5 Years Ago Today

Five years ago today, our family of five instantaneously became nine. After being gone for ten days my husband returned with our African children. We were finally one family under the same roof, after more than two years of heart-wrenching ups & downs and endless fundraising.

These were our first moments together:


We worked and prayed with everything in us to get to that day. We were full of hope for the future and dreamed of a better tomorrow.

The part I never anticipated living out was the loss that followed. Sometimes the Lord gives and sometimes He takes away. What I had hoped for and prayed for isn't what came to pass. What I've come to understand through it all is that I am a vessel. A vessel through which He works. A testimony for others to see His goodness. He is still faithful and He is still just.

What we have given is hope. Hope to children that were living in hopelessness. We have given opportunity when there would have only been mere survival.

Sometimes when we are walking through the deepest of valleys, it's important to lift our face towards the Son and remember that there is always goodness. Goodness in the midst of pain. Love in the midst of loss. Faith in the midst of doubt.

Today we celebrate. We celebrate the lessons we've learned, those we love and the memories that bind us all together. We celebrate and give praise for answered prayers, grace and hopeful futures.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5: 16

Grace and Truth Books~ TOS Review

 

Grace and Truth Books is a Christian bookstore built on the idea that “fancy packaging” is not what’s important, what matters is “what will glorify God, strengthen His people in their walk, and call all peoples to find joy in knowing His gospel and following Him.” They have books and audiobooks available on a myriad of topics for both children and adults alike.

We were given the choice of two books to review within the Boys Heritage Series. Please read below for our selections. 

The Boys Heritage Series are reprints from the 19th century for boys ages 8-14. Gerrit and His Dog is the story of a boy who experiences God’s kindness when he loses his dog and is then reunited with him. This book sells for $5.50.

 

A Faithful Boys Influence, by "Aunt Friendly," is a story about how a young boy initiated respect for God's servant by a good example. This book sells for $6.25.

We just reviewed these two books but there is a total of ten books within the entire Heritage Series: Boys Books. This set of stories for boys, all reprints from the 19th century, are some of our richest, most challenging books for boys in this age range. They are also very suitable to read aloud with younger children or for family reading.

My boys began with Gerrit and His Dog. They read this book independently and really enjoyed the story line. When we began A Faithful Boys Influence, the boys weren't able to understand it on their own as well as the previous book. We then just began to read it together as all of the children listened in. If there happened to be words that the children were unsure of I was able to quickly explain and keep reading the story. I really enjoyed reading this with all of my children because the content is wholesome. I also didn't have a problem with explaining a few of the words because my children are on the younger side of the suggested age range. I also thought that hearing such vocabulary in a wholesome story like this will help to build their vocabulary.

I'm always looking for good books to provide for my children. I'm looking forward to buying the remaining books in this series as part of my boys' Christmas gifts! Thank you Grace and Truth Books for putting out such wonderful and wholesome materials!

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Grace and Truth Books visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Apologia~Journeys of Faithfulness

This book was such a gift! It was truly my privledge to review Journeys of Faithfulness by Sarah Clarkson.  Through a series of stories about biblical women such as Mary, Ruth, and Esther, the author challenges young women to explore and deepen their relationship with Christ.  The 232 pages of the paperback include devotionals and journaling spots.

Each story gives a historical fiction account of one of these women, using the details we know from the Biblical story and adding the author’s insight into what the characters could have felt and how they may have been affected by the events.  The book may be used as a devotional guide for adolescent women and their mothers, it is recommended for ages 12 and up.

My 12 year old daughter already enjoyed the stories of Ruth and Esther so she was delighted to have a look at this book. She was even more delighted when I told her we could go through it together. We really enjoyed reading about these amazing women, but my favorite part was ultimately our conversations afterward. I thank Sarah Clarkson for writing such an amazing tool that my daughter and I could use together to strengthen our own relationships in Christ as well as our mother/daughter relationship. :)

 Journeys of Faithfulness by Sarah Clarkson may be purchased directly from Apologia’s website.  The paperback version is $13.00.If you'd like to see a sample of this sweet, endearing book check here. The Table of Contents lets you in on the contents of the entire book.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Journeys of Faithfulness visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Samson's Classroom-- TOS Review

 

Samson's Classroom is an online educational tool, offering three products: Sight Words with Samson, Spelling with Samson, and Reading with Samson. I was very excited to work with this review as my second grader found learning in this environment SO fun!

 

We began with using Sight Words with Samson – this area was created for beginning readers by helping them to master 224 of the most commonly used words in our English language. This helps build a strong foundation for new readers to encourage them to be successful in reading. It uses a 5 step process to help each student learn these widely used words.  During the process they will see and hear the word a myriad of times as well as seeing the letters needed to create each word they are learning. Even though I don't consider my second grader a "beginning reader," she still benefited from the practice of sight words in this section!

The games my daughter played asked her to complete a sentence, spell a word, identify the word, or take a short quiz.  There is a scoreboard which helps both the student and parent keep track of where they are and what their result was.  There is also a portion in the resource center that allows the teacher to print out additional worksheets and even flash cards. And you can print a certificate out once your student has completed each level, my daughter is saving these! She's so proud!

My daughter was very unsure of spelling, sometimes she puts all of her energy into reading a word! Reversing the process to spell it was difficult for her at first. Then, we moved on to the Spelling with Samson section. Spelling with Samson is a comprehensive set of games that drills spelling words in a variety of mini games.  More than 7,000 words will all be used in games which are designed to grab the attention of your children to play them over and over again all the while building their spelling skill. You can customize the lists to match what you are learning in your curriculum OR you can choose to use one of the lists already created.  Spelling with Samson is similar to Sight Words with Samson where it also uses a multi-step process to build confidence in your student’s spelling ability through a variety of games. My daughter was encouraged to try spelling and she wanted to play in this section more and more. What a fun way for a 7 year old to get spelling practice!

Reading with Samson is a combination of reading comprehension and logical analysis where the student will learn to draw conclusions from what they have read to figure out the answers to the questions presented to them. The questions asked cover cause and effect, discovering the main idea, context, and sequencing to name a few. This program also uses an instant feedback system. If a student answers a question incorrectly the pertinent information of the passage that they read will be highlighted and the child is allowed a second chance at answering the question correctly. This section was a little more difficult for my second grader but she does try a little each day. I think we'll be able to work our way up to this area more and more as we progress through the school year.

If you decide to take a look at Samson's Classroom for your homeschool, there is a variety of pricing options for home use ($30 per year), as a family (4 users $50 per year), as a classroom (30 users $80 per year) and even more. You can try a demo of the program and make sure you check out this short but very thorough video demo.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Samson's Classroom visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Crossbow--TOS Review

 

Crossbow is a company that provides many different kinds of learning tools. I was interested to see how I might be able to use their product in our homeschool. I had one child in mind that I thought might benefit the most from this review product.

 

When you visit their website you will find that they carry several tools designed to help you create a learning environment that promotes student achievement, especially for those with Dyslexia and Visual Stress. Because I have a child that I would categorize as having "visual stress," I was curious as to what this tool might do. I honestly wondered if I'd be able to see any difference or results.

Reading Rulers is the product we received to review. They are made of durable, color-tinted plastic; and you are able to underline and highlight about six inches of text at a time. Text is read through the transparent color. Each Ruler is small and convenient to carry, or keep in a book used as a book mark. “Reading Rulers reduce page glare, dancing, blurring text and other symptoms, while also providing valuable tracking support for reading.” They are available with duo reading windows – one is 1/2″ wide and the other is 1 1/4″ wide – to aid in reading a single line of oversize text, two smaller lines of text or a short paragraph.

Studies have shown that students need a spectrum of colors to choose from, to find the one that best meets their individual needs. I had my struggling reader start using the rulers and switch colors until he found one he "liked" reading with. Over time, I could see that he was always making sure he had a reading ruler with him and I saw that he was using it as a bookmark as well.

Crossbow Education has a Pack of 10 Eye Level Reading Rulers for $16.95. It is their most popular package, because it allows a student to examine each color, choose the one that offers the most benefit; and then order just that color. We received the pack of 10 to use and my son, as of now, has chosen 3 favorite colors to use when reading. I can't help but think this tool is helping him stay on track when reading pages with lots of texts and longer paragraphs.

I highly recommend this product for anyone with a beginning or struggling reader. I intend to continue using these reading rulers for as long as needed. Thank you, Crossbow, for making a product that helps us so much!

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Crossbow visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

ZooWhiz--TOS Review

 

ZooWhiz is the FREE Online Learning System that gives children comprehensive coverage of Math, Reading and English in a fun, motivational and interactive learning environment. ZooWhiz is a free site for parents and teachers and kids. It works a bit like Skype where much if its functionality is free but if you want the best then the PREMIUM subscription is for you. Premium access is usually $30 per child.

This online learning website for children allows them to practice reading, math, grammar, vocabulary, and word skills while “collecting” animals and playing games with the points they earn. It is designed for kids ages 5-15, and allows the parent to customize levels of learning to suit their child. Children can also customize their account by choosing their own “zoologist” character to play as.

Zoo Whiz was created for users across the world, with options that include American or British spelling, and different units of measure and currency. Parents are able to access progress reports that allow them to see how their kids are doing in each area. Kids are able to play learning games in different disciplines, and earn coins they can spend on animals and games.

As children play, they also learn about the animals in their collection. They get information about their habitats, whether or not they are endangered, what they eat and other information. They can even collect “rare” animals like dinosaurs and a phoenix!Many different skills are covered in the Zoo Whiz program, including basic math facts, phonemics and phonics, and more advanced skills as well. The learning levels are adjustable, so you can customize them to fit your child's ability level.

As I mentioned above there is a free account available on Zoo Whiz, I was able to try out the Premium account, which currently costs $14.95 for a year. You can't beat that! Zoo Whiz is still being developed and new content is being added all the time.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about ZooWhiz visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Box of Ideas, Pearl Harbor--TOS Review

Box of Ideas is a company dedicated to creating interactive, learning modules centered around various subject areas. When using this product you can't help but find yourself irresistibly drawn into critical thinking & knowledge building! The variety of fun topics makes learning intriguing and fun.

A Box of I.D.E.As. (Ideally Dynamic Enrichment Activities) contains ten or more modules that supplement learning on a given subject or provide an interesting journey into usual topics.  Each module contains quick, fun activities that allow your student to dive deeper into the subject being explored.  At the end of the Box, a student will have created a small portfolio of projects representing what he/she has learned.  Additional links are provided with each module for further exploration.  For older students you can take advantage of the SAT style test (included in each box) to determine if your child has mastered the information.

 

Box of Ideas modules can be taken and used anywhere: in the car, at the doctor’s office, waiting for a sibling to finish an activity, etc. My family was able to review World War Two: Pearl Harbor in PDF form. I used this comprehensive module with my 3 oldest children (ages 13, 12 and 10). We haven't studied WWII yet in their schooling but this was a fun and easy way to begin! I couldn't believe the amount of information available in this kit. Not only was it extremely thorough but the instructions were very user friendly and the kids' loved all of the graphics. 

This Box of Ideas was broken down into these categories regarding Pearl Harbor:

• Before becoming a naval base
• Beginning of a naval presence
• Weeks before the attack
• Day of infamy
• Day after the attack
• Weeks after the attack
• Six months after the attack
• A year after the attack
• Four years after the attack 
• Decades after the attack

Each category began by explaining the contents of that particular module, what we'd be working on and what I needed to prepare (copies of certain sheets or cutting that needed to be done beforehand). After the directions on the prep work, the module began with instruction and references. There were colorful pictures that corresponded with the information given. Each module was, on average, 7-10 pages long. I was very pleased at how comprehensive this was and what my older children learned (and remembered!).

No program would be complete without grading sheets! The answer keys were broken down by each module and then for the final test at the end.

There are other Box of Idea versions available, check out the website to see which one you'd like to try first! PDF versions cost $49.00 while a physical box costs $79.00.  Extra modules can be ordered for $4.00.

Box of I.D.E.As. can be used for students of multiple ages allowing a homeschooling parent the opportunity to engage all students at once.  The age range recommended is 9-16.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Box of Ideas visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Music Together--TOS Review

 

Anything music related usually gets our attention in a QUICK HURRY! This has been such a fun review for us. The very first thing I did was pop the CD in the player in the car on the way to an appointment. My older children weren't so sure about what I was about to present them but by the time we were on song #2, they were captivated. :)


We really enjoyed the entire CD but our favorite songs were:

• Playin in the Kitchen
• Mississippi Cats
• Obwisana
• Goin' for Coffee (Mama's favorite!)
• I've Been Working on the Railroad (a super awesome version of an older song!)

The book has semi-glossy pages and begins immediately with a breakdown of describing every aspect you would need to know such as:

• The Music Together teaching principles
• The types of songs and activities in the book
• How to work with instruments and props
• How to work with children with special needs

The songs are then broken down by title and specific examples are given on how to create movement in conjunction with the song playing. For example, one of our favorites was Playin' in the Kitchen. I was able to find the sheet music for the song (although I'll never be able to play it myself!), directions on collecting ordinary kitchen items to use as instruments and then specific examples on working with preschoolers, older children and children with special needs.

The Music Together CD is award winning!  Look at all the awards it has gotten:

• A Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award
• Earlychildhood News Directors’ Choice
• Earlychildhood News Judges’ Selection
• National Parenting Center Seal of Approval
• NAPPA Gold Award
• iParenting Media Award
• Learning®Magazine 2008 Teacher’s Choice
       for the Family
• Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice
• Children's Music Web Award
• Mom's Choice Gold Award
• Parent-Tested Parent-Approved Award

Music Together is an internationally recognized early childhood music and movement program for children from birth through age 7. They offer classes in locations across the United States and in more than 40 overseas countries. They also have an online store that sells instruments for preschoolers (shakers, drums,  etc), CDs and teaching materials.

 This vender has offered you some cool opportunities! If you would like to listen to the songs on the "Family Favorites" CD, you can preview them HERE. You will also have the option to buy the songs individually (for $0.99 each), the entire CD (for $14.95) or the MP3 version (for $9.99).

Another awesome option you can take advantage of is that if you order the Songbook and CD combo (instead of buying separately) you can save $5. If you enter the coupon code "Schoolhouse" at check-out when you're in the store, you can save $2 more! Here's a quick way to go directly to the songbook and CD.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Music Together, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

A Cry from Egypt-- TOS Review

My eyes lit up when I first saw this review! Being a mom to boys always has me on the search for Godly resources to help guide me in raising them. Great Waters Press, which published the practical guide to Raising Real Men by Hal and Melanie Young, has two new books coming out. We were able to review the "physical" copy of A Cry from Egypt (it was also available to review in PDF form).

 A Cry from Egypt was written by Hope Auer and illustrated by Mike Slaton, both recent homeschool graduates.  Hope Auer has been writing stories and plays since she was very young.  She began writing A Cry From Egypt, the first book in The Promised Land Series, as a school assignment when she was only thirteen and her family was studying ancient Egypt!  This historical fiction book deals with the period before the Exodus, when the Israelites were still in slavery.

The book is for children age 8 and above. My 10 year old son read it and LOVED it! The book itself wasn't so big that my son was intimidated by it. It was easy for him to read (and understand) and really did a great job in giving a clear picture of life in the day of the Israelites during that time.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the Research section at the end. The research section had notes and websites further explaining things discussed in the book. For example, the author addresses points such as the possibility of two Pharaohs: Rameses the VII and Rameses the VIII. She gives websites that give examples of what Egyptian clothing would look like as well as Hebrew clothing (a picture truly is worth a thousand words!). There were many sites to peruse regarding architecture. She points out that the grand pyramids that everyone thinks of when one thinks about Egypt are in a completely different city. The Israelites depicted in this story were not the ones working on building those pyramids.

This book is being published by Hal and Melanie Young of www.RaisingRealMen.com. You can find A Cry from Egypt for purchase at the cost of $12.50 here.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Great Water Press resources, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Speekee TV~TOS Review

I was SO EXCITED to have bee chosen for this review! My younger kiddos love to watch Dora the Explorer and try to learn the Spanish so I was all about reviewing this course to its fullest! Speekee uses children filmed on location in Spain with puppets to teach Spanish (in an immersion approach).   Each video has a theme (e.g. El Cafe, El Zoo, etc.) with consistency in format.  This repetition within each program helps the kids to learn key words and phrases in a fun way.

 

 We found this course to be fun and engaging, my girls giggled through the videos as they worked hard to pronounce and repeat the words and phrases. It amazed me at how they focused on something that I thought they might not understand. That was not the case. They were able to get clues from the themes and how the "lessons" were taught. They came away with WAY more knowledge than I ever thought they would!

The target ages for this course is toddler through elementary grades, I reviewed it with my 6 year old and my 4 year old daughters.  Speekee TV provides you with access to the videos, and something called Speekee FastTrack which lays out an easy to follow plan over the course of 40 weeks.  Each week has suggested activities with corresponding video clips, worksheets and other resources.  They also supply vocabulary flashcards by episode for review with your child.

I used the worksheets and vocabulary flashcards with only my 6 year old. She was able to follow the content this way and it really helped reinforce what she had previously learned.

Subscribing to Speekee TV is easy.  They give you 2 weeks free to try it out and then charge just $7.50 per month for your subscription through PayPal.  Or if you prefer, you can pre-pay for one year at $60. Take a risk-free look and see what you think! We'll be continuing with this throughout our school year, I love using fun resources that engage my children during the learning process! :)

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Speekee TV, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Math 911--TOS Review

 

Professor Martin Weissman has been teaching Math for 50 years. He created the Math 911 software because he is passionate about the subject and wants to help students overcome their fear of Mathematics (and to master it).  Throughout his years of teaching, he felt that students needed fewer explanatory textbooks and more illustrative examples to help them understand how to do higher math problems.  Because of this need, he decided to develop the Math911 tutorial software.

 

 Math911 is set up in the form of a tutorial and generates problems for students to solve in the following courses: Introductory Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, Statistics, Trigonometry, and Pre-Calculus.  We're barely at the introduction to algebra level with my oldest child but we gave this software a shot (and to keep in mind for the future). After registering the software we were able to get access to the program. There are no frills, it is a very simple program but very straight forward to use. We chose the Intro to Algebra level to begin, below are the topics we started with for Pre-Algebra review:

• Introduction to integers
• Addition and subtraction of integers
• Multiplication and division of integers
• Exponents and order of operations
• Factoring number and prime factorization
• Addition and subtraction of rational numbers
• Multiplication and division of rational numbers.

 

There are 8 levels to complete under each category as well as 2 midterms and 2 finals spaced throughout the tutorial. No questions are ever marked wrong however there are a certain number of problems that need to be “correct” to prove mastery and move to the next level.  If the student does not understand how to do the problem, he may click on a button for step-by-step instructions to see the problem being solved.  He may follow these step-by-step instructions for as many problems as necessary to understand the process.  Professor Weissman wanted to give students practice, practice, practice in all types and variations of problems.

It was easy (and quick) to download this software off the site and because we were working in Pre-Algebra, there were also free PDF downloads with some explanations of how to do the problems.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Math 911 visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Reading Kingdom--TOS Review

Reading Kingdom is an online program designed to teach children ages 4-10 years old how to read and write (to a third grade level).  This is an interactive reading program and you can customize it based on each child's needs. I found it very easy to use and because it is so fun, children feel as if they are playing a game and are eager to practice. My daughter loved this as a way to get more computer time; I didn't mind because I know this program was helping her have fun and get better at reading!

 

This program isn't your every-day-run-of-the-mill reading program! I found it uniquely different in the way it brings in elements of phonics (and whole language) and added in other skills needed to achieve reading and writing success. There weren't a bunch of complicated rules to work through; we noticed the use of something called the "six skills method." This method focuses on sequencing, motor skills, phonemic awareness, meaning, grammar, and reading comprehension. This reading enhancement program works with any curriculum and can used in any homeschool, preschool – 3rd grade classrooms, ESL programs, and special education classes.

Below is an example of  the 6 skills method and the areas covered in this reading method:

 

I found this program to be comprehensive in what it had to offer, definitely worth its weight in gold! In the Reading Kingdom program, you can expect:

• Easy to use… after a few lessons, children can often use entirely on their own.
• Customized to match each child’s skill level
• Major emphasis is placed on accurate spelling, punctuation, and writing
• No boring, difficult rule memorization! The system teaches rules implicitly.
• Designed to minimize error
• When error occurs, specific techniques are offered to overcome the problem
• Regularly checks child’s progress
• Children progress quickly with sessions only 15-30 minutes in length
• A parent/teacher report is always available when you log into the program

 

My daughter especially liked the graphics used throughout the program, she was always engaged and never lost interest! I smiled because I new she was learning and having fun at the same time. One of the things she does is try to look at pictures and determine what is said in the sentence based on what the picture looks like. You can see in the screenshot below that the sentence doesn't say a thing about bowling. My daughter learned very quickly to go right to the sentence instead of trying to evaluate the picture instead. :)

 

I consider this program to be risk-free because you have the ability to create an account and use the program (at no charge) for 30 days.  You can see if you like it and if it would work for your family. If so, you can buy a subscription for $19.99/mo or $199.99/yr for your first reader/child.  Additional readers are $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr.  Also, if you are interested, additional books, kits, and resources are available in the Reading Kingdom Store.

Overall, we found this program to be a win-win for our family! 

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Reading Kingdom visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Golden Prairie Press--TOS Review

Golden Prairie Press is an online business started by Amy Puetz. Her first book was a historical costume book and then later she wrote other historical books with a Christian worldview. Amy Puez, the author, enjoys telling stories of people who impacted their generation.

Amy Puetz is a homeschool graduate who loves history. Here's a little background written by Amy herself: "When I was a teenager if anyone had told me that one day I would write books I would have laughed in their face. Me a writer? You’ve got to be kidding! But sometime God opens up a door that we would never have imagined going through on our own. That’s what happened to me in writing. My ambition was to be an archeologist but during my high school years I began experiencing unbearable fatigue and pain. As I approached graduation I realized that I needed to rethink my plans for the future. The Lord led me to take a correspondence course to become a computer graphic designer. After completing the course I was hit with a most sensational idea--write a historical costume book! This book combined several of my passions--history, sewing, designing, and photography. Since then I’ve built up a business selling historical items and writing historical books."

We were able to review Ten girls From History e-book and I have to say that my 12 year old, history loving, love-to-read daughter absolutely adored this book! This book was written in a way that is very engaging for the reader and captivates the audience while going through the accounts of ten, brave girls throughout history. When previewing this book for my daughter, I immediately noticed that I'd only heard of a few of these girls or remembered their stories. That fact alone made me very aware that I didn't love history when I was in school. My own curiosity was peaked so I read this e-book as well as my daughter. We were both captivated by the stories, the way it was written kept us coming back for more.

See if you recognize any of these girls from history:

1. Cofachiqui
2. Madeleine De Vercheres
3. Dorothy Quincy
4. Molly Pitcher
5. Elizabeth Van Lew
6. Ida Lewis
7. Clara Barton
8. Virginia Reed
9. Louisa May Alcott
10. Clara Morris

For any girl who loves history, I highly recommend this book. I also recommend it for people like me...I didn't enjoy history in school, therefore I'm curious about the things I missed out on. This was an intriguing (and informative) read!

 

If any (or ALL!) of these books look interesting to you, you can still get in on the back-to-school sale. Be sure to go over to Golden Prairie Press by tomorrow (9/1/12) and take advantage of the sale prices.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Golden Prairie Press visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.