Reading Comprehension - A Review and Giveaway!!!

As a homeschool teacher I am always on the look out for easy to use products that I can incorporate into our classroom.   With a busy schedule and different age groups to teach, I can genuinely appreciate a product that can be used  with minimal explanation. This frees up some valuable time that I can use teaching other subjects!  Little Red's Schoolhouse has some great items that do just that.

 

This last week our classroom was able to use Little Red's Reading Comprehension packet.  This packet has over 80 pages of great learning materials.  There are worksheets AND fun activities included!

 

I found this packet simple to use.  First I selected worksheets that we would  use during the upcoming week. I then printed them out as booklets.   After folding each booklet, they were ready to use! (Some of the kids used brads or raffia to beautify their booklets:)

This product is geared for grades 3-5.   I used it for my 2nd - 8th graders! My 2nd grader used it to learn about new language topics, while my 8th grader used it as a review!

 

This packet has easy references so you can use each page for before reading, during reading, or after reading. The attractive layout and cute graphics were an added bonus to these worksheets. There are definitions and simple explanations on each page.

 

  This worked great for our classroom! Even though all my kids are reading at different levels, they were all able to use these to learn and reinforce important language concepts.  

  

 

 Everyone here at Thetravelingclassroom has been learning a bunch this past week!  We will be using the  other reading activities this next week along with the cute Reading Royalty Achievement Certificates and Badges when we are finished!  

  You can read more of what is include in this packet at their TPT store.

 You can also grab the FREE  Reading Royalty Achievement Certificates and Badges here.  Don't forget to leave a comment if you download it!

And now for the Giveaway!  One winner will win this bundled pack below ...just click on the pictures to learn more about each of them - a $10.50 value!

Classroom friendly supplies  has also generously donated a beautiful pencil sharpener to one of my readers.  What a great addition to this  bundle -sharpened pencils!  I know I love a sharp pencil, don't you?

I have also decided to throw in something from Thetravelingclassroom! Wow, what a giveaway!!

Enter below to win the bundled products above from Littlered's Schoolhouse, your choice of one item from Thetravelingclassroom, as well as a pencil sharpener of your choice! 

 Thanks for traveling with us!

This post is a product review.  I received a free PDF copy of this product in exchange for an honest review.  The opinions and ideas expressed here are solely my own.  

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12 Steps to Help You Teach Your Kids the Bible- (AND a Giveaway!!!)

Teaching our kids about God and the Bible can easily get put on the back burner unless we make a conscious effort to make it a priority.

How do you teach the Bible in your classroom?  What do you do to make it a priority with your kids?

 Below you will find my ....

1.  Pray for wisdom everyday:

James 1:5 says  " If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."   I need wisdom everyday for all the stuff that comes my way, don't you?

2.  Set  Spiritual Goals For your Classroom:

What do you think your kids should know?  What character issues do they need to work on?  What is your goal for teaching your children about God and the bible?

Our number one goal in our classroom is to incorporate God and  the Bible when we wake up, as we go through our day, and when we go to bed.  This is our family Bible verse:

Deut. 11:18-26 "Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. 

And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: 

That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. 

For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; ...

There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.

Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;... "

3. Choose your routines:

Our routines include Bible everyday.  I include it on their personal chore charts.  The younger children are read the Bible or a Bible Story everyday.  The older children are reading through the Bible on their own.  We also memorize Bible verses. We have been using Lindsey's Road to 31 Bible Curriculum for our Bible Memory verses.   Here are few pictures of some of  the verses we have memorized.

A is for attitude:

B is for Bravery...

Another routine that we have established is saying the Lord's Prayer together every night before we go to bed.  It actually is something my mom used to do with us when we were younger.  It has become something that is very special to all of us:)

4. Make a Rough Draft of your Bible Schedule for the Year:

As we go through the year we celebrate the Biblical Feasts to learn and understand more about God and HIS plan and purpose for us.  I write all the Biblical Feast Days on my calendar and plan ahead so we can celebrate God's Holidays!  What yearly cycle to you follow?  

5. Pick a day for an in depth Bible study:

Just this year we have started doing a "Family Bible Study" once a week. During this time we sit down together with our bibles, notebooks, and printables and dig into the bible.

Here are a few samples of our Family Bible Studies so far:

-What is a covenant?  (Also letter C for Covenant)

What is a disciple? D for Disciple...

What does it mean to be Equally Yoked?

Ancient Hebrew and Acrostic Poems in the Bible:

Fall Biblical Feasts- Feast of Trumpets (This is what we are working on right now)

What Bible Studies would you like to do with your kids?

 ( If you are interested in any of the Bible studies we have done above,  just click on the pictures to learn more about them!)

6. Pick important themes to cover throughout the year:

Do you want your kids to read through the Bible?  Memorize more verses?  Learn about Salvation?  Baptism, etc...?

7. Include Arts & Crafts

Here are a few that we have done that have went along with our themes and Bible studies...

Passover Lamb

Purim Puppets (Book of Esther)

Shofar Craftivity 

8. Include Scripture Music:

We love singing, dancing, and enjoying good music (as any of our friends can attest to:) - it

can really set the spiritual atmosphere!  Do you have some good music you can turn on once in a while...while cleaning or during art time ???

9. Make Bible Memorization a routine:

We have been using Lindsey's Road to 31 Bible Curriculum along with our own curriculum and it has really fit in nicely.  Here is a  picture of our memory verse flash cards...

10. Pray together :

We pray together at meals, when we get in the car together, at bedtime, when someone gets hurt, does something wrong,  or someone is sick.  When do you pray with your children?

11.  Worship Together: 

We worship when we sing and dance, pray, or just give thanks out loud during the day.  There is so much we should be thankful for:)  How do you worship together?

12.  Follow through with your new routines for 21 days!  (It only takes 21 days to establish a habit!)

And Now For the Giveaway!!!!

Lindsey, at Road to 31 has agreed to give away 1 bundled pack of The ABC's for Godly Children Curriculum!!  The ABC's For Godly Children is a printable Bible curriculum centered around teaching children ages 4-10 about the God they serve and how to have a heart like His. I received this awesome curriculum in exchange for an honest review.

This curriculum teaches children many necessary lessons all in one package:

Christian Character and Virtues
Biblical Manhood (The ABC's For Godly Boys)
Biblical Womanhood (The ABC's For Godly Girls)
Basic Doctrine and Theology

Here is a sample of one of the Girl's ABC letters.
 (You could use them as posters in your classroom or flashcards!)

and one of the Boy's Flash Cards!



Aren't the Cute??!!!

This curriculum also includes many fun and educational resources:

The ABC's For Godly Children Scripture Flash Cards
Hiding God's Word In My Heart Worksheets
Godly Virtues BINGO Game
The Pathway To Salvation Maze

Each lesson includes:
A Primary Bible Memory Verse
Bonus Bible Memory Verses
A Detailed and Interactive Lesson
An Activity Prompt
Craft Ideas

Here are the subjects covered for the boys:

A is for Attitude                                       N is for Neighbor


B is for Bravery                                       O is for Obedience

C is for Covenant                                    P is for Pride


D is for Disciple                                      Q is for Quiet


E is for Edify                                           R is for Repentance


F is for Father                                         S is for Salvation


G is for God                                           T is for Treasure


H is for Heaven                                       U is for Unity


I is for Idolatry                                        V is for Virtue


J is for Justification                                 W is for Warrior


K is for Kindness                                   X is for Cross


L is for Listen                                        Y is for Youth


M is for Man                                         Z is for Zeal


The list for girls is almost the same with just a few differences especially for girls:)

The ABC's For Godly Children is a great tool you can use to teach your kids about God and the Bible.

All by itself it will help you do all 12 steps with your kids!

Don't let these life changing teachings be put on the back burner any longer!

Make a conscious effort today to make it a priority in your classroom.  I am:).

How will you be teaching Bible in your classroom? What will you be doing  to make it a priority with your kids?  I would love to hear all about it:)

Oh, I almost forgot to mention,  I am also throwing in your choice of 1 free product from Thetravelingclassroom store in the giveaway!  If you haven't already entered you can go ahead and enter the giveaway below!

New Blog Series - 12 Week Kids Bible Study {Giveaway!}

This looks like a really neat series coming up, not to mention the awesome giveaway - thought I would share it with you!

Join us over the next 12 weeks (starting August 29th) as we share Bible study topics, discussion questions, suggested reading, and activities that you can do with your kiddos! The writers at CSAHM are so excited to share with you the wonderful "Deep Blue Kids Bible" and Bible Studies that will encourage you to include regular Bible Study time with your children that isn't overwhelming and is a A LOT of FUN!

Today we are celebrating by hosting a giveaway launch!

Be sure to enter the giveaway below and share the news with your friends in order to gain extra entries for the prize - which is a $200 USD Amazon Gift Card!

Before you enter the giveaway...

Be sure to subscribe below to our update list where you will receive weekly updates about our 12 Week Kids Bible Study and you will also receive a FREE PDF version of each week's Bible Study!

Giveaway {$200 Amazon Gift Card!}

Be sure to enter below for your chance to win a $200 amazon gift card sponsored by the "Deep Blue Kids Bible!" a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: Some affiliate links have been used in this post.

America's Great Depression - A Review & Giveaway!

The Great Depression a Review & Giveaway!




We recently completed this notebook study of America's Great Depression. We followed the planning guide that's included in the unit, completing it in ten days.

I used this for a 10 day mini-study on the great depression for three of my children (ages 11-14). It was super easy to use and get started on (love that:)! First I printed it out in booklet form and divided the reading portions into 10 days.

Here is a picture of the historical reading portion:



I just printed out one of these and had the kids highlight the important information.


Each child had their own response booklet to the reading. This way I could check their reading comprehension and answer any questions that came up. Everyday they did their reading for that day and filled in the appropriate section of responses in their booklet.

The information was presented in short chunks that made it easily understandable  The visual pictures also made the reading very interesting.



In addition to writing responses they also added new words to their vocabulary section on the front page of their interactive notebook ( or booklet).



Each section was nicely broken up so that the kids didn't feel like they were just answering questions.  It was broken up in such a way to make it digestible for young learners.



Each day was appropriately connected to each reading section. The kids were able to independently work through their reading portion and response section without much help from me.



The children also added to the timeline section daily. I liked that this was included. Using a timeline of events helped them to understand the sequence of events during the great depression.



As you can see each page has a very nice layout that is visually appealing!



These Note Packs are a great way of notebooking your way through The great Depression. I think this would make a wonderful addition to any classroom. This pack makes learning history fun and interesting for the students AND the teacher!

Here is a little more information about this unit from In the Hands of a child website:

 With this unit study you will be able to teach your 6th-10th grade classroom about America's Great Depression (1929-1941). The Great Depression in the United States was a time of extreme financial crisis. It began in 1929 and lasted until 1941, affecting both the rich and the poor. Teach your students about what led up to the Great Depression, the Great Crash, life in the Great Depression, famous people, the New Deal, and recovery. 

Make your lesson planning easy with the America's Great Depression (1929-1941) Curriculum from In the Hands of a Child.

 This pack includes a 10-day Planning Guide, Related Reading and Bibliography, 21 Hands-on Activities PLUS 5 Extension Activities, a 16-page Research Guide, Timeline, and an Answer Key.

We ended our unit study of America's Great Depression with this fun movie:)





Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken is a 1991 film that takes place during the great depression. It is the life story of  Sonora Webster Carver, who was known as a diving horse rider. 

It added a little more history to our knowledge of The Great Depression and gave the kids a visual setting to put all of their information into.

Now on to the Giveaway! 


Hands of a child has agreed to give a copy of the same unit to one winner! The winner has a choice of either a lapbook or Note Pack format!


I would love to hear your experiences studying the great depression and any great resources you have used!

 Please leave a comment below (it's counted as an entry:) and don't forget to enter the giveaway to win a copy for your classroom!


(You have just read my honest review that was exchanged for a free copy of this unit.)

Thanks for traveling with us,

Celebrating our new Etsy Store - Panama Art - with a Giveaway!

We opened our new Etsy store a few months ago. It has been loads of fun for the kids to visit the local shop and learn how to bead and macrame. They love making jewelry! It really is an amazing art. No two items are exactly alike.

Meet Eliab and his beautiful wife...he is one of the main designers and artists of our shop! He is from the Kuna tribe and has learned his art from his parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts before him! He even knows his ancient Kuna language as well as Spanish! His cousin sells his jewelry and art at the local Tuesday farmer's market in Boquete!



The Panamenos here are so talented you can even have a name beaded into a bracelet! We have lots of new items to share and it is high time for a giveaway! Check out some of the new items we will be adding to our store this week!

Hand painted feathers...

Beautiful macrame necklaces with stones and other types of necklaces made out of local seeds and tagua .

What is tagua? It is a nut that comes from a tree that is similar to a palm tree. It is also know as a kind of ivory. This is what the seeds look like before they are shaped and shined. ( Sorry the teacher in me couldn't resist to give you a little tagua lesson:)

Here is what they look like after they are prepared for jewelry.

Here are some beautiful butterfly necklaces...(perfect for our butterfly unit:)

Hand beaded bracelets...



Beautiful hand made molas...





Now for our giveaway! You can win one of these hand- made Chaquira glass beaded bracelets.   These are made by local Indigenous Indians of Chiriqui, Panama. One bracelet can take many hours of work. The triangular pattern is representative of the mountains that surround the area and are a beading pattern of the Ngobe. The flat Panama and shape patterns are characteristic bead work of the Kuna Indians.



Which one is your favorite? ( I am kind of partial to the flowers:)




Can't you just see yourself sharing some of this amazing art with your students, friends, family, &...????

Every time I see these beads it reminds me of the beads Laura would find on the ground in The Little House on the Prairie books!

I love the fact that the Indians here are not assimilated into the culture completely. They still walk around town in their traditional dress and some still can speak their tribe's language! Not only that, many are still artists making their crafts that their ancestors have made for generations before them! I am so glad to know these amazing people and to be able to share their art with you!

So what are you waiting for ??? Enter the giveaway so you can win!