Judah Bible Curriculum isn’t an open-and-go standard Bible study, instead it is geared to encourage you as the parent to explore the Bible for yourself with major themes called ‘keys’ in mind and then use what you’ve learned to teach your children in a notebooking-style approach.

Designed to be used for all ages (K-12) the program relies upon drawings, narration, and scribe tasks performed by the parent in the earlier grades with independent work being completed by older children for their notebook binders as they grow in skill and ability. Since you’ll have to do more work yourself for your younger ones you may wish to keep it very formal for them until they are able to tackle more themselves (this is what we do).

The program itself has somewhat of a Principle-approach flavor. Rather than focusing on the big ‘W’s that many programs do (Who, What, Where, When, Why), the course goes further into examining self-governance, the kingdom of God, liberty, and other big topics. There is definitely a strong ideological leaning that undergirds the curriculum as parents are guided to study these themes and topics for themselves, so make sure this approach is a good fit for your family. Personally, I find it fascinating, as God has been leading me into deeper considerations of government and its role in the individual believer’s life over the past few months.

I will say, that this isn’t an open-and-go program, it scripted at all, it doesn’t come with prepared questions (it does come with some simply designed prepared pages for notebooking), but it’s instead built around a series of general concepts and ideas about teaching the Word of God to your children that are laid out in the 100-page manual.

The Bible serves as the textbook itself (though other resources are certainly encouraged like dictionaries, maps, coloring pages etc.), and is divided into five major themes
(taught each year) that are divided into various keys: key individuals, events, institutions, and documents (not all of these keys will be explored at once, but rather used somewhat rotationally as the years go by). The major themes are broken into suggested weekly topics to spread the study of these major sections of the Bible throughout the year. Not all parts of the Bible will be studied, but rather those considered key to the themes being explored: creation, the plan of redemption begins, the kingdom of Israel, kingdom of God, and the early church. Suggested memory verses, blank key sheets, and filled out samples are also provided.

A 60-page booklet of notebooking ideas is included for the elementary grade that gives you real samples of completed work by elementary-aged children that may serve as a springboard for your own family’s work. This program may be best for confident or experienced homeschoolers who feel capable of striking out on their own with a general guiding philosophy and scope and sequence to direct their steps.

The included teacher training audio files often sound as though they were delivered to private Christian schools instead of a homeschooling audience working in the home/family setting). The program itself also reflects some of these leanings because each grade is told to study through it’s own themes each year rather than keeping the family together – there is a note that homeschoolers should disregard the grade level schedules and just teach the whole family the same weekly theme (I wholeheartedly agree). Here is a link to the scope and sequence – families can simply work through the different keys together each year, so starting with the first row the first year, then moving to the second row together the next year etc.

I found many of the program’s assertions on the nature of self-governance fascinating – many thoughts were put forward that I hadn’t previously considered. The teacher training audios were greatly enjoyed both by myself and my husband, who is also passionately interested in exploring governance from a variety of angles. There is also a strong emphasis on building character by exploring how God worked in and through key individuals to influence the world around them.

The underlying philosophy of the scriptures being of primary importance in education rings very true with our own ideals. Parents willing to invest a large amount of time learning and familiarizing themselves with the program and finding a way to make it work for their families could use their studies of the scriptures to incorporate many typically separate subjects into their Bible studies. Copywork, narration (both oral and written), and other skills could all be integrated along with the study of the Bible in the notebook students create for themselves.

However, busy families needing more open-and-go resources will likely find getting the program started a bit difficult. The teaching guidelines presented can be hard to picture in action without learning how best to use the program as you actually implement it.

The program can be purchased digitally for $44.00 or in a physical format for $69.00. There’s a lot to read on their website – so look around!

Don’t forget to visit the TOS Crew blog for more reviews of the Judah Bible Curriculum.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this product in order to write this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

MY THOUGHTS:  We LOVED the Old Testament book in this series, YHWH, and my oldest (9) has been reading this one on her own and really enjoying it.

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

***Special thanks to
Mike Parker for sending me a review copy.***

GP Taylor is a New York Times best selling author whose works include Shadowmancer, Wormwood, Tersias, The Curse of Salamander Street and The Tizzle Sisters. He lives on the banks of a river in the midst of a dark wood, an arrow’s flight from the Prince Regent Hotel near the ‘town at the end of the line’. He spends his days writing and collecting firewood. Visit him online at www.gptaylor.info.

Paula K. Parker is a nationally recognized playwright, author, and freelance writer whose works include the stage plays, “Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility” and “Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.” She is highly respected in the Christian entertainment industry and is frequently called upon to write about it. Visit her online at www.paulakparker.com.

YESHUA: The King, The Demon & The Traitor is the second volume in the “Ancient Mysteries Retold” series from U.K.-based publisher, Authentic Media. This two-volume collection recounts some of the most wondrous stories from the greatest book of all time – the Bible. The first volume, YHWH: The Flood, The Fish & The Giant included 20 stories from the Old Testament while the new volume includes 29 stories from the New Testament, specifically from the life of Christ. Far from being simply a rehash of old Sunday school stories, these are rich, compelling tales that stand up to anything Harry Potter or Percy Jackson can dish out.

Product Details:

List Price: $12.99

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: Authentic Media (March 1, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1860248292

ISBN-13: 978-1860248290
AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS BOOK NOW AT AMAZON.COM OR CHRISTIANBOOK.COM!

My Thoughts:  I’m waiting for my copy to arrive, I LOVE this author .

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

***Special thanks to Ruthie Dean of Thomas Nelson for sending me a review copy.***

Tracy started her first novel at the age of eight and has been hooked on writing ever since. After earning a B.A. in English Literature at Rowan University, she spent ten years writing drama presentations for church ministry before beginning to write fiction. A lifelong interest in history and mythology has led Tracy to extensive research into ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome and Persia, and shaped her desire to shine the light of the gospel into the cultures of the past.

She has traveled through Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Italy, researching her novels and falling into adventures.
Visit the author’s website.

The Untold Story of King Nebuchadnezzar’s Daughter.

For seven years the Babylonian princess Tiamat has waited for the mad king Nebuchadnezzar to return to his family and to his kingdom. Driven from his throne to live as a beast, he prowls his luxurious Hanging Gardens, secreted away from the world.

Since her treaty marriage at a young age, Tia has lived an opulent but oppressive life in the palace. But her husband has since died and she relishes her newfound independence. When a nobleman is found murdered in the palace, Tia must discover who is responsible for the macabre death, even if her own is freedom threatened.

As the queen plans to wed Tia to yet another prince, the powerful mage Shadir plots to expose the family’s secret and set his own man on the throne. Tia enlists the help of a reluctant Jewish captive, her late husband’s brother Pedaiah, who challenges her notions of the gods even as he opens her heart to both truth and love.

Product Details:

List Price: $9.99

Paperback: 400 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 1 edition (May 1, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 140168680X

ISBN-13: 978-1401686802
AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS TITLE ON AMAZON.COM OR AT CHRISTIANBOOK.COM, ALSO AVAILABLE FOR KINDLE!

The new Inference Jones series from  The Critical Thinking Company is unique in that it uses reading comprehension activities to guide your child towards an understanding of how often we make inferences, and to carefully examine all facts to examine if the conclusions we make are in fact true and stated, or are instead inferred and assumed.

Designed primarily for children in 3rd and 4th grade, Inference Jones: Beginning is a reproducible student worktext (everything is included – stories, room to write, answer key) includes 18 stories with comprehension and critical thinking activities.  A helpful chart at the beginning of the book helps you to see at a glance which stories address specific types of thinking skills.  Though not all skills are included in each story, the list of language arts skills addressed is quite extensive.

Here it is: compare/contrast, define vocabulary in context, distinguish cause/effect, distinguish fact/inference, draw conclusions, find supportinv evidence, identify main idea, make inferences, make generalizations, read for details, use tables, illustrations, etc., analyze character traits, identify thee, identify setting, sequence events.

While many children will naturally pick up these skills, Inference Jones helps you point out these skills and tasks in a meaningful, purposeful way as your child works through the questions.  The book can largely be completed independently, but it also provides a great many opportunities for talking with your child about the assumptions we make, how we come to conclusions, and how we make inferences all the time.

Each activity is around two pages in length including the story (with numbered sentences for future reference and ease of answering), and the questions.  A variety of questions are provided including multiple choice, true, false, or unknown, short answer, and probably true and probably false answers that ask your child to support their conclusion based on their own evidence and personal knowledge (this is truly a unique answer form in my experience).

We received a digital copy of this title for review (it is normally only available in print form to purchase), and I was so thankful because my oldest (newly 9) loves working directly on the iPad.  I introduced the book to her, worked through some sample activities, and then let her have at it!  She had some questions now and then about the new types of questions and thinking the stories and responses generated, but she adored them!  She ASKED me if she could do more Inference Jones for FUN.  After school hours.  On her own.

With 18 activities included, this book won’t make up a full year’s worth of work, but it can be used as a thinking supplement sporadically to keep those thinking skills fresh!  I’m thrilled that my daughter has enjoyed it so much, glad she can work on it independently and very pleased with the precise thinking skills that it helps to form.

Inference Jones: Beginning can be purchased as a reproducible, 48 page paperback for $11.95.

Disclosure: I received a digital copies of this title to write this review.  All opinions are honest and my own.

For more opinions of this and other Critical Thinking Company titles, please visit the TOS Crew Blog here!

R. J. Larson is the author of numerous devotionals featured in publications such as Women’s Devotional Bible and Seasons of a Woman’s Heart. She lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with her husband and their two sons. Prophet marks her debut in the fantasy genre.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Close your eyes, Ela of Parne. Close your eyes and you will see.

Ela Roeh of Parne doesn’t understand why her beloved Creator, the Infinite, wants her to become His prophet. She’s undignified, bad tempered, and only seventeen–not to mention that no prophet of Parne has ever been a girl. Worst of all, as the elders often warn, if she agrees to become the Infinite’s prophet, Ela knows she will die young.

Istgard has turned their back on me. See the evil they do.

Yet after experiencing His presence, she can’t imagine living without Him. Determined to follow the Infinite’s voice, Ela accepts the sacred vinewood branch and is sent to bring the Infinite’s word to a nation torn apart by war. Here she meets Kien, a young Traceland ambassador determined to bring his own justice for his oppressed people. As they form an unlikely partnership, Ela must surrender to her destiny . . . and determine how to balance the leading of her heart with the leading of the Infinite.

Will you accept the branch and speak my will? Will you be my prophet?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Prophet, go HERE.

Anne Elisabeth Stengl makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she enjoys her profession as an art teacher, giving private lessons from her personal studio, and teaching group classes at the Apex Learning Center. She is married to the handsome man she met at fencing class and lives with him and a gaggle of cats. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. Heartless is her debut novel.

Anne Elisabeth is also the author of the Tales of Goldstone Wood, a series of fantasy adventure novels told in the classic Fairy Tale style.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Moonblood Draws Near, and Soon the Dragons Will Wake

Desperate to regain the trust of his kingdom, Prince Lionheart reluctantly banishes his faithful servant and only friend, Rose Red. Now she is lost in the hidden realm of Arpiar, held captive by her evil goblin father, King Vahe.

Vowing to redeem himself, Lionheart plunges into the mysterious Goldstone Wood, seeking Rose Red. In strange other worlds, Lionheart must face a lyrical yet lethal tiger, a fallen unicorn, and a goblin horde on his quest to rescue the girl he betrayed.

With the Night of Moonblood fast approaching when King Vahe seeks to wake the Dragon’s sleeping children, Lionheart must discover whether or not his heart contains courage before it’s too late for Rose Red . . . and all those he loves.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Moonblood, go HERE.

My Note: This is my FAVORITE Christian fantasy series!  Don’t forget to visit Amazon and get Heartless, the first book in the series for free right now for kindle!

We have a copy of Christian Kids Explore Biology – another title in this series, but I’m SO impressed by the changes that the 2^nd edition and its incredibly valuable resource CD have brought to the series!  If you’re familiar with other titles in the series, there are quite a few similarities between this and others in the series.

Designed to provide a year of science lessons for students in grades 3-8, the 30 lessons are divided into five major units: The Basics of Chemistry, Atoms and Molecules, The Nature of Chemistry, States of Matter, and Organic Chemistry.  The program is designed with teaching science twice a week for 60-90 minutes daily in mind.

The lessons contain opportunities to memorize scripture and vocabulary, read to your children from the text, review previously learned materials, complete coloring pages, read from the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia, complete hands on activities, think critically about the activities, and engage in optional supplemental reading (from the resource list – not planned, you choose), and test knowledge learned in the ‘wrap-ups’ at the end of each unit.

The book’s coloring pages though they aren’t nearly as elaborate as the ones found in the biology text, and many children in grades 4-8 may feel that they are beyond the coloring stage.

What totally MAKES the program though is the resource CD.  Often the success of a homeschooling curriculum is due to how well organized it is, how easy it is to get up off the ground and to run with it.  While the author is a homeschooling mom herself and her books tend to be ‘do-able’, the resource pages make it so easy to get started.  My FAVORITE parts of the resource CD are the pre-written lesson plans (more on these later) and the detailed supply lists – broken down not only unit by unit but also lesson by lesson, so you have lots of time to plan ahead for supplies.  A section of the CD also includes ALL of the reproducible pages you need for the course – these can be printed all at once and bound to create a student activity book, or printed as needed for a more notebooking-based approach.

So, more about those lesson plans!  This is really where the 2^nd edition with the resource CD shines – the lesson plans basically show you exactly how to use the text and which parts of it on a day-by-day basis to get all your bases covered.  Each lesson is scheduled over 2 days (to be taught in one week), and a wrap-up for each unit is also scheduled over 2 days, for a total of six teaching weeks per unit (that’s 30 weeks total).  This is great because it reminds you to work in vocabulary, review, supplemental reading etc. I tend to lean towards open and go programs, and some elements can be a bit tricky for newer homeschooling parents in particular to figure out when to do (review etc.) so it’s nice to have the pre-planned lessons available to use (totally optional of course).

The resource CD even includes a full literature guide from the Bright Ideas Press Illuminations program for a biography of the Christian scientist Blaise Pascale – A Piece of the Mountain, though it seems to be missing a couple of the graphic organizers called for in the guide that are included in Illuminations.  A huge resource list is also included in the appendix as well as further source of biographical study.

Overall, this is another very well done offering in the Christian Kids series of science books from Bright Ideas Press for moms looking for a realistic, do-able guide to science – and with the resource CD it’s now even easier to plan and use, making it simple to get going!

The main text for Christian Kids Explore Chemistry costs $39.95 (with the resource CD) and the accompanying resource CD can be downloaded for $12.95 and is compatible with 1^st and 2^nd editions (currently on sale for $9.95).  Also available at major retailers.

Disclosure: I received digital copies of the main text and the resource CD in order to write this review.  All opinions are honest and my own.

For more opinions of this and other Christian Kids Explore titles, please visit the TOS Crew Blog here!

I think it’s so common for children to have a tough time getting to the mastery stage of telling time from what I’ve seen in our home and my conversations with other homeschooling moms.  It takes a lot of practice, practice, practice for this skill to become second nature – some public schools are even abandoning the teaching of reading time on analog clocks and only going with digital (which honestly shocks me).

The book includes 22 fully planned activities complete with printables and teaching plans that move from understanding the passing of time conceptually, through to learning about and reading different clocks, and learning about elapsed time (how much time has passed).  The activities are listed on a traditional table of contents which is also followed by a list of the activities broken into the major concepts taught and the specific concepts taught in each activity to really help you focus in on the skills your child needs more help with.

The book is filled with playful illustrations appropriate for young children and the manipulatives you make and use together with your children are a lot of fun for everyone and really help to cement the concepts – the AIMS books are so great at doing this.  There is even a booklist (ah booklists) of books for young children that help to develop a sense of time and a conceptual understanding of it.

Because a wide and comprehensive range of time concepts are covered, this book is easy to use as a supplement and hands-on reinforcement for any existing time concepts that are included in your math curriculum.  Most math programs inclue teaching time, but sometimes they move too quickly, don’t have enough review often enough, or don’t include multi-sensory learning – you can use It’s About Time to remedy those problems.

Something to keep in mind is that although the teaching instructions and printables are all pre-planned, the directions are written with classroom teachers in mind.  You’ll find some activities that ask for you to place four children at each table etc. and you’ll need to be flexible and a bit creative at times to make these activities work for your own family – single children will be the trickiest if they don’t have siblings to do group activities with (you’ll have to get involved in one of the student roles yourself!)

The book includes reproduction rights for up to 200 copies of any part of the book – that means it will serve pretty much any homeschooling family for their entire homeschooling career, even if you have multiple children!  The book is available either as a PDF (easy to print from) or as a printed book with a CD that includes all of the reproducibles on it.  If you look at the PDF version you can see a free preview of the book online.  The reproducibles are also printed directly in the book if you prefer to make traditional photocopies (I personally hate doing that, I love the CD we received with our printed copy).

To read more reviews of this and other AIMS titles, please visit the TOS Crew Review blog here!

Disclosure: I received a physical copy of this title in order to write this review.  All opinions are honest and are my own.

Homeschooling mom of four, Debra Haagen, has written the fact-filled Amazing Animals by Design.  The story follow a family of four (mom, dad, girl, boy) through a zoo and explores the unique characteristics of a variety of animals, both common (the elephant) and slightly more unusual (carcacal anyone?)  Once the trip to the zoo is over the family marvels together over God’s unique plans for each animal and the care He has taken in designing them.  Another aspect of this title that I LOVED is that the family also reflects together upon how God has made humans different from animals, and what the main differences are.  Humans are too often lumped together with animals, and I love seeing this differentiation presented respectfully.

Written with early elementary children in mind (K-3rd) my two girls in this age range cuddled together on the couch with me as we read this title together.  My 6 and 9-year-olds both really enjoyed this title and the resulting conversations that stemmed from reading it.  They give it 5/5, most definitely .

This title is published by Tate, and in my time as a book reviewer I’ve come to associate them as a self-publishing house, but don’t let that deter you AT ALL.  The quality of the PDF version of Amazing Animals by Design that we received is simply excellent.  The English is well written, clear, and accurate – the illustrations are lovely, this is a high quality production.

Available as a PDF e-book for $7.99 (which we read together on our iPad – it looks great in landscape view in a pdf reader) or a paperback for $8.99, you can find this title at Tate Publishing here.  You can also find this book available at major retailers online (like Amazon) so if you’re ordering from there, grab a copy!

Would you like to read MORE reviews of Amazing Animals by Design?  Head on over to the TOS Crew blog to find more thoughts!

Disclosure: I received an electronic PDF copy of this title in order to write this review.

Best-selling novelist Robert Liparulo is a former journalist, with over a thousand articles and multiple writing awards to his name. His first three critically acclaimed thrillers—Comes a Horseman, Germ, and Deadfall—were optioned by Hollywood producers, as well as his Dreamhouse Kings series for young adults. Bestselling author Ted Dekker calls The 13th Tribe, released in April 2012, “a phenomenal story.” Liparulo is currently working with director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive, The Guardian) on the novel and screenplay of a political thriller. New York Times best-selling author Steve Berry calls Liparulo’s writing “Inventive, suspenseful, and highly entertaining . . . Robert Liparulo is a storyteller, pure and simple.” Liparulo lives in Colorado with his family.

Visit Robert Liparulo’s Facebook Fan page: http://www.facebook.com/LiparuloFans, or at Twitter @robertliparulo.
ABOUT THE BOOK

Their story didn’t start this year . . . or even this millennium.

It began when Moses was on Mt. Sinai. Tired of waiting on the One True God, the twelve tribes of Israel began worshipping a golden calf through pagan revelry. Many received immediate death for their idolatry, but 40 were handed a far worse punishment-endless life on earth with no chance to see the face of God.

This group of immortals became the 13th Tribe, and they’ve been trying to earn their way into heaven ever since-by killing sinners. Though their logic is twisted, their brilliance is undeniable. Their wrath is unstoppable. And the technology they possess is beyond anything mere humans have ever seen.

Jagger Baird knows nothing about the Tribe when he’s hired as head of security for an archaeological dig on Mt. Sinai. The former Army Ranger is still reeling from an accident that claimed the life of his best friend, his arm, and his faith in God.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The 13th Tribe, go HERE.

You can read my full review for this title here!