This blog is my attempt to document our busy but BLESSED lives raising and educating our children for His glory. A child of God, wife to one, and mom to 6 fabulous kids. We are in our 17th year of homeschooling using a Classical ~ Literature based approach.

Come along for the good, the bad & the ugly.



Friday, September 8, 2017

Edible pillars of clouds and pillars of fire

Do you remember last spring when we did the *Almost* edible 10 plagues study? Well we have come back around to studying Exodus. This week we have been studying about how God led Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt to the promised land.


Like last year, I wanted to try and make the concept memorable to the kids by making it edible. So, I decided to make edible pillars of cloud and pillars of fire. 



To whip these up was really quick and easy. I used pretzel rods, cream cheese frosting, marshmallows, and cherry fire fruit roll ups. I love how they turned out!


Mikayla had a double day today so I brought her’s to the gym so she could eat hers because it would have been eaten by a certain little brother if left home until evening.


These were a big hit in our house!



©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Let the Little Children Come: Is There Anything Better Than Candy? ~ a TOS review


Do you want to know why I love the fall? Cooler weather, football, falling leaves, apple season, and pumpkin spice if that’s your thing! As fall approaches and we start to shift our focus to Halloween and Thanksgiving I am excited that share with you the Is There Anything Better Than Candy? Box-Tract from Let the Little Children Come. I am here to tell you, YES, there is something better than candy!

Let the Little Children Come provides tools for child evangelism such as their Is There Anything Better Than Candy? Box-Tract. These little tools are specifically designed for sharing the Good News with kids. Each of their child evangelism tools are more than just simple children’s tracts you may have seen before. Every product is designed to capture and hold the attention of children young and old, all the while not distracting them from the main message; the salvation through Jesus Christ.

Let the Little Children Come Halloween Tract

Is There Anything Better Than Candy? Box-Tract is cute little pumpkin shaped gospel tract that comes in flat packs of 20 tracts for $15.95. If you need more the company does offer bulk discounts. It can easily be assembled by children of all ages. A helpful assembly sheet is provided with detailed directions, but it is a simple as folding and tucking each of the 6 flaps of the pumpkin.
Let the Little Children Come Halloween Tract
Each of the colorful pumpkin flaps tells of God’s love for you and how He sent his only son, Jesus, to save us. The plan of salvation is written so that even young children can understand God’s love for us. The last pumpkin flap includes a prayer for any child ready to receive Jesus in their heart.


Assembling these were super easy! The first step is to carefully tear out the pieces of the tract. This was really easy because the paper is thick and it is perforated. Next just fold the sides of the pumpkin flaps up and tuck into place and viola, a cute pumpkin with an extra special message inside!


I love that the flaps are so bright and colorful and that they are numbered too so the child knows the order in which to read the flaps. McKenzie has been expressing interest in baptism, so I love how the plan to salvation is laid out right before her eyes to see.


As a family we talked about what we could do to share the gospel of Christ and everyone agreed that these would be the perfect thing to hand out to our friends at the children’s individual sports. We normally don’t get many children coming by our house on Halloween but we are going to set a few of these out in case some children do come along and place a little piece of wrapped candy inside.

Let the Little Children Come

We will definitely be ordering more of these sets and handing them out to our gymnastics and cheerleading friends mid-October! And if we decide to participate in our church’s Trunk or Treat night, these will be perfect! What a great way for children to share the gospel!

Be sure to check out how my CrewMates are using these tracts by clicking the banner below!

Is There Anything Better Than Candy?  {Let The Little Children Come Reviews}
Price ~ $15.95 
Ages ~ children, young and old

Let the Little Children Come

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©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Apologia Educational Ministries: Marine Biology, 2nd Edition ~ a TOS review

My girls really crave science. So much so, we study an extra science discipline each year. Honestly, these girls of mine amaze me with the knowledge they have acquired from our favorite science curriculum provider, Apologia Educational Ministries. When I heard that the new book, Marine Biology 2nd Edition Advantage Set was up for review I was super excited to check it out!


I am sure you have heard of Apologia Educational Ministries if you are a homeschooler. If you are not, let me tell you a little about them. Apologia is one of those companies that everybody talks about and for good reason too! Apologia publishes K-12 Creation-based science and worldview curriculum for children K-12, inspirational books about homeschooling, and hosts online classes through Apologia Academy.


We received the Marine Biology 2nd Edition Advantage Set which includes:

~ the hardcover textbook 
~ Student notebook 
~ Solutions manual 
~ Testing book 
~ MP3 Audio Book

Marine Biology 2nd Edition Advantage Set
Explore under the sea with this award-winning marine biology course. It received a face lift and now includes more colorful and in-depth information all about the wonders of marine life and their habitats. It is recommended for students in Grade 12 and has a prerequisite of Biology.

Topics covered in the 16 modules include: 

Module 1 ~ The Oceans of our Planet
 Module 2 ~ Life in the Sea 
Module 3 ~ The First Four Kingdoms 
Module 4 ~ Marine Invertebrates 1 
Module 5 ~ Marine Invertebrates II 
Module 6 ~ Marine Vertebrates I 
Module 7 ~ Marine Vertebrates II 
Module 8 ~ Marine Ecology 
Module 9 ~ The Inter-tidal Zone 
Module 10 ~ Estuary Communities 
Module 11 ~ Coral Reefs 
Module 12 ~ Continental Shelf Communities 
Module 13 ~ The Epipelagic Zone 
Module 14 ~ The Deep Ocean 
Module 15 ~ Ocean Resources 
Module 16 ~ Effects of Humans on the Sea 


Like other science curriculum from Apologia, you should expect to work through each module for about 2 weeks. Plan on devoting 45-60 minutes of every school day to the course.

Marine Biology 2nd Edition Advantage Set
In our homeschool, we do two science disciplines a year, our main science focus and then an extra discipline that the girls show interest in. Originally, my plan was to have my daughter, Madison (11th grade), take on this course full steam ahead for her extra science course this year.


However, she decided that she wanted a full course dedicated to the study of Meteorology so we improvised our plan. Instead of completing the full course, Madison is studying specific modules that interest her. Since there are 16 modules for 1 credit worth, she is doing five modules, Modules 1, Module 8, Module 9, Module 11, and Module 14, for a .25 credit.
Marine Biology 2nd Ed Audio CD
The Student Notebook is a consumable product and is meant to be used by just one student. While Madison did not utilize the Student Notebook, there is plenty of space for your child to take notes, answer the On Your Own questions, record lab experiments, and complete the chapter review before taking the module tests. The notebooking journal provides a handy schedule in the front that has the course completely scheduled out for you. There is also a tracking page for module testing and labs. Plus, your completed notebook at the end of the year  also serves as a keepsake to look back on down the road. The only reason Madison didn't use the Student Notebook is because she has her own tried and tested method of science note taking and she prefers to use a quad-ruled graph notebook. To each his own, I say. In our other Apologia studies, my other children have used the Student notebook with great success. 

The best feature of the products we received was the MP3 Audio CD. The CD is fantastic I tell you! It contains a complete audio recording of the whole course and is read by Marissa Leinart. Hands-down this was my favorite part! I loved being able to pop the MP3 Audio CD into my computer and let it read the text to me while I worked throughout the day or night. That way I am always a step ahead of Madison in her reading and could ask her informed questions about what she had read. The MP3 Audio CD is perfect for audio learners or students who are not quite fast readers. 

This course is a part of Apologia’s Upper level High School course offerings which include: 
Biology  *
Chemistry 
Physics ** 
Advanced Biology 
Advanced Chemistry 
Advanced Physics 

*using this year with Mikayla for 9th
**using this year with Madison for 11th

We have thoroughly enjoyed our study so far of Marine Biology and look forward to diving a little bit deeper in the weeks to come. Apologia is our go to science curriculum for middle school through high school! I can count on them to help me educate my children with their comprehensive, college preparatory curriculum.
 Be sure to check out what my CrewMates thought of this new set by clicking the banner below!

Marine Biology 2nd Edition Advantage Set {Apologia Educational Ministries Review}
Price ~ $115.00, on sale for $96.75, MP3 Audio CD $29.00 
Ages ~ 12th graders, Prerequisite: Biology

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Instagram  @apologiaworld ~Twitter @apologiaworld ~Pinterest  

Hashtags: #hsreviews #MarineBio #homeschoolBiology 


©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 
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Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Wordless Wednesday



©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Kwik Stix's Paint set ***GIVEAWAY***

Micah's favorite activity to do right now is painting. He loves to do art and get messy! I necessarily don't want the "messy" part all the time. Don't get me wrong, I love for him to get creative and explore this world of ours, but sometimes I don't want a huge mess to clean up afterwards.
 

I have told you before about our new favorite way to paint, right? Well, if not let me tell you about no mess painting with Kwik Stix Paint sticksWith a fast drying and non-toxic formula, the colors dry in just 90 seconds after coming in contact with your paper, cardboard, wood, or even canvas media. 
Just pop the cap off, twist the stick to make the paint rise up and you are ready for hours of fun painting. No mess means no mess! That's right, no cups, smocks, brushes, or a single drop of water needed to paint a masterpiece for your budding Picasso.


Can I tell you we love these paint sticks! Someone in the house is using them on a weekly basis. They are extremely affordable at just $11.10 a set. They are so much fun and I have no problem letting Micah or McKenzie pull out the paints and start creating! 


You can get in on the fun by purchasing your own set directly from Amazon! These make the perfect gift for birthdays or stocking stuffers for Christmas. I know I have a few sets in our cart already for upcoming birthdays!


Guess what! You can also enter below to win your very own set of Kwik Stix by leaving a comment below. One winner will be selected from Rafflecopter on Sunday, September 10th at 6PM. The winner has 24 hours to contact me with their address. Tell your friends!  a Rafflecopter giveaway 






©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Wordless Wednesday


©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.