Isaiah 40:8

Monday Musings

The benefit of taking the same walk with time between, and re-reading Scripture~ sometimes the illustrations become more clear. :)

Blessings~

Creation Illustrated~ now available in both Print and Digital editions!

I was first introduced to Creation Illustrated a number of years ago and was impressed with the beautiful photography (reminiscent of National Geographic), and articles written from a Christian Worldview, so I was delighted to check out two of their new Nature Unit Studies which I was sent for review, along with the corresponding newly available Digital versions of their magazine.

The Unit Studies are a natural complement to the format of the magazine, which is set up in three different coordinating sections~ here is an example of the table of contents taken from one of the issues we were given access to (Offered free for your perusal as well), the Fall '17 Digital Edition, which is the issue corresponding to the Pine Trees Study, one of the two studies we were sent to review.

Creation Illustrated
           

There are currently eight Nature Unit Studies available:
Badgers, Black Bears, Dragonflies, Fragrance
Joshua Tree National Park, Manatees, Pine Trees, Snow
and the 9th study on Butterflies (which corresponds to the latest issues, Spring '18 Digital Edition), will be available soon.

PINE TREES UNIT STUDY

The Pine Trees Unit study is the one that we chose to look at more in depth, in part because we have already covered snow in our studies, (perhaps to a greater degree than some, because my daughter takes amazing macro snowflake photos... ;), so Pine Trees was the more natural choice for us. 

The Lessons included in the Full Unit Studies include a list of Reading Resources, Educational Video suggestions, Vocabulary and Spelling pages, a Bible Study, Geography, Science, Math, Writing and Penmanship, Art, a Puzzle (Wordsearch), and Teacher's Answer Keys. 

 I had my son do parts of this study independently, and the lessons vary in difficulty. He was able to complete the Vocabulary, Spelling, Geography and Puzzle pages with ease (he chose not to complete the pine tree drawing on the Art page), but the Bible Study, Science and Math pages required a little more time, and/or some hands on help from mom. This tells me that the age range of 5th-8th grade is pretty accurate. 

We were also sent the Snow Unit Study from the Winter '18 Digital Edition.

 

In looking it over, I can say that I really like the Art page in the snow study, and will probably pull that out next winter~ he can go through his sister's photographs and see how many of the 35 snow flake shapes she has captured with her lens (did you know there were that many different basic shapes???!!!).

I will note that each issue already includes a study guide that covers many of the articles in the issue, but they are different from those in the full unit study (that addresses one topic in depth from the issue). The Full Unit Study is appropriate for grades 5-8.

A few more general bits of information about each Creation Illustrated issues~
They include coloring, photo, and poetry contests for homeschoolers, as well as Genesis Cuisine recipes to try out. You can subscribe to the Print Editions (which come out Quarterly ~ currently 25% off) and subscriptions to the Digital Editions will be available soon. In the meantime, there are some print back-issues available and the digital back-issues are being made available as they are uploaded ~ you will find all of that including another Sample Digital Back Issue, a Sample Unit Study on Fragrance, a character-building lesson, and more at Creation Illustrated. 

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Creation Illustrated
• Product: Pine Trees Study and Snow Unit Study
• Ages: Unit Studies 
• Price: 
• Unit Studies ~ Regularly $9.95, at the time of this post, 30% off at $6.95
• Print Magazine Subscription $14.95/year (Quarterly) 
• Digital Subscriptions (soon) $9.95/year
• Limited Print Back Issues also available $4.99 each

You can visit Creation Illustrated in on their Social Media Pages on
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Homeschool Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Pertinacity (Wordless?) Wednesday

Patient: Blessed ~ "Wordless" (not) Wednesday

My Wordless Wednesday posts are seldom actually wordless... 

more wordy in an inspirational manner (I hope) 

This was a bit of gorgeous that I snapped a photo of today...

What stage is your mould in today?
Are you being prepared, fired, or broken to display the glory that is found inside? 

Sharing a new-to-me resource
Quote found @ ChristianQuotes.info where you can search over 10,000 quotes by Biblical Reference, Author, or Topic. They can send you a daily quote to FB Messenger, if you're so inclined, and there are many shareable images found on their website and Facebook Page.

When you need to find a quote for a speech or paper, to help encourage a friend, or to add to a pretty picture, this is another resource for you!

Blessings~

*note: just an FYI/inspirational post, no promotion of any sort ;) 

Linking up to Sometimes Wordless Wednesday

Who are you?

Friday Foto...(Foliage)

Days like today make me appreciate the beauty of New England living...

Blessings~

Wordless Wednesday become Tardy, but Thankful Thursday... ;)

2017 HIGH SCHOOL BALL!!! 

Blessings~

Simple Truths- Learning

Photo cred to @PoodlesocksandPencilCases

Do the Things... (Almost Wordless Wednesday)

Wisdom from Mark Twain

Don't some of those daffodils look quite astonished?
I wonder what the tulip did? ;) 

Thanks for the quote, Debra! :)

Blessings~

A Good Egg... ;)

A good egg...

Hatches... 

And Then Flies! 

Blessings~

(Thanks for the quote, Debra! :) )

Wordless Wednesday (Simple Thanksgiving)

There is a time for everything...

He has made everything beautiful in its time...

He has also set eternity in the human heart; 

yet no one can fathom 

what God has done from beginning to end.

I know that there is nothing better for people 

than to be happy and to do good while they live.

That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil - this is the gift of God. 

Excerpts from Ecclesiates Chapter 3

National Parks Centennial (HAPPY 100th Birthday, NPS!!) (NuggetsofGold!)

Nothing like a major celebration to give me an incentive to post some photos from our road trip this summer. Be sure to check out the parks near you this weekend~

(Golden Nugget alert) From their website:

 The National Park Service turns 100 on August 25, 2016, and we're inviting visitors of all ages to join in the celebration throughout the month! With special events across the country, and free admission to all 412 national parks from August 25 through August 28, the National Park Service is encouraging everyone to #FindYourPark for the centennial!

Beyond that, if you have a 4th grader, be sure to check out the "Every Kid In A Park Pass" that will give you and your family free admission to the National Parks for one year.

Youngest getting his first badge (and patch!)
At the FIRST National Park, Yellowstone
Happy Birthday, NPS! 

One of my favorite features of the National  Parks is the Junior Ranger Program. The majority of them are offered for free (with a few exceptions, but the fee is nominal), your kids get a booklet, learn about the park, and receive a badge (usually) or sometimes a patch! Pretty cool! 

Because of the 100th birthday, some of this year's badges were special editions
Note the two wooden badges in the middle photo and the metal badge between. 

We were pleased to have the opportunity to visit some old favorites (from 2006), as well as some "new-to-us" visits!

In the style of Ansel Adams

Yellowstone (left top 3), *Devils Tower, *Mount Rushmore, *The Badlands, *Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, *Lincoln's Boyhood Home Memorial, *Mammoth Caves, *Lincoln's Birthplace, and *Independence Hall (*photo credits to Eldest)

We stopped by or "overlooked" a few more parks but didn't do any programs, sometimes because of the time of day (or night) we were visiting...

Niagara Falls National Historic area at 3:30am

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Theodore Roosevelt National Park overlook
Badlands of North Dakota

And some of the photos from the black and white montage up close and in color

Yellowstone National Park, Biscuit Basin

Yellowstone National Park, Old Faithful site before eruption

Yellowstone National Park, Old Faithful

Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone National Park, Artist's Point, Falls and "Grand Canyon"

Yellowstone National Park, Washburn Hot Springs Overlook

Yellowstone National Park, Barronette Peak Turnoff

Devil's Tower National Monument
photo credit to Eldest

Mount Rushmore National Monument
photo credit to Eldest

Badlands National Park

Jefferson Expansion National Memorial
photo credit to Eldest

Lincoln's Boyhood National Park, Indiana
photo credit to Eldest

Mammoth Cave National Park Entrance
photo credit to Eldest

Lincoln's Birthplace National Park, Kentucky

Independence Hall National Park, Philadelphia
photo credit to Eldest

Alright, I made some space, and photos are uploaded! 
If you enjoy this post, or have any questions about our trip, I do appreciate comments here on the blog! :D

I will be posting more about our trip in upcoming weeks, so stay tuned! 

Blessings~