Review Crew Favorites for 2016

My new adventure in the Review Crew is hitting a milestone and my first year is coming to a close.  To mark the occasion, I'm sharing with you a few of my favorite products I've gotten to review this year!

Grapevine Studies is fun and interactive way for kids (and adults too!) to study the Bible.  It encourages drawing and illustrating what the verses are teaching, whether through tracing, teacher demonstration or of their own creation.  I loved this method because it engages multiple senses, sticks to only what the Bible says, and (as for the online version) is reusable!

Zeezok Publishing provided a wonderful elementary music appreciation program for us to review!  What I loved about this program was the storybook form much of the information came in as well as the endless activities available.  Depending on the age of the students, this program adapted beautifully to their needs and always diving deep into the music world!

Essential Skills Advantage's Complete Home Learning Suite is a great resource to have in homeschooling!  It includes Reading, Spelling, Language & Grammar, Math, Science, & Geography for grades K-6.  This could be a stand alone program for any of these subjects or - what we did - use it as a supplement for days or subjects that didn't get the attention needed.

Foreign Language for Kids by Kids is exactly what it sounds like!  We used the Beginning Spanish program this summer and my kids STILL ask to watch the videos and walk around talking in Spanish.  We LOVED this one!

MyFreezEasy won my favorite non-educational product!  This is an easy, cheap meal planning program that is perfect for busy households.  Take an afternoon for food prep and then you've stocked your freezer with easy meals!

These are just a few of our favorites! Click the link below and find out all the Crew's favorites!

3 Things I'm Learning About Learning

Since I recently started reviewing for the Schoolhouse Review Crew - which is a great privilege and a lot of fun - my community of homeschooling families has grown and taught me or reinforced a few things.

1) The education of a child is so much more than learning a skill or being exposed to certain things.  No matter the location - home, private or public - successfully educating a child requires knowing them, supporting them, and connecting with their unique talents and tendencies.  As a parent, this means that I will always have the most important job as their biggest advocate.  When I think about my kids' futures, I want to see adults who love God, but also have self-control, an appreciation for mankind and nature, a hard work ethic, and the ingenuity to problem solve without giving up after the first try.  Yes, that training will include math problems and science experiments, but more so it requires a continual relationship where we live life together in all types of life situations.  If homeschooling isn't on your horizon, this means your job as advocate is even more important.  I'm convicted that we have such power as parents but we so easily forget or fail to honor it.

2) No family has the same needs, limitations, strengths, funds, opportunities, joys, struggles or anything the same.  Try as we might, there just isn't a fair comparison out there.  Temperaments are different.  Health issues are different.  People are just different.  That means the how, when, what and why we learn is different too!  And we cause a lot of trouble (for ourselves AND others) when we expect things based on being the same.  Because we just aren't.  The sooner we can accept that (of ourselves and others), we can have better relationships and make wiser decisions for our families.

3) Learning is FUN!  If we aren't experiencing fun as we learn, then somewhere something isn't right.  The most important skill we can learn is the ability to learn and the LOVE of learning.  While every assignment or task may not be the most fun ever, when you love to learn, there is fun in every day.

Goodbye 2015 - Hello 2016

Goodbye 2015 - Hello 2016! I'm looking forward to some really great things this year - like more blogging, more reading, a more active lifestyle and more time spent in prayer.  Whatever your new plans or ambitions for the next year are, let's all remember to balance them.  Is this important to God, or just me? How will making this choice (or ignoring this problem) affect my family and future?  Do I have all the facts? Am I showing genuine love?  It's easy to get caught up in a crowd and what they think is important this year - much like the fashion industry sets the tone for our shopping choices.  But always, always, always, dig deep for what is true and what is good - not just what is popular with the age. You likely won't find the true and good if you're not looking for it to begin with.  

Wishing you a very joyful and proactive new year!