Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ musings

TimeMaps is historical maps software, just unveiled today, by our friends at KnowledgeQuest Maps! These interactive, animated maps are so informative and so user-friendly. I’m having fun playing with them tonight, since our children are all at various practices.

Since we are studying Rome currently and nearing its Fall, that is the first map set I opened. The first map in the sequence outlines the Roman Empire at its height, in 182 A.D., with plenty of key locations labeled. Several information buttons scattered across the map (when you click the main ‘I’ button,) provide pop-up historical data on the key places and peoples of the time, as you click each. To check your attentiveness to the information and the map, you can click another button to ask you questions about that map.

Another click and the map shows the next stop in history for this map, in this case 225 A.D. Animation shows invasions, and loss of territory, (or progress, travels, and other movement on other maps). You don’t just have a new different map, but you actually see the changes that happen between the two! Try that on your paper maps.

These 3 factors make these maps very engaging – historical information at a click, animation when you change maps to show you what is changing, and the questions to ensure you “got it”.

The map program itself is very intuitive, and only after I’d already gone through the whole map set for the Fall of the Roman Empire, did I open the included Notes pdf file, which includes instructions for using the maps. But this document includes more than just that.

In addition to the instructions, several suggested activities for further learning about the time period are included. These activities encourage deeper critical thinking, requiring the student to reason out the answers. You can pick and choose which ones will be appropriate for which of your children.

Also included in the Notes document is a Commentary on the Map, giving background information and details for each map in the sequence, at 2 levels. You decide how deep you want to share about each map with your students, a short overview or more in-depth information with further questions for your students.

But that still isn’t all. You can print out a Timeline for the Student to fill in, a Student’s map for them to label/color, and a Teacher’s Map (filled out correctly.)

And just when I thought I was done, I realized there were still 2 buttons I hadn’t clicked on at the beginning of the maps. In addition to the Start button, which takes you through the map sequence, there is a button called Worksheets will show you the activities (that are also included in the notes, that you could print out). The other button takes you to the TimeMaps of World History website, where you can explore an online Atlas of World History.

TimeMaps is much more than just a historical sequence of maps for your students to view on a computer, it provides the information, activities and questions needed to get your students thinking about what they are seeing on the maps, and what really happened in HisStory. TimeMaps is jam packed full of value! I look forward to sharing the Rise of the Roman Empire set with my children in tomorrow’s lessons. The other map sets currently available are: Ancient China, Rise of Islam, The Black Death, European Exploration, and Atlantic Slave Trade. Introductory price is 7.95 each. Available for both Windows and Mac computers.

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

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!

Terri Johnson, my friend from Knowledge Quest maps and Apps-school.com has released 3 new mobile apps that are perfect for home educating techno families.

Nothing puts history in context like a timeline. And nothing makes a timeline more helpful than awesome visuals. Wonders of Old is a beautiful, new Timeline Book of World History. This timeline in colorful pictures is divided into streams for the different areas of the world. Wonders of Old:Ancient Timeline, that I received for review, covers time from Creation to the end of the Roman Empire. Tapping on a label (event with date) will bring up additional information about it. Tapping on a picture will bring up the wikipedia page for it. Swiping will move you down the timeline horizontally (forward in time), or to another part of the world (at the same time,) vertically. This is a thorough, informative and gorgeous timeline app. Whether you are using it along with your history studies, or you’re just swiping and tapping around to learn a variety of new things, you’ll enjoy this app. Even my dad said, “Now this is the kind of app I’d like.” It will provide hours of fun learning. The second app in this series, Wonders of Old:Medieval Timeline, was just released. It continues where Ancient leaves off and goes through the 16th century. There will be 4 apps in this series, when they are completed.

Geography should be studied right alongside of history, so you can see where things happened and get a better understanding of them. The Map Trek app is the perfect companion to Wonders of Old to do just that, and it works in much the same way. It too is divided into 4 timeperiods—with just the first, Ancient, currently available. Along the (more simplified) timeline are labels (and some map pics) of key happenings. Tap the label and a map of the event opens up. The maps are clearly labeled and have drop pins at points of interest. Tap a pin and information about the location, related to the event, opens up. You can pinch and spread to zoom in and out. These interactive maps can be used along with your pen and paper mapwork you do for your journals, or as a standalone enrichment activity.

These apps provide a fun, interactive way to enrich your studies of history and geography. They can be purchased (inexpensively) through Apps-school.com or directly at the iTunes App Store.

SDG-
For Me & My House,
Lisa

Keep in touch by “Liking” us on Facebook @ MeAndMyHouse and @ Lifestyle Education through Discipleship AND by subscribing to our free monthly email newsletter, Me & My House musings, as well as subscribing to our feed here.

“Finally you can explore human anatomy & physiology in a Creator-honoring way!”

I just ordered the new human body study by Answers in Genesis, Body of Evidence. I’m especially excited about this because it is in DVD format. We also own Biology 101, another DVD science study from a Biblical perspective, and really like it, but I’ve wanted to add something deeper on the Human Body, in DVD format. This looks like it’s that.

Here’s what our friends at Vision Forum have to say about Body of Evidence:

Do you understand how your body works and why God designed it that way? How do you respond when modern “science” says there is no connection between mankind and our Creator?

To answer these questions and more, our friends at Answers in Genesis just released a new 8-DVD study course that teaches human anatomy and physiology from a Christian worldview. It’s called called Body of Evidence, and it is designed to equip Christians with a biblical understanding of our bodies and to help students defend their faith and combat the lies of evolution.

Watch the trailer here!

Body of Evidence is insightful, biblical, and hosted by former medical university professor Dr. David Menton. Dr. Menton is an excellent teacher loved worldwide for his humorous and insightful talks that leave audiences in hushed awe at the Creator’s wisdom. In this series, Dr. Menton employs anatomical props, models, and microscopic images to teach students about God’s amazing designs as he takes students on a fascinating teaching-tour through the major systems of the body.

Topics covered in Body of Evidence include:

• Cells & Tissue
• Skeletal System
• Integumentary System (Skin)
• Cardiovascular System (Heart)
• Respiratory System (Lungs)
• Digestive System
• Urinary System
• Hearing Ear & The Seeing Eye

Geared for teens and adults, Body of Evidence is a 16-part series on 8 DVDs and comes with a study guide containing more than 600 questions. As a curriculum, this course is designed for a junior high/high school audience. This course is also excellent for anyone studying the human body, and is a tremendous outreach tool for declaring a biblical view of the handiwork of God.

Also available through our CBD affiliate links.

Body of Evidence 8-DVD Set  By Dr. David Menton / Answers In Genesis Explore the amazing evidence for design in human anatomy and physiology! This 16-part, 8 DVD series is taught by Dr. David Menton; employing anatomical props, models, and microscopic images, his humorous and insightful talks will take students through the major systems of the body. A self-test book will help viewers to learn even more! DVDs cover: cells & tissues, the skeletal system, the integumentary system, the cardiovascular system, the respiratory system, the digestive system, the urinary system, the hearing ear and seeing eye. Teens & Adults. Eight DVDs with two 40-45 minute sessions each and 1 64-page self-test booklet.

For Me & My House,
Lisa

Keep in touch by “Liking” us on Facebook @ MeAndMyHouse and @ Lifestyle Education through Discipleship AND by subscribing to our free monthly email newsletter, Me & My House musings, as well as subscribing to our feed here.

iMindMap 5 was released today. Below are just a few quotes from the CEO of  iMindMap on this innovative rebuild of this awesome brainstorming, organizing, notetaking, outlining, planning, … software, that I love and use all the time. One aspect you’re sure to love is that iMindMap 5 Basic is FREE.

Why should you care? Learning Maps™ are an integral part of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™, and using a mind mapping app to make them makes it convenient, fun, and fast – not to mention neater.

Click here for more details about iMindMap 5 – and to take it for a test drive.

More on why you’ll love having a mind mapping app for your home education (and what we use them for) here.

The ThinkBuzan team has worked extremely hard to rebuild iMindMap completely from the ground up, and I would like to thank them all for their commitment and dedication – I feel very lucky to work with such a great team. Also, a big thank you goes to all of our Beta Testers, Trainers and Users, who provided invaluable feedback in developing iMindMap 5.

 

iMindMap 5 has lots of new features and a brand new interface, so there is plenty to explore. My favourite features include 3D View, which I love presenting with, and MultiMaps, as I find that I often have related Mind Maps which deserve their own space, but belong on the same page. If you have trialled iMindMap V4 in the past, you can start afresh and take iMindMap 5 for a test drive – come back and tell us your first reactions! Plus our cloud application, iMindMap Online, is also released today. I look forward to hearing your feedback!
And remember, it doesn’t end here. iMindMap 5 will offer our most aggressive update plan yet, and we expect to make improvements and enhancements regularly, so you will literally see the software evolve in front of your eyes.

 

As part of the iMindMap 5 launch, we have also released a brand new edition, iMindMap Basic, which is totally free! This is our way of getting everyone around the world to think and work differently for better results. It something we have wanted to do for a long time and are delighted that it is finally possible.

- Chris Griffiths
read the rest of the article

 

Available in 4 editions: Basic – Elements – Pro – Ultimate

Try it out for FREE today!

For Me & My House,
Lisa

Keep in touch by “Liking” us on Facebook @ MeAndMyHouse and @ Lifestyle Education through Discipleship AND by subscribing to our free monthly email newsletter, Me & My House musings, as well as subscribing to our feed here.