A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Books for Middle School

Review: Time Stoppers

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 I LOVED this book.

Admittedly…when it started I was wondering what in the world Raincoast had sent me, children being hurt, feeling lost and alone, adults letting them down, but it didn’t take too long before I was totally hooked.

Time Stoppers by Carrie Jones is a winner. 

Half way through chapter two I was hooked.  Monsters?  In a sleepy little town?   Okay.. so what was the deal with the girl Annie in the first chapter?  Was she connected? How was she connected?  What’s with the dog thing?  My curiousity aroused, I kept reading…and reading..and reading.  My sweetheart told me to get my nose out of the book and talk to him.. I distinctly remember mumbling at him… 🙂

Finding myself impressed with the character development. Watching Annie and Jamie develop into characters with gumption.  Laughing at Eva and her uniqueness and being delighted with Bloom with his determination.   Just great characters that I would like to continue to see in action.

Aurora is where Annie and Jamie end up, with a choice.. stay and protect or return to their home (albeit in a better situation than before).  They make their choice and now we have to see if Aurora will be safe. 

The nasty guy is well.. NASTY!  Seriously.   I’d like to stomp on him. But the youth are determined… will they see through.. well.. you gotta read the book as I’m not into spoilers.  🙂

My Thoughts:
I cannot say that the first chapter of this book is an easy read.  It isn’t.  Things happen that should not happen to anyone.  Seriously.  BUT that ‘not goodness’ sets the stage for the choices made later on.  Sensitive-minded children would need to be encouraged to push through and see what happens later with those choices.   (or just wait until they are older to read the book).  Beyond that.. LOVED THIS BOOK.  I found it a great read and the parts I read to my lad have him interested in reading it too… So we may end up with a Carrie Jones fan on our hands eh?   Which isn’t a bad thing as … there’s a second book! 

Time Stoppers
Carrie Jones
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
372 pages
Fantasy, softcover
approximately 8 x 5 inches
Age: 8-12 years.

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Where can you find this treasure?
Amazon.ca: Time Stoppers

Amazon.com: Time Stoppers

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Art Book: The Girl Who Drew Butterflies

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When I first got The Girl who Drew Butterflies I thought cool.. an art book!  I’ll get to see lots of pictures of butterflies and be totally amazed.   Little did I know the wonder and joy I would experience when I realized that it was not only an art book but it was also a science book.  A way to combine two loves!  It’s GREAT!!!!

Imagine you live in a time when people aren’t sure where bugs come from, and no one can really answer the questions of a curious girl child.  Maria, who helped her step-father, Jacob Marrel, with his artistry. He liked to draw still life pictures and Maria would often bring in flowers for him to draw, and found the insects that crawled on them fascinating. 

Her interest was fostered as her step-dad was also interested in the insects as he thought they made his pictures come to life, so she was sent out to gather more for him. 

Maria was so curious about where all these insects came from but no one really knew where they came from.   Perhaps from mud or old clothes?    Marel taught Maria the tools of the trade, teaching her everything he knew. But Maria’s mind was captured by the insects around her and she burned to discover the answers to her questions.

She started with silkworms. Watching everything, drawing it too.

Jotting down everything she could. Asking questions, seeking out the answers to her beloved insects.  Learning how to do this AND fulfill the role destined for her by society.

This is a fascinating book.

I learned so much about what was going in the day.  Witch hunts…seeking after women who varied from what society expected of them.  Women had to be so careful in what they did.  Not receiving recognition for the work they did, yet contributing mightily to society around them.

Gradually society shifted opinions, and just as gradually Maria became known as the caterpillar lady.

She learned, and documented how all moths and butterflies went through the same transformation.

Ah… I want to tell you all that I learned but that would spoil the book for you it would!  It’s just a neat book, really.  I so enjoyed it.   Seeing her determination to stick to her love of insects, her patience .. biding her time, watching, observing, starting over, and her stepping out with what she knew.  

She led a fascinating life and ended up drawing/painting so many pictures with plants and their insects.   Showing the world their beauty as she could best show it.

She was simply a fascinating lady, well focused on her life’s passion, and so determined to see it through.

To see all the she saw and be able to document everything… so fantastic!

Read the book, be inspired.  See art teach science something new.

The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Marian’s Art Changed Science.
Joyce Sidman
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
160 pages.
Age: 10-12 

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books
 

Where can you get it?

Amazon.ca: The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science

Amazon.com: The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science

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This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Creative Friday: Junk Drawer Engineering

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Do you like doing STEM Challenges with your students or children?   Aren’t they fun to do?   Do you sometimes get concerned that it will cost you an arm and a leg to do STEM activities?    Bobby Mercer comes to your rescue in this great book I’m reviewing today called Junk Drawer Engineering.

Three Chapters entitled Energy, Structures, Waves.  Each chapter has several projects listed such as windmill challenge, egg catch or mirror, mirror on the wall.

Each project lists what you need and then walks you step by step what you need to do to complete the project along with pictures. 

The pictures are all in black and white, but they are clear enough to show the builders what they need to do.  How to bend the paperclip, or how to attach the elastic and so forth.   Little things that might not be as easy to explain in words are readily apparent in a picture. 

I found that for many of the projects he provided images for how you might engineer the project a bit differently.   For instance using the bottom of a can or a ninja star or a plastic cup to make the windmill.   Bobby Mercer also explains the science behind the projects and gives age appropriate ways to guide the student engineer.  

These different STEM projects are a boon to the learning of any middle school and up student.  Upper elementary students could complete many of the projects as well.

Junk Drawer Engineering: 25 Construction Challenges that don’t cost a thing
Bobby Mercer
Chicago Review Press
Ages 9 and up

208 pages
Type: STEM Challenges, 
Trade Paperback
Series: Junk Drawer Science

Reviewed for: Chicago Review Press

Where can you find this helpful book?
Amazon.ca: Junk Drawer Engineering: 25 Construction Challenges That Don’t Cost a Thing (Junk Drawer Science)

Amazon.com:  Junk Drawer Engineering: 25 Construction Challenges That Don’t Cost a Thing (Junk Drawer Science)

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This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Creative Friday: Star Wars Builders: Starfighters

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Our most recent Friday builders/creative time consisted of us putting together this lovely kit to review from the Star Wars Builders Series.  This one is called Starfighters.  You may recall us reviewing the Millennium Falcon and how much fun that build was.

My son was SO happy to see another in the Star Wars Builder series arrive on our doorstep, but he wanted to wait until just the right day to build it.  This one is the Starfighters set, where you can build a TIE fighter and an X-Wing.  It comes complete with a 64 page book where you can learn about all the different star fighters from both sides of the Star Wars conflict, can even be tested on your knowledge at the end.  

The instructions are very easy to follow, the pieces well numbered and easy to punch out.  Put on sturdy three layer cardstock which works really well for making the models.
 

My lad had a lot of fun building these flyers.  They were much less complicated than the Millennium Falcon, but that didn’t change my lad’s delight. He said “I’m going to put these in my room too.  Let them fly from the ceiling.  Won’t that be interesting mom?”   I agreed, it will be interesting to let them fly from the ceiling.

The book, as always, full of great images.  This one showed a fighter over a two page spread and then showed the fighter in action.

I loved the full colour aspect of the book, it was will filled with lots of interesting information…which you were then tested on at the end of the book.

My thoughts
It’s a lovely book with fun figures to make.   I love the information they give, making this an excellent gift for the Star Wars fan.  The colour in the book with the easy to read tesxt and information, the build, the whole set…. just a good book set for anyone from 7 & up.

Concerns
A couple of times the numbering got messed up.  So we were very glad to have the pictures to back up what we thought would be correct.
It would be lovely to have a back to the X-wing.  Having it left open makes it feels unfinished.
The TIE fighter, the curve units needed a wider curve to hold all three pieces well.
Compared to the Millennium Falcon these builds are out of proportion.  It would have been good to have them sized somewhat better and perhaps have a couple each.  🙂

Star Wars Builders: Starfighters
Adam Bray
Silver Dolphin
64 pages
6 board sheets for doing two builds
Seven years old and up.

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books.

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca: Star Wars Builders: Starfighters

Amazon.com:  Star Wars Builders: Starfighters.

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Review: Amelia’s Maze Adventure

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 Amelia’s Maze Adventure
Jane Gledhill
Lonely Planet Kids.
approximately 9 x 11
ages: 8-12 years
pages: 128

Amelia’s Maze Adventure is all about Amelia taking a trip around the world tracking down Lady Vivian Winthrop missing jewels.  Will Amelia ever find them?   She’s on a whirl wind tour!

 Don’t you just love a book where you can learn interesting facts about the world (and the places in it) while having fun solving a puzzle, in this particular case MAZES.

The mazes vary in difficulty from level one to five. Most of the mazes are clearly marked.

I love the sheer variety of mazes found in this book, from the simple block ones that most of us are used to, to the shapes of coral like this one.

Interesting facts are learned from how camels can spit to how facts about Toyko. 

The facts are never long or overwhelming, just enough to give you a taste, which of course, can lead to future exploration.    

 I love the innovative mazes : turtles, snakes, tunnels, Mount Rushmore, vines, alligators, zebras and more.

My thoughts:

This is a rather cool book to use. Well done mazes that help you develop your spatial reasoning, fine motor skills, problem solving abilities and more.  It’s great to be able to complete a well done maze, and this book is full of them.   Go on.. go get it!   It’ll keep the youth of your family amused as you travel about this summer, and they will be learning as they go.   It would also be a wonderful addition to a whirl-wind tour of the world as the mazes are discovered all over the world as Amelia hunts for the missing jewels.

Amelia’s Maze adventure
Jane Gledhill
Lonely planet kids
approximately 9 x 11. 
Ages: 8-12
Pages: 160 

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

 Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca:  Amelia’s Maze Adventure

Amazon.com: Amelia’s Maze Adventure (Lonely Planet Kids)

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Review: The Pirate’s Guide t’ th’ Grammar of Story

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So  The Pirate’s Guide t’ th’ Grammar of Story: A Creative Writing Curriculum is an interesting program to me.  My son initially fought me hard on it, but I’ve never sen him have so much fun with a grammar/story program ever, nor have I seen him change his opinion so radically. 

I am impressed with the change.

So let me tell you more.

The Pirate’s Guide (or as we call it here “the Pirates”) is a creative writing curriculum that uses the story of a pirates to help students develop their own creative writing talents.  As a parent teacher I was pleased to see the clear table of contents for both the lessons and the exercises.

 My son enjoyed the exercises, simply having fun with them.  🙂

Pirate’s Guide is designed for children 11 and up to use independently.  And it is!  It’s not one of those curriculums that requires parental or teacher involvement.  I just told the lad.. do the next thing, one page or five…just keep working through it, and he literally does just as much as he wants often times bringing his lessons to me so I can see how he had fun with it.  🙂   It’s so good to see those grins and the sheer delight. 

Using a story narrative to teach the art of telling a story works really, really well. The exercises have the students picking out adjectives, verbs and more. Humour is injected into the exercises wherever possible, making the lessons “fun” as my lad likes to say. 🙂

Below my son had fun pretending he would be the only child at a birthday party, because you know, he had no friends or family at all.

All in all a well done curriculum for teaching children how to write creatively, and to write it well.  🙂  My lad wants to finish his way through it which is really good.

My Thoughts:

I’ve
only been able to preview the first 80 pages thus far, but I am looking
forward to making this part of his regular curriculum in the fall.  He
does it on his own, either a page a day or a whole unit of exercises.  I
leave it up to him and some days he’s really on a roll with it so I let
him fly.  Other days he’s just busy and just wants to put in his time. 
🙂 

My son’s thoughts:
It’s well designed
I like the way they teach the stuff in it.
The exercises are fun and easy to do.

The Pirate’s Guide t’ th’ Grammar of Story: A Creative Writing Curriculum
Pirate Captain Yogger LeFossa
(S. Christopher Hansen and J.R. Fehr
Wondertale
www.PiratesGuideStory.com

Where to find it for your own students delight:
 Amazon.ca: A Pirate’s Guide t’ th’ Grammar of Story: A Creative Writing Curriculum

Amazon.com: A Pirate’s Guide t’ th’ Grammar of Story: A Creative Writing Curriculum

 This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Review: Following the Great Wall

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Guess what I have for you today?   Another Unfolding Journeys book, this one on the Great Wall!  You may remember me talking about Rocky Mountains Explorer in the past.  This book does not disappoint as it dips us into the Following the Great Wall in China.

Following the Great Wall is an unfolding book, where the one side of the fold out is illustrated images about the great wall, with the opposite side giving factual details. 

This is one of the facts that I particularly find helpful when talking about a subject with a group of students.  Being able to easily show them an image while I read the information from the backside of the image.

But the information is so readily linked that even if you are sitting just looking at the book you can easily flip from one side to the other to learn more.  The numbering system is just so helpful. With the illustration providing just enough information to peak one’s interest.

My Thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoy the unfolding journey books and this one is no exception.   To be able to see the whole picture and take in all the details, and then to gain more information in whatever images hits my fancy.. it’s great!

Following the Great Wall
Steward Ross
Victo Ngai
Lonely Planet Kids
Series: Unfolding Journeys
Pages: 16
Age Range: 8-12 years
Type: heavy cardstock, foldout book

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

Others in the series:

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca: Lonely Planet Unfolding Journeys – Following the Great Wall 1st Ed.

Amazon.com: Unfolding Journeys – Following the Great Wall (Lonely Planet Kids)

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This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites