What if you found out that you only had one month to live? Would you do things differently? If you had known that your time was limited, would you have lived life to the fullest? Made amends? Hugged more? Taken that last vacation? Forgiven someone? In the book, One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-regrets Life, Kerry & Chris Shook helps the reader look beyond what they call the "someday syndrome" and start enjoying life today. By taking the 30-Day Challenge the reader can learn the how to make the most of their time on earth, live a no-regrets life and answer the longings of the heart by following 4 simple principles. Live passionately, love completely, learn humbly and leave boldly. Each day/chapter offers inspiring quotes, questions for personal reflection, a "make it count moment", how to connect with others and several "to-do" recommendations to help you "make it last for life". This book can help you change your priorities and rearrange your life in such a way that you can discover the purpose of your life that God created for you! This would be great as a group study or personal reflection. To learn more you can also visit the website www.OneMonthToLive.com.
Disclaimer: I received this book for
free from Waterbrook Multnomah Blogging For Books program in exchange for an honest review. All
opinions expressed herein are my own.
I am always looking for the best way to train up my children. It seems that character training is always at the very top of my mind. I worry about my children growing up to be solid, strong and ethically & morally straight. I have used several programs in the past that focus on character qualities, many with mixed results, some with pretty good results but I wanted something simple. I wanted something colorful. I wanted something very kid-friendly. BUT. Most of all, I wanted something that WORKED and worked really well. I had my eye on this product called We Choose Virtues for about six months now... I am so grateful that through the The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew and We Choose Virtues, we were able to review this product!
What is We Choose Virtues? "We Choose Virtues was created by Heather
McMillan...out of her love for children and her
desire to see them reach their personal potential. As a preschool
teacher and a children’s pastor, it concerned her how often she
came across children whose lack of self control, honesty and
perseverance was almost debilitating. How could they succeed in life
without the skills that come from good character?"...read more. It was because of this gap in character education that Heather decided to create the loveable & colorful characters, their corresponding virtue and the memorizable catch-phrases!
How Does it Work?
We Choose Virtues (WCV) is a character development tool that you use daily. After introducing the first virtue and demonstrating them (and yes, you can start anywhere!) help your children memorize
the cute catchphrases, learn the antonyms, and then watch for opportunities to see the virtue (or it's opposite) in action! Teachable moments abound!
How do I use it?
WCV is so simple to implement! We were offered an opportunity to review the Family Character Assessment, Teacher Handbook, Coloring Book and Virtue Clue's Cards. We took the Family Character Assessment and decided to started learning Obedience with Oboe Joe! The Teachers Handbook gives several ideas on the best ways to introduce the virtue and catch-phrases. Kayley colored the Oboe-Joe coloring sheet. We worked on that virtue for 2 weeks until we memorized the catch-phrase. We have since kept Oboe-Joe on display...and moved on to our next character quality! We plan to continuously repeat the character qualities indefinitely. They are so cute!
To browse through all of WCV's products, click HERE.
What we LOVED about WCV!
-Catch phrases are fun and easy to memorize!
-Finding
teachable moments is so easy and all I have to do is gently remind my
daughter by saying the first few words of the catch-phrase! She
finishes reciting it...and stops the behavior!
Here is the best part! Right now We Choose Virtues is offering a variety of coupons codes! You can only use one at a time, but they are a great deal! Use any of these codes in your shopping cart to start saving:
VIRTUE15 for 15 % off everything in your shopping cart
FAMILY for $3.00 off the Kids Virtue Poster
SHIPFREE for free worldwide shipping
There is also a great special running right now: Through the end of February The 100 Days of Virtue Poster and Stickers will be
included FREE with any Homeschool Kit purchase!
Ok, I admit it. I have NEVER liked Classical Music. My hubby gets out classical music and I immediately cringe. I don't know why. Maybe it always made me think "elevator music." Sometimes I thought classical music was so intense it made me feel a little stressed out. Ok, yes, it's true, I have honestly never really listened to much classical music - I think I just always assumed I wouldn't like it. I certainly didn't listen to enough classical music to realize that it actually told a story! Did you? (Ok, you probably did...sorry!) What a fun review we received through TOS from Maestro Classics! We got to listen to The Story of Swan Lake!
First, What is Maestro Classics? Maestro Classics produces a classical music CD/MP3 series that is entertaining and educational. Recommended for children ages 5 to 12, these CDs are honestly wonderful for all ages. I promise, I am over 30 and I really, really learned a lot! (And my 2 year old loved dancing to the music). Winners of over 45 national awards, Maestro Classics are produced by Stephen & Bonnie Simon whose mission is: To cultivate a love of music through education and joyful performances. They put their heart and soul into Maestro Classics -- and it shows!
About Swan Lake:
From Maestro Classics, "The Story of Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky’s greatest ballet score,
is the tale of a prince who falls in love with a beautiful princess.
The princess, however, has been turned into a swan by an evil magician,
and only the prince’s love can break the spell. This narrated version of
the classic tale for children is sure to delight all who love ballet
and enchanting storytelling."
This CD includes a 24-page activity book which contains a biography of
Tchaikovsky, interesting information and details about guitars, sheet music
and words for a sing-along song, explanation of major and minor keys,
puzzles and more. When you buy the MP3 you will receive a PDF of the activity book.
What we loved about Maestro Classics:
-Narration told the story! It was like watching a movie...Amazing!
-Educational links found on the Maestro website can be used to enhance the entire audio experience. -Check out these homeschool curriculum guides to enhance your study of Maestro Classics!
-Join the Kids Club for even more fun!
-What doesn't a little girl LOVE about ballet? Kayley wanted to hear it over and over again so she could dance and dance and dance.
How to purchase your own Maestro Classics experience:
There are so many Maestro Classics to choose from! I will be adding to my collection! To purchase Swan Lake or any other Maestro Classics, click HERE. CD's are $16.98 and MP3 downloads are $9.98.
To see what my fellow crewmates thought of Maestro Classics The Story of Swan Lake, click HERE.
Disclaimer:
I received Maestro Classics The Story of Swan Lake
free of charge
Several weeks ago I breathed a hint of the fun that we had on the horizon when I shared that Toydle has partnered with TOS to giveaway 3 forts! (Sorry - the winners were announced a couple of weeks ago...) We were so fortunate to be blessed with the opportunity to receive and review our very own Toydle Fort! Thanks so much to Toydle and The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew for making our Christmas extra merry!
So, what is a Toydle Fort? Robert Brownfield, father of
twins and president of Worry-Free Manufacturing in Boise, Idaho knew
that good toys were hard to find. In fact, finding toys that didn't
become boring within a week or that fell apart after a couple hours of
serious play seemed to be non-existent. It is after this constant
frustration that Toydle was born.
Robert knew that kids needed to use their imagination during play and
one of the best ways to do that is to give a child the tools to build a
fort! Made in America, right in Boise ID, and using high quality PVC
tubes and hand-crafted wooden blocks, toydle forts are assembled simply -
all by kid-power! Add in your own sheets and blankets, drape and hang
them up with the provided clips and voila! Fort! Or a castle! Or a
garage! Or a cave... Or...well, you get the picture!
Check out how much fun we have been having with our fort!
We are loving the fort! It has been so much more fun that fort-building with chairs! :) Toydle works a lot like really big Tinker Toys...assemble the frame, then use the wooden blocks to connect the corners, drape with your own sheets/blankets and affix with the provided giant clips! So easy!
What we love about Toydle:
-It is simple to build - even my 5 year old can build much of it without help.
-It is all imagination-powered, there are no limits to what you can build with Toydle!
-It comes in a handy bag for carrying that is plenty room for putting the Toydle pieces in...there is even enough room in the bag for me to put in 3 flat sheets!
