20 Best Tips

Hana in the Time of the Tulips

I love children’s books. One might say I have a fascination with them. And every now and then I come across one that I just absolutely adore.


Hana in the Time of the Tulips
by Deborah Noyes is one of those books.

I bought it to use during our study of the Netherlands and my mom and I have spent so much time admiring the pictures and story that the book tells {I do believe we’ve forgotten it was for the children}.

Hana lives during the time of the ‘tulip fever’ in Holland. Her father, someone she used to spend so much time with, has become caught up in the tulip phenomenon ~ and the market is now failing. Her family stands to lose everything. Tulips in those days were ‘as precious as gold’.

Hana works as hard as she can, along with help from a family friend ~ Rembrandt, to help her father see what is really important.

The paintings and sketches in the book were done by Bagram Ibatoulline in the style of that period’s Dutch master artists. The lighting and color in the pictures are beautiful ~ one that will stay in our collection for years.

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A Little More on Alphabet Alley


A few months ago I posted on some great products from Alphabet Alley, a company that I am growing to respect more and more every day. Alphabet Alley is a company that provides preschool toys for children that are faith-based and provide positive messages. Their toys range from puzzles, to magnet playsets, games, wooden toys and stickers.

They sent me another toy to review…which I would LOVE to review here, but because of the recent changes in toy standards from the CPSC, Alphabet Alley removed the product from their line until they are certain they meet the new government standards. They are dedicated to providing products with only the highest quality for their customers, and that gives me a new level of respect for their company. :)

I will tell you that we play with our Noah’s Ark Go Fish ($5.99) frequently and the cards are extremely durable {ahem} and oversized for little hands. Our kids have also enjoyed their stickers ($2.99) – and with Easter approaching, they have a Good News sticker set that would be great for your kids either at home, or to share with your Sunday School class as a special treat!

Alphabet Alley also has an online catalog available for you to browse through. I would really encourage you to visit their site. They will have a new product line to add to their catalog coming this summer – can’t wait to see what they have in store!

Click on the Homeschool Crew banner to read other reviews about this product.

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Think It Ink It Publishing Giveaway!!

Think It Ink It Publishing provides story kits for children to write their own stories to professionally illustrated pictures. Their books provide only pictures that give a ‘framework’ for children to get their creative juices flowing and create a story that only they can tell using their imaginations. Each story is unique!

Our girls were thrilled beyond belief to get a creative story kit in the mail from Think It Ink It Publishing. Thrilled! After the package was ripped open (literally) we had to sit down immediately to look through the books and write their stories.

We received two creative writing story kits that each included 13 pages of wonderful illustrations for the girls to use as a launching pad for writing their own stories. Each kit also included:

  • a pencil
  • sticky note pad for rough drafts
  • creative writing tips
  • suggested vocabulary

Both of our girls jumped right into creating their own personal story. Words were flying so fast I had to pull out the laptop so I could type and keep up with all that they were saying. The illustrations gave them so many different options and choices on how to write their stories. They couldn’t wait for me to copy what they wrote into their books. I was amazed at how much they wrote ~ and trust me, I have the hand cramps to prove how much they had to say!

Each story kit ($9.95) from Think It Ink It provides ample lines and room for your child (or you) to copy their story. They can first write it on the sticky notes provided with the kit and then write their final work onto the actual pages of the book. If you fall in love your child’s masterpiece, you have the option of having the book made into a custom hardcover book ($29.95). It includes your child’s name as the author, the story title, his/her photo, and a biography. You can also create a hardcover book online instead of using the initial story kit.

I am amazed at what these story kits brought out in our girls. They noticed details in the illustrations and weaved them into their stories. Several times they had to re-work their story lines because they realized things ‘didn’t make sense’. The story kits were almost as much for me as they were for them ~ watching the creativity flow was great! Most importantly though, they are so PROUD of what they created. They have been reading their stories over and over ~ and if you are interested in hearing them, there are several clips below of the girls reading their stories.

Think It Ink It has been generous in offering a FREE Creative Writing Story Kit for one lucky reader! All you need to do is check out their story kits and leave a comment here about which one you would choose for your child. The giveaway is open until Friday, March 13th at 8pm and I will announce the winner on Sunday the 15th. Please be sure to leave a way for me to contact you, otherwise I will draw another winner. If over 50 people enter, I will add an extra winner and two kits will be given away!

Their site also has some other great resources too: grade-level writing guidelines, links to favorite websites, writing tips for kids, and real stories that other children have written. Be sure to check out their great products ~ you won’t be disappointed!

Here’s a clip (about 5 minutes) of McKenna reading her book.

Here’s a clip (about 4 minutes) of Laurianna reading the story she wrote.

Just wanted to pass along a little something that is Working for Me!

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Spell Quizzer

We do the bulk of our homeschooling in the afternoon with the girls while our youngest two are napping, but even then there are plenty of interruptions when we try to do quizzes or tests. There are times that the girls need some extra practice on some of the spelling rules and new words that they are learning during the week. Having them able to practice their word lists independently is extremely helpful because it allows me 1:1 time with the other child to help them in their studies.

SpellQuizzer is a spelling software that allows you to enter your child’s spelling or vocabulary list and make an audio recording of the word and a definition or ‘clue’. Your child is then quizzed on the list one word at time and types the spelling word on the keyboard. SpellQuizzer immediately lets the child know if the word has been spelled wrong and later will re-quiz him once all the words have been spelled. At the end of the test he is told how many words were spelled correctly.

My kids love working on the computer, so they have had a lot of fun using this program and are learning some great keyboard skills at the same time (a lovely added bonus). It also has helped break up the repetition of copying spelling words by hand and allows one child to be working on the computer while I have some 1:1 time with the other. The program is simple enough that the girls can open the program and click on the list that they are working on – all by themselves.

In order to record the word clues/phrases for your children you do need a microphone attached to your computer (around $10 at Walmart). SpellQuizzer also has free lists online that you can import into your SpellQuizzer program. If you choose not to use the audio portion, you can instead type in a clue word or phrase for your child to use.

SpellQuizzer is available to download for $29.95 and the company also offers a group discount (for co-ops, etc..) with a multiple license purchase. Downloading and installation is quick and easy and they also offer a free 30 day trial so you have a chance to try it out and see how it works for your family. If you would like a peek at program at work, be sure to check out the video demos that SpellQuizzer has available on their site.

Click on the Homeschool Crew banner to read other reviews about SpellQuizzer.

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Artistic Pursuits

Simple crafts and ready-to-go/print ideas have essentially been our “art time” over the last few years. My extent of art knowledge and styles is minimal (at best). I might be able to identify some very famous paintings, but definitely not specific styles or the masters of art history.

ARTistic Pursuits has a complete K-12 art curriculum written for homeschoolers by homeschoolers. They provide art instruction in areas such as visual art, art history, modern art, the elements of art, and color and composition. Their curriculum books show student examples of the projects along with detailed lesson plans for the projects. Each book is also non-consumable, so it can be used over and over in the years to come with each child in your family!

We received ARTistic Pursuits, Grade K-3, Book Two, Stories of Artists and Their Art ($42.95) to review and seeing it person has made such a difference! I had heard of ARTistic Pursuits before but never looked into it further – and I wish I had. I love it! The Ellis’ have put an amazing amount of time, research, and effort into developing a comprehensive and quality curriculum for homeschoolers.

Some of the features of ARTistic Pursuits, Grade K-3, Book 2, Stories of Artists and Their Art:

  • geared to the student – there is no teacher preparation needed (other than gathering materials)
  • organized and easy to understand
  • colorful and engaging for kids
  • contains biographies and works of art from 16 artists within the 13th to 18th centuries
  • provides 32 projects in the areas of painting, drawing, printmaking, modeling/carving, and mixed media

A quick look inside some of the pages from Book Two:

Because we’ve been studying castles and knights, the first few lessons in this book were great for us to use. We read about Giovanni Cimabue (1240-1302) and did several projects including a watercolor painting and also “gold leaf”. Both used easy to find supplies and the girls were able to follow the project directions without any assistance from me.

I’ve read through the artist biographies and learned a lot myself! ARTistic Pursuits, Grade K-3, Book 2, Stories of Artists and Their Art features various works of art and draws the students attention to details in the paintings then explains the importance of what the art portrays for that artist or time in history. Art history periods taught include Gothic, Renaissance, Northern Renaissance, Mannerist, Baroque, Rococo, Romantic, and Realist.

The book also contains a materials list for the art supplies needed for the various projects, grouped together for easy reference, so you know what is needed for each “class time”. Supplies are available in discounted bundles through another website or can be purchased at your local craft store. Purchasing the art supplies is the only prep you need to do for the lessons – it really is that simple!

ARTistic Pursuits has taken a subject that can be very intimidating for parents (and often overlooked as a result) and made it incredibly easy to teach by providing an excellent curriculum for homeschooling families.

Click on the Homeschool Crew banner to read reviews on different levels
of this product and other products available from Artistic Pursuits.

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Jonathan Parks Freebies to Download

***Be sure to follow the below instructions exactly for your free download!!***

We started listening to Jonathan Park: The Adventure Begins, the first cd set in a radio drama series from Vision Forum that focuses on Creationism. We were a little worried at first that it might be over the kids head, but have been amazed at the questions and discussions that the series has brought up with our kids.

As a BONUS, today through Friday (February 27th) anyone can download the entire first album of Jonathan Park by signing up for a Behemoth.com account (it’s quick and painless I can assure you). That’s over 5 hours of some great entertainment for your kids – for FREE!

Here’s the coupon code for this great freebie:

Jonathan Park vol. 1 coupon code: JONATHANPARK

Once your account is created and you have logged in, follow these instructions exactly:

  1. Click on the “cart” link in the top right corner
  2. On the cart page you will see a field on the right underneath the “Redeem a Coupon” Heading
  3. Enter the code “jonathanpark” – without the quotes
  4. Enjoy the FREE Jonathan Park downloads that have appeared in your cart

The download is extremely popular, so the server might be a little slow, but keep trying. If you aren’t able to download it right away, it will stay in your cart for you to download later.

Today only (Friday), Behemoth is also offering a track from Jonathan Park Goes to the Aquarium as a FREE download.

This audio series is a guide to 100 of the most popular marine creatures and has 100 2-minute segments that talk about some of the amazing features that the different animals have.

Behemoth also offers daily freebies, so be sure to check them out for other great products!

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