How Do We Know God is Really There? A Mosaics Review

Every child has, or will at some point ask the question "How do we know God is really there?" (be sure to download the free sample!). It is easy to answer with "because the Bible tells us He is", which is of course, true, but not only has God given us His word to remind us of His presence, but His has announced Himself to us throughout creation!

How Do We Know God is Really There? by Apologia is a beautifully illustrated picture book which helps even young readers to understand that the existence of God and the existence of science are not mutually exclusive. In fact with out God there is no science! Using astronomy, you and your child will reason through the questions most kids will be introduced to at a young age, from the origins of matter to time and space, and all on a kid friendly level!

If I had a con about the book it would be the length. However, I also understand that a lot of information is being covered in a short time. The book is also pretty neutral in that it doesn't go into literal creation vs evolution, but I think that is more because it just doesn't get that far. The purpose of the book is to prove that without God the universe can not exist, and so it doesn't reach beyond that. I will be interested to see if they continue the book into a series, how they address it, even if I already know where they stand on it.


The basics:

Price: $16.00

Age: pre-k through 4th though older children may still enjoy the thought provoking questions. It is the story itself that is a bit young. This is my own personal opinion though so be sure to check out the samples for yourself!

Final thoughts:
My kids enjoyed flipping through this book quite a bit and I even had to go on a mad hunt for it, because someone had snuck it off to the bedroom while I was still writing my review. I always know I have a winner when something disappears to the bedroom. I thought the book took a very logical and kid friendly approach to looking at the scientific evidence for God. I might suggest shortening the introduction story in order to make the entire book a bit shorter, but other than that, we really enjoyed it!

Ooka Island: A Homeschool Mosaics Review

You ever think to yourself, boy it would be nice if my 4 year old could actually operate this really cool online game without me having to control the mouse? I do. All.the.time. I don't have time to sit for hours at a time and play games. The point of me setting him up on the game in the first place was to give me some time to work with his sisters! Well, let me introduce you to the first pre-reader learning site that is actually easy enough for my son to use without my help!

Ooka Island is a web based game that uses game to teach phonics and reading. Students as young as 3 can navigate through the guided games and earn independent time to explore other areas of the map. Students are encouraged to practice blends and other reading skills as they build on a solid foundation of pre-reading and early reading skills.

The Basics:

Format: Downloaded from the internet onto your computer.

Price: $19.95 per month or $149.95 per year but just for you here is a 30% off link!

Ages: 4-7 or pre-reader through emergent reader

You can also order copies of the Ooka Island Books.


Pros:

I loved the parent portal that give an online progress report for you child! I also get an email every time he reads a book. The phonics was sound and my son really did start learning his blends pretty quickly. The graphics moved beyond some of the cheesier ones that you can get with online pre-school games and were colorful and fun. The map was easy to navigate and my son had no problem playing most of the games with little to no help at all. The best thing though was that he loved it. He, being a 4 year old boy, doesn't usually get involved in anything for longer than a few minutes, but I had to make him turn Ooka Island off every single time. Even better though was that I didn't feel like it was wasted time by letting him play for a few hours at a time and we are a strict family when it comes to screen time.

Cons:

Could possibly be one of those things I use a "babysitting" device while I cook dinner and would feel no guilt doing so. Oops, I probably shouldn't have admitted that.

Seriously, we loved Ooka Island. I do a lot of reviews so when something really stands out it is an exciting moment for me. Ooka Island is one of those exciting moments.

A Mosaics Review: Saving Memories Forever

Do you remember sitting at grandma's feet listening to stories? Do you wish you could have recorded those for your own children?

Now you can capture these memories with a free application called Saving Memories Forever (you can upgrade to a premium account for just $3.99 per month or $40 per year). Saving Memories Forever is a phone app that allows you to record stories on your phone and manage them on your computer. Once you have registered online you can begin recording memories straight on your phone. Simply add a story teller, choose a time frame and category and hit the record button!

If you need help getting started there are helpful hints as well as a How To Video.
This app could be a great way to start a genealogy project with your children or just a fun way to record precious memories in story form from the adults in your life. Or if you are like us and have family over seas, what a precious gift to have recorded voices to listen to during times that you are apart.

We also had fun letting the kids record their own versions of what they thought our lives were like. It was fun to listen to my daughters and son describe what they thought mommy and daddy's childhood was like. They also had fun setting up their own story teller accounts and telling us all about their lives. Starting an account for your child now that you carry on through their adult years would a fantastic and fun way to look back on those sweet childhood years!

We Choose Virtues: A Mosiacs Review

Use the coupon code

VIRTUE15  for 15% off your order!

I never wanted to teach character separately from the rest of our academics. To me academics and character training go hand in hand. I have to admit, that this made me skeptical of using any sort of curriculum or manipulative other than the Bible to teach my children Godly character traits. That is, until I was offered a chance to review We Choose Virtues.

We Choose Virtues is an easy to use, bright, colorful and fun program that helps you teach different traits. Using catchy phrases and cute characters such as, Chuck and Duck's "I am diligent! I start fast, work hard and finish strong!", helps your child to remember each trait they are practicing. What is even better is that the cards come in 3 different versions: secular, NIV and KJV. The secular cards are great if you prefer to use a different version of the Bible not offered.

There are many products in many price ranges to choose from. A full homeschool kit will cost you about $99 or you can choose to purchase individual items such as the Virtue Clue Cards for $5.99!
We were blessed with a chance to review the KJV We Choose Virtues Flash Cards ($14.99), the downloadable Teacher's Manual ($5), the downloadable Kids of Virtueville Coloring Book ($3), as well as two free items: the Family Character Assessment and Memory Verses, Bible Truths and Heroes.

We have always begun each day with praying and our independent Bible time so adding in We Choose Virtues was pretty easy. At the beginning of each week I chose a card and introduced the virtue we would be learning that week. We would "meet" the character and read the card and the Bible verse together a few times. After that we hung the card up on the fridge so that would walk by and see it several times per day. Now this is where the Teacher's Handbook comes in handy. The Handbook is full of great teaching ideas and suggestions on how to help your child learn the virtue as well as fun ideas on how to practice. Throughout the week we added reading the scripture (we didn't memorize it as we already have a list of scripture we are memorizing). We also spent time talking about how to exhibit the virtue and of course, coloring our coloring page that went with it! The most fun I had was calling the children out when they did an especially good job with the virtues! My 4 year old son loved it when I praised him and we all clapped for how diligently he cleaned his room.

There are so many wonderful things about this program. Yes, you can teach all of these virtues without ever picking up a flashcard or a coloring sheet, but We Choose Virtues has so many great resources that help children to really internalize the meanings of those virtues. The products can all be used individually, as supplemental material or you can purchase the kit and have an entire curriculum. The products are affordable, fun and easily adaptable. Most of all, you and your children will have fun learning Christ-like virtues!

Homeschooling Mosaics:The Peaceful Mom's Blog Planner Review

Click here to download the blog idea page

I am pretty much a fly by the seat of my pants blogger. I think of a topic, I sort of plan it out in my head, and I write. Of course, since I often write reviews and do giveaways this can lead to a bit of a problem. Due dates have never been my forte to say the least! Talk about ironic when I was asked to review a blog planner for Homeschool Mosaics!

Click here to download the weekly planning page

What I was wanting in a blog planner was simple. I needed something that didn't have tons of printable pages, columns, or too many pages to choose from. I found just that with The Peaceful Mom's Blog Planner! The Peaceful Mom blog planner offers a 6 page printable planner (found toward the bottom under "Blogging") with pages for daily, weekly and monthly planning, blog ideas, a password keeper, an affiliate tracking sheet and an accounting page. I really only used the weekly planner and idea pages because I find myself overwhelmed if I try to plan too much ahead and my blog doesn't make money so I didn't need the accounting page.

I loved the simplicity of the pages. Since I find myself overwhelmed with these sorts of planners quite easily it was great to have a nice crisp clean page to write on. I also loved that it didn't take a ton of paper or ink to print it out. After all free isn't free if it cost $10 in ink and paper! Which brings me to be best thing about this planner: the price. The Peaceful Mom offers her printable planner for free!

Since I do not monetize my blog, but I do review quite a few products, it would have been nice to have a page to keep up with my review items. You can do it on the monthly calendar, but I prefer more of a list approach since I may have one due in February and another due in March. Having them in one location would save having to print out several months worth of calendar pages.

I don't know if I have been cured of my spontaneous blogging bug, but if I definitely enjoyed the organization while it lasted!


This is a free product that I reviewed without compensation. All opinions expressed are 100% mine. To see my full disclosure visit the link at the top of the home page.