Four Reasons I Love The Mystery of History

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We have been on an exciting 4 year adventure through history with The Mystery of History.  I can't believe that we have finished all 360 lessons!  It seems like we just started.  Today I am sharing with you 4 Reasons I Love The Mystery of History and I also have an exciting giveaway for you from Bright Ideas Press!

The Mystery of History is made up of 4 Volumes:

Vol I Creation to the Resurrection

Vol II The Early Church and the Middle Ages

Vol III The Renaissance, Reformation, and The Growth of Nations

Vol IV Wars of Independence to Modern Times

Vol I Nick, Al, Lily making cuneiform tablets. They were so little!

Alex adding Vol IV timeline figures 

4 Reasons I Love The Mystery of History:

It is creation based and chronological. I love studying history based on the Bible but very few history courses start here. The Mystery of History starts with the creation of the world and rather than focusing on one area of the world at a time, it focuses on what is going on all of the world during a particular time period.

It is complete.  Everything you "need" to teach the curriculum such as the reading lesson, activities, mapping and timeline assignments, tests and quizzes are included.  There are a lot of supplemental resources such as challenge cards, notebooking pages, and coloring pages that you can add if you want to (I especially like the notebooking pages,) but if your budget is tight or you do not want to add the extras you do not have to.  You can read this post that I wrote on the different types of worksheets.

It can be used with a wide range of age ranges from K-12th grade.  One of the biggest things that drew me to The Mystery of History was that I could use it with all of my children at once.  There are age appropriate  activities listed for the different groups younger, middle, and high school grades. The lessons are written in a very conversational way and are fun and interesting for the teacher and the student. For those with high schoolers, there is more than enough work at the high school level to earn a full credit.  For those with younger children the lessons are short enough to hold their interest.

There are plenty of activities to pick and choose from. The main parts of the course is to read the lesson, complete memory cards, do a mapping assignment, and make a timeline.  There are also hands on activities for each of the age levels that you can pick and choose from. You don't have to do any or all of them but it is a great way to make history come alive.

the children made this "map" of Ancient Egypt

Just a note about the timeline.  We loved making the timeline for all 4 volumes.  We chose to use the timeline figures from Amy Pak. These are beautiful figures and made it so easy for me to do this with the children!

Vol I

Vol II

Vol III and part of Vol IV

The rest of Vol IV

First figures of Vol I

last figures of Vol IV

Not only did my children enjoy our study of history, I learned a lot too!  I love being able to learn alongside my children.  Linda Lacour Hobar has a wonderful gift for teaching history and I am so glad we were able to complete this study!


Giveaway!!!!  Giveaway is now closed.  Thanks to all who entered!


Bright Ideas Press has generously offered to allow me to host a giveaway!  One of my lucky readers will win a copy of The Mystery of History Vol IV.  This giveaway is for U.S. residents only.  To enter please leave me a comment answering this question: What is your favorite part of history to study?Please make sure when commenting that you leave me a way to get in touch with you if you are the winner!

Giveaway will close on May 6th at 11:59 pm.  Winner will be chosen at random. Thanks for entering and good luck!!

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*links in this post are my affiliate links.  I only form affiliate relationships with companies whose products I actually use and can recommend!

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Visual Latin Review and Giveaway!!

If you think learning Latin has to be boring and uninteresting, you have never had a chance to use Visual Latin.  Visual Latin teaches children (and their parents) ages 9 and up Latin using a series of short, interesting videos and corresponding worksheets.  We have been through all of Visual Latin 1 and were recently given an opportunity to review Visual Latin 2.  At the end of this post you will have an opportunity to win a downloadable version of your choice of Visual Latin 1 or 2.

I want all of my children to learn Latin.  While many people think that it is a dead language and serves no importance, they are wrong.  Our children can get a great understanding of language and grammar by learning Latin.  Many English words are based on Latin and once you learn Latin learning other languages will become easier.  But, many of the things that excite us as homeschool moms don't exactly excite our children.  Mention to your 11 year old son that you want him to start learning Latin and you will see what I mean.  The sigh, eye roll, and possibly the whiny voice will come out in an instant.

I can honestly tell you though, that once you start up the Visual Latin lesson, the boy's attitude will change. Why?  Because Latin can be fun.  Really.  Dwane teaches the language in a fun and interesting way and with a sense of humor that children will understand.  My boys still repeat one of the first jokes we heard in one of the very first lessons.  The video segments are short, fun, and to the point.  The corresponding worksheets for the lessons are not designed just to be busy work, but to reinforce the lesson that has been taught.  Grammar is not the most interesting topic to learn and my son has never begged for more worksheets, but they are split up into short digestible chunks to make the grammar a little less painful :)

One of the greatest features of Visual Latin is that it brings the teacher into your home and your children can learn Latin even if you have no experience with the language at all.  Everything you need is contained on the DVD or download.  

Lessons are split into three parts: Grammar, Sentences, and Reading and Translation.  First your child watches a short video segment listening to the teacher and seeing his examples on the blackboard.  Then your child completes the corresponding worksheet.  The DVD even tells you at the end of the segment which worksheet you are supposed to complete.  Each video segment is around 10 minutes long. If you purchase the download version, the worksheets are included as a PDF file.  If you purchase the DVD, the worksheets on on the DVD and you just have to pop it into your computer and you will find the worksheets in the files.  Answer keys are included.

There are 30 lessons in Visual Latin 1 and 2.  They recommend completing one lesson per week, but you certainly can adapt that however it works best for your homeschool.  You can purchase Visual Latin 1 and 2 prices starting at $100 depending on whether you choose digital or DVD or starting at $209 for both combined.  Visual Latin is also part of the Premium Membership offered by Compass Classroom.

You can get the first 4 lessons for free here.  Check them out!

Lessons in Visual Latin 1 include:
1. Being Verbs Basics | To Be and Not to Be
 2. Being Verbs Basics | Predicate Nominatives and Adjectives
 3. Gender | Boy Words and Girl Words
 4. Singular and Plural | E Pluribus Unum
 5. Declensions | Meet the Cases
 6. Adjectives Learn to Agree with Nouns
 7. The Case Files | Nominative and Genitive
 8. Counting to 10 in Latin
 9. Active Verb Basics | Indicative Mood
 10. The Case Files | Accusative
 11. The Case Files | Vocative
 12. Changing Your Moods | Imperative & Indicative
 13. The Case Files | Ablative
 14. Meet the Pronouns & Question Words
 15. Pronouns | Relative
 16. Accusing Prepositions of Accusative Case
 17. Verbs | Active & Passive
 18. The Case Files | Dative
 19. Pronouns | 1st & 2nd Person Personal
 20. Pronouns | 3rd Person Personal
 21. Pronouns | Demonstratives: this, these
 22. Pronouns | Demonstratives: that, those
 23. Pronouns | Relative and Interrogative
 24. Pronouns | Possessive
 25. Nouns | 3rd Declension
 26. Verbs | Infinitives - Active & Passive
 27. Verbs | Infinitives - Ability, Negation & Indirect
 28. Nouns | 3rd Declension - Neuter
 29. Nouns | 4th Declension
 30. Adjectives | Positive & Comparative

Visual Latin 2 starts off where Latin 1 Finished up.  Lessons in Visual Latin 2 include:

31. Nouns | 5th Declension & Superlative Adjectives
 32. Adjectives | Irregular Comparison
 33. 1 to 100 | Cardinals, Ordinals, and Fractions
 34. Pronouns | Reflexive
 35. Adjectives | Indefinite & Irregular
 36. Conjugations and Macrons
 37. Verbs | Present Tense
 38. Verbs | Imperfect Tense
 39. Verbs | Future Tense
 40. Verbs | Four Principle Parts Review
 41. Present Participles
 42. The Rest of the Participles
 43. Supine
 44. More Infinitives
 45. Perfect Tense
 46. Pluperfect Tense
 47. Future Perfect Tense
 48. Volo, Nolo, Marco Polo
 49. Deponent Verbs
 50. Impersonal Verbs
 51. Gerunds
 52. Adverbs
 53. Introduction to Subjunctive
 54. Ut and Ne
 55. Imperfect Subjunctive
 56. Gerundives
 57. Perfect, Fear and Cum
 58. Pluperfect, Indirect Discourse
 59. Verbs | Ablative Absolute
 60. Verbs | Fio, Comparative Subjunctive

I prefer the DVD version over the downloads because I live in the country and have VERY slow internet.  For me it is much easier to put in the DVD then download all of the videos.  But, rather then printing out all of the worksheets, I put those in Notability on the iPad to save paper and ink.  I also put the answer key on the iPad so I can grade the worksheets when they are finished.

Before we had an iPad, I printed out the worksheets, three hole punched them, and put them in a 3 ring binder.  I did not print the answer key, just read it off the computer.

We love Visual Latin!  I love how easy it makes learning Latin for my children and me!  Dwane is a wonderful teacher with  great sense of humor.  I love that there is not a whole lot of emphasis on correct pronunciation as there is nobody living who knows exactly how the Romans pronounced it.  Children learn by hearing, seeing, and doing in only minutes a day.  The worksheets help reinforce the lessons.  My favorite are the translations :)  I like too, that one of the things they are translating is Scripture.

My only wish is that more languages would be this fun and easy to learn.  Visual Spanish maybe??

I would highly recommend Visual Latin for children and their parents ages 9 and up!

Now for the Giveaway!!!! Giveaway Now Closed

Would you like to win your choice of the downloadable version of Visual Latin 1 or 2?  Enter by using the Rafflecopter Below.  Giveaway will close on Sunday June 8th at 11:59 pm.  Entries will be verified and a winner will be chosen at random.

Good Luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer:  I received a complimentary copy of Visual Latin 2 for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC regulations.

*links to Visual Latin are my affiliate links.  I only form affiliate relationships with companies whose products I actually use and can recommend. 

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Review and Giveaway: Unstoppable

Since I grew up in the 80's and 90's, I of course knew who Kirk Cameron was and watched his show every week.  As an adult, I am more impressed with what he and his wife have done with their family.  I have enjoyed movies such as Fireproof, and Monumental and  I was very interested in the opportunity to review his newest documentary Unstoppable.

Visit the official website: http://unstoppablethemovie.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unstoppablethemovie

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/UnstoppableDVD

About Unstoppable:

"Inspired by the death of Cameron’s close friend who succumbed to cancer at the age of 15, Kirk Cameron takes viewers on an inspiring and hope-filled visual journey to better understand the biggest doubt-raising question in faith: “Where is God in the midst of tragedy and suffering?” Going back to the beginning—literally—Kirk investigates the origins of good and evil and how they impact our lives … and our eternities. UNSTOPPABLE will prompt audiences to consider the role that pain and suffering has in our lives, as they affirm their personal views on faith, and encourage conversation starters about God, suffering, and hope. In theaters for only two weeknights (Sept 24th and Oct 3th, 2013), UNSTOPPABLE: A Live Event with Kirk Cameron sold a staggering 260,000 tickets and reached a theatrical gross of over $3.2 million dollars. In just two nights this independent project sent a loud message – audiences want thought-provoking and meaningful entertainment."

Unstoppable is approximately an hour long and it has been rated for 12 and up.  I myself might out that a bit higher as it is a pretty heavy topic. The basic question that is being discussed in the DVD is why does God allow bad things to happen to good people.  Why is their suffering,  sickness, and tragedy and where is God when all of this is going on.  To answer this question, Kirk goes back to the beginning; to the formation of the world and the first man made out of dust.  From there he goes on to the first woman and the serpent in the garden, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood.  He discusses the Tower of Babel and moves on to Jesus, the Cross, and the triumph over death.  Through it all he shows that even out of the greatest tragedies comes the greatest triumphs and that God uses all things for good.

 Unstoppable deals with something we all question from time to time.  We all face tragedy, suffering, and pain and it can be hard to understand why these things are allowed to happen. Sometimes it can make people loose their faith.  Unstoppable does a good job using the Bible and showing the good that has come out of tragedies and that everything God has done has been for a purpose.  There were a few things that were presented differently than I have ever thought of of before and gave me something more to think about.

Giveaway!!

I am giving away a copy of Unstoppable.  To enter leave a comment on this post.  Giveaway is open to US and Canada residents 18 or older.  Giveaway will close Thursday January 30th at 11:59 pm.  Winner will be drawn at random.  Good luck!

"Disclosure (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. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification."

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The Sparkle Box Review and Giveaway!!

The Sparkle Box by Jill Hardie is a 32 page hardcover book that retails for $19.99.  It is not just a book for children, but for whole families to enjoy and learn from.  The story is about a little boy named Sam who just cannot wait for Christmas: yummy food, parties, and  presents!  A sparkling silver box on the shelf catches his attention but his parents only tell him that it is a special gift they will all open together after it is filled.  In the meantime, as Sam as his family give to people in need throughout the season he sees how fortunate he is and even gives a candy bar away that he worked hard to buy himself.  On Christmas day Sam finally gets to find out what the special gift is inside the sparkle box.  They open it up and inside are pieces of paper with all of the things they had done for others written down on it.  Sam's mother explains that the Sparkle Box is their gift to Jesus on Christmas day because Jesus taught us whatever we do for others we also do for him.

In addition to the book, your own Sparkle Box is also included.

The Sparkle Box is a beautiful book!  I loved the story and the illustrations.  But, most of all I really like the whole idea of the Sparkle Box.  Christmas is fun and exciting for children (and adults), and I think it can be hard to find a balance between that excitement of presents, food, and parties and the true reason for the season.  The idea of the Sparkle Box gift for Jesus by doing for others is something whole families can do together and open on Christmas morning.  Read the book, fill your Sparkle Box and open Jesus's gift on Christmas morning.

You can find out more about The Sparkle Box here:

http://www.idealsbooks.com/The-Sparkle-Box-Jill-Hardie/dp/0824956478
https://www.facebook.com/IdealsBooks


Giveaway!!   Giveaway is now closed.

I am hosting a giveaway for a copy of The Sparkle Box!!  I am keeping it simple and just asking that those who want to enter to leave me a comment and include a way for me to contact you such as an email address.  The giveaway is open to those in the US and Canada.  Giveaway will close on 11/17/13 at 11:59 pm.  Winner will be chosen at random using random.org.  Good Luck!!

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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