WonderMaps

I have mentioned before that my kids are map lovers and budding geography buffs! They love to learn about new countries and find them on the map. We have games on the ipad that encourage this, and many of our history lessons find us at the map tracing the routes of great explorers.




Well, thanks to Timberdoodle and Bright Ideas Press we no longer have to crowd around our little maps or even try to find the exact place on our large wall maps. We can go straight to Wondermaps on the computer and look up exactly what we are talking about. When Paul and I were studying South America it was easy to pull South America up and see all the aspects of South America that we needed to look at. It was easy to add or take away geographical components that we did or did not want to look at. We can also print out the maps with or without the various components. Here I printed just the country borders and names for him to learn the countries. Later I printed a blank map for him to fill out what he had learned.





When we moved on to American History and started studying the Civil War we could easily pull up a map of what the United States looked like at that time and exactly which states were in the Union and Confederate forces.

The kids have also thoroughly enjoyed simply browsing through the multitude of maps on the computer.

There are so many maps in this program there is no way I can list them all. There are maps from Biblical times as well as all throughout the rest of history, and all over the world. There is no way I can do this program justice, so take a look at the tutorial on YouTube



You can purchase WonderMaps as a CD here for only $44.95. That may seem like a good bit of money, but this is something you can use throughout all of your children's schooling. In the long run, this is very much worth the money.




You can find more great geography items at Timberdoodle-here

And make sure you go here and take a look at their online catalog or order a paper copy to see all their great products.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of WonderMaps for review. All opinions in the review are my own, and no other compensation was given for the review.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Raising Real Men

If you know my boys, you know they are ALL boy. They know how to get dirty, and they know how to really PLAY.

They love to turn hugs in to wrestling matches...


They love to play "war"





and to protect their little sisters house...


They love playing baseball (or any sport) and being "competitive"





They enjoy "playing in the dirt" with Daddy





They love adventure and heading to the "high seas"


They love climbing to the top of EVERYTHING and scaring Mom to death





All in all, they just love being BOYS!

BUT, they scare me to death! They scare me with their adventure, yes, but I am also scared because I want them to one day be MEN. Thanks to Hal and Melanie Young's book, Raising Real Men, I now see that all this adventure and scaring me to death is natural, and very NECESSARY for them to become real men. Boys naturally thrive on adventure and competition. It is sad that todays society attempts to stifle this natural desire for boys. It is very refreshing to read a book that reminds me that my boys are normal and I should not stifle their natural desires of adventure. Instead, I should embrace and encourage it. Their desire to compete and be the best at all they do may be just the trait they need on the mission field one day, or fighting for our country, or searching for some medical breakthrough. Or, most importantly, their desire to be the best and to lead the way, will be just what they need to lead their family one day. It's important that I teach them to use all this energy and all their daring desires in the right ways so they can lead their family to serve God one day.

In the first half of the book "we talked a lot about the things boy do naturally that drive us crazy...unless and until they are molded and shaped into the manly virtues."

In the second half of the book they "talk about the things we want boys to do that drive them crazy...unless and until we help them see the purposes, the goals, and the principles involved"

So, all I have to do now is take all this adventurous play my boys enjoy so much and shape them and mold them into the men they need to be.

In some ways, we are seeing this with Paul. He enjoys helping Mom with groceries...


Or reading a book to his little sister...



He is growing up to be a real MAN who can lead and be manly in a Godly way. HIs biggest desire right now is to be like Daddy. He wants to be a real man. He wants to be a leader in all he does.

This book is not a list of "do's and dont's" It's more of a guide and an encouragement to read your Bible and search for yourself what a real man should be. Hal and Melanie have 6 boys, so they have definitely "been there, done that" and they give some great words of encouragement and gentle Biblical advice on raising boys to become men.

If you have boys this is a MUST read book. I plan on reading it again and again to gain more insight and feel encouraged.

You can purchase the book through TIMBERDOODLE--here.

You can also find other great Biblical parenting books at TIMBERDOODLE--here

And, don't forget to take a look at all the great products TIMBERDOODLE offers and order their catalog here

Now, if I can just find a book that will help me as much with my baby girl...girls bring a whole other set of challenges!

Disclosure: I received "Raising Real Men" for free in exchange for an honest review. I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.

Aims - Electrical Connections - review

As Paul gets older there are many concepts I want him to learn and things that I want him to experience that are not my "forte". I have asked Steve to help with these types of things, and he is more than happy to help. He has been wanting to start a study on electricity with him, but it just had not happened yet. Then, as always, God sent us a little something to help "push" us along. We were given the opportunity to review "Electrical Connections" from AIMS Education Foundation. As soon as it came in I handed it to Steve and he took it from there.

"At AIMS, we believe that hands-on math and science is the most effective way to develop conceptual understanding.

As a non-profit foundation, we're committed to doing what's best for students. Join us and rekindle the joy of learning!"

The "Electrical Connections" book we reviewed is geared to Grades 4-6. This is a pretty accurate grade range. 4th is probably about as early as you want to start, but it could be used with a little higher than 6th grade, depending on the student's previous knowledge with electricity.

As I mentioned above this was Steve's subject to teach. So, here are his thoughts on the actual content:

I like that it takes a complex subject, like electricity and breaks it into 3 distinct categories. Then within each of these categories you are provided with experiments that are easy to perform and teach the subject matter well. It is also helpful that the experiments use common household items. The structure of the lessons really kept Paul's attention because they demonstrated the concept being taught from the perspective of all his senses. One example of this is using a statically charged balloon to generate popping sounds when a paper clip is drawn near it, or to illicit a feeling when holding it close to the backside of your hand, or to cause the corner of a piece of saran wrap to rise from the table as a balloon is held near. I felt the well-rounded approach of the lessons, including many hands-on experiments will help Paul to remember the concepts more vividly. It was also very helpful that all the experiments and lessons were right there together in one book. There was no need to think about another activity to reinforce the lesson.

Personally I loved the layout of the book and from looking at it myself, as someone that has zero knowledge of electrical connections, it was laid out so well that I could have taught it, if the need arose. However, I am incredibly thankful that Steve was willing to take this on. And the time Paul got to spend with Daddy, and will continue to spend with Daddy as they work through the rest of the book was priceless. There are several "mini-books" that teach the various concepts as well as games and easily conducted experiments.

You can purchase the book here for only $24.95 and it also comes with a CD of all the consumable pages of the book, so you can just print them and use them as needed. Plus AIMS offers so much more than just the "Electrical Connections" book we reviewed. Be sure and look around their website and even order their catalog to see all the wonderful hands-on products they sell for Math and Science.
If you would like to check out other reviews of not only the "Electrical Connections" book but several other books AIMS has to offer go here to see what other TOS reviewers had to say about AIMS.
If you want to make Science and Math come alive for your student I really suggest taking a close look at what AIMS has to offer!
Disclosure: All opinions in this review are my own. I was given the above mentioned product for free to review with the TOS Homeschool Crew. There was no other compensation given for the review.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Shunning DVD WINNER

Congratulations to Kimberly on winning the Shunning DVD.  

Games for Competitors - Tri-Cross - a review

We are a game loving family. The kids would love to play games all day and never tire of it. And, there is so much educational value in playing games. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT talking about video games. I am talking about good, old-fashioned board games, or card games.

We recently added to our game collection through reviewing Tri-Cross made by "Games for Competitors". Tri-Cross is a game of strategy much like chess or checkers, but so different from chess and checkers. It is intended for ages 8 and up. You can purchase the game on their website or at many retail locations. The standard version of the game is $24.95, the eco-edition is $19.95 or there is also a wooden version for $35.95.


There are several ways to play the game, and it is definitely a game of strategy! There are so many variations of play the game actually came with a CD to help learn how to play the game. You can also look at tutorials on how to play on their website . It seems a bit overwhelming at first, but if you just jump in and start playing it is rather easy to figure out. At first the games can be very short, but as more strategy is learned the games get lengthier.

Though it says the game is for ages 8 and up, even my 4 and 6 year old enjoyed playing with the rest of the family. That was probably my favorite aspect of the game, that everyone could play. And in the "blind" version of the game everyone has an opportunity to win.


Games are great for family time as well as education time. Anytime I can sneak in some logical thinking, and cause-and-effect activities and the kids think it is just fun game time I am all for it.

Don't forget to take a look at what other TOS Crew members have to say here

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this product for review purposes. There was no other compensation given for this review and all opinions given are my own honest opinions.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad