A Stable Beginning: April 2020

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Wordless Wednesday

http://astablebeginning.com

Wordless Wednesday ~ Happy Birthday to me and my vintage self

http://astablebeginning.com

The Hidden Message of the Great Seal by Michael Kanis ~ a TOS review

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. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations.

Morning friends! Do you love American History? Well, I have a great book to share with you today. I have been reading The Hidden Message of the Great Seal How Foundational Truth From The Dawn Of Liberty May Rescue A Republic In Peril from The Hidden Message, LLC for the last few weeks. Next year my rising 8th grader, Montana, will use it along with her American History studies.

This 260 page softcover book is written by Michael Kanis and reading it has been such an adventure. From the moment I started reading it I had a hard time putting it down as I explored the meaning of our country’s national seal. The author, Michael Kanis, is a christian businessman with a background in business, technology, and finance and he has spent a lot of time researching this subject.

With 24 chapter, this books dives into our countries history by uncovering the symbolism around our seal. The illustrations and pictures are in full color and beautiful. There is so much information in this book of things I didn’t know about. Like did you know that the three men tasked to create our Constitution were also tasked with creating the national seal? And that this great seal was supposed to represent a “Kings Seal”?

As soon as this book was on the interest list I was excited, and let me tell you it did not disappoint! Run, and get a copy of this book for yourself! Mr. Kanis is offering 50% off until the end of May so do yourself a favor and order it today. It will lead you down rabbit holes and discoveries and help to pass the hours during our quarantined days.

Overall, this is a great book and I highly recommend it for any history buff! Even if you are not a history buff I think you will enjoy this book as well. I will say that there is a little nudity that is represented in a few photos, but nothing too bad. I am excited for my daughter to read this come August when we start our new year as a part of her US History.

Be sure to check out what my 54 CrewMates thought of The Hidden Message by clicking the banner below.

The Hidden Message of the Great Seal {The Hidden Message, LLC Reviews}

Company ~ The Hidden Message, LLC

Product ~ The Hidden Message of the Great Seal

Format ~ softcover book, ISBN 978-0-9600023-0-6

Price ~ $29.95 * on sale for 50% off until May 30th

Ages ~ middle school - adult

http://astablebeginning.com

Friday, April 24, 2020

30 Prophecies: One Story from Christian Focus ~ a TOS review

Happy Friday friends! Recently we had the chance to review the book 30 Prophecies: One Story from Christian Focus. This hardcover book has 30 prophecies from the Bible that relate to Jesus and it is a perfect book for your 5-12 year old. Written by Paul Reynolds, the book goes over the major Messianic prophecies from the Bible. This book is written to be read aloud in an easy to read and understand tone. I love that it allows children to get to know Jesus better. Just as the book is beautifully written, so are the illustrations done in earth tone colors from Sarah Douglas.

30 Prophecies: One Story is divided into three sections, From The Fall to King David, Major and Minor Prophets, and Prophecies Made by Jesus about Himself.

Each of the 30 readings is contained on a 2-3 page spread. The readings all share the same format and are broken down into the following sections:

Prophet/Date ~ who said it and when

Prophecy Made & Prophecy Fulfilled ~ scripture taken from the Bible that shows the prophecy and its fulfillment.

Then and There ~ what the prophecy meant to the original hearers

Prophecy Fulfilled ~ how Jesus fulfills the prophecy

Scarlet Thread ~ how does this prophecy fit into God’s “One Story”

Application ~ what does it mean to you?

We have been using this book during our Morning Time Recitations 3-4 days a week with my 13, 10, and 5 year olds. I love that this book helps my children know the truth of what God said he was going to do. Not only do they hear it in the Old Testament but, they can look it up and read it for themselves in the New Testament. The application portion gave us some excellent talking points and lively discussions.

Overall, this is an excellent book and it has earned a spot on our bookshelves. Be sure to check out what my CrewMates thought of this book and the other two books being reviewed from Christian Focus, Psalms for my Day and Not if, But When by clicking the banner below.

Psalms for my Day, 30 Prophecies: One Story & Not If, But When {Christian Focus Reviews}

Company ~ Christian Focus

Product ~ 30 Prophecies: One Story

Format ~ hardcover, ISBN 978-5271-0428-0

Ages ~ Kindergarten

Social Media Links:

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ YouTube

http://astablebeginning.com

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Christian Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum from BJU Press: Focus on Fives ~ a TOS review

We are wrapping up our current school year but if you are looking for a Christian Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum, for your home learning for next year then I suggest you take a look into the program from BJU Press Focus on Fives kit from BJU Press Homeschool.

We received the 4th edition of the BJU Press Focus on Fives to use with my 5 year old son, Micah. This curriculum is geared for the Kindergarten year and includes 180 lessons taught over seven units. Each unit aims to bring the excitement of formal learning through phonics, Handwriting, science, social studies, and reading.

BJU Press is a Christian company so the course material will be presented with a Christian worldview. I like that the Focus on Fives has four essential pointed throughout the entire curriculum.

~ God is great and God is good

~ God created me and all things

~ The Bible is God’s word

~ I learn in order to serve God and others

There was lots of excitement on the Friday afternoon when our boxes arrived. Upon opening the boxes we discovered all the goodies inside including the:

Teacher materials:

~ Six (6) spiral-bound Teacher’s Editions

~ Phonic Charts with Alphabet cards

~ Handwriting charts

~ Spelling Cards

~ High Frequency word cards

~ Phonics characters

~ spiral-bound visual flip chart

Student materials:

~ Worktext

~ Phonics practice book

~ Phonics review cards

~ Write Now! Book

~ 34 Reading books

Everything you need to teach this curriculum is found within the Teacher’s Edition. The layout is detailed and you know right from the start the goals of the lesson and how to use the instructional materials provided. They are essential to the curriculum. The back of the Teacher’s Edition contain a resource section with the instructional aids, songs, assessments, and other materials needed to teach. I really like how the Teacher’s Editions are sturdy. The front cover is a thick laminated page while the back is a hard cardboard back. Inside the pages are thick and colorful.

The Student workbooks are softcover books.. They each contain bindings that are open to allow you to remove the lesson page.or to lay the page flat. I like that feature a lot as well. The pages are colorful and and filled with lively illustrations pertaining to the lesson. My son enjoyed this.

The Visuals came in a handy flip chart. It is made of two cardboard covers and is spiral bound. I like that you could just flip right to the visual needed for the lesson you were doing. Phonics charts are included as well on heavy, glossy card stock. There are many charts that include the alphabet song to individual letters and reading cards. The Phonics and Review cards are also a thick card stock. They include the alphabet, blend sounds, and word cards.

Our favorite part of the curriculum is, yep, you guessed it. The books! This set includes 34 Reading Books that encourage silent and oral reading. The books are printed on regular paper (thicker than computer paper) in half sheet sizes. They progress from being pictures stories to books with short text to longer paragraphs.

My only complaint with these is that they are printed on just regular paper. I would love to see the front and back cover laminated so that the book will last. This isn’t a big deterring factor for me and doesn’t take away from the entire program as a whole. When we are not using the books I have them stored away in a poly envelope for safe keeping.

I also want to mention that in July there will be optional videos that accompany this course. You can find a sample video HERE.

Overall, this is a great curriculum for Kindergarten. It is well thought out and each unit is complete. This is not an open-and-go curriculum so you will need to spend some time preparing before teaching your child. Not anything super hard, just cutting and organizing pieces for the lessons. This curriculum works well for my son, even though I feel the tone is written for a classroom setting. He enjoyed the colorfulness of the pages and the program as a whole.

The only thing that I truly did not like is the font in which the letters are written. For example the “i” is written with a loopy tail. At first glance my son did not know what the letter was because it was written this way. So, I just corrected it by writing over it as a straight line. This simple modification by me doesn’t change the whole program but adapts it to fit our family. But don’t just take my word for it. Thirty-five of my CrewMates had a chance to review this with their Kindergarteners so be should to check out their thoughts by clicking the banner below.