Just Being Us

Just Being Us
Family, where we can be real, and feel unconditional love!

Monday, March 30, 2020

Getting Real About Fear Part 1


     In the last few weeks, I have not been able to post on what is going on in our world today.  I would sit down to write and my hands would begin to shake and my heart would pound.  I think I thought that if I wrote about it, it would make it more real and you know what... it does.  I have to face my fears.  

     I am not afraid to admit that I am full of anxiety.  I am human.  Being a Christian doesn't take away these feelings, it helps me get through them.  That is why I am posting today.  I want to help you as God helps me through these trials.  I want to be here to listen to you and encourage and comfort you when you are having times of panic and anxiety.  Over the next few days, I will be posting daily.  I will be sharing scriptures with you that you can save and print for yourself.  I will be giving you support.  Even though we can't be together in person, we can help one another.  As God leads me I will be sharing my thoughts and feelings.  I hope I can be real with you and you can feel the same and be real with me.  

      Today I want to give you verses on healing.  Please save them to your computer and use them in any way you would like.  They are for YOU!!! 

To save these verses, just scroll your mouse over each image and click the right side of your mouse. A pop up will show a few actions you can take, just click save image as 😀





     Please feel free to comment below with your thoughts, feelings or prayer requests.  I can't wait to share more with you tomorrow. 

Friday, March 27, 2020

HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW: OUR REVIEW OF HOME SCHOOL IN THE WOODS


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.

     For years we have enjoyed using resources from Home School in the Woods.  I use to use it with more than just one student, but this time around it was just me and my daughter Hope.  We were able to really dive into the material and go at her pace.  We were given one of the  Time Travelers U.S. History Studies.  Our study was Time Travelers: The Industrial Revolution through the Great Depression.  We both learned a lot as we traveled through this era.  

     Home School in the Woods is a hands-on company with multiple product lines.  We absolutely love the way this company uses hands-on projects to reinforce the learning process.  The only con is all the printing that you need to do, but it is so worth your time, effort and ink.  This particular study is geared towards 3-8th grade but to be honest, my son, who is in 10th grade was intrigued by many of the activities we did, so you may be able to use it for older grades as well.

     We enjoy arts, crafts, and hands-on projects so this curriculum is a good fit for our family. My 7th-grade daughter absolutely loves to learn through doing special activities so she is thrilled when she gets to learn her least favorite subject by doing fun little projects.  She retains so much more than if we just sit down and read about a certain period in History.


     Time Travelers: The Industrial Revolution through the Great Depression has 25 lessons that you can finish within 5-10 weeks depending on your pace. The 25 lessons include:

  1. Railroads, Gold, Snow, & Fire
  2. Wars in the West
  3. A Gilded Age
  4. Innovations and Inventors
  5. Project Day-1
  6. Immigration in America
  7. Work Conditions Worsen
  8. The Arts
  9. America Continues to Grow
  10. Project Day-2
  11. People of Interest
  12. War on the Islands
  13. The Progressive Era
  14. Other Happenings -Part 1
  15. Project Day-3
  16. Other Happenings -Part 2
  17. World War 1 -Part 1
  18. World War 1 -Part 2
  19. The Roaring Twenties
  20. Project Day-4
  21. The Stock Market Crash & The Great Depression -Part 1
  22. The Stock Market Crash & The Great Depression -Part 2
  23. Project Day-5
  24. Pulling Together the Lap Book
  25. A "Depression-Era Dinner"

     With each lesson, you have text pages and project pages.  The text pages are for reading aloud with your student/students, and the project pages are the hands-on activities that go along with the subject matter.  They range from creative writing to art projects.  I love all the wonderful subjects that can be incorporated into these lessons. With each section, you will be given the exact masters that need to be printed for that lesson. They have it all planned out for you right there.  

     Here are some of our projects we worked on: 











     
     If you have a child who enjoys hands-on projects this is for you.  History comes alive with each activity.  The timeline alone is amazing. We chose not to put ours in our notebook this time, as we may hang it in our classroom area.  This study is so versatile and that is why we love it! I highly recommend all their resources and they have quite a few. 😀

     Would you like to know more about Home School in the Woods?  I would encourage you to check out their website, blog @ https://store.homeschoolinthewoods.com/blogs/words-from-the-woods and social media pages listed below:


     We have more reviews of this product and many others over on the Homeschool Review Crew site.  I would love to have you check out what other homeschooling families think of this company.  Just click on the link below

👇👇👇👇👇👇👇


Home School in the Woods Collections - Lap-pak, Timeline Figures, History Studies & Activity-Pak {Home School in the Woods Reviews}
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Thursday, March 26, 2020

HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW: OUR REVIEW OF MATH GALAXY


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.

     Our daughter who is in 7th grade has never been a huge fan of her math classes.  A few have been better than others, but she always seems to lose focus before mastering a Math skill.  I was thrilled when we were chosen to receive and review Math Galaxy.  Hope enjoys using her iPad and iPhone and this app was a perfect match for her.  

     Math Galaxy is apps that you download to your iPhone or iPad.  This digital wonderland of math concepts keeps your child focussed. Math Galaxy uses a few methods to teach techniques that will help your child learn and retain these math concepts, such as graphical illustrations, block modeling, and algorithms. Using Math Galaxy is like having your own Math tutor right there in your home. Their philosophy is that kids need to focus on one math application at a time until they master it. They accomplish this by engaging children with new ideas and concepts for each grade level. They believe consistency is key and their goal is for your child to become proficient in Math.

      These apps also keep records for the parent to see how well their child is doing.  I liked that part a lot! You can save up to 5 student's scores, so if you have a few children learning the same concepts, you can keep track of each one. 



     Math Galaxy offers math apps for grades ranging from Preschool to 12th grade.  We focused on 7th grade Math for Hope.  The 7th grade app taught concepts such as: 
  • Rational Numbers
  • Ratios and Proportions
  • Percents
  • Expressions and Equations
  • Geometry
  • Statistics and Probability 

     At first, Hope was a little apprehensive, but once she started using the app, she was quite happy.  She said it was fun and loved all the great colors.  Very satisfying to the eye.  I think that is important to kids.  They like seeing bright colors, makes learning, not such a chore.  

     During this review time, she has mastered percents and decimals.  Concepts she was having issues with before.  We also worked on fractions a bit.  Here are a few questions from the Math Galaxy app. 






     
     We were also given e-books that you can purchase on the Math Galaxy site that can be printed out and used for extra practice. They have an e-book for each of the Math concepts being taught in the app. From addition and subtraction to Algebra, you can be sure to find what you need. I love to see my kids work on real paper and these amazing worksheets allowed me to see how she was progressing. They are also fun!  They have riddles for your child to solve as they come up with the right answers to the math problems they are given. Hope used a separate notebook to work through each problem. You can have your child show their work right there on the worksheet if you like. 😀




    Hope is really having fun learning with Math Galaxy and I know she will continue to use it.  I am excited we found such a wonderful program for her and encourage you to check it out for yourself.  You can find more information about this resource on their website Math Galaxy or on their Pinterest page.  

     We also have more reviews for you over on the Homeschool Review Crew page.  Just click the link below!
👇👇👇👇👇


3rd Grade -Algebra Fundametals Math Apps {Math Galaxy Reviews}

HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY!!!

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW: OUR REVIEW OF YWAM Publishing

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.

     For years we have used these amazing books from YWAM Publishing.  The Heroes of History series have been our favorites. This time we were given the opportunity to receive and review Thomas Edison.  This is just one of the 26 heroes that they offer for us to study. We have thoroughly enjoyed each and every biography we have read.  


     During the winter months (and even some warmer months) Josh loves to curl up on the couch when he reads.  With this biography, I had to make him stop reading or he would have laid there all day long.  He loves to read about inventors.  He often dreams of being an inventor himself, so I wasn't surprised that this biography of Edison was a huge hit for him. 






     I asked Josh what he learned about Thomas Edison that he didn't know before and he said he was most shocked to find out that Edison was from Ohio.  That is where we live so that was intriguing to Josh.  He also seemed to be amazed by the facts of his young life, like how everyone called him Al (Edison's middle name is Alva).  Josh didn't think he was treated fairly or justly as a child.  Josh has a huge heart so he was very empathetic to the situations poor Al found himself in.  

     I questioned Josh about why he thought Edison was such an incredible inventor even though he endured many hardships as a young man and Josh said he didn't let anyone get him down.  He instead used it as fuel to do more and more. Through hard work, determination and motivation, he became one of the greatest inventors of his time. Edison was a genius and used his mind to come up with awesome inventions.  He never used excuses, instead, he found ways around typical thoughts and came up with new and exciting products such as the incandescent lamp.  

     I asked Josh if he had a quote from Edison that he could learn from and his answer was when Edison was helping out with the Model T and said "You have tried only reasonable things. Reasonable things never work."  Josh said that is why we need to think out of the box and not be afraid of what others will think. 

     Along with the book, we were given access to a Unit Study Curriculum Guide.  We have used these in the past but decided with Josh's other work, we would just read this time.  The study guides are amazing though and will help you to see how much your child is learning and comprehending.  They are a digital download that you can purchase on their website and are a great tool for you to use with your book.  It guides you on how to use the book to teach subjects such as History, Math, Geography and Science.  We always enjoyed doing the essays.  I highly recommend them! 

     Would you like to learn more about YWAM Publishing and all its wonderful resources?  I encourage you to check out their website and social media pages listed below:



     We also have more reviews of this book along with many others over on the Homeschool Review Crew page.  Just click the link below 
👇👇👇


32 Heroes of History {YWAM Publishing Reviews}
HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

Monday, March 23, 2020

Good Morning Lord! {Free PDF}


     Today we have some wonderful printables for you. We love to start our mornings by spending time with the Lord.  We have found that if we start our day with worship, prayer and Bible reading, we feel ready to face whatever comes our way. 

     To print the PDF of this little workbook, just click on the link below the image.  




Friday, March 20, 2020

HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW: OUR REVIEW OF THE ACTION BIBLE ANYTIME DEVOTIONS

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.

     Our family is always looking for resources for our devotion time.  I was excited to be receiving and reviewing  The Action Bible Anytime Devotions by David C Cook.  I knew that we would be learning about God's Word in a fun and practical way.  


      This paperback book has 193 pages and is split into 90 amazing devotions. From messages of Hope to how to cope with anxiety, it has so much to offer.  I was afraid it would be too childish for my 15 year old son, but he enjoyed it just as much as our 12 year daughter.  The stories are so practical and easy to understand.  The message is clear.  It will help your family get closer to God with each devotional.  

     The images in this devotional are amazing!!! So bright and colorful. They brought each story to life.  I was impressed with the quality of each page and how much thought was not only put into the stories themselves but in the illustrations.

     Each devotional will help you learn, relate, and apply God's Word to your life.  After each devotional we had many great discussions. We also talked about how we can exhibit more of the qualities found in this book such as love, courage, faith, trust, strength, and kindness.  It really gets you thinking. 

                                             
  Our daughter has really liked this devotional and will re-read it during her Bible time.  She said it helps her apply what is being taught to her life.  Her favorite story was the one called When You Need To Listen.  She told me she had been struggling with trusting God with some personal things she needs to do.  She feels Him leading her to talk more with others, but she is an introvert and has anxiety when speaking in crowds.  She is working on trusting Him to give her the right words and allowing Him to speak through her.  I am not sure she would have shared this issue with me unless we were reading through this devotional.  God always opens doors doesn't He? 


     Would you like to learn more about this devotional and other products from David C Cook?  I would encourage you to browse their website and follow them on their social media pages listed below:


Twitter: https://twitter.com/David_C_Cook

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david.c.cook/


Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/davidccook/


YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DavidCCookVideos



     We also have more reviews of this devotional over on the Homeschool Review Crew site.  Just click on the link below

 ⇊⇊⇊⇊⇊

The Action Bible Anytime Devotions {David C Cook Reviews}
HAVE A BLESSED WEEKEND!!!

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW: OUR REVIEW OF Connections Stationary Kit

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 have always loved to write letters to friends and family. It seems to be something many people aren't doing anymore.  That is why I was excited to see that Byron's Games have this wonderful kit called Connections Stationary Kit.  My daughter and I were excited to be given this product to use and couldn't wait to share our review with you. 


      The kit is geared towards ages 6 and up and includes:
  • 25 pieces of stationary paper
  • 25 envelopes
  • 36 envelope stickers
  • One pink ink pad
  • One blue ink pad
  • One rubber stamp that says "Thank you"
  • One fine tip blue pen



     My daughter used this kit to send letters to friends we have that are out of town. She loved writing to tell them about her pets, school days, and her new exercise routines.  She also had a few people she sent Thank You notes to.  When people received their notes, they were so happy.  Like I said before it is not common to receive notes like this in the mail anymore.  Most people use digital versions of everything like birthday cards or thank you notes. This kit made writing letters fun! 

     

     During this time of writing, we took some time to go over proper letter writing skills and how to address envelopes.  Hope said the only thing that could have made this kit better is if they used lined paper instead of blank. Other than that, it was the perfect kit to teach or brush up on letter writing skills.  

     I felt that the kit was put together well and the quality of the paper and supplies were great.  The ink pads and stamper can be used over and over again even when your paper and envelopes are gone.  The ink was not messy and it was easy to wash off your hands if you did get it on you.  Even small children could use this kit to learn how to write letters.  The envelopes are made well and stay closed after sealing.  The theme of the kit is travel and is very cute.  I especially liked the little hot air balloons on the outside of the envelopes. 

     Would you like to learn more about Byron's Games and their products?  I encourage you to check out their website and their social media pages listed below: 


     For more reviews of the  Connections Stationary Kit and Continent Race, come on over to the Homeschool Review Crew site.  Just click on the link below: 

Continent Race & Connections Stationery Kit {Byron's Games}
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!!!