Category Archives: Homeschool Resources

The Elephant from Baghdad (a story about Charlemagne)

Discloser: Affiliate links help support our homeschool.

This week the littles and I took a break from Five in a Row to read The Elephant from Baghdad by Mary Tavener Holmes and John Harris, illustrated by Jon Cannell. Like The Giraffe That Walked to Paris from FIAR Vol. 2, it tells the true story of an exotic animal sent as a gift to a European ruler. (This writing team also told the giraffe’s story in their book A Giraffe Goes to Paris.) I’m hoping to “row” that one later this year when we’re learning about France, but The Elephant from Baghdad was perfect for this week as we kicked off Classical Conversations Cycle 2 with a history sentence about Charlemagne.

We treated it as an ordinary “row,” reading it every day this week except the day we went to CC. There are so many great discussions to come out of this book, so I’m just going to list some suggested topics:

Geography (many places we learn about in CC Cycle 2)

  • Aachen, Germany
  • Baghdad (review from CC Cycle 1)
  • Italy
  • Alps
  • Mediterranean Sea
  • Cairo (review from CC Cycle 1)

Science and Technology

  • elephants
  • albinism
  • clockmaking
  • St. Bernard dogs (briefly referenced in an illustration)

History

  • Charlemagne
  • monasteries/monks/abbots
  • Muslim world (review from CC Cycle 1)
  • Hannibal

Art

  • integrating photographs with drawings
  • museum pieces

Expanding with older elementary students

Since I also have a 4th and 5th grader in Foundations with CC, I read the book to them one time as well. We also have been reading through Our Little Frankish Cousin of Long Ago, a chapter book about a 12-year old page at the court of Charlemagne. Not only did the fictional story offer many details about what life would have been like in the time and place, Chapter VIII “Presents for the King” tells of the elephant arriving in Aachen and helps the reader imagine what it must have been like for the Franks to witness such an amazing spectacle.

I’m fascinated by genealogy, so I also showed them how we can trace our family line back to Charlemagne several ways. I explained that it’s not actually that special to be descended from Charlemagne; it’s just not as common to be able to trace exactly how one is connected. Along with my 7th grader, we watched this video, “Is Everyone A Descendant of Royalty?“, which explains that everyone alive today who has at least one European ancestor probably is a descendant of Charlemagne.

All in all, we a had a fun week with The Elephant from Baghdad, and I hope we’ll explore similar books as we make our way through Cycle 2 this year.

Favorite Fall Picture Books

Fall is my absolute favorite season. Every year I wish I could hit a button and slow down the speed at which these days fly by, because before I know it, winter will be upon us. What better way to savor these precious days than by snuggling up on the couch and enjoying some books about the season together?

As a family, we try to limit our “holiday” celebrations to actual “holy days,” but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun enjoying pumpkins, scarecrows, harvest, and other fun aspects of fall. For years I’ve been collecting picture books to read with my preschool and elementary kids in the fall that don’t focus on Halloween, yet somehow I’ve never written a post to share about the ones we pull out year after year. So finally, here’s a list of our favorite fall books for preschool and elementary children.

Discloser: Affiliate links help support our homeschool.

For Preschoolers

In It’s Pumpkin Day Mouse! (board book) Mouse paints fun faces on his pumpkins. This has been the #1 favorite for several of my kids.

Good Night, Little Pumpkin is about a little boy named Milo who has having so much fun at a fall festival, he just can’t bear to leave, until he’s experienced all the different things to do, insisting, “I’m not tired, Mama!”

P is for Pumpkin: God’s Harvest Alphabet is a beautifully illustrated celebration of autumn.

Pumpkin, Pumpkin is a super simple story of a boy who plants a pumpkin seed, watches it grow, and then saves some of its seeds to plant the following year.

Stories that share the Gospel

My Happy Pumpkin: God’s Love Shining Through Me (board book) is a simple way to share the gospel with children through the process of carving a pumpkin. I always love Crystal Bowman’s simple rhymes that use holiday traditions to point to Christ.

Along the same lines, but written for older children, The Pumpkin Patch Parable is an award-winning tale by Liz Curtis Higgs, who has written several parables around various holiday traditions.

The Little Pumpkins is another twist on this idea, with Bible verses on each page.

Fun Stories

The Very Best Pumpkin tells the story of a boy who carefully tends a pumpkin on his grandparents’ farm, and helps grow a friendship as well.

Mousekin’s Golden House is a hard-to-find classic that we love about a little mouse who takes shelter in a discarded jack-o-lantern and turns it into a snug home. (This book does have one reference to “Hallowe’en.”)

In Pumpkin Jack, the reader follows the story of a pumpkin “long after the best trick-or-treat candy was eaten,” all the way through the following year, when its seeds have new pumpkin for the boy who carved it.

Too Many Pumpkins is my personal favorite, about a lady who manages to take an unpleasant situation and uses it as a way to joyfully bless others.

Speaking of favorites, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything is the book several of my children read or ask for over and over, though to be honest, I don’t understand the appeal. It tells the story of a lady confronted by various items of clothing that attempt to scare her as she walks through the woods.

The Little Scarecrow Boy is a story we’ve enjoyed for years, about a young scarecrow determined to prove that he’s ready to follow in his father’s footsteps.

The Scarecrow’s Hat follows the dealings of a resourceful chicken who makes a series of transactions to acquire just what she wants for her nest.

Fun Books for Learning

We have all enjoyed How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?, which can be used as a fun way of teaching estimation and skip-counting.

Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie is full of vivid photographs showing the life of a pumpkin from seed to pie and beyond.

So there you go! I hope you can find some new favorites to enjoy with your family as you relish these fleeting autumn days.

What We’re Using for School This Year – Kindergarten, (2nd) and 4th grade

I know I’m not blogging much these days (really enjoying the time with our sweet little Clara, who is almost 4 months old already), but I wanted to at least share what we’re using for school this year. (We’ve been back to school for almost seven weeks now).  As my kids get older I feel like I’m “fine-tuning” our curricular choices to fit them better, so I wanted to share a little about why we’ve ended up with various items this year in hopes it might be helpful to others.  (I’ve read through tons of reviews and blogs to help me come up with things to fit our needs, so I’m guessing others do that too!)

Kindergarten

Let me start with Arianna, who is beginning Kindergarten.  Being the third child, she has it a lot easier than poor Ian did back when I planned (and revised) his Kindergarten year.  She does daily computer lessons on Reading Eggs and Math Seeds [Edited to remove link because I no longer recommend this program. SeeGood-bye, Reading Eggs.”], goes through a page in A Reason For Handwriting – A, and then is working through Outdoors and In, the second book in the old Harper & Row Basic Reading Program. (Seriously old school–from the ’60s. I learned to read on these and my mom used them in her Kindergarten classroom for 30 years!)  She also tags along for some parts of Bible, literature, and art with the older boys, but other than that, she just plays and learns as she goes about normal life.

4th (and 2nd) Grade

As far as the boys, they are doing almost all their schoolwork together, mostly at the 4th grade level.  Ian is “officially” 4th grade this year, and since Elijah (technically in 2nd age-wise) can keep up with him academically on pretty much everything, it’s easiest to just teach them together.  Here’s what we are doing:

Bible

Bible Road Trip – Year Three and complementary videos

We are reading through the entire New Testament, following the schedule from Bible Road Trip, as well as some of its suggestions for additional study.  I printed out all the notebooking pages and had them spiral-bound, but I wouldn’t do that again because we’re not using every page, and we can’t add in maps and such.  Still, I really like what notebooking is doing for the boys as far as helping them process and absorb what we have read. Ian is also reading the Upper Grammar literature suggestions, all set during the time of Jesus and the early church.

 

The curriculum suggests using the videos from the What’s in the Bible? With Buck Denver series, which we love. Additionally, because we have all the Animated Stories from the New Testament videos from Nest Entertainment, I went through and jotted down which weeks they correspond with, and we are watching those during lunch time so our younger kids can enjoy them as well.

History 

Veritas Press Self-Paced Online Courses

The boys are finishing up the Veritas Press Self-Paced Online Course on the Explorers through 1815, which they wanted to do as a supplement to our family study last year.  Then in September they will start the final course from 1815 to Modern Times.  History is one of my favorite subjects, but since I am trying to be more hands-off this year, I am doing my best to let go and just let these courses be enough.  (Well, kind of.  See Literature below.)

Math

Teaching Textbooks – Math 5

This will be Ian’s third year and Elijah’s second using Teaching Textbooks.  I can’t say enough about this program.  The boys enjoy their lessons, they learn well and get lots of review, and all the grading is done for me.  I’d say they are about 95% independent in completing their math, just needing me occasionally to help explain something they don’t understand.  This was one subject I didn’t have to think about at all when choosing what to do this year.

Writing

Student Writing Intensive from the Institute for Excellence in Writing

Two years ago, my boys were a part of a class that went through IEW’s Fable, Myths, and Fairy Tales writing lessons.  Then last year at home we went through All Things Fun & Fascinating, and I saw them continue to grow as writers.  I hated to see them lose ground this year, but I wasn’t really up to leading them through another book on my own while adjusting to another baby at home.  Then I realized I had the materials for the Student Writing Intensive – Level A, which is essentially a writing class on DVD.  We are really enjoying watching the lessons taught by Andrew Pudewa, and it is great review of the concepts the boys of already learned in their previous IEW lessons.  I am having them write the papers that are outlined or discussed on the DVD, but we are not doing any of the extra writing assignments (at least not at this point) because so far the boys are doing a great job of applying the concepts and my goal is to keep this year as light as possible.

Grammar

Fix-it! Grammar Book 2 (Robin Hood) from IEW

I really was trying to plan a minimal workload for school this year, but the boys learned so much from their Fix-it! book last year with just a short amount of time each day (done almost completely independently) that I decided to continue with the second book in the series.  We don’t do the grammar cards or the vocabulary list, which maybe I’ll regret at some point, but I mainly want them to keep the grammar concepts they learned last year fresh in their minds, so this is an easy way to accomplish that (while adding to it, of course).

Literature

Little House series, Chronicles of Narnia, and historical fiction selections

We are about halfway through the second book in the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I hope to get through as much of the series as we can complete by Christmas.  When we come back after New Years I want to start going through the Chronicles of Narnia.

I also have several of the suggested literature suggestions for their Veritas Press history course (and a few historical selections of my own), which I may have the boys read independently, or else we’ll use them to break up our read-alouds when we need some variety.

Science

Geology Study

I wasn’t really planning to do much with science this year until we planned a trip to the Grand Canyon for this fall.  There is so much to learn about the Flood and how it impacted the earth, and the canyon is a fabulous place to observe some of those effects.  I have planned our year around various geology videos, particularly the Awesome Science DVD series that takes a look at several National Parks, hosted by a teenager, Noah Justice. The first six episodes have study guides which I have printed out (available as downloads from Answers in Genesis–I got them free on sale), though I’m not sure how much of them I will end up using.

We are also working through some of the Classical Conversations Cycle 1 science sentences (since we’ve never done Cycle 1 and they apply to what we’re studying) and will probably do most of Cycle 3 as well, since that’s what CC communities around the world are working through this year.

Art

Art Class DVDs

Arianna LOVES art, and I had all three older kids take free trial lesson at a local art school to see if lessons might be a good idea.  However, the lessons were really expensive, and Arianna didn’t quite have the attention span to sit through a 90-minute lesson.  Still, I wanted to give her some sort of instruction to help her develop her gifts, so I looked into a few options.  When I came across the Art Class lessons from See the Light, I knew I had found what I was looking for.  All the instruction is on DVD. (Do you see a theme this year? I am so thankful for all the video resources out there!) The kids are REALLY enjoying the lessons.  We do art once a week, and they look forward to it and beg to do the next lesson out the week in between.  (Sometimes we even do two in one session because they want to keep going.)

Spelling

Phonetic Zoo

Ian started making some progress last year using Sequential Spelling, but he was still behind in spelling and I felt he really needed a little bit more instruction than that program offered.  He is extremely auditory, and I wanted to find something specifically geared toward auditory learners.  After watching Andrew Pudewa’s seminar on Spelling and the Brain for the second time (I watched it last year when I first started getting concerned about Ian’s spelling struggle), I decided to take a break from Sequential Spelling and try IEW’s Phonetic Zoo.  We’ve only been using it for three weeks, so I can’t say much about it yet, but I am hopeful about how it might help Ian.

Other

Elijah is blessed with a natural gift for spelling, so I am not having him do any structured program at all. Instead, I am working with him on reading with expression (something Ian does very naturally but Elijah does not).  We are going through Shel Silverstein’s poetry in Where the Sidewalk Ends, taking turns reading the poems as expressively as possible.  He is also having fun getting back into Spanish on Duolingo.

So that’s what our year looks like!  Hope it gives you some ideas if you’re still trying to figure out what to do for your family this year.  Blessings.

Kwik Stix GIVEAWAY!

A while back I wrote a review of Kwik Stix Tempera Paint Stix from The Pencil Grip, Inc. They were a big hit with my kids, but unlike many products, Kwik Stix were not just a passing fad in our house.  They want to get them out on a regular basis, and we’ve actually used up our first set and need to purchase more.  And we have a new option, as Kwik Stix are now available to purchase at toysrus.com!

To celebrate this new partnership, The Pencil Grip, Inc. has generously offered to send a set to one of my readers.  Enter the giveaway below to win your own set of Kwik Stix!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sentence Diagramming from The Critical Thinking Co. (Crew Review)

This is the first year we have done any sort of formal grammar instruction, and I’m curious about different resources that are available.  I was thankful for the recent opportunity we were given to try Sentence Diagramming: Beginning from The Critical Thinking Co.™.

About Sentence Diagramming: Beginning

Language Arts {The Critical Thinking Co.™}Sentence Diagramming: Beginning is a 72-page softcover workbook consisting of 12 lessons.  Designed for use with Grades 3-12+, the lessons are simple but not childish, so they can provide instruction and/or practice at any of these levels.

Lesson 1 begins with as simple a sentence as you can get, with just two words forming the subject and predicate (e.g. “Cats purr” or “Artists draw.”)  Subsequent lessons add in new concepts one at a time, building upon what the students have previous learned, until their diagrams become quite complex:

  • Lesson 1: Simple Subject and Main Verb
  • Lesson 2: Direct Object
  • Lesson 3: Adjectives
  • Lesson 4: Adverbs Modifying Verbs
  • Lesson 5: Predicate Adjectives
  • Lesson 6: Predicate Nouns
  • Lesson 7: Prepositional Phrases (Adjectival)
  • Lesson 8: Prepositional Phrases (Adverbial)
  • Lesson 9: Compound Subjects
  • Lesson 10: Compound Predicates
  • Lesson 11: Compound Direct Objects
  • Lesson 12: Compound Predicate Adjectives and Nouns

Within each lesson, the student gets to work through 4 different types of exercises (after brief instructional section with examples at the beginning of the lesson):

  1. Correcting errors in given diagrams
  2. Diagramming given sentences on given diagrams
  3. Writing original sentences on a given diagram
  4. Diagramming given sentences independently

Answers for all exercises are given at the back of the book.

Our Experience

I was surprised at how much my boys enjoyed the process of diagramming sentences.  It really appealed to their mechanically inclined brains, and I think it helped certain grammar concepts “click” in a way that has eluded them up to this point.

I really liked the way each lesson approached the diagrams from several different angles, and certain ones worked better for each boy depending on their strengths and how they think.  I would usually go through the examples at the beginning of each lesson, explaining which new concept was being presented.  They we would go through a few of the exercises in each section together, and I would have them try others on their own.

sentence-diagramming

I especially appreciate the copyright, which allows me to make copies to use within my family.  As a mom of many, I try to look for resources that I’ll be able turn to again and again, rather than having to repurchase multiple copies for each of my children.  Some of these lessons I just did at home with the boys on whiteboards, but others I copied for them to take with them when we were doing school away from home.  It was great to have this flexibility.

The minimal instruction made it easy to get into the first few lessons, but as they get more advanced, I think it would be hard for these lessons to stand alone.  The book shows how to draw the diagrams, but it doesn’t provide much explanation for why words are placed in certain spots, why some lines are slanted, and things like that.

Because of this, I think I would hesitate to go much further in the book on its own.  We are using it in conjunction with our current grammar program, which is teaching the boys about parts of speech more thoroughly, and as they get more comfortable with those labels, I think we’ll come back to Sentence Diagramming: Beginning to help broaden their understanding.  It’s also a great resource for families already doing sentence diagramming with their grammar program but looking for clear examples for extra practice.

Right now, this “Beginning” book is the only one available on The Critical Thinking Co.™ website, but I would be interested in seeing what the Level 1 and Level 2 books (mentioned on the title page) look like when they come out.

One Last Thing

The Critical Thinking Co.™ believes in the Importance of Preschool Academics, and has some great resources for parents who want to give their children some academic experience before they reach official school age, such as their “Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic Before Kindergarten!™” bundle, which includes five apps designed to teach basic skills.  You can see what other Crew members thought of these programs and other products from The Critical Thinking Co.™ by clicking on the banner below.

Language Arts {The Critical Thinking Co.™}
Crew Disclaimer

Elementary Spanish Online (Crew Review)

middlebury-interactive-review
Foreign Language can be a hard subject for home educators to teach if they don’t know the language themselves.  I really want my children to develop a proficiency in Spanish that exceeds my own limited abilities, so I have been incredibly thankful for the online courses available from Middlebury Interactive Languages.  Both of my older boys have benefited from their Spanish 1 course for Grades K-2 (see reviews of Semester 1 and Semester 2), and recently Elijah got a chance to start working through Elementary Spanish 2 (Grades 3-5).

About Elementary Spanish 2 (Grade 3-5)

Like all the Middlebury Interactive Languages Courses, Elementary Spanish 2 uses stories, songs, videos, and interactive games to help students learn basic vocabulary.  Depending on the activity, they must listen, read, write, and speak the key words for each lesson.

Elementary Spanish 2 (Grades 3-5) covers 16 units over two semesters, each unit consisting of six lessons.

units

Within each lesson, there is a variety of activities.

middlebury-collage

Students can go back and repeat lessons as many times as they want.

Our Experience

This course was definitely more advanced than the Grades K-2 course, mostly because of the addition of the reading and writing activities.  Elijah reads at at least a strong 3rd grade level, but I think this made the course more challenging than he expected.  While I do think it is important to be able to read and write when learning a new language, I am cautious about adding in too much of this.  In my own foreign language experiences, focusing on the written aspect of the language has hindered my ability to speak and understand it when spoken.  middlebury-interactive-languagesThis is mostly due to the fact that I am a VERY visual learner and NOT strong at auditory learning.  I think there was still enough variety in this course to make it worthwhile for students like myself, who really need to focus on listening and speaking to become proficient, but because of this aspect, I didn’t like the Grade 3-5 course as much as I did the one for Grades K-2.

The only other issue we had was that because this course was building upon what Elijah has learned in the Spanish 1 course, it was beyond my own knowledge of the language.  He struggled a little more in this course, but now I’m not able to help him nearly as much.  Most of the time just going back and repeating some of the introductory lessons in the unit was enough to answer his questions and get him back on track, but I could see where it might be helpful to have the teacher support, which is available for an additional cost.

Overall, I still think Middlebury is a great option for families whose students need to work independently on learning a foreign language.  I love the way the stories immerse the student in the language by using only Spanish, highlighting the vocabulary words to help them understand while getting them accustomed to hearing the language spoken fluently.  My children may never speak Spanish completely fluently themselves, but Middlebury has at least given them a good foundation upon which to build.

Spanish, French, German or Chinese {Middlebury Interactive Languages}
Crew Disclaimer

The Familyman’s Christmas Treasury (Crew Review)

familyman-review
Can you believe it’s almost time to start thinking about Christmas?  Our family has been getting in the mood lately as we listened to the Christmas stories that make up The Familyman’s Christmas Treasury – Audio Collection.  We received the Digital Downloads of these eight original stories written by Todd Wilson (a.k.a. The Familyman) and read by Jim Hodges.

About The Familyman’s Christmas Treasury

the-familymans-christmas-treasuryI’m pretty particular about what we focus on during the Christmas season, and I really wasn’t sure what to expect when we first started listening to these stories.  I was pleased to find that not only were they all Christ-centered, they were thought-provoking as well.  Here are some brief summaries of the eight stories we received.

Cootie McKay’s Nativity

When a small town’s cherished nativity scene is ruined, they commission a local man to create a new one for next year.  The only trouble is, Cootie McKay is not only a little odd, he doesn’t even know the Christmas story.  Over the course of the year, Cootie learns about Jesus, and his creation helps the whole town see the familiar figures in a new way.

Captain Chaos and the Manger Blaster

When Jason gets irritated with his sister’s fascination with their “boring” manger scene, he pretends to blast it to bits, never expecting his wish to come true.  “Captain Chaos” erases the birth of Jesus from history, and Jason sees how different life would be if he had not been born, gaining a new appreciation of the true meaning of Christmas.

The Stranger

As a stranger comes knocking at the homes of members of a small church, fear and distrust threaten to taint their Christmas experience.  On a snowy Christmas Eve, Sam’s family receives the dreaded knock, but his father only hesitates a moment before inviting the stranger in.  The family is soon able to look past Jesse’s outward appearance and their Christmas is truly blessed as they open their home and hearts to him.

The Bishop’s Dream

Not just another re-telling of the story of Saint Nicholas, “The Bishop’s Dream” looks at the true historical man and places him a modern setting, imagining what he would think of the shift toward a holiday focused on Santa and presents rather than Christ.

Harold Grubbs and the Christmas Vest

Isaac is embarrassed by the plaid Christmas vest his father insists on wearing to church every year as soon as Thanksgiving has past until he learns about the story of Harold Grubbs and how God changed him.

Gladys Remembers Christmas

Gladys hasn’t had a joyful Christmas since she was six years old, just before her mother died.  Years later, while packing up her father’s house, she finds their old manger scene, and discovers love for the the first time since childhood.

The Secret of Snow Village*

Catherine loves to look at her grandmother’s ceramic village.  Somehow Christmas seems better for the small figures, though she can’t figure out what she’s missing until she visits the village herself and finds out what Christmas is really about.

It’s Called Christmas*

300 years in the future, Nook is puzzled when his “Happy Holiday” greeting is returned with the puzzling reply, “It’s called Christmas?”  All traces of this word seem to have been erased, and it is no easy task for Nook to find out what Christmas is, but when he does, he sends a warning back to the past in hopes that Christmas can be saved for future generations.

*These final two of the stories are not included in the collection in the CD collection, though all eight are available in book format.

8_christmas_book_combo

Our Experience

Todd Wilson says, “As the father of eight children, I wanted Christmas stories that took longer than 5 minutes to read, didn’t confuse the truth with a tale, and above all, pointed my children to the Savior. I couldn’t find any, so I wrote my own. My hope is that Cootie McKay”s Nativity will give you gobs of snuggling time, Christmas enchantment, and will point your children to the manger year after year. ”

He has certainly succeeded, and the stories will definitely become part of our family’s Christmas tradition. Ian really liked “Captain Chaos and the Manger Blaster.”  I have a hard time picking a favorite, but I think either “Cootie McKay’s Nativity” or “The Secret of the Snow Village” would be at the top of my list.  I loved the creativity and variety in all these Christmas stories, and Jim Hodges is a wonderful storyteller whose warm voice draws you in as you listen.  We enjoyed all of these stories so much, I’m looking forward to getting the two Easter stories for our family as well.

The Familyman's Christmas Treasury - Audio Collection {The Familyman} Reviews
Crew Disclaimer

MyFreezEasy (Crew Review)

myfreezeasy-review
Freezer cooking has always sounded like a good idea, but I’ve never gotten more into it than making twice as much as I need when fixing dinner so I can freeze half for another time.  However, we’re in a season where it’s essential that I have meals prepped and easy to cook, so I was really excited to get a chance to review the MyFreezEasy.com Freezer Meal Plan Membership.  I’m in my first trimester of pregnancy, so I don’t always feel up to making (or eating) dinner, but MyFreezEasy helped me make sure my freezer was full of healthy meals that I can get ready for my family quickly and easily.

About MyFreezEasy

Each month, members have access to 8 pre-set meal plans:

MyFreezEasy.com Freezer Meal Plan Membership {MyFreezEasy}
Each plan has recipes for 5 meals, with the intent on preparing two of each one so you can get 10 meals into your freezer with about an hour of work.  There’s a place to set how many servings you want, and you can also swap meals to customize your plan to fit your family’s preferences.  Once you have your meal plan set, you can print it out, complete with shopping lists broken down in various ways, such as by meal or by section in the store, and instructions both for cooking the meal that night or preparing it for the freezer.  You can also print out labels with instructions for how to finish the meal when you take it out of the freezer.

MyFreezEasy.com Freezer Meal Plan Membership {MyFreezEasy}

My Experience With MyFreezEasy

There are several videos on the website to help you get started, so I watched those and read through all the information I could find before even glancing at the meal plans themselves.  They really helped me understand how to use the program, and plan how I wanted to do my shopping and prep work.  I chose to swap several meals and create a customized meal plan with a variety of different foods.  I followed the suggested to do my shopping and prepping and different days, which was a good idea since my prep work took me almost two hours.  (Maybe it will go faster next time, now that I have a little better idea of what I’m doing.)

dscn2318xI really liked the ease of printing the labels (there’s a link to Amazon to buy the right ones), though I wish they were smaller so they could all fit on one page (or if you could put 6 meals in your plan to fill up two pages rather than wasting two empty labels every time).  Not only do they make it easy to know what’s in the bag, they include instructions for cooking and suggested sides for completing the meal.

We’ve had each meal at least once, and while some were more popular than others, for the most part they were well received.  Here’s what I chose to make last month:

Apricot Chicken

I’ve never made anything similar to this before, but for some reason it kept catching my eye as I went through the meal plans, so I decided to give it a try.  It was good, very sweet (popular with the kids), but ours turned out a little dry.  I think when I defrost my second bag of this, I’m going to throw it in the slow cooker to see how that turns out.

dscn2317x

Chicken Fajita Bake

The instructions for this meal called for a disposable baking dish, but the next time I make it I think I’ll just put it in a freezer baggie (like all the other meals) and then dump the contents into a regular baking dish.  I didn’t even attempt to serve this one to my picky kids, but my husband and I really enjoyed making burritos with it.

dscn2320x

Chicken Taco Bake

This recipe combined several ingredients and spices to freeze.  When it was time to cook, we just threw everything in a skillet to warm it up, then poured it over tortilla chips, sprinkled cheese on top, and popped it in the oven for ten minutes.  So simple, yet it was really good, and I loved having the majority of the ingredients all thrown together when it was time to make dinner.

chicken-taco-bake

Cilantro Lime Chicken

This was my least favorite meal of the five we cooked, but it might have been because I had substituted coconut oil for the olive oil called for in the recipe and lime juice from a bottle instead of fresh squeezed limes.  It just wasn’t quite as flavorful as I’d been hoping for, even with fresh cilantro, and I think I would have preferred using chicken breasts rather than thighs.  Still, everyone ate it without complaint (and my kids are extremely picky eaters, so that’s saying something).

dscn2324x

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

I was highly skeptical of this recipe because it called for ground beef instead of stew meat like my mom always used for stroganoff and it just seemed too simple (Mom always used a seasoning packet, which for some reason led me to believe it was complicated to make).  However, this turned out to be our favorite meal out of all the ones we tried.  I actually made another two bags of sauce for the freezer because it was such a hit.  I want to be sure we always have it on hand!  Since the meat was cooked before freezing, I’m not sure why it’s labeled as a slow cooker meal.  I did it stove top one time and it was still delicious.  (I wish I’d gotten a picture of the final product, but we were all too eager to dive in!)

dscn2327x

Final Thoughts

I loved how easy the whole process was, from selecting recipes, to shopping and preparation, and finally getting the meals on the table.  When I’ve been pregnant in the past, my family has definitely had to scrape by when it comes to dinner, both in the early months when I struggled with nausea and then toward the end when I was exhausted and struggling to get everything done each day.  I’m so excited to have MyFreezEasy this time.

dscn2329

I had ten meals in the freezer before I reached the nausea stage, and soon I’ll have another prep day and get it restocked.  We found some new family favorites, and I’m looking forward to trying some new recipes this month!

MyFreezEasy.com Freezer Meal Plan Membership {MyFreezEasy}
Crew Disclaimer

If you were me and lived in… (Crew Book Review)

carole-p-roman-collage
We were recently blessed with the chance to review four titles from a series of children’s history books brought to you by Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com.  History is one of my favorite subjects to teach, so I was excited to discover a new set of resources!

(This post includes affiliate links.)

About this history series

carole-p-roman-headshotCarole P. Roman has written dozens of books, including a series about cultures around the world that first used the title phrase “If You Were Me and Lived in…”  Now she has a new series out with a similar idea, but this time looking at civilizations throughout history.

There are currently eight softcover books in this series for elementary aged children), each exploring a different historical setting: If You Were Me and Lived in…

Each book introduces important events and people from that era, as well as information about homes, clothes, meals, education, games children played, and common names.  Pronunciation guides help children learn new vocabulary words, and colorful illustrations on every page help them visualize the text.

colonial-america-2

Our Experience

Since we’re sort of covering two periods of history right now (one with our family history cycle and one with our homeschool community that meets once a week), I chose to review If You Were Me and Lived in…Colonial America (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 4) and If You Were Me and Lived in…the Middle Ages (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 6).  Although varying lengths, both books were packed full of interesting information and were a great contribution to our studies.

If You Were Me and Lived in…Colonial America

if-you-were-me-and-lived-inhellipcolonial-america-by-carole-p-roman-300x300_zpsjsbne7rbWhen I chose If You Were Me and Lived in…Colonial America, I was expecting to read about life in the colonies before the American Revolution, but actually this book is limited to the experience of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Plantation about a hundred years earlier.  It begins with a discussion of the religious situation in England from the early 1500’s on, explaining why the the Separatists chose to leave the country and eventually headed for the New World.  While mentioning the hardships that took the lives of many, the book doesn’t focus on how many people died, but rather talks about the accomplishments of the settlers who did make it through the first winter before moving on to details about the types of food you would have eaten, clothes you would have worn, and how you would have spent your time as a child living at Plymouth Plantation.

colonial-america-3
The only mention of other colonies comes at the end, in a two-page spread of influential people in various colonies along the eastern seaboard.

colonial-america-4
The 53 pages of If You Were Me and Lived in…Colonial America (plus 8 additional pages about influential people and a glossary) each contain one or two paragraphs in a fairly large font, which made it easy for my 3rd grader to read (although we chose to do most of it as a read-aloud because I found that lent itself to better discussions).  There is a lot of information presented in this book, so I found it best to break it up over several days.

colonial-america-1

Although I find the title a bit misleading as far as the breadth of what is covered, I appreciated the information presented about these early settlers.  Even if you’re not studying this period of history, this book would be a great addition to a Thanksgiving unit studying the Pilgrims.

If You Were Me and Lived in…the Middle Ages

51m2fy3czrl-_sx260__zpseylxzdzfThe other book that fit in with our studies right now was If You Were Me and Lived in…the Middle Ages.  Not only is the book almost twice as long as the one on “Colonial America” (97 pages), each page contains much more text and is more appropriate for upper elementary readers.

This is a fascinating look at life in the middle ages, covering a wide range of topics, from the fall of the Roman Empire, the rise of feudalism, and William the Conqueror to the process of becoming a knight, religious life (including the building of cathedrals), and various vocations.

There’s so much here, we haven’t even gotten all the way through the book yet.

middle-ages-2 middle-ages-3 middle-ages-1

And more!

The publisher also generously sent us two additional titles to review.

If You Were Me and Lived in…Ancient China: The Han Dynasty

51k93rav67l-_sx491_bo1204203200__zpswm27yfuqAlthough I haven’t read any of this book with the kids yet, If You Were Me and Lived in…Ancient China: The Han Dynasty will be a great resource to pull out the next time we cover ancient history.  The Hans ruled from 206 BC until 220 AD, one of the longest dynasties in Chinese history.  This period is often called the Golden Age of Ancient China, so the book provides an intriguing look at a unique civilization that in many ways was so different than that of the Ancient Romans living at the same time.

It is similar to the book on the Middle Ages as far as the reading level, with multiple paragraphs on each pages, though this one is only 76 pages long (including the pages on Important People in Ancient China and the glossary).  I’m looking forward to going through it with the kids in the future.

If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time) (Volume 2)

61jnw81ahdl-_sx491_bo1204203200__zpsdbg7rgy2Our homeschool group will be moving onto the Renaissance this week, so we’re almost ready to pull out If You Were Me and Lived in…Renaissance Italy.  With a special focus on Florence, this book looks at many of the exciting subjects that were being explored during the Renaissance, such as architecture, art, and music.  It covers what life would be like as a child in the family of a wealthy merchant.

At 53 pages, this book is similar to the one we read on Colonial America as far as length, font size, and the amount of text on each page.

Final Thoughts

Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew received different titles in this series, so if you want to find out more about those, click on the banner below to get to their reviews!

If You Were Me and Lived in ... {by Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com}
Crew Disclaimer

The Cat of Bubastes – Audio Drama (Crew Review)

cat-of-bubastes-review
When my oldest was just a baby I started researching homeschooling and stumbled across a discussion about author G.A. Henty.  As I learned about this man’s character-building historical novels, I knew I wanted to share these with my boys when they got older, and I decided to start reading some for myself.  One of the first Henty books I ever read was The Cat of Bubastes, set in Ancient Egypt.

Fast forward a few years, and we have been blessed to become familiar with the work of Heirloom Audio Productions, a fabulous company that is bringing Henty back for a new generation by creating exciting audio dramas of some of his most popular novels.  Their latest creation is none other than my old favorite, The Cat of Bubastes.  Needless to say, I was thrilled to get a chance to review this CD set.

About The Cat of Bubastes

The Cat of Bubastes tells the story of Amuba, a young man who grew up as a prince but is taken to Egypt as a slave after his people are conquered in battle.  He and his father’s friend Jethro (who was given the order to protect him) become faithful servants to the Egyptian high priest Ameres, a man hungry for spiritual truth.  Through his friendship with Ameres’ son Chebron, Amuba becomes familiar with Egyptian spiritual beliefs, including the sacredness of cats.  They also befriend some Israelites and learn about the one true God.  When Chebron accidentally kills the family’s honored cat, the boys must flee Egypt and head to Amuba’s homeland, where he fights to reclaim his throne.

Along with the CD set of the audio adventure, we were given the following bonuses:

  • The Cat of Bustastes on MP3
  • eStudy Guide and Discussion Starter (pdf)
  • ebook of G.A. Henty’s original story with colorful graphics (pdf)
  • A beautiful printable pdf poster with inspirational quote
  • cast poster (pdf)
  • soundtrack (mp3)
  • “Behind the Scenes of The Cat of Bubastes (mp4 video download)

Heirloom Audio Productions ~Cat of Bubastes
The study guide can help you use the audio adventure as more than just entertainment and turn it into an educational experience.  It includes a basic biography of G.A. Henty, as well as historical background information about Moses.  Then it provides a listening guide that breaks the recording into small chunks and gives questions to help younger listeners understand what’s happening in the story or provide older children with prompts for written assignments. Scattered through the listening guide are interesting facts about Ancient Egypt, and there are suggestions for further reading.  The next section contains three Bible studies:

  • “God Meant It for Good”
  • “The Knowledge of God”
  • “Idolatry and Tyranny”

Finally, the study guide concludes with more historical background information.

Our Experience

Although the boys and I have been enjoying adventures from Heirloom Audio Productions for the past few years, my husband has only recently discovered them, as he entertained himself on long overnight drives during our road trip this summer by listening to all the past recordings.  So when we went on a weekend getaway recently, he was excited that we had something new.  Our whole family enjoyed listening to The Cat of Bubastes together.  As the excitement built and the boys are rescued by an Egyptian Prince, even my husband couldn’t help blurting out, “Moses!” when they asked his name.  It was so fun getting to enjoy the story together.

The great thing about Henty’s adventures is that they’re not just exciting adventures, they bring history to life.  I love that as we listened to The Cat of Bubastes my children were learning about life in Ancient Egypt, their culture and religion, and even getting some insight into what life was like for the Israelites during their time of captivity.  It helped make the Bible more real to them, and that’s more than any textbook could do.

Heirloom Audio Productions ~Cat of Bubastes
It’s really hard to pick a favorite out of all the Henty books Heirloom Audio Productions has brought to life, but this latest offering would definitely be near the top for me.  It is so important to me to be able to provide my boys with literary role models to help them develop a picture of the kind of men they want to become, and Heirloom Audio has given us an entertaining and powerful tool for helping mold their young minds.

Heirloom Audio Productions ~Cat of Bubastes
Crew Disclaimer

« Older Entries