“It’s a greater blessing to give than it is to receive.”
Are you planning for Christmas already? I’m not talking about what gifts your going to buy or what you’ll eat for Christmas dinner. But, are you making plans to prepare the hearts of your children for the Christmas season? I’ve written before about some of the things we’ve done (many of which we continue to do) for the month of December, but this year I have a fun, new resource to share with you.
The Christmas Angel Set is a fun way to bring anticipation and a little mystery to each day of December – all while encouraging your children to shine their lights for Jesus as they participate in various projects of service or giving. The set, housed in a keepsake tin, includes a literature book, a stuffed angel toy and special angel dust (glitter) – all of which play a special part in the fun.
The Book
Beginning with the Christmas story, we meet the angel who brought the message of Jesus to Mary. Later in the book, the same Christmas angel visits your child and leaves special messages written in gold dust. Every message encourages the idea that it’s better to give than receive.
The Stuffed Angel and Gold Dust
Each evening after the kids are in bed, you place the stuffed angel somewhere around your house. Beside the angel, you sprinkle gold dust on a cookie sheet (or the top of the tin that comes with the set) and write a simple message about what type of service project awaits your children. When waking up in the morning, they search the house looking for the angel bearing the exciting message.
Some ideas for serving or giving are suggested in the literature book, but you have full control to plan exactly what works for your family.
What service projects are available in your area? Can you work at a soup kitchen or make Christmas crafts with the nursing home residents?
Who needs to feel the love of the Lord this season? Would your lonely neighbor appreciate coming over for soup and cookies? Do cancer patients need friends to play board games?
What areas of character could your children stand to have stretched? Does a complaining child need to walk the cold streets handing out sack lunches to homeless people? Does a self-centered child need to make and deliver Christmas cookies to the local fire department, then stick around to help them do firehouse chores?
What memories do you want to make with your children? Do you want them to remember the greatest gift of Jesus by yearly sacrificing money to buy gifts for those who need to know Jesus?
I’ve listed some pretty “big” project ideas because I have older children, but the projects don’t have to be big at all! One day’s project might be as simple as helping you address and stamp Christmas card envelopes. Another day, the angel might ask your children to invite another family over for a Christmas movie and hot chocolate. Projects can even be as simple as, “Help clean the bathroom.” or “Hug everyone in your family today.” The point is to get your children excited about sharing the love of Jesus with others in some big or little way each day of December.
Some of you are saying, “I can’t possibly keep up with this every day of December!” Believe me, I understand! Maybe your angel can surprise your family with an activity once a week instead of every day. The projects shouldn’t stress you out during the very hectic season of Christmas. Instead, they should be fun breaks in your day. Or, better yet, projects that allow your children to serve and give right alongside what you were normally planning to do that particular day!
No matter how many times during the month of December you plan to use the angel, your children will be super-excited to find the angel’s message waiting!
Would you like to win your own Christmas Angel set? I have one to giveaway! Please use the form below to enter. The winner, chosen Nov. 13th, has 48 hours to send me shipping details or the prize will be given to another winner. Only US residents and military addresses are eligible to enter.
Don’t miss the Christmas Angel Facebook Party from 9-10EST on Nov. 13th, hosted by iHomeschool Network. Prizes given away during the party total over $350!!
Ashley and Jenn have written reviews of the Christmas Angel and have giveaways going on right now, too!
MAKE WONDERFUL MEMORIES AND SHINE YOUR LIGHTS THIS CHRISTMAS!
{I received a Christmas Angel set in exchange for a review and was compensated for my time spent writing the review. As always the opinions are honest and completely my own. I was not required to post a positive review.}
In our Charlotte Mason homeschool, we LOVE living literature. So much so, that our “to read” lists are always way longer than what we can actually read. In order to make time for more living literature over the years, we have always been fans of audio books. Boring car time is often transformed into other periods of history as my children beg to listen to another chapter.
As most book lovers know, G.A. Henty novels are highly regarded works of living historical fiction. Even lack-luster readers are drawn to the rich characters and captivating adventures. It’s amazing how much historical detail is taught ever-so-gently through the text of a story.
Jim Hodges Audio Books
You can imagine my excitement to learn that Jim Hodges has several G.A. Henty Audio Books available! If you’ve never heard of Jim Hodges, boy are you missing out on a fantastic audio book voice…smooth and clear, with just the right amount of inflection. Besides G.A. Henty, he’s read aloud many popular titles from other authors like Amy Puetz and R.M. Ballantyne.
I had the opportunity to review two audio books that fit in perfectly with the era of history we are studying this year, With Wolfe in Canada (about the French and Indian War) and In the Reign of Terror (about the French Revolution.) Talk about good books! My children were excited to start each new chapter and sad when we had to turn the books off for the day. And we’re talking about books that have running times between 8+ and 11+ hours. You’ve gotta love living literature and its almost magical effect!
How did I know which books worked into our history studies? I used this handy, dandy scope and sequence where I easily found my targeted time period and the books available.
The G.A. Henty Audio Books can be purchased as MP3 CD’s or digital downloads. Either way, the books can be enjoyed on the computer or electronic devices such as the iPod. Additionally, the physical CD’s can be played on an MP3 compatible CD player or a DVD player (audio only.) We listened to ours from a laptop and an iPod attached to external speakers. The sound quality was excellent in both formats.
More Than Just Books
Whether you’re a fan of G.A. Henty novels already or not, you might be interested to know that, besides history, the books are fantastic for teaching geography, character and vocabulary. Mr. Hodges even has a free talk on this topic if you need a little convincing. What’s more, he has taken much of the vocabulary work off your shoulders as many of the Henty books have inexpensive vocabulary guides to go along with them!
A Freebie For Everyone
I’m so excited that Jim Hodges has offered EVERY SINGLE READER a free audio download of the unabridged book Stories of the Pilgrims by Margaret Pumphries! Enjoy this just in time for the upcoming holiday season! Enter your email address and the code IHSPilgrims. (This code is case sensitive. You must use the specific link I’ve included above.)
Disclosure: This review opportunity was coordinated by iHomeschool Network. In exchange for the review, I received review material and compensation for my time. As always, I am not required to give a glowing review and only share my honest opinions.
Look at the fun that arrived at my doorstep last week! You’ve never heard of a BabbaBox? I hadn’t either, but I’m glad I know now!
What’s a BabbaBox, You Ask?
In a nutshell, a BabbaBox, which arrives at your house monthly, is a box full of ready-to-go, themed activities that encourage your three to six year old to learn through exploration, creations and literature. The supplies in the box are tenderly packaged, so your child opens it much like a gift. Each individual activity is contained with all of its materials and a full-color brochure of directions and teaching explanations for the parent. I was pleasantly surprised that the activity directions are not only written, but photographed as well, so little people can take ownership in each activity from start to finish.
Our Rainbow BabbaBox
Our BabbaBox focused on the theme of rainbows – just perfect for our recently rainy season. My son was super-excited when the package arrived and he realized everything in the box was his. As you can imagine, we had to start on the activities right away.
Activity #1 – Creating Bubble Wands
All the materials we needed, including both pre-made bubbles and a recipe for making our own, led to bubble blowing from homemade wands in a matter of a few minutes. In the simple parent’s guide, we were encouraged to make wands from various shapes to see if bubbles are always round. We were also challenged to make different sized wands to compare bubble sizes.
Later, we visited the special link included with our box and found a few more bubble challenges with tie-ins to the theme of rainbows. LOTS of bonus ideas and extra learning information is included for each of the activities in every BabbaBox when you use the special links! The creator of the boxes even offers a short video to generate excitement for both you and your child. (The entire website is VERY professionally done, by the way.)
Activity #2 – Rainbow Sunhat (Eli’s Favorite)
Why did Eli like this activity the best? He was allowed to cut by himself, spray a water bottle all over the place {on purpose} and get a little messy – all at the same time. What more could a little boy want? As with all the activities, every single thing you need (except the scissors, but you don’t really have to use them) was included – even the spray bottle! The hat took a day to dry, but Eli says the wait was worth it!
Activity #3 – The Rainbow Prism
While the science behind the prism went way over Eli’s head, he still very much enjoyed playing with it and finding all the ways to “make” rainbows from the sunshine. BabbaCo’s creator makes a point to say several times that some of the rainbow information is likely too abstract for little people and not to worry if your child doesn’t “get it” this time around.
Activity #4 – Literature
Every BabbaBox includes a book to share with your child. My son loves books and couldn’t wait to dive into this one – after he finished all the hands-on activities. HaHa! The online bonus link includes a variety of age-appropriate books you might pick up at the library to extend the theme if you like.
Oh, I almost forgot!
Our BabbaBox included a fun gift, too! Eli now has his own car umbrella.
My Thoughts About the BabbaBox
Considering the enthusiasm of my little guy from the moment the box arrived, I think the Rainbow BabbaBox was a hit in our home. Every afternoon for a week or so, we had engaging, meaningful things to do – all without me having to plan or prepare at all! That’s important to this busy momma who tends to put off the hands-on activities with this poor third child of mine because it’s too hard to pull it all together. With the BabbaBox, it’s all there for me. I like that. A lot.
Would You Like to Know More?
Learn more about the monthly subscription to BabbaBoxes and sign up for their newsletter at BabbaCo.com. Be sure to find them on Facebook and Twitter, too.
Would You Like to Win a BabbaBox of Your Own?
I have one BabbaBox to giveaway – BabbaCo’s choice of theme. Hooray!
Enter below using Rafflecopter
Winner will be chosen on July 9th and will be notified by email
Winner must respond within 48 hours of being contacted or a runner up will be chosen
Must have a US or military address for shipping purposes
Have you been looking for a unique and engaging way to teach the Bible chronologically? Boy, have I found some goodies – What’s in the Bible? DVD’s!
What’s What’s in the Bible?
Created by Phil Vischer (of Veggie Tales fame), the What’s in the Bible? series uses puppets, animations and actors to clearly teach Bible truths through stories, skits and songs. Volume 1 in the series begins with the topics of what the Bible is and who wrote it. Each subsequent DVD continues chronologically teaching the history, people and lessons of the Bible.
The format of the DVD’s is goofy enough to make your children laugh all the way through, but serious enough to result in some super in-depth Bible knowledge. Besides the basic “stories” of the Bible, you’ll even find maps of Biblical lands, charts of lineage, and Bible vocabulary to be presented in kid-friendly ways. It’s for all the depth that I suggest even older children can benefit from watching What’s in the Bible? DVD’s!
About Volume 5: 1 & 2 Samuel
As part of an iHN review blitz, I was lucky enough to recieve Volume 5 of What’s in the Bible? This DVD includes (2) 25-minute episodes covering the main content of 1 and 2 Samuel. (Plus a bonus short video about the importance of honesty.)
The first episode covers:
Samuel the prophet
Saul as a king who doesn’t obey God and follows his own vain desires
David anointed
Davis and Goliath
Saul chasing David
A lesson about the Trinity
The second episode covers:
David becoming king
The tribes and trials
The capture of Jerusalem
The Davadic Covenant (Jesus coming from the lineage of David)
Bathsheba and Uriah
David’s repentance and forgiveness from God
Consequences
Solomon
I kept thinking, “I can’t believe how much real content is presented in 25-minutes of fun!” My kids loved the episodes as much as me and asked when we could get the rest of the series. Besides our homeschool, I can see using these with church classes, too!
Disclosure: I received DVD’s and compensation from What’s in the Bible? in exchange for a fair and honest review. As always, my reviews are strictly my opinion and I do not have to give a glowing review.
This post contains affiliate links. Read my entire disclosure policy here.
Clear. Concise. Full of practical ideas. Easy to implement. Very motivating! Those are phrases that perfectly describe Notebooking Success by my blogging friend, Jimmie.
I’m not new to notebooking. My children have used this method of narration and writing for years in our homeschool . But, after reading Jimmie’s e-book, I felt a renewed passion for this excellent method of teaching and learning – and this old dog even learned a few new tricks!
Jimmie’s writing style is so smooth and succinct that you’ll find yourself easily reading all the way through the book in less than 30 minutes. More importantly, at the end of the 30 minutes, you’ll have all the tools you need to get started (or refreshed) with notebooking right away.
Why incorporate notebooking into your homeschool? Jimmie answers that. How is notebooking with a 1st grader different than a 6th grader or 10th grader? Jimmie answers that. Doesn’t notebooking get boring for children? Jimmie answers that. She covers everything you need to know about notebooking from start to finish, including plenty of grade-specific ideas to get you and your children rolling.
As explained in the book, notebooking works well with just about any type of homeschooler – even those who use a strictly textbook curriculum. I have often mentioned notebooking to friends who are looking for a “better” way to help their children retain information or for children who need extra motivation for writing. Now, I’ll be sure to point those people toward Notebooking Success!
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