for all the coloring pages. I wish we would have been better at completing the states, but whats done is done. Time moves on. I am trying to figure out a way for the kids to study the states again as they enter high school. So stay tuned.....

Till Next Time,

Monique

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner