I was so excited to review this game because the graphics were so cute and I was intrigued by the volcano. Animal Classification Escape the Volcano Flash Card Game from Warm Hearts Publishing did not disappoint. 

The game board, game pieces, and flash cards are bright and cheery. It is very easy to understand and follow the directions to put together the game board and the playing pieces. That's important to me because I am not the best at following directions and putting things together. 

Once the flashcards are printed and the game is set up, it's time to play. 

Each player tried to get to the last box for the playing piece reaches "The Lava has Reached You." Yikes! What a cool idea. You answer the flash card question and if you get it right, you can move your playing piece on top of the card. Anyway, I won't go into all the details. Just want to say this: It's creative, fun, and educational!

There are three levels of play: easy, difficult, and challenging. That means you can keep playing the game for years. 

The flashcards can also be used for other activities. 

I also received the extra set of Invertebrate Animal Classification Cards that included insects and echinoderms. 

​Art Masterpieces to Color: 60 Great Paintings from Botticelli to Picasso from Dover Press is a great coloring book to invest in.

Because the coloring book comes with small postcard size reproductions in the back of the book, you can turn this into an art appreciate class. Have your children or teens color these pages of famous paintings exactly like the original artist did. Believe me, they will be scrutinizing these paintings as they color. 

Some of the famous works of art in this coloring book are The Peaceable Kingdom (Edward Hicks), Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci), Girl with a Pearl Earring (Jan Vermeer), and Luncheon of the Boating Party (Pierre-Auguste Renoir). There is a wide variety of artwork from different periods and styles. This is a wonderful and vaied taste of art appreciation.​

​I have told other homeschooling moms that there’s just no fun way to do spelling. I have used workbooks for years, while I encourage moms to also consider making spelling lists from unit studies or books their children are reading too. There is just no way to make spelling hands-on, or so I thought. I stand corrected.

All About Spelling comes with a workbook—of course! But there is more in the package! An Audio CD-ROM with a clear pronunciation of each phonetic sound is included. You press the alphabet letter, consonant team, vowel team, or phonogram and hear the sound! This is fun for those who like to touch and press (every kid under the age of ten!). There are also letter tiles to touch and handle. This is another plus of the program—it is very hands-on! There are also flashcards, letter tile magnets, and a magnetic tile board. You hear the sound, see the sound, and touch! This is truly a multi-sensory way to learn spelling!

My favorite part of the package was the games! Bingo with phonograms and several other games that you make by pasting the game to simple file folders. There were five cheery, colorful games: A Day on the Farm; Bunny Garden; Dog Walk; Horse and Pony Show; and Wild, Wild West. The games will be a hit with children!

​Do you enjoy the drama and personalities of history more than dates and facts? If so, these books are for you! Though written for grades fourth to eighth graders, your whole family will enjoy reading or listening to this book read aloud. We got together with another family and everyone from grade two to senior in high school listened each week as mom read the stories (lessons) aloud. Filled with information, little known, but thrilling facts and stories are included.
         
The author, Linda Lacour Hobar, takes us on a trip back in time to meet those who have made history and to experience them ourselves. What an adventure!
 
Laid out in chronological order, beginning with Creation, each week has three lessons accompanied by writing, craft and cooking projects. There are test and quizzes too. We normally ignore tests, but we enjoyed these tests too. 
         
Can you guess that these are my very favorite history textbooks? You learn what was going on in the world—at the same time. While one nation is in its height, another is beginning. It even covers China, India, and Africa!       

To read Understanding the Times is to take on a mammoth project. The book is over 500 pages long and not light reading. 
 
This book is "must read before you graduate" book and here's why: I want my children to understanding where each of their professors are coming from when they go to college. 
 
The worldview on the typical American college campus (even many Christian campuses) is far different from what the Word of God teaches. 
 
I want my children to be prepared to not only recognize different worldviews, but to defend their faith in Jesus Christ and the Bible. 
 
Here's where Understanding the Times comes in. 

Some of our children have vivid imaginations and want to create stories to share with their family and friends. Crafting a good story isn't as easy as they think it is. Author Susan Marlow to the rescue with her creative writing curriculum for middle school and upper elementary students.

Reach for the Stars​ by Susan Marlow, a creative writing curriculum, covers all the bases like "Show; Don't Tell us about Your Characters" or "Hook Your Reader." Students learn to plot stories, create scenes, and bring characters to life. 

Younger children who love to write will love this book. It is easy to work through the lessons and fun to put together your own story. 

You can purchase Reach for the Stars at Media Angels (E-book) and at Amazon.

Happy Writing!
​Meredith Curtis

"What is a Quiz Pack?" I wondered aloud. 

I clicked on  the E-book and scanned quickly through the contents. I was interested. 

"Wow! It covers a lot of information...in great detail." I had just finished teaching Ancient History and came across things I hadn't covered. 

This is a set of quizzes and puzzles to test your middle and high school children's knowledge of Ancient Egypt. Information tested includes famous pharaohs, dynasties, daily life, family life, and geography of Egypt. 

There is another way to use this quiz book. I would like to use it to get ideas of what to study when I am beginning a unit study of Ancient Egypt. It give me all of the major things I need to make sure we learn. I like that!

I took some of the tests myself and checked them with the answer key. Oh dear, it's time to do more studying of Ancient Egypt. 

I am so excited to tell you about this curriculum!

​If you have a preschooler, you are probably teaching him letters and/or letter sounds. Annette Breedlove has created a 689-page letter workbook, Apples to Zebras, just for you to teach letters and sounds to your little ones.

With bright, cheery illustrations and easy-to-understand instructions for Mom, Apples to Zebras is divided into nine sections with three letters each. Children learn letters F, B, and M first. In the next sections, students learn K, T, R; followed by P, S, N; J, H, D; C, L, G; W, Y, V; Z, Q, X. Finally, at the end of the book, after learning all the consonants, it’s time to learn the vowels. A, E, and I are first, followed by O and U.

Take a look at each of the letter combinations. Do you notice how different each letter in the triplet sounds from the other two? This makes it easy to tell the difference between them so children can tell the letters and their sounds apart. When they review, it’s easy to tell them apart.

I love how kid-friendly the pictures are! In fact, each page has kid appeal. The pictures throughout the entire workbook are adorable.

I kid-tested them on my grandson who loved the bright happy colors and pictures. 
​

Restoring America's Biblical Foundations​ by Pilgrim Institute is a DVD course for high school students and adults on a topic that is dear to my heart: Truth. 

Over the years,  history has been taken out. Godly men are glossed over or their faith is hidden. Many people have only heard revisionist history--they know nothing of the truth of our Christian heritage and biblical foundation. 

I applaud the Pilgrim Institute for speaking out!

This course covers the biblical view of government and a Providential view of history. God gives a plan for government in His Word which the founders respected and tried to follow. The Lord intervenes in the affairs of men. Our Founding Fathers believed both.

​As Christians, I believe it's time to teach the truth to the next generation, starting in our home schools. Restoring America's Biblical Foundations is a great start! 

​Let me tell you about the kit.

1. Reading Comprehension with Aesop's Fables​ by Bonnie Rose Hudson includes ten of the fables of Aesop. Popular for centuries, the timeless tales have been retold so that a first-grader will enjoy them.

​Mom reads a fable aloud followed by fun comprehension activities. These include tracing, vocabulary practice, sequencing, coloring pages, and sight word puzzle.

​I love the coloring pages. They are adorable and fit in perfectly with each story, while being kid-friendly.

​Often Moms wonder if children understand the stories they read aloud to them. These comprehension activities will help Moms to discover how much little ones understand.

​Though this was created for first graders, I think older children would benefit from Reading and Comprehension with Aesop's Fables. ​They might even read and do the work on their own.

​Aesop's stories have been enjoyed by all ages, so everyone will love listening in, including teenagers. A timeless story never grows old.

You can purchase Reading Comprehension with Aesop's Fables at Currclick. 

​Happy Homeschooling,
​Meredith Curtis

When my son was younger, he dreaded writing. I wish we could have had this curriculum back then. Jimmy would have loved it! He enjoys battle and adventure.

What fun for a boy to learn to write about soldiers! In this creative writing curriculum, Battle Cry: Write A Soldier Adventure by Jan May, boys will write a soldier adventure.

Boys will complete thirteen lessons. Each lesson has writing time, hands-on learning activities, and battle role-playing assignments.

Writing assignments start with creating your main character and his buddies. Every lesson that follows covers all the important lessons of story writing including showing, not telling about characters, dialogue, setting, plot, using humor, editing, and putting it all together.
 
Hands-on fun includes crafts or battle activities. Students make a tank, build a fort, drawing a map of their story’s battlefield, creating a clay diorama of battlefield, and creating top secret military files.
​
The role-playing is great for inspiring your young writers ages 8-12 to get their mind on the subject and write with enthusiasm. Interested?
​

​"Are you serious? You want me to color a coloring book for science class? I'm in high school, Mom." 

"I know sweetie, but this coloring book will be such a blessing!" 

Aren't teens to old to color?

The Human Anatomy Coloring Book by Margaret Mott is an amazing asset to any course on human anatomy, whether its health or human physiology.

There is nothing that makes memorization of body parts easier than to color them. 
​

Flip 3 Pancakes with 1 Spatula by Cheryl Bastian is book filled with hands-on learning ideas for teaching math without a textbook. It's a handbook to teach to the heart of your child, who most likely LOVES your kitchen and is constantly asking if he can "help." Cooking is fun. Math can be learned by cooking with mom in the kitchen. Ergo, learning math can be fun. That sounds logical to me!

You will love this book! Set up like a cookbook, it is divided into the following categories: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks & Desserts, and Holidays & Celebrations. Each page contains a complete math lesson set up unit study style with a yummy recipe. You start out by reading one or two picture books. After gathering the needed materials listed on the page, the math lesson takes place while you are cooking. There are also Add Ons. The Ad Ons include additional math lessons, social studies activities, more books to read, science projects, writing or language assignments, and art projects. All are easy and fun!

​When Sarah's Wish by Jim Baumgardner arrived to be reviewed, I decided to read the book and found myself immediately involved in Sarah's life and dreams.

Emotionally involved, I wanted her to find a family, to help her friends escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad, and to protect her from the evil slave catchers that made her life miserable.

I felt scared with Sarah sometimes and, other times, found myself laughing aloud at her antics.

When I finished the book, I wanted to read more about Sarah, to stay involved in her life. I felt like I had made a new friend. ​

"Is this an exercise video? Is this a math video?" I wondered aloud when Exploramania Gymathtics arrived in the mail to be reviewed.

The answer to my question is YES! It is an exercise video and it is a math video.

What a fun, colorful, exciting video to watch! Our hostess, exercise leader, and math teacher is energetic and upbeat. She reminds me of my spinning teacher at the Y. Her name is Carrie and she is the creator of Exploramania. The exercise video is a high-energy aerobic workout with a twist. The twist is that you are always doing math while you move and sweat.

"Isn't exercise fun?" perky Carrie asks throughout the 30 minute workout.

"Yes, Carrie," I have to agree. "This is fun!"

"You got a package of stuff to review," my son, Jimmy, informed me. "Do you need us to open it for you.

"Would you, boys?  That would be great!" I gave my son and his best friend the nod and within minutes, they had kitchen knives in their hands and were hacking away at the boxes.

"Guess what?" Josh asked with excitement in his voice.

You tell me!" I laughed at the boys' happy faces.

"It's from that company that sent the Nativity scene," they both said together.

"Oh, let me see." Now, I was excited too and soon all my daughters were gushing over One2Believe's latest shipment, an adorable replica/toy, Noah's Ark. This s a great Christmas present idea. 
​
​

The Renaissance was a rebirth of Classical Greek and Roman art, literature, and culture that took place mostly in Southern Europe. 

The Reformation was a spiritual rebirth that took place in hearts as they rediscovered the Truth found in Scripture: Salvation through Faith alone. The Reformation took place mostly in Northern Europe. 

As these earth-shaking movements were happening across Europe, men were bravely sailing to the New World.

​What an exciting time to study! How thrilling to see God moving through time and history to glorify Jesus and spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth!
​

Originally published by E. P. Dutton Co., Inc in 1941, Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray by Opal Wheeler and illustrated by Mary Greenwalt is a biography of Stephen Foster with music scores of his most famous works included in the book. The story is lively and engaging, beginning with his birth into a large, slave-owning family in Pennsylvania.

From the very beginning, Stephen loved music! When he was two years old, he "borrowed" his sister's guitar and plucked a melody out on the instrument. Soon, he was plucking piano keys with lovely results to his family's delight and enjoyment. Stephen's music was profoundly influenced by Negro Spirituals sung by the black slaves of America. His songs often adopt the style or melody of a specific spiritual. Because of this, I had always assumed that he was a "Southern Boy," but it turns out he spent most of his life in Pennsylvania!

This biography is easy enough to be read and enjoyed by young children, but interesting and full of enough information that older children would enjoy it too. My first thought:  a great family read aloud book! Best of all, the Bible is mentioned, as well as the family's devotion to God!

The study guide, Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray Study Guide by Judy Wilcox, impressed me! This slim book and companion guide was jam-packed with great info and divided into four sections. Each section covered a section of the book with maps, timelines, tidbits of interest, reading comprehension questions, and a focus on character qualities evident in Stephen Foster's life.

In the last election, Sarah Palin captured my heart and imagination with her spunky attitude, devotion to her family, and good common sense. I was so excited to see a woman of God who was not ashamed to talk about her faith in Jesus! Who was this woman from Alaska that I'd never heard of before? A governor? I never think much about Alaska, though my parents dreamed of taking an Alaskan cruise together. "Brrr...too cold," was my thought when they asked if I wanted to join them. But, as I have been learning more about this beautiful wilderness state of ours with its breathtaking landscape, I'm having second thoughts about taking an Alaskan cruise. At the very least, I am interested in learning about this wild state that produces hearty, spunky souls who value family and hard work.

With this in mind, I was eager to take a look at an E-book, Aunt Sarah's Alaskan Cookbook by Cheryl Moeller. With lovely illustrations by Susan R. Smith and breath-taking photographs by Clifford McGhyghy, this cookbook is a homeschool treasure. Use it as a foundation for a unit study on Alaska or just enjoy the yummy recipes.

Cookbook Chapters

More than a collection of recipes, Aunt Sarah's Alaskan Cookbook gives you a look at Alaska's history and beauty throughout its 60 pages. Divided into seven sections (six chapters and an appendix), each section contains information about Alaska that can be used as a springboard for a unit study or as a supplement to your family's Alaska unit study. Here are the sections with some recipe examples from each section.

• Chapter One:  Refreshing Cold and Hot Beverages (Polar Bear Guzzler, Pacific Rim Hot Lemonade, Dogsled Caramel Apple Cider, and more!)
• Chapter Two:  Berries and Fruit ("After the Sauna" Cold Fruit Soup, Aleutian Grilled Fruit-Kabobs, Klondike River Rhubarb Bars, and more!)
• Chapter Three:  Salmon and the Fish of the Sea (Fairbanks Citrus Salmon, Kanai Breakfast Fish Tacos, Water's Edge Crockpot Trout, and more!)
• Chapter Four:  Choose Moose, Rabbit, Deer, Elk, Bear and Caribou (Katishna Venison Sausage and Flax Pancakes, Barrow Buttermilk Grilled Rabbit, Wild Buck Beans, and more!)
• Chapter Five:  Dog Sled Race Party for Kids (Finger Lake Moose Munch, Rainy Pass Wheat Germ Cookies, White Mountain Ice Cream, and more!)
• Chapter Six:  Banquet of the North (Czar Alexander Elk Meatloaf, Easy Baked Alaska, Okmok Volcano, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, and more!)
• Appendix:  Curriculum for Children (Coloring Pages, Comprehension Chapter Questions, Comprehension Chapter Questions Answer Sheets)

Exciting Alaska