As I was requesting books for our history readings, I remembered a book that I enjoyed as a young child. I recalled memories of reading it to my two oldest children. Had I ever shared this literary treasure with my current little ones? I didn’t think so. This situation had to be remedied!

The Monster at the End of This Book…ok, so it isn’t exactly a literary masterpiece and some would consider it pure twaddle. However, I can’t read it without smiling and laughing. It must be read with much emotion and drama. I love this book!

And guess what? By page 2, everyone around the dinner table was loving this book. It is just a cute, fun read that makes you smile. I loved after dinner listening to my 6 year old read it with great dramatic flair.

Variety is a good thing so from twaddle to reality we go…

What had everyone gather around (and on) the table?

What the World Eats takes you on a tour of what different families around the world eat. From California to Africa to Asia….from middle class families to refugee camps…pictures, graphs and more about what people eat and how it compares in cost in American dollars.

(I almost caught her!)

The children learned so much about how blessed with are with the food we have available to us. To see the family at the refugee camp with so little….we truly are so blessed! They also decided that they didn’t really want to visit the area that had cow stomachs or roasted guinea pigs.

I was pleased to see them searching for the areas that had lots of fruits and vegetables. I will admit that we would get a bit excited to recognize a Snickers bar in a foreign language! We were also shocked at how much packaged food one country had. From the 2 year old and up, someone is constantly flipping through this book. I didn’t think it would be that big of a hit!

Smiles and Laughter

Let’s do some math. Oh, you don’t like math? I think you will love this math equation. If you are  a mom, I bet you have it already figured out. Or not.  School break + a couple of holidays + new baby = Wonderfully beautiful chaos!

Super Sam!

See. You are nodding your head, aren’t you? That chaos rings a bell, yes?  Well, it is time for chaos to leave my home and time for order and productivity to return. Ok. Who am I kidding? 8 kiddos? Yep, there will always be a bit of chaos but it will be an orderly chaos, thankyouverymuch!

Super Sam flies upside down! (He is laughing, btw.)

After praying, pondering and brainstorming, I decided that it was time for bootcamp again. Bootcamp for me. A friend of mine wrote a book called Bootcamp for Lousy Housekeepers. Yep, that’s me:lousy housekeeper. I was able to be a tester when she was in the beginning stages of writing BFLH. While I followed this plan, my home was clean and organized.

Sweet.ness.

Don’t misunderstand me. My home is not the  pit of despair. There is, however, room for improvement. I see no need to waste anymore time so tomorrow is the Tribal Cleaning Bootcamp Kickoff! Shhhh….I haven’t told my kiddos yet. It is a Monday Morning Surprise. Trust me, they will be so excited!

Hey, Gooseberry

Want to know what we will be doing tomorrow?

Monday = Laundry Day! We will be washing and washing and washing! Sheets, towels, blankets, clothes and I’m sure a lego or ten.

Biggest Sis....Littlest Sis

If you want to learn more about the Bootcamp for Lousy Housekeepers, swing by and check it out! I’ll keep you posted on how things go with out first week of Bootcamp. On the edge of your seat for that, aren’t you?

**This was not a review post. Just my rambling thoughts on the state of my house and a plan that I know works.

This week’s word: persnickety.

Go ahead. Say it again. Persnickety. Just a fun word to pronounce, yes? Persnickety.

Last night, my older three kiddos were out with Dad, so the little ones and I were enjoying a relaxing evening at home. When requested to read aloud one of our favorite books, I could not say no. Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman.

Ms. Hoberman shares a delightful tale in rhyme of a family with seven children. What makes those seven children such silly eaters is that they will each eat only one thing! As a mom of seven, this is a scary thought come meal time. From soft, squishy homemade bread to pink lemonade to poached eggs, Mrs. Peters wears herself out meeting the culinary demands of her persnickety eaters.

As we were reading, persnickety was in part of the rhyme. Lydia inquired what persnickety meant. Being the homeschool mom that I am, I told her to grab the dictionary and we would look it up.

Once we found persnickety, there was not a definition but the word pernickety. Pernickety? Yep. Persnickety originated from pernickety. Both defined the same but apparently at some point it was decided it sounded better with an “s”? Maybe it was a typo that caught on?

Need to know what persnickety (or pernickety) mean? Grab a dictionary and look it up!!! It is the word of the week.

I realized recently that Lydia and Hannah are about the age that Bekah and Mary were when I read Black Beauty aloud. I decided that I must not miss the opportunity to share this well loved story with a second group of young ladies. Evenings are a bit different now with a few more children in the mix. This time around we are enjoying Black Beauty over lunch and during afternoon quiet time. Even Sarah, 3, looks forward to the horsie story.

Since Bekah and Mary had heard this before, seen the movie and read it on their own, I wasn’t concerned about them missing out on a chapter now and then. I was mistaken. They were a bit upset when I read a chapter or two without them. And one chapter was about Beauty’s friend Ginger.  I now know to wait until all children are assembled for reading hour!

We are almost to the end of Black Beauty. Only five chapters are left. One of the girls asked me to read the chapter titles. Mary was remembering how the story ends and Bekah quickly shushed her from sharing the outcome to the younger girls. I have a feeling that we will have a movie night upon us soon.

And our next read aloud? Bekah has already requested I read The Secret Garden. Again.

Apologia Press provided a wonderful opportunity to review Read for the Heart: Whole Books for Wholehearted Families. I was thrilled to be selected for this review as I am constantly on the search for quality literature to enrich the lives of my children. However, Read for the Heart is so much more than a list of books!

Read for the Heart was written by Sarah Clarkson; freelance writer and avid blogger currently working on a children’s novel. Miss Clarkson was also homeschooled and from an early age was surrounded by literary treasures.

I have used books similar to Read for the Heart in the past. My expectation was that Miss Clarkson’s book was going to be the same with a few hidden treasures revealed. I was mistaken. Miss Clarkson doesn’t just give a chapter on why reading good book is important and then has a list to peruse. Miss Clarkson throughout the book shares her love of literature, how our society is losing appreciation of literature and why quality literature is so important.

The way Miss Clarkson expresses her experience with literature was beautiful. As she was discussing the importance of carefully chosen picture books, as they set the stage, I pictured my little ones that come running when they see me with books in hand. And my older children sit and listen and share memories of when those books were read to them. Sweet memories. And I agree with Miss Clarkson that those days of picture books set the foundation for the literature our children will come to enjoy. We feed the appetite.

As Miss Clarkson introduces each chapter she touches on different issues that are crucial to consider as you make literature selections for your children. With her book selections, she gives a brief summary and gives “points of concern” if she feels some might have issues with something in the book. For example, Miss Clarkson recommends The Yearling. She gives a caution that the book deals with the “gritty realities of pioneer life, including the slaughtering of farm animals, the danger of wild animals and the death of two main characters.” While recommended for junior high, if you have a child sensitive to death of animals or death of loved ones, this might be a book you want to make sure you discuss or wait a while for your child to read.

The books are broken down into categories that make is easy to go back and find book recommendations you need. She also includes lists of Caldecott, Newberry and other medalists. Read for the Heart is an excellent resource to have on your shelf. It would be an excellent gift for a newly homeschooling family or a new mom.

Interested in adding Read for the Heart to your personal library? You can go here to view the Table of Contents and here to see a Sample Chapter.

You can purchase Read for the Heart for $17.00.

Read for the Heart is a treasure for any family with over 1,000 book recommendations from classics to modern literature; from picture books to lengthy novels; poetry and art to history and nature.

Please head over to the Crew and see what others are saying about Read for the Heart!

Disclaimer- As a member of TOS Crew, I received a complimentary copy of this book for review. No compensation was made. The thoughts/opinions/experience expressed in this post are my own.

Sometimes you just need a break…an old baby wrap, a bit of creativity and a good book….just hangin’ around.

In our homeschool, we value quality literature that can be used to enrich our children’s education and learning. Often times finding that quality literature can be difficult and challenging.  Yesterday’s Classics has made this task so much easier!

Yesterday’s Classics, in an effort to make quality, classic literature available have reprinted books from the golden age of children’s literature ( 1880-1920). Many of these books have been out of print for decades but are now available once again to be enjoyed!

The books published by Yesterday’s Classics offer so much:

*Text of high literary quality

*Stories that engage the reader

*Cultivation of moral imagination

*Awakens interest in nature

*Stimulates power of observation

Several homeschool curricula use Yesterday’s Classics; Ambleside Online, Heart of Dakota, Living Books Curriculum and Tapestry of Grace. We use one of these curricula and it was a struggle to find the core readings we need since our library had none on the shelves.  Due to finances, we and many other families, are not able to buy every book needed or desired. Yesterday’s Classics has a wonderful offer that makes building your personal library an affordable possibility.

Yesterday’s Classics now offers 225 books in epub or kindle files. Now a bookshelf full of books can be held in your hand and for a fraction of the cost! Oh, how excited we were for this review!

In purchasing the epub/kindle files of Yesterday’s Classics 225 ebooks you will receive:

*Illustrations – if the original text had color illustrations, they will be in color on the Kindle/epub files.

*Table of Contents for each ebook which makes navigation a breeze!

*22 different genres: world history, science, readers, American history, biographies, Shakespeare,  poetry and so much more.

Have more than one student who needs to utilize these books? There are no restrictions on how many devices you can put the books on. You can also print out whichever books you chose to print.  And Yesterday’s Classics has excellent customer service and are happy to help in any way!

They also provide resources to make utilizing the epub/Kindle files so simple. When you purchase the ebooks, you will receive a list  of the books arranged by genre, title, author and level to make finding the books you need easy. A list of book thumbnails and descriptions are provided so you can make sure the book covers the information you are looking for.

If you are like me and clueless to the ways of e-readers, this resource will be invaluable! Yesterday’s Classics provides a guide to e-reader devices  and software. Our family does not own an e-reader such as a Kindle or Nook. I was thrilled to learn that I could download a free e-reader for my computer and still utilize Yesterday’s Classics wonderful resource of these e-books. What a blessing!

Purchasing Details!

From now until May 31st, you can purchase Yesterday’s Classics Package of 225 books in epub or Kindle files for $99.95. 225 books for $99.95. I know! An amazing offer!

Here are some comparisons to help you see the amazing deal this is! If you purchased each book in paperback edition, it would be $2495.75! Wow! If you were to purchased epub/Kindle files individually, it would be $648.80. This special offer really is special. Excellent quality literature to enrich your child’s learning for such a small price.

Our Thoughts:

I will admit that I am one of those old school book lovers. I love to hold the book in my hand, to hear the sound of a newly opened book, the smell of the pages….. I was not jumping on the e-reader bandwagon.

Then I had the opportunity for this review. While I still treasure holding the book in my hand, I am a homeschooling mom of 7, using a literature based curriculum with children who devour books and a limited budget. Practicality won out on this and I am so pleased with the epub files from Yesterday’s Classics.

A few of the books, my girls had been reading online from www.mainlesson.com (Yesterday’s Classics sister site). However, they hated it. Often they would ask me to print them out but that was not a frugal option!  Reading on the computer gave them headaches, it was hard to find their place  and hindered their retention. Having these selections in epub files has been such a blessing. We downloaded a free e-reader for our computers and now our children can read easily without eye strain. They can easily make a “bookmark” for where they are to pick up reading. One of my daughters loves being able to make the text bigger and another loves not having to scroll and scroll and scroll as she had to do with the free online version.

It is getting more and more difficult to find literature appropriate for my children and Yesterday’s Classics has been such a help. From my 5 year to my 12 year old, selections are available that are well written, quality literature. My 5 year old will soon begin using the readers to reinforce her phonics lessons.

Not sure if the epub/Kindle files are the right choice for your family? Yesterday’s Classics gives you the opportunity to download The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins for free so you can experience this format before you buy.You just simple download whichever version you need (epub or Kindle) or download both! Free.

If you decide to purchase the Yesterday’s Classics Package and are not satisfied, they offer a 100% risk free guarantee! If you scroll to the bottom of this page, you can view a thumbnail and description of each of the 225 books offered in the epub/kindle package.

Not everyone is going to love the epub/Kindle format. For those who want the paperback copies of these books, Yesterday’s Classics offers free shipping with the purchase of 4 or more books.

Our family has thoroughly enjoyed this affordable resource provided by Yesterday’s Classics. I can’t say enough how thrilled we have been with this product!

Please stop by the Crew and see what others thought of Yesterday’s Classics!

**Disclaimer – As a member of TOS review crew, I received a complimentary copy of this product for review. No compensation was made. The opinions/thoughts/experiences expressed in this post are my own.

Alone and despairing, Quinlan wanders the kingdom, fleeing his past. His providential encounter with Taras, a mysterious Silent Warrior and former trainer of Valor Knights, offers Quinlan a chance to redeem himself and learn the ways of the secret warriors.

The training is grueling, and just when Quinlan seems to have left his failures behind, he receives an impossible challenge from the Prince—one that will force him to face his past…and the mighty men who blame him for the tragedy that ruined them.

Can Quinlan reunite the Valor Knights in time to save the people from the Dark Knight’s evil plot to rule the Kingdom of Arrethtrae, or will the Valor Knights lose the most important battle of all?

Several months ago, a friend recommended Chuck Black’s Kingdom Series to me. My children devour books quickly so I am always looking for quality selections. We were give book one of the Kingdom Series and my daughter was hooked. When Sir Quilan and the Sword of Valor arrived at our door, I had to remind her that I needed to read it first.

From the first few pages I was captured into the story of Twitch. Twitch was a young man that was average or even a bit below average. He had given himself to service for the Prince but wasn’t the greatest swordsman and walked in the shadow of his friend Tav.

However, the Prince, uses the unlikely and the ordinary to do great things. When Twitch gives himself to whatever the Prince needs him for, the Prince changes Twitch and helps Twitch to see who he is in the Prince’s eyes. Along this journey, Twitch transforms into Sir Quilan and encounters many challenges and obstacles that make him a mighty servant of the Prince. Sadly, not all heed the call of the Prince and their journey does not end well.

Mr. Black does an excellent job with this allegory. The setting of knights and swords and mighty battles engages young readers and opens the door for great conversation. Discussion questions are provided in the back of the book. My daughter and I have discussed much about the book and how it relates to our walk with Christ. As a father of 6, Mr. Black knows his audience well. We look forward to reading more of Mr. Black’s Knight’s series. Sir Quilan and the Swords of Valor is one we would recommend to others.

You can go here to read the first two chapters of Sir Quilan and the Swords of Valor.

About the Author:

CHUCK BLACK, a former F-16 fi ghter pilot and tactical communications engineer, is the best-selling, award-winning author of the Kingdom series and the Knights of Arrethtrae series. He has received praise from parents across the country for his unique approach to telling biblical truths. His passion in life is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to love his wife, Andrea, and their six children. He lives with his family in North Dakota.

Please rank my review!

Disclaimer: Waterbrook-Multnomah provided a complimetary copy of this book for review. No compensation was made. The thoughts/opinions expressed in this post are my own.

About the Author:

Tim Downs is the Christy Award-winning author of Plague Maker and the Bug Man novels. When he’s not writing, he and his wife are featured speakers for the Family Life conferences. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and three children.

**Disclaimer – As a member of Booksneeze.com, I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of review. No compensation was made. The opinions/thoughts expressed in this post are my own.