W is for What We Use For Curriculum

I usually make a post about this time of year for what curriculum we will be using for the next school year. I usually break it down by student, but this year, I’ll break it down by subject.

Math ~

I have two children that learn better with Teaching Textbooks. My other two have no problems with using Abeka math. As my youngest gets into more advanced math, I will re-evaluate what math to use with her, but for now, will stick with Abeka. My oldest uses Abeka because he loves math and has been using it since kindergarten and he hasn’t had any trouble with it, so I’ve kept him with Abeka. My next two were needing more instructions and visualization than what I could give them. They are both doing well with Teaching Textbooks.

History ~

We have always used Abeka as our main history curriculum. I have reviewed a couple of others in the past, but my kids like reading through the Abeka history books. The books have so much information. I love that my kids like history and want to learn more about our country’s history and our world's history.


Science ~

We use a mix of science in our homeschool. We use Apologia, Abeka, and have also used Chemistry 101 from the 101 DVD series. Next year, I will have a 2nd, 8th, 10, and 11th grader. My 2nd grader will use Apologia. My 8th grader will use Abeka science. My 10th grader will use Chemistry 101. And my 11th grader will be taking Advanced Chemistry from Apologia.

Grammar ~

Over the past couple of years, we have switched from Abeka to Easy Grammar.  Abeka was becoming too much for my kids with them having to do several pages a day sometimes. They have all done great with Easy Grammar and they all love it. My 2nd grader will stick with Abeka’s phonics and language.

Literature ~

My high school sons did use Abeka literature for middle school, but then I decided to switch to something else where they could read full books instead of just excerpts of books. This year I used Lightning Literature for my ninth and tenth grade sons and they enjoyed it, so I decided to stick with it for the coming year. This year they read American author’s works and next year they will be reading British author’s works. My 8th grade daughter will probably use some literature guides from Progeny Press like she did this past school year.

Keyboarding/Typing ~

My tenth grade son started out using Typing Tutor this year until we were picked for the UltraKey Online review. He liked UltraKey much better and has done so well with it. My soon to be tenth grader will use UltraKey next school year.

Spanish ~

I found out we can use Mango for foreign language through the local library. We reviewed them in the past and liked them, so we are going to use it again this upcoming school year.

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Carole P. Roman Book Review

*This post contains affiliate links*

I was first introduced to Carole P. Roman several years ago when I was able to review some of her If You Were Me And Lived In…books. I am always excited when I see her books come up for review. Her books are informative and the drawings by the illustrators are great.  This time we were able to review three books from the Carole P. Roman books and collections. We chose Oh Susannah: Things That Go Bump, Oh Susannah Color With Me, and If You Were Me And Lived In…Egypt.

Having recently read and reviewed Oh Susannah: It’s In The Bag, I knew my daughters would like to read the next story in the chapter book series.

I like that these chapter books are short and can be read in just a few sittings. Or an older child may be able to read the book in one sitting.

Oh Susannah: Things That Go Bump is a story about Susannah and how she is dreading going to her friend’s house for a sleepover. This book does make reference to the first book, but I don’t think it’s necessary to have read the first book before reading this book. Susannah is nervous about spending the night because of her friend’s brother. He picks on her and tells her their house is haunted. Susannah still goes about her day but is constantly thinking about the sleepover. Eventually, she talks to her mom about her fears and her mom reassures her about it. In the end, she goes and has a good time.

Oh Susannah Color With Me is a coloring book with several illustrated pictures about the two Oh Susannah chapter books. There are ten two-page spread pictures to color. After each spread of coloring pages, there is a page with five questions about each book and a page where you can draw something about each book. Because there are not any pictures in the chapter book, the coloring book was fun to look at and remember the parts of the story that the picture matched.



If You Were Me And Lived In…Egypt tells the story about  Egypt from a child’s point of view. It tells where Egypt is located and names a few of the major cities.The story tells what names you may be given and what you would call your family members.  It tells about the pyramids and the Great Sphinx. It also tells about the different traditions you would have in Egypt. It talks about what kinds of foods you would eat and what kinds of games you would play. The book also has a pronunciation guide at the end to help you with pronouncing all of the words the correct way. It is a short twenty-eight page book that can be read in one sitting.

We love reading through the If You Were Me books each time and learning more about different countries. I read the chapter book to my seven year old daughter and she enjoyed looking through the coloring book while I was reading to her. I do want to make a note that the Oh Susannah book does mention Harry Potter. Even though my daughter doesn’t know anything about Harry Potter she never asked about it. We love all of the books and will use them for years to come. We give Carole P. Roman books and collections 5 stars!

Find Carole P. Roman on social media:

• Facebook:  www.facebook.com/CarolePRomanAwardWinningAuthorAndBooks
• Twitter:  http://twitter.com/caroleproman    
• Instagram:  www.instagram.com/caroleproman          
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6A9PDx7NdBgYUN1giUOp0A   

Scripture and a Snapshot ~ 3/25/18

Photo from Pixabay. I am linking up with:

V is for Victory

While thinking about what I was going to write about for the letter v for my blogging through the alphabet post, the song Victory in Jesus kept coming up. It’s an older song that I learned in church growing up.

I especially love the chorus:

“O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him,
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood”

I wanted to read more about this great song and who wrote it. I was able to find out that it was written by Eugene Monroe Bartlett, Sr. and Victory in Jesus was the last song he wrote. He had a stroke that left him unable to travel and sing. He wrote this song as a testimony and died about two years after his stroke.

Even though he was partially paralyzed and couldn’t talk or sing much, he still had a love for Jesus and knew that Jesus would give him victory in the end. We can all learn so much form this great song and the man who wrote the song. When we are at our lowest, we need to remember to keep looking to the one who gave us life. He loves us and will give us victory over anything that we encounter in this life.



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Zirrly Super Beads Review

My children always love to create things. They will gather items from around the house and make something out of it. They also love animals. They will draw and color animals and they also have many stuffed animals that they love. They have been wanting to create things with some type of bead craft for a while now. I have always said no in the past, because it seemed like it would be a lot of work for me and having to deal with a hot iron wasn’t something I wanted to do. I have never let my kids play with beads or any type of small item that requires some adult help. I was happy to hear that we would be able to try out the Jungle Animals Super Beads from Zirrly.

One of my girls favorite animals is the zebra. They also love  elephants and lions. When I saw that Zirrly had a Jungle Animals Super Beads set, I knew that they would love it. And I was right. When the package arrived, my six year old exclaimed, “This is going to be awesome!”

What are super beads? They are soft, pliable beads that have the same concept as the hard perler beads that you have to iron for them to fuse. Super beads take only water for them to fuse. Since super beads use water to fuse, there is no hot iron to deal with and minimum adult help is needed.

Super beads fit snugly onto the board and don’t move around while you are working. The template for the animal goes underneath the board so you can see where to put the colors.  Super beads are also simple to put into place as you are working. The directions are easy to follow and after completing your picture and spraying with water, you will have a soft, pliable animal in a short time. The directions say it takes around 60 minutes for it to dry. We checked around the 60 minute mark and they were not ready, so we went ahead and left them overnight and checked the next day.

Our kit came with a clear plastic divided tray. We were able to pour out each color we were using which made it easier to do the project. The directions tell you that there is a line on the bead and that line needs to be at the top when doing the project. At first, we didn’t notice the line and we got carried away with wanting to try them out that we didn’t read the instructions carefully. I think it really does make a difference in which way the beads are placed. It did take a little bit more time to make sure they were placed correctly, but it was worth the extra time. My six year old daughter made the owl and I made the monkey. My daughter put the beads on randomly and I made sure the beads were placed on the tray properly. As you can see from the picture, the owl broke apart when taking it off, but the monkey stayed together. I used the same amount of water on each and they dried for the same amount of time (about 24 hours). I don't think placing the beads the wrong way caused the owl to break and I sprayed them with the same amount of water, so I really don't know why it broke. But, I personally would take the time to make sure the beads are placed with the line up as recommended in the instructions.

Other than not reading directions at first, we didn’t run into any major problems that would prevent us from using super beads again. We all enjoyed putting the animals together and had fun while doing them.

Also, the directions aren’t very clear on how much water to use, so it is trial and error with that. We may have under or over sprayed some of them, but I think I was able to gauge about how much to use after we got the hang of it. The colors from the beads also rub off onto the skin, but it washes off very easily with soap and water.

Overall, we were all pleased with how easy it is to place the beads, spray, and wait. We all loved the animals that came in the Jungle Animals set, but my kids said they would love to make their own creations next time. They enjoyed making the animals and played with them after they were done. We highly recommend Zirrly Super Beads, especially if you are looking for something fun and new to do with your kids. We will definitely be using Super Beads again in the future and we give them 5 stars!

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Scripture and a Snapshot ~ 3/18/18

Picture taken by me at the aquarium.

I’m linking up with:

U is for Underwater

We have a year membership to our local aquarium which also gets us into other places around the state for free. It is definitely worth the price to us as homeschoolers since we like to visit places when it is less crowded during the year and it allows us to just go somewhere fun for the day when needed.

Yesterday, my girls and I decided to go to the aquarium for the day. The boys are gone on a church trip this weekend, so I wanted to take the girls someplace fun. It was such a beautiful day at the coast. I didn’t think it was supposed to warm up, but it did. We actually went to the aquarium, the fort, a park, and the beach. We had such a great time. It was a much needed girls day out.

We do go to the aquarium several times throughout the year and we love it each time. Even though not much has changed, it is still fun to look at all of the fish, turtles, otters, and other marine animals. Our membership is definitely worth the money for us.

Here are some more pictures of our day:

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Scripture and a Snapshot ~ 3/11/18

Photo from Pixabay

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T is for Trust in the Lord (Free Printable)

I have had a rough beginning to 2018. I really cannot believe that it is already March and that I have actually made it this far. So when thinking about what I should write about for the letter T for blogging through the alphabet, this verse came to mind.  In order for me to have gotten this far this year, I have had to fully trust in the Lord with all of my heart.

This verse has helped me get through the rough times this year. I do have to keep reminding myself to fully trust that God will handle all of my problems and that I don’t need to worry. He already knows the end, He is just waiting for me to trust Him fully.

The rest of the verse says “lean not on thine own understanding.” We are not to rely on ourselves to get us through the rough times. We are not to stand alone when trying times come our way. If we fully trust the Lord, we will have the faith needed to get us through and we will not be alone in our troubles. We will have God by our side.

Enjoy this free coloring printable I made for the first part of Proverbs 3:5. Remember to “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.”



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Until I Knew Myself ~ Book Review

*This post contains affiliate links*

Tammy L. Gray is a new to me author that I was introduced to by another author I follow on Facebook. I haven’t been reading much lately over the past several years because I haven’t really had much time. This year, I wanted to get back into the habit of finding good Christian authors who have good Christian books available.

 Until I Knew Myself is a story about friends. It’s a story about finding out who your family really is. Tyler was an orphan taken in by his best friend’s family. Ten years have passed, but he still longs to know about his biological family. Can a call following his grandfather‘s death tear him apart from his adopted family? Will Tyler trust his friends or his biological family? What will happen to Tyler’s relationships with his girlfriend and best friend? Will he see that they are his true family?

What I thought ~ I would consider this book a contemporary Christian fiction book. It takes place in modern-day Texas. It did take me a couple of chapters to get into the book. But once I started reading, I was hooked. There were some parts of the book that I was not expecting. Tammy Gray managed to keep me guessing what would happen next. Just when I thought I had it figured out, the story took a totally different turn. There were some parts of the story that I wished had gone a different way, but in the end, the story came together and it had a great ending. I'm glad to have been introduced to this author and will read more of her books, especially in this new series so I can find out what happens next.

*I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.* 

Magic Stix Markers ~ Review

I am always on the lookout for great art products for my children to use on their projects. My kids love to draw, color, and make different creations with items from around the house. Over the past several weeks, our family has been enjoying Magic Stix Washable Markers from The Pencil Grip, Inc.

The Pencil Grip, Inc is a company that sells many products. We have reviewed their Kwik Stix in the past and we love using those since they dry so fast. We have also reviewed and used the pencil grips they have designed.

When I first saw that they had markers now, I was hoping to be able to review them or buy them for my children to use. One thing that I noticed was that these markers won’t dry out if the cover gets left off accidentally or doesn’t get put on tight.

Magic Stix 24 pack comes in a nice plastic case that also has handles for easier carrying. They are odorless, washable, and non-toxic. They guarantee that they will not dry out for seven days and I don’t know of any other company that has that same guarantee for their markers.

I started to do the 7 day test but would forget to test the marker, so I just left the cap off for 7 days and at the 7 days mark the marker was still working just the same as it had on the first day. These markers color in such vibrant colors and are so bright and bold. We love all of the colors that come in the 24 pack. There are several different variations of greens, purples, blues, yellows, and reds. There is also black, brown, and gray.

We have enjoyed using the markers on coloring pages. One thing we noticed is that they do bleed through, so we just put a sheet of paper underneath the coloring page. Also, if we colored too much in one spot the page would start to rip.  I tried using them on cardstock paper and they did not bleed through. I think if we were to do more coloring pages, I would print on cardstock so we wouldn’t have to worry about it bleeding through or the page ripping.

We have all enjoyed using the markers, even my 14 year old son colored with us girls.

Our favorite thing about the 24 pack is the variety of colors. There are so many to choose from for us to get our pages just the way we wanted them to look. We also liked that the colors are so bright and vibrant. We also like that these markers won’t dry out if left uncovered. My 6 year old sometimes has difficulty getting the cover on tight and we won’t notice until we use them again. With other brands, we were left with a marker that didn’t work if the cover was left off or not on tight. With the Magic Stix, we never had to worry about it. The markers worked every time!

We give Magic Stix Washable Markers 5 stars!