{Review} How Do We Know God Is Really There?

 This review product was quite a surprise to me.  I was not sure my older three would really get anything out of it and I was certain that the book was too old for you baby.  I was completely wrong!  This book has made us all thing in a way that we most likely would not have in our faith.

Apologia is the publisher of “How Do We Know God Is Really There?” and is written by Melissa Cain Travis and illustrated by Christopher Voss.  It has a great kid-like feel with pictures that look as though a kid colored them.  The story is easy to read to any age also.

I took the time to read the book by myself first and I initially thought that my two middle kiddos would listen but then go on with what they normally do and say.  I was almost certain it would be too much for my youngest to understand and that would not pertain to my oldest.  Boy was I wrong!

Lil Red (8) and Dude (10) really understood what the book was saying and they have since brought it up while we are involved in other activities so I know they are thinking about it.  Chubbles (5) enjoyed the pictures the most and has even asked if we can get out Legs’ telescope to look at the moon and stars.  What surprised me most was what the book has done for Legs’ and her faith.

“How Do We Know God Is Really There?” has helped Legs support her belief in God’s creation and use that to support a rather deep discussion with her pen pal who is admits to being an atheisist.  I have heard most of the information shared and I have to say that their discussion is so much “deeper” than any I have had with any adult about my faith.  I love how Legs’ has such a deep love and understanding of our God and this book was blessing to her.

You can get your own copy of “How Do We Know God is Really There?” from Apologia for $16.00 here.

Pros: This book is an easy read and very colorful.  It is published by Apologia Press, Inc. would publishes great resources for homeschoolers as well as other products like devotions.  This book looks to be best for the elementary age group but as you can see from my experience, it affects younger and older as well as adults.

Cons: It was a little difficult to wrap my mind around the concept of how the author explained the planets and space in relation to God’s existence but that is probably because as adults we most likely already have an opinion and we are not as open-minded as children.

This review is part of Mosaic Reviews: A medley of review perspectives.  To see other perspectives, please visit here after June 21st.

The next review will be The Classic Historian.

{Review} Apologia Ultimate Planner

Are you a planner junkie?  Planner junkies are people that love to have a planner at their fingertips and maybe even salivate at the sight of a new planner all crisp and clean and ready to be filled out.  Planner junkies love taking the time to sit down and fill-in all the spaces with their activities most of time using color-colored pencils or pens to indicate different family members or activities.

I admit I am a planner junkie.  I love the thought of taking the time right before a new school year or new physical year to open up a brand new calendar or planner and fill-in all of our family and school activities.  I do use color on my wall calendar but I continue to use pencil on my planner since that changes often with school lessons.  I tend to gravitate to the office supply section at my local store just to look at the different planners and calendars they have to sell.  I like planning so much that my hubby lovingly refers to me as the "walking calender."

I was really giddy when I got Apologia's Ultimate Homeschool Planner by Debra Bell in the mail.  The Ultimate Homeschool Planner had so many spaces for me to write and it wasn't just a plain plan book like some products you find in stores.  The package also included the Ultimate Weekly Planner for Teens and Ultimate Daily Planner for Students.  The additional products also meant that I could possibly have children that like to plan mom.  Oh the joy!

The Ultimate Homeschool Planner was developed for moms but it was also developed to work alongside the planners for Teens and Students.  For this reason, it has twelve pages of instructions (with graphics and examples)  explaining how to best use the planner.  Mrs. Bell describes the importance of yearly, monthly and weekly planning so she has included a yearly grid, monthly calender pages and then almost one-hundred sets of weekly planning pages.  

In addition to all those goodies, the Ultimate Homeschool Planner also includes areas to record character and academic goals, resource lists, a place to record grades, reading list logs, and field trip logs.  Mrs. Bell also added articles about independent learners, reluctant learners and learning styles.  In the back of the planner, moms will find a grid to help map out the high school years and a place to record a year-end review.

 

 

The Ultimate Daily Planner for Students is best for fourth through eighth grade and is a great way to get students ready to be more independent in high school.  This planner has a clear plastic ruler that can come out for use and the spiral binding glows in the dark.  Inside you will find All About Me pages for the student to fill out and a Study-Smart Toolkit.  This toolkit is a list of ways for the student to better organize and study.  Of course, you will also find monthly calender and weekly assignment pages.  Like mom's planner, there are pages to record grades, readig logs and activities.  I love that the Mrs. Bell encourages active lifestyles by including an chart to record active movements to meet the requirements on the Presidential Lifestyle Award.  The final thing found the student planner is many difference usual reference pages with maps, charts, lists, etc.

 

   

Finally, our package included The Ultimate Weekly Planner for Teens.  My teen was reluctant to use it because the curriculum we have has all of her assignments mapped out for her but after looking through the planner, Legs decided it would benefit her afterall.  She has used it more for a recording of what was accomplished instead of what to do on the weekly pages.  The teen planner includes of the same things as the student planner: All About Me pages, calendar grids and weekly assigment pages and reference pages, grade recording charts, reading lists, and activity logs in the back.

The teen planner also includes first and second semester planning pages and a credit tracker which will benefit her and I in keeping track of what she needs for college admissions someday.  Something else we found very helpful for her is the college admissions timeline, high school checklist, recommended reading list and information on academic scholarships.

 

 

 

Pros: All three planners have flexible covers and spiral binding for durability.  The spaces to write on are good size and not too busy to be distracting.  There are encouraging quotes in the Ultimate Planner for mom. Bible verses and questions about our presidental history can be found in the Student Planner.  The Teen Planner includes more great quotes and SAT words for added benefit.

Cons: If you like digital planners, this would probably not work for you.  For our family, the Student Planner was not beneficial because I have an relucent reader who hates to write so adding this onto his plate would have been very frustrating.

You can find out more, see examples and order The Ultimate Homeschool Planner, The Ultimate Daily Planner for Students or The Ultimate Weekly Planner for Teens at Apologia.
   
<sup>This review is part of the Mosaic Reviews: A medley of review perspectives.  To see other perspectives, please visit here.

The next review will be Spanish for You.</sup>