Memoria Press Second Grade Literature Guide Set Review

My family had the privilege of trying the Second Grade Literature Guide Set from Memoria Press for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Schoolhouse Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Memoria Press is a family-run publishing company that produces simple and easy-to-use classical Christian education materials for home and private schools. It was founded by a woman named Cheryl Lowe in 1994. They currently have preschool through ninth grade in most of their curriculum and some through twelfth grade. They also cover subjects in: Classical Core Curriculum, Latin, Classical Studies, Christian Studies, Logic & Rhetoric, Phonics & Early Reading, Penmanship, Literature & Poetry, American & Modern Studies, Writing & English Grammar, Science & Math, Greek, Modern Languages, Educational Resources, eBooks, Special-Needs, and Art & Music.

Memoria Press Second Grade Literature Guide Set with Novels

The Second Grade Literature Guide Set consists of five student guides and a teachers key for use with classical books that would be slightly above the average second grade readers comfort level. This is supposed to help challenge them and give them a deeper understanding and satisfaction of reading classical literature in turn developing the student into superior readers. The reading guides require one to read while having an active, perceptive mind that is challenged to think, compare, and contrast. The guides focus on vocabulary, spelling, comprehension, and composition skills. These student guides are all consumable workbooks and have Teaching Guidelines at the beginning to help you through each lesson. Each lesson correlates with a chapter in the book, some involving a part one and a part two. Some of the guides even have Honors Activity pages throughout them to go into even more depth into learning. You can get a feel for content by downloading one of their samples on the site. This set does not include the classical books, but you can purchase them separately or get the whole set with the novels from Memoria Press. All the guides go well together in this set because of their wonderful classical nature and references to America being settled and also the animals there.

Memoria Press Second Grade Literature Set.

Second Grade Literature Guide Set Contents:

• Animal Folk Tales of America Student Study Guide (19 pages, 14 chapters)
• Prairie School Student Study Guide (17 pages, 8 chapters and an appendix)
• The Courage of Sarah Noble Student Study Guide (33 pages, 11 chapters, and 3 honors activities)
• Little House in the Big Woods Student Study Guide (52 pages, 13 chapters - some with two parts, and 4 honors activities)
• Tales from Beatrix Potter Student Study Guide (23 pages, 4 tales)
• Second Grade Literature Teacher Key (spiral bound, printed with 2 pages of student guide per page of key)

Little House In The Big Woods Student Study Guide and Book.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

Memoria Press was very generous in sending us the entire 2nd grade level set, even though they knew I would not use more than one book title during the review period. For this review I picked out the book Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder to use with the Little House in the Big Woods Student Guide and Second Grade Literature Teacher Key. I was fortunate enough to already have had it on my shelf and my children had not read it yet. The Teacher Key, which had all of the answers in it for all the Student Study Guides in the 2nd grade set was a tremendous help and even though I too decided to read the book along with my daughter I could see that you could use it even without reading the book yourself.

Teela doing the Little House in the Big Woods Student Study Guide.

My daughter, Teela, is in second grade so naturally we used this with her. I wanted to also know what was going on in the book so I read each chapter before she did. We went chapter by chapter through the book this way. After each chapter we would work in the Little House in the Big Woods Student Study Guide on the pages that correlated with the chapter we just got done reading. Some of the chapters had a part one and a part two in the student study guide. The student study guide is a consumable workbook and this particular one was the longest in the set with 52 pages. Teela did exceptionally well with the reading, vocabulary, and comprehension. She needed a little help on the composition part of it because of sentence structure. I did not do any of the Honors Activities with Teela yet because I wanted to make sure we would have time to do the rest of the Student Study Guide. However, the enrichment activities, like learning more about Wisconsin, making butter in a baby food jar, learning the steps of sugar making, making a Picture Quilt, and planning a "Dance at Grandpa's", sounded like a lot of fun. The enrichment activities include composition, copywork, dictation, research, mapping, drawing, poetry work, literary terms, etc. We will come back to these and do them too.

Little House In The Big Woods Student Study Guide Layout and Book.

I was amazed at how complex these Student Study Guides were. The questions were very well thought out and challenged my daughter to think a lot more for each answer than she is used to. The Teaching Guidelines at the front of the Student Guide was very helpful at showing us what the sequence of things should be. It says to first review previous chapter plots, characters, settings, vocabulary before reading each consecutive chapters. Then after the review of the previous chapters you are to look at the study guide and preview what is in it for the next chapter you will be reading. While the student reads they are to make note of the vocabulary words in the guide and where the comprehension questions that come up are. After reading you do the student guide with your student. It says that second graders should have help occasionally to come up with synonyms and forming good sentences orally before writing them down. Each lesson has sections on Pronounce & Spell, Vocabulary, Activity, and Comprehension Questions.

I highly recommend the Memoria Press Second Grade Literature Guide Set to anyone who is homeschooling or doing supplemental work at home. These Literature Sets would also be great during Summer Vacation if you don't homeschool. The classical education is some of my favorite literature curriculum in my eclectic homeschool ways. Everything that I have tried so far from Memoria Press I have loved. They have wonderful curriculum for k-12 homeschooling. Thanks again Memoria Press for being so generous in giving us the opportunity to look over the whole set. We can't wait to start The Courage of Sarah Noble next in this set!!

BUY IT
Second Grade Literature Guide Set with Novels is $115 and without Novels is $65.

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Logic of English Essentials 2nd Edition Review

My family had the privilege of trying the Logic of English Essentials 2nd Edition along with the Optional Essentials Reader Set in PDF format for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Schoolhouse Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Logic of English products are designed to help emerging readers, struggling readers, remedial readers, dyslexic students, poor spellers, gifted readers, ESL students, and learners of all ages to become proficient readers and spellers. These products have materials that use fun, multi-sensory methods with tips, games, and exercises that help teach phonemic awareness, the alphabetic principle and systematic phonics, fluency and high frequency words, handwriting, spelling, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. This uses techniques that are by far better than just rote memory of sight words. Students that use this program learn the "why" behind English spelling. This is a great comprehensive, flexible, customizable and all encompassing reading and spelling curriculum for homeschoolers based on successful, evidence-based methods.

Logic of English Essentials is an evidence-based reading, spelling, and grammar program that covers a full semester for students age seven to adult. This helps students to read, spell, and write successfully by providing linguistically accurate phonics instruction, fluency practice, morphology and vocabulary development, grammar, and composition. The second edition has three levels of instruction in one curriculum, expanded vocabulary lessons, Greek and Latin roots, placement tests, ten pre-lessons, full-color teachers guide, clearer and easier to use layout, games, guide to teaching spelling analysis, new resources, new tables, and new teacher tips. The core content and the approach is the same as the first edition.

The Essentials 2nd Edition, Volume 1 Complete Set Includes:

• Essentials Teacher's Guide, 2nd Ed., Volume 1
• Essentials Student Workbook, 2nd Ed., Volume 1 (student consumable)
• Spelling Journal (student consumable)
• Basic Phonogram Flash Cards
• Spelling Rule Flash Cards
• Advanced Phonogram Flash Cards
• Grammar Flash Cards
• Morpheme Cards, Set 1
• Phonogram Game Cards: Bookface
• Phonogram Game Cards (your choice of either Manuscript or Cursive)
• Phonogram Game Tiles
• Phonogram and Spelling Rule Quick Reference
• Spelling Analysis Card

I also received the Essential Reader Set which are readings to accompany the Logic of English Essentials. There are 30 passages that go along with the phonics and language concepts that students learn in Essentials. These are to be used after the concepts are learned in Essentials so that the students can successfully sound out each word, with no sight words or guessing. Combined with the Essentials Reader Teacher's Guide and Student Activity Book, The Essentials Reader may be used as a complete reading comprehension program for upper elementary grades. The Essentials Reader Student Activity Book is a companion to the Essentials Reader and contains engaging pre-reading, comprehension, and composition activities. The Essentials Reader Teacher's Guide includes four sections of suggested activities: Pre-reading, Pre-reading, Handwriting and Composition, Extension & Cross-Curricular Activities; for each lesson in The Essentials Reader. These texts are designed with the older struggling student in mind and include high-interest topics to engage the student reader.

The Essential Reader Set Includes:

• Essentials Reader
• Essentials Reader Student Activity Book
• Essentials Reader Teacher's Guide  

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

I used the Logic of English Essentials 2nd Edition, Volume 1 Set with my 7 year old daughter, Teela. She had been learning reading and spelling through sight words alone and had gotten stuck on some words because they could not just be sounded out or written exactly how they sounded. I thought that learning the "why" behind English spelling would help her tremendously with both her reading and spelling.

Teela Working out of the Essentials Student Workbook, 2nd Ed., Volume 1.

There are 3 levels of instruction in the book and the placement test we gave at the beginning tested Teela in level B. After I had her properly placed we went ahead with the lessons. She wanted to do Level A as well, so I let her do that as well. The levels built upon themselves and I thought that it was neat that the same Teela could use the workbook with the next level next year when she was done with this one this year. The 15 weekly lessons are each divided into 5 days, each taking about 30-45 minutes per lesson. The lessons cover dictation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension. The lessons are taught with a multi-sensory technique having parts that are listened to by the student, read aloud, and written. These are interspersed with games, flash card work, and a spelling journal you can have your student collect and organize commonly misspelled words in.

• Day One: Essential Concepts and Phonograms
• Day Two: Review and Spelling Analysis
• Day Three: Review and Grammar
• Day Four: Review and Vocabulary
• Day Five: Review and Check Your Understanding

The Essentials Teacher's Guide is fully scripted.

Since this is a fully scripted curriculum the teacher must read the provided script in consecutive order of the lessons to the student from the Teachers Guide. The Teacher's Guide is lengthy and involved. It has everything you need to teach the lesson to the student and references the Student Workbook very accurately so you can quickly find the correct section in the workbook that correlates with the lesson. I am not used to this type of instruction and I found this to be very time consuming. I had to read the lessons and prepare them ahead of time. I am used to workbooks that I can just have my kids sit in front of and the instructions are in the workbook for them to see or are self explanatory. Although this was a very thorough guide it involved more of my time and attention than I would have liked. I did learn a lot that I didn't know myself about English though.

I think that setting aside the correct amount of time for this curriculum would be best because you can't just jump into the lessons. They need a lot of preparation ahead of time, but I like how much my daughter and I are learning about the English language and the "why" behind it. I believe if you have the time to put in, this curriculum is wonderful! I highly recommend this set because it is very complete and teaches a great deal of information about reading, spelling, and grammar.

BUY IT

• Logic of English Essentials 2nd Edition Volume 1: Available Now! Complete Set: $221 $198.00. Upgrade Set: $110 $93.00.
• Essential Reader (PDF): $17.60, Essentials Reader Student Activity Book (PDF): $9.60, Essentials Reader Teacher's Guide (PDF): $16.00.
• Logic of English Essentials 2nd Edition Volume 2: January 2017. Complete Add-on Set: $109 $98.10 (Will include the Essentials Teacher’s Guide Volume 2, the Essentials Student Workbook Volume 2, and Morpheme Cards Set 2).

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Everyday MOMents: Discovering Christ in the Details of Motherhood Book Review #MyEverydayMOMents

I received Everyday MOMents by Jessica Poe for free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Every mother has felt exhausted, overwhelmed, discouraged, unimportant, and unappreciated at some point in their mothering career. As mothers, some days feel like they are mundane and repetitious. Sometimes we end up feeling like train wrecks at the end of the day. It is hard to feel close to Christ when we get so lost in going about our daily responsibilities that we lose sight of our spiritual importance. Believe me, I have been there!

I am a mother of 4 children currently. I had a daughter, Tatiana, who was disabled and medically fragile. She was our little miracle child and we were lucky to have her as long as we did (for 6 years) because she was only given a year. She was so happy all the time, but in and out of the hospital so much. While she was alive she reminded me everyday that Heavenly Father had tremendously blessed my family and when she passed away I felt my heart was being ripped apart. I had two to three other children while she was alive and even though days were difficult and demanding I still made it through it all. I know now that I couldn't have done it at all without my faith in Christ and my daughter's smile. Throughout all of my family's many trials, tribulations, and everyday moments we try to stay strong and "Hold to the Rod"*. Together we have made it through a lot and I know that even though there might be rough times ahead, together, with our faith in Christ, we can move mountains. He has always been there for me through thick and thin, guiding me by the Holy Spirit and she was the one that reminded me to think of Him always. She was my spiritual eyes, ever so innocent and in tune. I miss this connection that I had with Christ. As my children grow older I feel the need to have more guidance from the Holy Spirit than ever before.

In the book Everyday MOMents the author, Jessica Poe, sets out to help "any mothering hearts who seek to come closer to Christ" by discovering Christ in the details of motherhood. Everyday MOMents is an inspiring and uplifting book that shows us that even in the monotonous days we can become closer to Christ by gaining a spiritual perspective for all things no matter how small or large. We should always look for Christ in everything so that we think of Him always and feel His enlightened presence beside us. In this we will gain a better understanding of our sacred duties as mothers and be more receptive to the Spirit so that we can act on the messages He sends us, feeling ever closer to Christ.

Get your free study guide by clicking HERE.

I am glad I came across Everyday MOMents. I love that Jessica Poe has given us her own life lessons to ponder in this book. After each chapter there are things to reflect upon and apply to our own lives. It has reminded me that my duties as a mother are important, worthwhile, and filled with Christ. Chapter 6 is all about Tuning Out to Tune In. I have become more aware recently of my tech habits and how much I am physically and mentally attached to my computer. I have been trying to work on having a family day where we all tune out technology to tune in each other. This is HUGE for my family because we seem to have gotten out of having Family Home Evening now that my oldest is a teen and I feel we need to become more connected with each other again. Besides this little gem, Jessica has so many other great stories, suggestions, insights, and inspirations in this book that will help you and your family gain a more Christlike existence.

BUY IT
I would recommend this book to all mothers or soon to be mothers. It would be a great gift for someone on Mother's Day.



*See the story of Lehi's Dream.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Zonderkidz Under the Sea Holy Bible Review and Giveaway #UnderTheSea #FlyBy

I received Zonderkidz Under the Sea Holy Bible free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.


Zondervan is a part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. They are a world leader in Bible publishing and provider of Christian communications. For more than 80 years they have provided its bestselling Christian Bibles, books, curriculum, academic resources and digital products. Their products are sold in multiple formats, worldwide in more than 60 countries, and translated into nearly 200 languages. Zondervan is the North American publisher and licensee of the NIV (New International Version) Bible translation. Zonderkidz is the children's division of Zondervan. They provide Christian products for kids under 16. Zonderkidz is also the publisher of the NIrV (New International Reader's Version) Bible translation, the 3rd-grade reading level edition of the NIV.

The Under the Sea Holy Bible is a hardcover bible for children. The cover is shiny blue foil with sparkly accents. It is written in the NIrV bible translation at an easy to read 3rd grade reading level and 9 point font. This hardcover Bible combines the popularity of the ocean with the Word of God to make learning more fun and engaging. Includes 8 full-color pages (one being a name page to put who it is to and from) of illustrations that coincide with the scriptures and is the complete NIrV of the Bible (from Genesis to Revelation). These illustrations are animated like something out of Disney's Finding Nemo. These pages are glossy unlike the rest so you can locate them easier throughout the book. There is also a small dictionary in the back and a list of great Bible stories with their scriptures that correlate.

Zari with the Under the Sea Holy Bible.

We usually work through the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible at our home Bible studies because we feel it to be the most correct translation, but I do love that the Under the Sea Holy Bible is so easily readable for younger kids. My daughter Teela who is seven years old and in second grade was able to read it without difficulty. The pictures in it kept both my daughters occupied, although there are not a lot of them and the words on the pages with the illustrations really don't have anything to do with the ocean, underwater, or sea. I was expecting more correlation to the bible and the sea brought out in these. Teela especially loves reading this Bible to her younger sister, Zari, who is five because it is very easy to read and understand. The pages (except for the ones with pictures), like most Bibles, are a little delicate, so we encourage her to turn the pages with care. While I do not really think that this bible is as good or as exciting as a devotional or journal bible, I believe it has helped my younger children understand the words and what is happening better than a KJV Bible.

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You can also purchase the Zonderkidz Under the Sea Holy Bible at these fine retailers:
Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Family Christian Stores


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Prize: Win a copy of the Zonderkidz Under the Sea Holy Bible {US & Canada Only}.

I run giveaways with Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER:  (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for posting this blog app and giveaway. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Gwen Stefani This IS What The Truth Feels Like Album Review #ThisIsWhatTheTruthFeelsLike #GwenO2O

We received this product free to facilitate this review. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Gwen Stefani is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer, and actress. She is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the ska band No Doubt. Stefani has won three Grammy Awards. As a solo artist, she has received several accolades, including a World Music Award, an American Music Award, a Brit Award, and two Billboard Music Awards. Including her work with No Doubt, Stefani has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.

I have been a fan of Gwen Stefani since her No Doubt days. Her voice and style is definitely musically distinctive. After nine years of waiting, Gwen Stefani has debuted her 3rd solo album, This IS What The Truth Feels Like. It was released on March 18, 2016. She has been through a lot since she had 3 kids and lost her husband in a turbulent divorce. With songs of romance, heartbreak, betrayal, pain, finding yourself again, and new love, Gwen sings her heart out on this album with new emotions. She shows raw honesty. It is very touching. This album reflects her repertoire well, but breaths new feelings into her voice. Gwen has transformed and evolved from the girlish pop star to a more experienced woman. These songs are so relatable and the healing vibe towards the end of the track is refreshing.

My favorite songs on this album are Make Me Like You, Used To Love You, Me Without You, and Rare. Make Me Love You has a fun upbeat vibe and is reminiscent of some of her older work. Used To Love You is being honest about her feelings about her breakup. Me Without You has wonderful lyrics about admitting that she doesn't need the person. This is a great step to recovery and healing. Rare is a great song with a great beat. It is about starting over with someone new.

I love this album. The lyrics are refreshingly truthful and emotional. I love the music and Gwen's great voice. I am so glad Gwen spilled her heart in song for all to hear.



Track Listing:

1. Misery
2. You’re My Favorite
3. Where Would I Be
4. Make Me Like You
5. Truth
6. Used To Love You
7. Send Me A Picture
8. Red Flag
9. Asking For It
10. Naughty
11. Me Without You
12. Rare
13. Rocket Ship (Target Exclusive)
14. Getting Warmer (Target Exclusive)
15. Obsessed (Target Exclusive)
16. Splash (Target Exclusive 

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Hashtags: #ThisIsWhatTheTruthFeelsLike and #GwenO2O

BUY IT


You can also Purchase it at Target or iTunes. 

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to One2One Network, the women's word of mouth marketing network, for providing me with this opportunity and an instant digital download of the album in advance to review as part of a campaign free to spread the word. I participated in this sponsored album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided the album to review but all opinions are my own. By posting, I am eligible for incentives. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. This post has affiliate links. Thanks for supporting my blog! 

Fluffy Layers Egg Collecting Apron Review

Fluffy Layers is a wonderful company that was developed by Tara Grier. She and her team at Fluffy Layers are the creators of The Egg Collecting Apron®, The Egg Gathering Apron® & The Harvest Apron®. They also have some really "fun, fashionable products for the urban agriculture enthusiast!" I am one of their new Brand Ambassadors and I can not wait to share with you the adorable stuff they have!

My wonderful Fluffy Layers Egg Collecting Apron.

I received their Egg Collecting Apron. This is a wonderful half body apron that helps you gather 10 jumbo sized eggs from your chickens safely. I received one in a whimsical rooster and hen print. This apron is such a lovely alternative to the egg basket and keeps your hands completely free to do other things while collecting. I love collecting my hen's eggs in it. This is the perfect apron for anyone with chickens. It will work for duck, geese, and quail eggs too! It is made from 100% cotton canvas fabric that is durable and machine-washable. Measures 20" long and 19" wide with an 80" strap. Comes in classic canvas color too.

Me collecting eggs from my hen.

BUY IT


You can also purchase Fluffy Layers Egg Collecting Apron in their Fluffy Layers' online shop.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received these products for free to facilitate this review. As a Fluffy Layers Brand Ambassador I get occasional products to share with my readers for free. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

FishFlix.com My Son My Savior DVD Review

My family had the privilege of watching the FishFlix.com My Son My Savior DVD for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Schoolhouse Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

FishFlix.com is a Christian based company that develops family-friendly movies. They have children's Christian movies, apologetics, educational, Christian history, biblical movies, dramas, romance, action and other feature films. They focus on bringing these wonderful wholesome films to their viewers.

From the makers of the award-winning biblical dramas Road to Emmaus and Come Follow Me comes My Son My Savior, a Christian film about the Virgin Mary (played by Corrina Crade) and how her life was guided into the role of being Jesus' mother. We see her childhood, growing up in a strict Jewish household, celebrating Passover and hearing about the Messiah's coming to redeem Israel. Little did Mary know that she would play a crucial part in the fulfillment of these prophesies. It is a deeply moving movie in which you get to see the life, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus (played by Bruce Marchiano) through his mother's eyes. This movie follows closely with the biblical story, but puts into more of a perspective of what emotions Mary had throughout everything that happened.

Trailer:



How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

As a Christian family we are well versed in the story about Jesus from the Bible. My girls who are 5 and 7 years old even know the story and love reading from their children's Bibles about him. We love recounting the story of his resurrection around Easter and the My Son My Savior DVD was perfect to use along with scripture. Easter for us is not all about bunnies and eggs. It is about Christ, our Savior, sacrificing himself on the cross for all of our sins so we can again be with our Heavenly Father once again.

I watched this Christian DVD over the weekend for the First Day of Spring with my family. This portrayal of the Virgin Mary is a powerful one. It shows how she responded with faith, love and finally understanding about Jesus' destiny. She knew Jesus as her son and came to also know him as her Savior.

We did feel that in the approximately 60 minutes running time they left out a lot of Jesus' life. I wish that they had shown Jesus' baptism as my daughter Teela is set to be baptized when she has turned 8 and this would have been a great moment of teaching for her. They also did not show the breaking of the fish & loaves and many other miracles he administered except for the miracle of the wine from water, healing the cripple, healing of Mary Magdalene, and healing of the ear of the high priest's slave. We wish they could have elaborated on more of the story, but as this was more about the mother of Jesus we understand why they did.

The background, scenery, clothing and architecture all looked very authentic. I love when they showed the stable of animals where Jesus was conceived.  I also love the scene of the hustle and bustle of the market place when baby Jesus was brought to the Temple to be presented. The costumes were lovely. I loved the headbands on some of the woman.

You can also download the FREE Bible Study Guide from here: http://www.mysonmysavior.com/biblestudy.html. This is a great way to have discussion with your family and Bible study along with the movie.

My Son My Savior is wonderful for the entire family. The film shows a little violence but no inappropriate scenes or questionable content. It is very well made and tastefully done. I love this film! It is perfect for Easter, Mother's Day, and Christmas. It is also great for sharing with others that would like to know more about Christ.

BUY IT

Purchase the My Son, My Savior DVD

List Price : $14.99

Price : $9.99

You Save : $5.00 (33%)

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My #DisneyKids Preschool Playdate Party and a Chance to Win a Dream Walt Disney World Resort Vacation for Your Little Ones!

I received free products to facilitate my party from Disney Parks and MomSelect. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this post.

I was so worried that no one at all would show to our #DisneyKids Preschool Playdate Party that I scheduled on Saturday March 19, 2016. The schools out here were having Spring Break the week after and I didn't think that scheduling it on the 26th would be any better because of Easter being on the Sunday after. I was so nervous that no one would show up at all because of people being out of town for vacation to visit family and friends.

Teela, Joey, and Zari at the party.

We had one little girl show! I am so happy someone did! My older son's best friend has a little sister, named Joey, that was invited by my girls and he saw the invitation when he was over at their house visiting his friend. He took it upon himself to email the family before the party and ask if she was coming. The parents I guess didn't put two and two together that it was us that was throwing the party. So, naturally after he asked they said yes. Thanks to my son, Jaedan, the party went on. We put up the decorations and prepared the food. Then we partied! We had so much fun showing our #DisneySide!

#DisneyKids Preschool Playdate Party Food

The food turned out to be a big hit. I made 24 Mickey Cone Cakes the night before to frost with chocolate icing and have two round dark chocolate melts put on the top like Mickey ears. These were quite fun to make and the kids enjoyed them too. I also provided a veggie tray with onion dip that I mixed up for something healthy. The Sofia's Seashell Mac and Cheese turned out well too. I also had Teela help make the Disney Peanut Butter & Jelly Pinwheel Skewers. Instead of Mickey dimensional stickers ours had Disney Fairies puffy stickers on them. To drink we purchased some Donald Duck orange juice and also had the Nestle Nesquik Chocolate Flavored Drink Powder that came in the kit to mix with milk if they wanted that instead.

Disney Craft with Tulip Puffy Confetti Glitter Paints

We played some games and made a craft after we ate. We played the Pin the Smile On Mickey Game and
made puppets with the I Love To Create Live On Stage! Puppet Show Kit (paper bags, Disney Junior Puppet Print-Outs, Alene's Tacky Glue, 3 Tulip Puffy Confetti Glitter Paints). Although, everyone making one wanted to be Sofia the First, so the puppet show didn't really take off. Oh well.

Pin the smile on Mickey Mouse

The time came when our guest had to go home. I gave Joey her gift bag full of goodies to take home and remember the party by. I also handed out an HP Photo Card Pack to the parents that I had left over from an old #DisneySide party pack and told them about MyPrintly, a HP website where you can create DIY projects and print them to share. We also talked about Disney Parks and why we love them so much! They shared with me that Joey had gone to Disney World last year when she was 4 years old and she enjoyed it so much.

Fun with Disney Lion Guard Tatoos and Disney Parks Posters.

My daughter Zari didn't want the party to end and was sad. I promised her we would go outside and play on the play set and continue the celebration even though Joey had to go home. So we did and as soon as we got back inside I had Teela and Zari pick a Disney The Lion Guard Fake Tattoo and we placed them. We did a few more games together and called it a very successful day.

Playground fun Disney style!

The #DisneyKids Preschool Playdate Party turned out to be a hit! Everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. Thank you Disney Parks for giving me the opportunity to do another Disney party! Also thanks to the other sponsors: HP, Banfield Pet Hospital, Glad, Nestle, All, and I Love To Create!

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: This post is in conjunction with Disney Parks and MomSelect. I received a party pack complimentary to throw a #DisneyKids Preschool Playdate to promote Disney Parks. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this post.

Easter Basket Goodies with Welch's Easter and Go Organically Fruit Snacks - Review

I received Welch's Fruit Snacks and Go Organically Fruit Snacks for free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

When I look down the Easter aisle of the grocery stores and super markets I am really disappointed to see so many items that I would never buy for my kids. Most of these are pure sugar candies that have very little to offer in the way of healthy ingredients. If you are health conscious like me you would rather buy your kids wholesome snacks and other items to go in their Easter Baskets rather than candy.

There are two different kinds of fruit snacks I will be adding to my kids' Easter Baskets this year. The first is the limited edition Welch's Easter Fruit Snacks. The second is the Go Organically Fruit Snacks.

Welch's Easter Fruit Snacks

Welch's Easter Fruit Snacks come in an Easter themed box of 28 pouches or a Easter themed bag of 22 pouches, having 45 calories per pouch. The Welch's Easter Fruit Snacks have fun shapes which include a Chick, Egg, Flower and Bunny. These are now made with even more real fruit. They are an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of Vitamins A & E. They are fat free and gluten free with no preservatives and low sodium. The Easter fruit snacks come in Mixed Fruit flavor. Welch's® Fruit Snacks have 11 different varieties.

These are kid pleasing with their adorable shapes and yummy fruity taste. These are perfect for filling Easter Baskets and stuffing Easter Eggs with. I love that real fruit puree is the first ingredient in these. I do wish that they didn't use artificial colors and modified ingredients though.

Go Organically Tropical Fruit Snacks

Go Organically Fruit Snacks come in Tropical, Fruit Medley, and Mixed Berry flavors. They come in boxes of 8 pouches. They are all USDA-certified organic, GMO free, and gluten free. They are made with real fruit purees, real fruit juices, natural flavors, and colors from natural sources with no preservatives. They provide 100% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C per serving (one pouch) and are an excellent source of Vitamins A & E.

This is my first time trying the Go Organically Fruit Snacks. I received the Tropical flavor to try. I love the pineapple and grapefruit flavors the best. These are delicious and even though they are not as bright in color as the other fruit snacks they are just as yummy. I love that they are organic and GMO free! These are also great for filling Easter Baskets and stuffing Easter Eggs with. I will definitely be buying these if I can find them.

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BUY IT
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• Instantly save 50¢ or share and save $1 on your next 8 ct box of Go Organically Fruit Snacks! http://smarturl.it/GoOrgCoupon

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Demme Learning's Math-U-See Primer Digital and Physical Pack Review

My family had the privilege of trying the Demme Learning's Math-U-See Primer Digital Pack and Primer Physical Pack for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Schoolhouse Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

With Math-U-See Digital Packs you can have access to which ever Digital Pack you purchase from any web browser for 12 months. These contain streaming instruction videos along with other items you can also access online for helping your student learn the math they need to. However, Digital Packs do not include the student workbook or tests, these can be purchased separately from the Math-U-See Catalog. I received access to the Primer Digital Pack.

Primer Digital Pack Contents:

• 12-month Access to Primer Streaming Instruction Videos
• Instruction Manual PDFs
• Lesson Solutions PDFs
• Skip Count Songs MP3s and Songbook PDFs
• Other Online Resources
• Math-U-See Digital Manipulatives, using Chrome or Safari browsers

Getting to and using the Digital Pack after it has been purchased is easy. Once you have purchased the Digital Pack you can login to your account on Demme Learning's Catalog homepage by clicking the Login link at the top of the page and entering your email and password. Use the password you used when you registered. You will automatically be directed to the My Dashboard page which you can view order information and recent account activity as well as update your account information. Once there you will see a link that you can click on named, "View Digital Packs" or alternatively you can click on the link at the top of the page called "My Digital Packs" while you are anywhere on the website. After you get to that page you can select the correct digital pack you will want to work on in the pull down menu under Select a Level. Once that is done another pull down menu will pop up to Select a Lesson. Before you do this; however, you should watch the Digital Manipulatives Demo so you can get the hang of using this interactive program. After the demo you can open the Digital Manipulatives by clicking the link above the demo. The Digital Manipulatives will open in a new page. I want to mention that I use Firefox and I had no problems while using the Digital Manipulatives. Once you select a lesson you can play the Streaming Instruction Video and/or click on printable PDF links for a Lesson Summary and Lesson Solutions. There are also Additional Resources that you can also listen to or print out.



We received the Primer Universal Set (Physical Pack) which has everything to teach an introduction to mathematics for preschoolers through kindergartners. It teaches major concepts and skills that include: counting objects and developing numeracy, understanding place value, recognizing number names and symbols, reading and writing numerals, understanding addition and subtraction with concrete and representational models, understanding and writing the symbols +, – and =; and addition and subtraction of select numbers. It also covers additional concepts and skills that include: telling and writing time by hours and minutes, recognizing & drawing rectangles, squares, and circles; measuring length by repeating units, introducing halves and fourths, counting by 2s, 5s, 10s, and 100s; learning basic geometric shapes, and reading, writing & interpreting word problems.

Primer Universal Set (Physical Pack) Contents:

• Instruction Manual with Complete Solutions: Physical instruction manual with lesson-by-lesson instructions for the teacher and answer keys.
• Instruction DVD: Lesson-to-lesson video instruction on DVD.
• Student Workbook: Physical workbook for students with lesson-by-lesson worksheet pages, review pages, and application & enrichment pages.
• Integer Block Kit: 133-piece plastic manipulative block set that includes 20 ones and tens, 13 fives, and 10 each of twos, threes, fours, sixes, sevens, eights, nines, and hundreds blocks, plus the Decimal Street™/Block Clock poster all in a box with handle to keep them tidy. Use from Primer through Algebra 1.
• 12 months of access to the new Primer Digital Pack: See above.
• Skip Count Songs MP3s and Songbook PDFs: Help your student learn skip counting. Two versions of the songs available on the MP3, one with Christian lyrics, and the other with the lyrics taken from science and literature. Song lyrics and music in the PDF.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

I thought Primer would be nice to start this program with my daughter Zari who is in preschool since I was unfamiliar with it. She has been learning to recognize and write her numerals and count to higher numbers. I thought it would be a great introductory math for her too.

Demme Learning's Math-U-See Primer Workbook using the Physical Integer Block Kit

Because we have never used Demme Learning's Math-U-See programs we received the Primer Universal Set (Physical Pack) to compare to the Digital Pack on its own. I wanted to see for myself how these were different. Also I thought that having a set of the actual manipulatives would help us with the hands-on aspect better than the online version. The Digital Pack doesn't come with the student workbook or tests even in PDF format, so I am glad I received the Primer Universal Set in addition because it does come with those and oddly enough includes the Digital Pack with its purchase as well.

Demme Learning's Math-U-See Primer Digital Instruction Videos

We loved that the Digital Pack was all online. You have everything except for the student workbook at your fingertips online so that it is easier to take everything on the go if needed. The streaming math instruction is the same as what is on the instruction DVD that comes with the Universal Pack. These along with the instruction manual were helpful in Primer, but I could use the student workbook without them. However, I could see that these would be so much more helpful in the older math packs and why visual people would love the streaming video better than the manual. The Digital Pack has PDFs of the Instruction Manual and solutions instead of the physical book that the Universal Pack comes with. I do like using the physical integer block kit better than the Digital Manipulatives. I also wish the Universal Pack came with the CD and physical music book to the skip count songs because these are offered to purchase separately, but it only came with the MP3s and PDFs that the Digital Pack comes with to listen to by streaming online and look at.

Demme Learning's Math-U-See Primer Digital Manipulatives

The physical integer block kit that the Universal Pack has is a lot easier to use with the text than the Digital Manipulatives. The Digital Pack streaming video and Instruction DVD which are basically one in the same in different formats refer to the physical integer block kit a lot in the teachings. I like having a more hands-on tactile experience while teaching my very active preschooler. She learns better when she can touch an object and the manipulatives can go over the empty squares or pictures of blocks in her workbook too. I, however; didn't like that the physical integer blocks in the kit weren't made of very good quality. They did not want to snap together and stay that way until you took them apart like some I have seen. The Digital Manipulatives were fun to play with though. You could drag them into a snap grid on the screen, click twice on them to flip them over, and right click to turn them. I used these in addition to the physical ones to show Zari how to manipulate them on the screen by herself and let her draw pictures with them and the mode that it could be switched to draw or write with colors. I liked to enforce the written numerals with the blocks so I had her use the mouse to draw the number with a color I chose and put how many ones blocks it was on the screen beside it.

I am excited to use more of the Digital Pack along with the Universal Pack. In my honest opinion though I think that it would be better to purchase the Universal Set or Level Up Set (if you already have blocks) than just the Digital Pack because it comes with everything in the physical format too. But if you do get the Digital Pack and Student Workbook only you will have everything you need on-the-go with internet access from any browser, so it might be just the ticket for you. This digital math is great for homeschool math especially!

BUY IT
See the individual prices and descriptions for Primer here. The Primer Universal Set (Physical Pack) is $131. If you would like to get the Primer Digital Pack it is a very affordable $31, but does not include the student workbook or tests. You can purchase the Primer Student Workbook additionally for another $33. If you already have the physical Integer Block Set ($80) I suggest that you purchase the Primer Level Up Set which is $62 to save some money.

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Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Demme Learning's Math-U-See...