A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Reviews

You are a Beautiful Beginning

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You are a Beautiful Beginning is a lovely book that talk about how something is not one thing, but instead it is another thing. I absolutely adored the flow of thought in this sweet picture book.  I can’t wait to tell you all about it.  Please note affiliate links will be used in this review. 

You are a beautiful beginning

The details

Roaring Brook Press has put together a wonderful picture book entitled You are a Beautiful Beginning.  Children 3-6 years old will delight in 40 pages of whimsical illustrations that fill the pages with imagination and wonder.  Author Nina Laden helps us to see the possibilities in the statements that we make.  Kelsey Garrity-Riley brings those possibilities to life with simple drawings that contain a story all their own. 

What You Get

The poetry grabbed me immediately with the It is not…. combined with this It is …….  Rhyming is in couplets making You are a beautiful beginning roll easily off the tongue.  

This book didn’t feel sappy to me even with lines like the one below.  You hear it all the time… it’s not the game win, it’s the having fun.  But the repeated it’s not … it’s the… that turns this tome into a looking for the positive and a different perspective.  Written for littles so the words are simple and just deep enough to encourage conversation. 

I absolutely adored how the book starts with a child drawing and then a story unfolds.  Even if you never read a word you would still get a story.  Friends on a journey, exploring as they go.  It’s a wonderful world they are entering. 

You’ll find simple, colourful illustrations on each page with lots of white space.  Each image has lots of detail, making for lots of possibilities in conversation.  What can you see now?  Where do you think that child is going, and what do you think they’ll be doing?   I love books with excellent illustrations as they help the child listening to be involved in the reading.

Should you Get it?

If you are looking for a poetic picture book to share with your children, You are a Beautiful Beginning, will suit your needs.  With the whimsical drawing, in earthly tones, and lots of white space, children will be introduced to looking for the positives. 

Unstoppable: True Stories of Amazing Bionic Animals

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Who would have thought that the advent of 3D printers would create unstoppable animals?   Here, let me give you an example!

Would you like to know more?  In Unstoppable you will meet 13 animals that haven’t let a disability stop them from living life.  They’ve needed some people to help them along the way.  with the advent 3D printers and bionics  it means nothing slows them down now. 

Unstoppable

What do you get?

Full colour pictures fill every page of the 128 page book.  You’ll meet lambs, goats, cows, puppies, birds, turtles and more.  So many ways that animals can be helped! I was rather surprised myself.  Imagine seeing a little guinea pig on wheels!   I’ve seen dogs on wheels so I suppose I shouldn’t have been too surprised, but imagine the fidgeting you’d need to do for a wee guinea pig.

Written by Nancy Furstinger and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. You may recall another book by Furstinger called Mercy.  I am reviewing this book on behalf of Raincoast Books.   13 chapters complete with along with a note from the author, glossary, bibliography and photo credits.  A page is listed with websites to learn more about the animals talked about. 

Unstoppable, the details

Written for children 8-12 years old, Unstoppable: True Stories of Amazing Bionic Animals, you’ll find the text easy to read.  The font was very clean and clear. It is a fairly large font that suited the size of the book excellently.  It comes in kindle, trade paperback or hardcover.   

unstoppable sample page

I was very surprised at the types of animals represented: Cows, goats, sheep, ducks, guinea pigs,geese, rabbits, cats, turtles, elephants, guinea pigs, horses, sandhill cranes, alligators, dolphins, llamas, bald eagles and donkeys.   

As a farmers daughter I rather wonder about the expense for providing bionic prosthetics for farm animals but have come to understand that some individuals turn them into pets.  Pets of all shapes and sizes should be provided with good care should they not?

Just look at these really well done images!  Being able to see them in use and how these different animals can now lead full lives, rather cool isn’t it?

The stories are well-written showing the need of each animal, the challenge in creating the right prosthetic and how it has impacted the animal life.   Can you imagine the challenge in making a prosthetic for an alligator? 

Should you get it?

I found Unstoppable: True Stories of Amazing Bionic Animals to be an absolutely fascinating book.   The efforts people go to in order to help their disabled pets amazes me. 

The science behind making the prosthetics intrigues me, and knowing that people can make these aids for their animals using a 3D printer surprises me.  What a cost-effective way to help more animals!

If you have children with a love for animals, science, and engineering this would be an excellent book to share with them. 

Not all the links posted at the close of this book worked. Be advised that some links lead to sanctuaries and rescues that twist the truth. 

Little Fox and the Wild Imagination

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You know how when your child is having a bad day you just want to cheer them up?   Papa Fox has the same desire, and in Little Fox and the Wild Imagination, we see just how far a cheering up can go. 

Little fox and the wild imagination

The basics of Little Fox

Raincoast Books has sent me a fun read that extols the virtues of having an excellent imagination while showing the love of a dad for his boy. Little Fox and the Wild Imagination is a rollicking ride through after-school events between Dad and son.  40 pages of explosive action, with the wild imagination of dad and son fueling events. Roaring Brook Press sent me an Advanced Readers Copy, the released copy will be a jacketed hardcover. 

Learning more about Little Fox and the Wild Imagination

You will love the crazy imaginations of dad and son.  Jorma Taccone does an excellent job of showing the love between parent and child.  Dan Santat does an excellent job of bringing that story to life.   Just look at this illustrations!   I love the excellent use of colour and those facial expressions aren’t they just the best?

The font size is great, lending itself well to reading easily while a child in sitting with you, or for engaging a group of children. The text itself varies in size, shape, and colour depending on what’s going on. 

While this picture book is geared to 3-6 year olds, I think that children up to 8 will thoroughly enjoy the antics of Poppa and Little Fox.

I should have taken a picture of the roaring dinasaurs tumbling out of the fun, but alas I just have this precursor to the dinosaur excitement. 

Should you get it?

I love how everyday events are filled with excitement when imagination takes central stage. A walk home, a bus ride, and even bedtime.  Fun, lovable, thoroughly enjoyable.   Little Fox and the Wild Imagination is a sure fire winner.  The bond seen in families is a wonderful thing indeed. 

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Review

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Disclosure: I received this product free through the Homeschool Review Crew. Please understand that affiliate links are used in this post. 

Welcome all!  It’s a brand new year with the homeschool review crew, and like always, it’s time to tell you all about the SchoolhouseTeachers.com site.  It’s a fantastic resource for homeschoolers with loads of courses for all ages.  I can’t wait to tell you all about their Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership..  For this review, we focused on public speaking courses for highschool.   

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Review

SchoolhouseTeachers.com, details

So first off I wanted to share with you some of the details about what makes SchoolhouseTeachers.com special.

  1.  They have over 475 courses for you to peruse, allowing you to tailor your education to your specific student.   Many of these courses are interactive. This online curriculum continues to change.  New courses are always be added, and older courses are being updated. 
  2. School Boxes.  This something new this year.  Within SchoolhouseTeachers.com you can find boxed curriculum.  An excellent place to start if you need a starting place. 
  3. Each course comes with lesson plans tailored to that particular course, I’ll talk more about this later. 🙂 
  4. There is an extensive video library. 
  5. World Book online.  So basically you have an interactive encyclopedia right in your home!
  6. Categories to make searching for things easier.  Like highschool courses, electives, science, math etc. 
  7. Resources such as the Focused Learning Centers, the Literacy Centre, and helps for Special Needs. 

SchoolhouseTeachers.com continues to work hard to make sure their online teaching resources are helpful to a variety of homeschoolers.  They want to meet the needs that you have with your students. 

How We Used It

One of the things I love to do is to walk my son through the courses that he’ll take.  He’s learning to figure out how much work he needs to do if he wants to get his work done in a certain time. So it’s nice when looking at a course to be able to show him the weeks and workload involved and how much credit he’ll get upon completion.

My son has a fairly busy school year so I made a point of picking something it would be fairly easy for him to work in around his other studies.  Since he was unable to take Drama at the local highschool this year, I thought taking the public speaking course would suit him well.   

I went to grade 10 course selections, and then to the drama and speech electives.  

I looked at two courses on SchoolhouseTeachers.com for public speaking, and since I can, I thought I’d combine them for my lad.  Isn’t that part of the joy of homeschooling?  You can use materials in a way that suit you best. 

Public Speaking SchoolhouseTeachers

I mashed these two courses to make a full credit course for him.   I added some speech analysis for him from different sources around the web, and from an older review.  It will take him the balance of the year to completely finish as he’s doing it as an add in around his other courses. 

Lessons come as PDF’s to download.  They were also easy to view online.  Printing them off was completely optional.  My lad likes to jot notes down.  I found the downloads were handled differently for each course.  In the Introduction to public speaking the lessons were one complete download, in advanced the downloads were divided up.  My son preferred the separate downloads. 

Each course delineates what to expect each week.  If desired, you can print this sheet off to facilitate completion. 

What we liked

I liked how the advanced public speaking course encouraged critical thinking.  Looking through a number of ways to evaluate speeches, and then coming up with a system that worked for that student.

A fun assignment was to pretend you were on Shark Tank.  We’re Canadian so we used the Canadian version called Dragon’s Den for our inspiration.  My son has a love of ants, so decided to talk about selling a formicarium for ants.  This gave him something to demonstrate as he talked about why his product was better than the competition. 

It was good to see him take something he loved (ants) and be able to use that in honing new skills (public speaking).   With their all in one curriculum, SchoolhouseTeachers.com has allowed to use some of his passion in developing skills for the future. 

schoolhouseTeachers.com logo

I have reviewed this digital curriculum several times in the past. Every time I have focused on different aspects of this tremendous resource. 

Social Media Links

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7i0BRyoTPYT3chTcj52UmA

Read SchoolhouseTeachers.com Reviews!

One of the amazing things about the crew is that everyone uses SchoolhouseTeachers.com differently.  Need proof?   Read the reviews from all members of the crew.  Our review types are varies: Video, social media, and blog posts.   Click the image below to read them!

click to read

The Runaway Shirt

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The Runaway Shirt is one of the cutest books I have read in a long time.  You have just GOT to get this book to enjoy with your child.  A mom and child having a hoot doing regular household stuff.  Stuff that you’d see in any home, and that is what makes it the cutest book.  It’s a book that most any mom (or even a dad) could relate to. 

the runaway shirt

The Runaway Shirt, the details

Kathy MacMillan has written an adorable book featuring a mom, a pile of laundry and cute youngster.   It’s a story that hopefully will be played out in thousands of homes everyday around the world.    Julia Castano has done a wonderful job illustrating this fun story. 

Published by Familius, I am reviewing this book on behalf of Raincoast Books.  Meant for preschool and kindergarten children, this book will hopefully inspire laughter!  I received a soft covered edition, but on amazon, it sells as a kindle book or hardcover picture book. 

The Joy of The Runaway Shirt

I love the look and feel of The Runaway Shirt.  Between the colours of the illustrations, and the sweetness of the story, the reader feels drawn into the story.  Running and having fun with a little child while engaging in regular household chores.  Such fun!

The font is great for reading with a group of children. It is dark and well formed to stand off the pages for ease of reading. Always on a light background.

Should you get it?

I remember having fun with my lad while I did the laundry, the giggles and relationship building that occurred.   It was a lovely way to introduce him to helping mom with the chores AND having fun at the same time. 

The Runaway Shirt brought back happy memories, but not only that, it’s a fun, sweet story about the relationship between parent and child.

Enjoy a sweet, fun read with your child today!

 

On Account of the Gum

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Silliness, that’s what you get with On Account of the Gum.  Silliness in pink gum and brown hair and laden with cats and aunties.  Adam Rex must have had a hoot writing and illustrating this grade school picture book.  Come on and laugh with me!  Affiliate links will be used. 

On Account of the Gum

About “On Account of the Gum”

Adam Rex wrote a hilariously fun read with On Account of the Gum”.  Written kinda like the books “If you give a mouse a cookie” where one action leads to another.  A fun read where you wonder just what pit-fall will happen next.  Your children will enjoy the unexpected consequences of good intentions. 

Published by Chronicle books, this 56 page picture book will delight children 5-8 years.  The bright colours will draw them in, the silly antics will bring out the laughter.   Can you imagine a rabbit in your hair?

The font is huge!   So great for reading with a group of children.  I can well imagine a circle of children giggling away.   Wouldn’t it be fun to stop at the end of a page and ask “what do you think will happen when they bring in the cat?”  Wouldn’t it be fun to hear all the answers?

Should you get it?

If you are looking for a silly book to enjoy with your children, On account of the Gum will fit the bill marvellously.

The full-colour images fill the pages and just add to the humour found within.  Wacky ideas, improbable solutions, and bizarre mishaps.  You never quite know what might happen next.   It was my pleasure to review this picture book for Raincoast Books. 

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King

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raincoast FTC

A perennial favourite of many people is the story of The Nutcracker. I’ve seen bits of it done in ballet form, and a play I took my lad to once. I’ve seen it presented in a variety of ways, and now, thanks to FirstSecond books I have been able to see it as a graphic novel.  Come on, let me show you The Nutcracker and the Mouse King: the Graphic Novel!

The nutcracker and the mouse king

The Details

Geared for youth 6-10 years old, The Nutcraker and the Mouse King: the Graphic Novel is 144 pages of cleanly illustrated work.  Natalie Andrewson not only illustrated this novel, but provided the adaptation as well.  I am reviewing this ARC copy for Raincoast Books. 

From the cover

Of all the gifts under the tree on Christmas Eve, only one captures Marie Stahlbaum’s heart: a humble nutcracker.   ……

. . . and an ancient curse that can only be broken with the help of a true friend.

…. and her dream world threatened, Marie will have to find the strength to stand up for her nutcracker – no matter what it takes.

Haven’t we all seen the dance of the sugar plum fairy? This story is a wee bit different than the ballet adaptation.  Every creator/adaptor puts their own spin right?

What you find in The Nutcracker

You will find colourful panels filling every page.  The art work was not particularly my style, but colourful and suitable to the story. 

The text was really easy to read. You’ll find it mostly a standard black with occasional big variations in size and style for emphasis.  It was a retelling of the story and some details from the original German book by Hoffmann were remade to fit a graphic novel. style.  It’s not a light airy read but one filled with dreams and obsessive devotion and in the end…. freedom with imagination wins out.  

Ms. Andrewson allowed her interpretation of this classic story to shine through.  It’s quite different than the versions I’ve seen before, but it all turns out good in the end.   

Should you get The Nutcracker and The Mouse King?

Oh… such mixed opinions of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King: A Graphic Novel that I have. 

There is much I like. But some younger readers might be alarmed by the dream sequences.  I am fairly easily alarmed, I just figure if something makes me feel a bit alarmed, some children might be the same. 

The story itself…good triumphing?  That’s a good thing and worth reading through. 

And introducing children to a classic story?  That’s an excellent thing to do. 

So know your children.  Consider their sensitivities and perhaps read together, or be available to talk it all through.