Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ musings

WonderMaps are truly Wonderful! In just a few clicks I can bring up any map I want, at any level–and print it out, if I desire. I love the convenience.

The maps work in levels and layers. For example, I click on the picture of North America on the World Map, and I get a map of just North America. On it, I click on United States and a USA map pops up. On it I click on Nebraska. Once I get to the map I want (whether it be Nebraska, North America, USA, or World–or anything else) I can view or hide various layers of labeling and features. Say I want city locations shown, but not names. Or rivers, capital, State names (including those surrounding,) and much more depending on the map. I just hide or view exactly what I want, including color overlay, black and white overlay, or plain blank background. Once I have the exact map with the information I want, I can print it for the children to view or label.

In addition to maps for all over the World, WonderMaps also includes maps from whenever in the World. Historical maps for time periods and events help us with not only geography studies, but also our HisStory studies, as we see where things happened, where people traveled to, and who possessed what land when. These maps are also listed Thematically, to help you find them that way.

Tyler Hogen has done a great job, on a great interactive resource, that will be used much in our home. You can pick up your own copy at Bright Ideas Press. Thanks Tyler for the review copy of WonderMaps.

SDG - For God's Glory Alone, For Me & My House, Me & My House ministries ~ Discipleship for Life!

What Homeschooling Mom Couldn’t Use $100 Worth of Resources for Under $20?

A friend of mine, Kimberly Eddy, is having a Fabulous Fire Sale this coming Monday – Thursday (Oct. 10-14th). And you can get a folder full of new resources for a steal. Included in the line up is our Freedom & Simplicity™ ThanksGiving Study, a super study for your family this time of year, which is worth almost the price of the entire package!

Read Kimberly’s story below, then click over to her site to grab this great deal!

In today’s economy, we’re all looking for a great deal. Well, you’ve found one right here.

This special offer bundle of digital resources is available for just $19.95, from October 10th-14th. Not only will you get a great deal on all of these digital resources, but you’ll also be helping to meet a very serious need in our family. The sale ends at 11:59pm, EST.
Why are we doing this?

This is very, VERY hard to write… but I need to share with you WHY we have put together this very special offer.

After a long, painful  series of pay cuts, lay offs, unexpected expenses and missed payments, we are about to lose our home.  In the last 12 months alone, our income went down by $4 per hour, and we’re making 60% less than what we were earning when we bought this home.

We’ve fought against the loss of our home for a few years now. At this point, all our options of keeping our home are all exhausted. There is nothing more we can do about it. It is only a matter of time before the foreclosure is final and we have to be out.

But the most difficult part of all this is: we have no place to go.

We’re actually not picky about what size or style house to live in, as long as it is affordable, safe, warm, and dry, and preferably close to work. Right now, my dear husband’s new job involves a 150 mile commute each day! The problem is,  we’ve not found anything under that description that is willing to rent to a family our size (we have 5 teenagers), and we have no family members able or willing to help or house us. Most of the rentals we’ve called on either tell me the house isn’t big enough for a family our size, or the price is far more than the cost of the house we’re losing.

Because of the large number of foreclosures in our area, we are instead hoping to make an offer on a cheap foreclosure… or a mobile home… or whatever we can afford with the funds we can pull together from this fire sale and what we are able to save while waiting for foreclosure. More than anything, please pray for our family to have wisdom and direction in this matter, as we know that it is God alone who can work out all of the details.

So, fellow self-publishing friends of ours have kindly donated some of their digital products to this blessing sale to help raise as much money as we can to that end. I’ve also included several of my more popular ebooks as well. Additionally, by purchasing this bundle, you’ll also be entered into a drawing to win one of three door prizes (more on that later). This bundle is a great opportunity for you, while also meeting a need in our family!

What’s Included for you? (please visit the Joyful Momma site for descriptions of each product!)

• Picture and Writing: Younger Ages from Diane Hurst, Gentle Shepherd (A $6.00 Value),
• Club PALs: Responsibility (being reliable and dependable — a $20.00 Value) and Club PALS: Awareness (being aware of surroundings, paying attention to others – a $20.00 Value) by CindyLindy
• World of People StoryBuilders from WriteShop, (a $7.95 Value)
• Freezer Cooking 101 by Christina Wong, YouthfulHomemaker.com (a $1.99 Value)
• Quilted Hearts Doll Quilt Pattern by Theresa Powers, Joyous Home, (a $5.95 Value),
• Homeschooling Through High School: There’s Joy in the Journey! Audio Package from Janice Campbell, Everyday Education(a $12.95 Value),
• Map Trek: The Ancient World by Terri Johnson, Knowledge Quest Maps (a $14.95 Value)
• What Really Happened During the Middle Ages by Terri Johnson, Knowledge Quest Maps (a $12.95 Value)
•  Freedom & Simplicity™ ThanksGiving Study, from Me and My House Ministries (a $15 value)

Plus some of Kimberly’s most popular digital resources:

• The Bread by Hand Ebook (a $6.00 Value)
• Growing Your Groceries (a $8.95 Value)
• Advent: Preparing for the Coming of the Lord (a $12.00 value)
• Christmas Gingerbread and Other Holiday Treats (a $2.50 value)
• Thriving on One Income (a $8.95 Value)
• The Grocery Price Guidebook (a $1.95 Value)

Purchasers of this bundle will be entered into a special drawing to win additional prizes this week!

FIRST PRIZE: WriteShop One random winner gets her choice of one (1) WriteShop curriculum package. Package includes Teacher’s Guide and accompanying Activity Pack or Student Workbook. (a $32-$100 value)
SECOND PRIZE: Mystery of History Audio MP3, Volume 1 (Second Edition) — a $40 value

THIRD PRIZE: A $25 Gift Card to Amazon.com!

SDG - For God's Glory Alone, For Me & My House, Me & My House ministries ~ Discipleship for Life!

Have you missed our latest reviews? If you aren’t subscribed to Me & My House musings, our monthly email newsletter, you’re missing them. But we’ll share now. Here’s one from a recent issue.

This summer I was blessed to meet face-to-face an internet friend, who is also a homeschool resource provider. Her resource line intrigued me, so I asked to take a peek, so I could review it for you.

Grapvine Studies are Bible studies done by “stick figuring”. The concept is hear it, do it, see it which makes for great retention. Diana, the author, has several studies available, but the one I received was the Old Testament Overview from Creation to Jacob, for Levels 3 and 4 (upper elementary – early teen).

The first thing I read in the teacher’s book (which covers both Levels, 3 and 4) was that “Grapevine Studies teaches the Bible as if it were a puzzle, doing the frame first. Once the framework is in place then individual pieces are much easier to place and understand in the context of the “whole puzzle”.” (I omitted her content in parenthesis for space here.) Since this is the same analogy I give in my L.E.D. Seminar on teaching from whole to parts, I figured we were off to a good start.

So, to begin a Grapevine Study, in Lesson (week) 1, you first create a “stick figure” timeline overview for the entire study. The resources show you the figures to draw, and give you the basic information to share about them. This provides a quick overview of what you will be studying in the remaining lessons. For the remaining Lessons (weeks), you will review the section of the timeline that you are focusing on for that week, then expand that lesson, learning more about each of the points you have drawn, and completing Student Pages for this expanded information.

Each daily lesson includes Scripture reading, discussion (for which Dianna gives you key points to cover,) and drawing (or taking notes) on a Student Page. A Memory Verse is also included. At the end of the week, there are Review Questions (and answers for the teacher). In addition to the Timeline pages and main Student Pages, Level 3 also focuses on Bible Geography, including mapping, and Level 4 focuses on learning to use Bible reference books, with appropriate study directed in a Topical Bible, Bible Dictionary, and Concordance for the coming lesson.

I also received two other Timeline resources. The Old Testament Wall Timeline is a very nice stick figured timeline for the complete Old Testament. I love the way it looks like a scroll. This would look great on your wall! The Old Testament Timeline: Multi-Level Teacher is directions for making the complete timeline for the Old Testament. It is the same as the directions in the Part 1 Teacher’s book, only extended beyond Jacob to the entire Old Testament.

I like that these studies teach in a whole to parts way, presenting information within context; including that Job is appropriately taught within the narrative of Genesis; that they utilize Notebooking in a fun, individually creative, yet orderly, way; that the teacher is encouraged to do her own study and present her own applications, applicable to her own children.

I think these resources could be used along with our Freedom & Simplicity™ studies in Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™. The (complete) Old (and New) Testament Overview studies could easily be adjusted, time-wise, to be used as the Year 1 Bible Survey resources, if desired, in place of (or in addition to) the Picture Smart Bible (previously Picture This!) that we also recommend. (Review of the new version coming soon.) Or you could use just the Timelines along with other resources. Just more options for you to find what works best for your family.

See them all at: GrapevineStudies.com

SDG - For God's Glory Alone, For Me & My House, Me & My House ministries ~ Discipleship for Life!