A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Homeschooling

Art Book: Star Wars Build-A-Scene

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This Star Wars build-a-scene kit is perfect for the Star Wars fan in your life.   My lad is an avid paper crafter and was quite delighted when this kit made it’s way into our home. 

Three builds are included in this kit:

  • Episode III Revenge of the Sith
  • Episode IV A New Hope
  • Episode VII The Force Awakens

Each build in the book is predicated by a write up of what the build is about and how it was filmed.  Pictures from the movie are included, as well as concept scenes making this a well-rounded kit.  Not just a build but an informational kit.   Once this informational write up (about 5 pages) is completed you are given a list of supplies.  Common items like glue, paint brush, etc are listed, as well as instruction on how to do the build.  Mountain and valley folds, gluing and letting dry, and so forth.  The creators want you to be successful in doing the build, so take your time and read through all the instructions before starting. 

You will find that the sheets are perforated well on a thicker paper, but not board paper thick.  Just a nice quality paper for doing papercraft builds.  The individual pieces are well numbered.

Take your time, carefully build, read and re-read the instructions as needed, and you can complete these three scenes.   I’d say this kit is better for the older teen to adult builder as it is fiddly and you need the patience to take your time doing the build.My Thoughts:

Honestly.. we tried.. well.. my son tried!  I started, ran into problems, he tried hard to fix my oops, and well… he lost heart.  This is not a build for the inexperienced.  My son is an avid paper crafter and knows how to work with glue and paper really well .. but my mess up just brought him to a stall.  Unwilling he was to try another build, partially because he didn’t want to make me feel bad, but trying to fix my oops just disheartened him.   Adult builders.. take heart though.  if you are a good paper crafter and have the requisite patience, this kit will work really well for you.  It’s a great kit, and being able to build what you’ve seen on the big screen is wonderful. 

Star Wars Build-a-Scene.
Benjamin Harper
Claudio Dias
Three builds in one kit.Disney/Lucasfilms
48 page booklet, kit, 
Hands-on, papercraft, Star Wars, model

Reviewed for: Quarto Group

Where to find: Amazon.com

Review: Egyptomania

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Ah… who doesn’t love the study of ancient Egypt?  The study of the government, the tombs, their love of cats, mummies, and the ancient gods.   Egyptomania is wonderfully illustrated by Emma Giuliani (graphic designer and illustrator living in Paris) and written by Carole Saturno (French children’s author who also writes history and travel guides).   Lift the flaps and open wide pages to delve deep into the life of Ancient Egypt.

Learn what Ancient Egyptians wore, what’s inside a pyramid, how a mummy is made and so much more by lifting the flaps and discovering the secrets hiding underneath!  You need to check out the details in this well crafted book.

Text is well balanced with images. Written on a level to by understood by upper elementary and middle school students

Timelines included:

 Lift the flaps to experience and learn more about Egypt and her many layers.

Don’t you just love the details in the illustrations?   This is a well-done book that will delight any student of Ancient Egypt.  I learned so much.  It could easily be the start of any study of Egypt, and then use points of interest to explain your research into this culture and time.

My Thoughts:

I have to admit, I like this book so much I am leaving it in it’s protective sleeve.  🙂  I just don’t want to risk it being damaged at all.  🙂  Silliness I know.. what’s the use of a good book if you keep it wrapped up?  I just love all the fold outs, lift that flaps, and other treasures to be found within the pages. 🙂   It has been used!  And I’ll bring it out again, but until then.. protective sleeves are good eh?

 
Egyptomania
Emma Giuliani (illustrator)
Carole Saturno
Laurence King
16 pages, ages 6+
Hardcover, lift the flap, history, 

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

Where can you find it?
    Amazon Link.

 

Hymn of the week: Mary Did You Know?

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We sang this hymn in Church last week and I don’t recall putting it up on the blog before so figured it would be a great one to share this time of year. 

Lyrics:  You can find them here as well.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God

The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am

Luke 2:

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Christmas Baking, The Boys

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The boys did some baking!   It’s always good to have the boys help out.  AND it’s fun to watch skills develop (in the lad) and creativity happen in my man!   I just thoroughly enjoy it. 🙂

So the lad made some Sugar Cookies today.  He saw how much they made and promptly cut the recipe in half.  MOM!  We don’t need to eat THAT many cookies!!!!!!!   Made dad and I laugh in agreement.  🙂  I decorated half of them, he did the rest.  I taught him a couple things to make it easier (like rolling out half the dough at a time)

Chocolate Pretzels.

The other day he made pretzels.  VERY easy for a lad to make.  Take some milk chocolate, melt it slowly in the microwave, dip the pretzels.    I told him what to do and off he went.  They turned out a bit more chocolatey than I expected, but it’s all good cause… WE LIKE CHOCOLATE.  🙂

 

 

Then Dad found a recipe and said “Think we should try it?”  I told him.. “Go ahead, looks good”.

Fudgey Marshmallow Squares. 

Ingredients
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup Nutella (or smooth nut butter of choice)
¼ cup salted butter
½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup sweetened flaked coconut
4 cups mini rainbow marshmallows

Instructions
Line 8” x 8” pan with wax paper, letting the ends hang over the edges. You will use these as handles later.
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the chocolate chips, Nutella and butter. Heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Let cool until pan is safely touchable on the bottom but still smooth to stir.
Stir in coconut to combine well. Stir in marshmallows to cover.
Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Place a sheet of clear wrap over the top and press mixture firmly and evenly down into pan to make an even top.
Chill in refrigerator, covered with the plastic wrap, for at least 3 hours before cutting into squares. Remove from refrigerator just before serving.

Anyways, if you make them… let me know!   Take a pic and send it to me.  Always good to share eh?

 

Review: The Electric Pickle

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You know how students of all ages can benefit from hands on learning? Today’s books guarantees it for your middle and high school students, as they work to understand the periodic table better. In The Electric Pickle, you will find 50 experiments on the periodic table from aluminum to zinc.   As you can see, some elements have one experiment, where others will have two or more.

I found the experiments used easily found household items. The full colour pictures were clear. The instruction were  written in plain English. Any items that were not readily available in your household were clearly spelled out where you could probably find them, for instance not everyone will have a universal indicator so you’re told to go to a chemical supply store or to www.homeschoolsciencetools.com.

Not only were you told what to do, you are also told what to expect to happen and why works. Any potentially dangerous things were highlighted in bold. I appreciated that the first time you were taught about a particular element on the periodic table, a brief explanation of that element was given.

What experiments did we try?
Incredible shrinking potato chip bag: My lad’s reaction “OH COOL!!!   Why does that happen??” He listened and then said “I want to do it again!!!”


Ghastly green eggs: My lad’s reaction “GAH! What’s that smell!!!  I’m throwing this out.. that’s disgusting.  Is that why you cook eggs the way you do mom?”   Good to have science come to life you know?  🙂

The Electric Pickle:50 Experiments from the 
     periodic table, from Aluminun to Zinc.
Chicago Review Press
Softcover, 272 pages
Science, middle school, high school, experiments

Reviewed for: Chicago Review Press

Where can you find?

Amazon.ca:  The Electric Pickle.    Amazon.com:  The Electric Pickle.

Review: They Lost Their Heads

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I have to admit, I like this book.  It is a slightly oddball way to look at history, but you know what?!?! It works!  🙂  This quirky book “They Lost Their Heads!” takes a look at moments in history from 1355 through 1931 considering our human bodies.

What you get is 42 different stories about famous body parts from around the world.  Teeth, brains, legs, blood, ears, and so much more….

From Lincoln predicting his death and his body being moved around forever, Van Gogh and his ear, and Mata Hari with her preserved head….we are walked through various historical events from a rather unique perspective…the human body and what’s been done with it.

Black and white images fill the pages.  Now I received a uncorrected proof, I don’t know if ready for sale copy will have any colour added.

Frank talk without being gross, with a sense of humour shows many funny and interesting things that have been done to the human body throughout the ages. Imagine being a famous actress and having your leg amputated due to a knee infection…. and that leg being found in a medical school storage room.  Or digging up a body and finding two skeletons but only one head? One of the aspects I most appreciated was for some of the more oddball happenings they would provid

Missing corpses, fat heads, preserved brains, warts, bathing in blood, funeral mourners, body snatched and more. This book is bound to appeal to many a middle school boy, and some girls too. I know I found it to be a fun read.

My Thoughts:

My 12 year old picked it up and read a few chapters in it.  This speaks to the curiousity this book inspires.  Just how to human body parts connect with history?  He thought it was funny and that when he’s done his current read that he’d like to go through this one, or perhaps I could read it to him as part of his history.  (hint hint)  🙂

They Lost Their Heads: Washington's Teeth, Einstein's Brain and other 
    Famous Body Parts
Carlyn Beccia
Bloomsbury Children's Books
Softcover,  192 pages
Ages 10-14 years
History, Middle School, Human Body

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books.

Where can you find it?

Amazon.ca: They Lost Their Heads!Amazon.com: They Lost Their Heads!