A Stable Beginning: November 2022

Thursday, November 17, 2022

The Quest for the King's Crown ~ a TOS review

Disclaimer: I received a Complimentary 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! I am excited to share with you a new book we received from Tyndale House Publishers and Focus on the Family, called The Quest for the King’s Crown. I've been reading this book aloud to my two youngest, McKenzie (13) and Micah (8) and we are hooked! Let me tell you a little more about it.

The Quest for the King’s Crown tells the story of four friends, Mike, Winnie, Ben, and Spence, who are known as The Last Chance Detectives. One day, the friends come across an ancient artifact whose treasure could unlock their wildest dreams. However, a mysterious break-in is threatening the dreams of the Last Chance Detectives all the while leaving the local sheriff puzzled as he tries to solve the case. With several twists and turns to the story will the four friends have what it takes to solve this heart-pounding mystery?

The Quest for the King’s Crown is the seventh book in The Last Chance Detectives series that is written for upper elementary-middle school, roughly 8-12 year old students. Don’t let this books position in the series stop you from reading it. The great thing is that you do not have to read the previous books to fully enjoy this story.

We found this book to be fast paced and filled with drama and excitement! The story easily kept our attention as the plot twisted and turned throughout each chapter. It is well written and Micah has added the previous six books to his Christmas wish list for his “something to read” gift category. Each book is affordable at just $7.99 for a softcover or $9.99 for an ebook. You can purchase the entire seven set series as well for $55.94.

I love being able to add quality Christian fiction books to our home library and I am pleased to say that The Quest for the King’s Crown has earned a spot on our jam-packed bookshelves. I definitely recommend The Last Chance Detectives series for anyone looking to provide wholesome fiction stories for their children. Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what twenty of my other CrewMates thought of this book by clicking the banner below.

Company ~ Focus on the Family

Product ~ The Quest for the King's Crown

Format ~ softcover book

Price ~ $7.99

Ages ~ 8-12 year olds

Find Tyndale House on these Social Media Links:

Facebook: ~ Instagram ~ YouTube

http://astablebeginning.com

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

The Voice Library ~ a TOS review

Morning friends! It’s time for another fun review! Are you looking for a way to preserve the sweet little baby voices of your children? Or maybe to keep the stories of the elders in your family? With The Voice Library you can do just that! The Voice Library is a way to preserve and store treasured stories and memories for your family. This is especially helpful since many of our parents and grandparents are getting older.

With The Voice Library - Audio Book Creator you can share and store your voice and photo memories at your fingertips in your own personal library. You can choose to access it anytime or you can choose to keep it private. In three easy steps you can start preserving your memories for years to come.

Getting started is easy. Simply choose whether you will be a Recorder or a Listener for the account. Each type has a different role for the account. If you are the Recorder it means you have access to all the features of the account. As the account holder you decide who can record or listen to content on your account. As the Listener, you are given access to the main account to listen to whatever is stored.

Thepossibilities are endless as to what you decide to store on your account! Some ideas include: ~ Reading your child’s favorite book ~ Having Grandma and Grandpa tell a story ~ Record funny jokes or stories ~ Create an audio family tree ~ Record your journey for any type of activities and/or events The Voice Library

Being able to share and preserve special moments and memories is priceless, especially if you have aging family members. I wish I had something like this when I was younger so that I could have my own mother’s voice to share with my children. I am in the process of having my Grandmother who is in her late 80’s, my children’s Great-Grandmother, share some of her stories and memories from growing up as an Okie. I think having access to these memories years down the road will be priceless. My Aunts also share many stories of their memories about my mother so having these recorded would be great treasure to have as well.

Be sure to check out what my CrewMates thought of this digital storyteller program and see if it is a good fit for your family. In the meantime I will continue to plug away at it and record our memories for generations to come.

Company ~ The Voice Library

Product ~ The Voice Library - Audio Book Creator

Format ~ online, interactive program

Ages ~ all ages

Find The Voice Library on these Social Media Links:

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Pinterest ~ YouTube ~ Vimeo

http://astablebeginning.com

Friday, November 11, 2022

Interactive learning with Brilliant ~ a TOS review

Good morning friends! We’ve made it to the end of another week! I don’t know about you but for me the school year feels like it is flying by. As we approach the holiday season, I am looking to slow down just a little bit while still giving my kiddos an educational experience. To accomplish this we have been dabbling a little bit each morning into the world of STEM skills with our Premium Subscription from Brilliant.

The Brilliant program is just that, brilliant! We received a Premium Subscription for two students and I used it for myself and McKenzie, my 7th grader. Many people, including myself, find it hard to fit in STEM activities in the daily home educating process. However, by using Brilliant’s interactive web and mobile based program your student will learn problem solving, critical thinking, and logical reasoning skills in just 15-20 minutes a day.

Brilliant’s online learning platform helps your student, aged 10+, master concepts in science, math, engineering, and logic by simply solving challenging problems in a hands-on approach. If you have read this blog for a while or know me in real life, you know I am all for hands-on learning!

With over 70 online courses geared for everyone in 6th grade and up you can be sure to find something to study including courses on Everyday Math, Pre-Algebra, Geometry Fundamentals, Scientific Thinking. Computer Science Fundamentals, and Logic.

For this review I focused on the Pre-Algebra course with my 7th grader McKenzie. During the morning I had her use it as a brain warm-up before getting started on her math lesson for the day. Since the Brilliant is an interactive program, it adapts to the user’s knowledge level, so you get the most out of the program. In the next few weeks, I am going to add in the Scientific Thinking course for McKenzie and we will most likely sit and tackle those together with little brother looking in too.

Brilliant is one of the courses I never knew existed but has found a place in our daily homeschool adventures! I also love that the learning can be on-the-go, especially since we are about to start traveling for gymnastics season. McKenzie and I are going to Puerto Rico for a competition in a few weeks and Brilliant will be coming along so she can continue her schooling on the road. And since I have already started thinking of next year’s courses, I have moved Brilliant’s Logic course to the top of my short list of programs for McKenzie’s 8th grade year as well. I am excited about this program for when Micah is old enough to take part as well.

I wholeheartedly recommend you check out Brilliant for your family. Help spark the natural learning curiosity in the students in your life by gifting them a subscription for their birthday and Christmas. I know we will continue to use this program through the end of our subscription and beyond. Be sure to click the banner below to find out what my CrewMates thought of this program as well.

Company ~ Brilliant

Product ~ Premium Subscription

Format ~ online, interactive program

Price ~ $149.85

Ages ~ 6th grade - adult

Find Brilliant on these Social Media Links:

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ YouTube

http://astablebeginning.com

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Success Skills for Christian Students Video Course and Book Bundle ~ a TOS review

Good morning, friends! Today I am excited to share a book geared towards your high school student. Do you have a high schooler who is looking to be college ready? The Skills 4 Students, LLC offers a course just for high schoolers to help them prepare for the world of college. It’s called the Success Skills for Christian Students Video Course and Book Bundle. I am on my fourth rotation of high school, with two more rounds to go, but I am always eager to learn something new that I didn’t know before. This program offers a physical book for your student as well as an online video component to help them develop the soft skills that will help them be successful in college as well as what future employers will be looking for. Let me tell you a little more about it.

This course is written and developed by Mr. Cary Green, PhD, who after teaching and advising university students for twenty years started his own business to help young adults be successful by equipping them with skills for academic success and employability. His course will help your high school or college student deepen their Christian faith, develop leadership and academic skills, as well as build the soft skills that employers are seeking.

We received the physical paperback book plus the complete online course which is geared to the student. The online component includes video lessons, an eBook download, a download to the application workbook, a Bible study guide download, audio MP3 downloads of the videos, course slides, and a quick start guide student portfolio. As you can see it is a full course to get your students college and career ready. Students are able to work independently through the program and you the parent are just there to office support and guidance as needed. Since there is a lot of meaningful work put into this course a full high school credit can be given on the high school transcript for students who complete the course.

I really love that this course puts Christ at the front and center even before they start to learn the “soft skills” the book talks about. What exactly are “soft skills” that will be taught? The book identifies 5 of them as being skills that will enhance academic performance and transfer the skills to any future career. They include:

1. Critical thinking and problem-solving

2. Written and oral communication

3. Ability to work effectively on a team

4. Time management

5. Professionalism

My highschooler, Montana (10th), and my middle schooler, McKenzie (7th) both took a look at this course. While it is intended for high schoolers, I think it has important points for my middle schooler to get a head start on as she prepares for high school, especially since she is gearing up to take high school level courses next school year. We have spent quite a deal of time in Chapter 3 which deals with learning to “Balance Your Life and Keep Learning”. We just finished our first busy season of fall softball for Montana and are gearing up for McKenzie’s travel season with gymnastics. This chapter has helped us remember to return our focus to Christ even as we manage the daily requirements of school and life. I especially like that at the end of each chapter it summarizes key take away points.

There is so much to this course, and we have only brushed the surface. Over the course of this school year, we will continue plugging away with the course and learning new things to help us be successful. These are valuable skills to be learning and I am glad to have them laid out for us to follow as a guidebook as we prepare to launch them into adulthood. Skills 4 Students, LLC offers homeschool students career readiness with their Success Skills for Christian Students Video Course and Book Bundle. Be sure to click the banner below to see what my CrewMates thought of this program. I highly recommend checking out this course!