The Missing Link: FOUND!

I just finished reading The Missing Link: FOUND, the first book in the Truth Seekers Mystery Series by Felice Gerwitz and Christina Gerwitz.  Felice Gerwitz is an author, and the founder of Media Angels, a Christian publishing company.  Felice wrote the Truth Seekers Mystery Series with her homeschooled daughter, Christina. 

When I first received this book to review, my 13 year old daughter ran off with it.  She was eager to read it, and enjoyed it very much.  She kept telling me about the book as we washed dishes, and as we ate dinner.  She was drawn into the story, and enjoyed learning more about creation science, which has been fascinating her for the past few months. 

I sat down to read The Missing Link: FOUND last night.  It wasn't difficult for my 13 year old, or myself to read.  We both were drawn into the story line, and were interested in the outcome of the plot.  The scientific debate between evolutionists and Creation Scientists was informative.  The book explained the scientific facts involved in the debate in an understandable way, for older children.

Our only critique is that we both found editing errors in the book.  13 yo A first told me that there was a word left out here and there, and that several times the first quotation mark was left off a quote.  I only noticed one preposition left out of a sentence, but I did notice the missing quotation marks. 

Due to the scientific discussions woven into the story, it would not make a good read-aloud for those with a wide age-range of children.   Most younger children would lose interest.  Families with only upper elementary and junior high age children would enjoy reading it together as a family.  However, I think it is most suitable for personal reading for the junior high student.

The Missing Link: FOUND is an enjoyable and educational book.  The Truth Seeker Mystery Series fills a need for interesting, wholesome, Christian books geared to junior high children.  The adventure mystery genre draws the reader in, while educating them about creation science.  The authors have found a niche with their emphasis on Creation Science and debunking evolution.

I would be glad to add The Truth Seeker Mystery Series to our family bookshelf.  It is a good series that my children would enjoy reading -- infinitely better than many of the new series being added to bookstore shelves around the country.  I'm looking forward to reading the remaining two books in the series.

The Missing Link: FOUND can be purchased from Media Angels website for $8.99 in softcover format ... perfect stocking stuffers for Christmas.  The 3-book series can be purchased for $22.00, saving nearly $5.00.   There are literature study guides to use in your homeschool available for each book, at $6.50 each.  A 3-book, 3-guide set is sold for $40.  While visiting the Media Angels website, you can look at their other Creation Science studies. 

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Trusting in Him,
April

Homeschool Library Builder -- Great Deals on Books!

I wanted to tell you about the great sale going on at Homeschool Library Builder right now.  They have $1, $2, $3, and $5 book bins right now, as well as a clearance section.  Check back frequently, because who knows what they'll toss in the bins next. 

 

Homeschool Library Builder is a website created by two women, both homeschool moms of four children (ages 8-20).  They love great books, and want to help us find the books we need at a savings!  They stock new and used, hardcover and softcover books.  Their books are rated by condition, and priced accordingly.  Some books are as low as 92% off. 

Some of the things I like about their website include:

• They have great membership benefits which include a points system for earning discounts on future purchases. 


• You can search their inventory by subject, age, geographic region, or by the curriculum it's used in.  I love the curriculum search feature, since we've used both Five In A Row, and Tapestry of Grace. 


• They are helping others with their Operation Hurricane, Fundraising Opportunities, and HSLB Marketplace.


• They will try to locate a book you need, if they don't have it in stock.


• Their Spotlight on the Season feature previews websites with activities and lessons for each holiday and season.

Add Homeschool Library Builder to your bookmarks, so you can start your book shopping there. 

 

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Trusting in Him,

April 

Homeschooling ABC's -- Help for new homeschoolers

When we started homeschooling, there was one lady in church who homeschooled, but she was very private and distant.  We didn't really interact.  She gave me two recommendations when I asked her what curriculum she used.  But that was it.   I had no one to advise me, and wading through the differing opinions on the internet was overwhelming.  Even the books I bought to help me learn to homeschool were overwhelming

 

Terri Johnson from Knowledge Quest is trying to reach out to new homeschoolers, to guide them through the process of beginning to homeschool.  She has designed an internet class called  Homeschooling ABC's for new homeschoolers.   You receive one letter/lesson via email each week, which breaks it down into 26 easy steps.  Each lesson is enough to get you through the next week of school, and builds upon previous lessons.  This course can help you begin to homeschool with confidence, and with proper priorities.

 

The weekly lessons not only provide a step-by-step approach to homeschooling, but they also bring a weekly dose of encouragement.  Terri writes with an encouraging tone, reassuring parents that they can homeschool their children.  She writes not only to the homeschooler just starting out with a preschooler or kindergartner, but also to those parents who have had to pull their children from a school suddenly. 

 

Homeschooling ABC's will help you organize your homeschool, establish your priorities, define your educational philosophy, find your curriculum, and understand the different learning styles in your family.  The class will also teach you how to buy and sell curriculum, teach multiple ages, and deal with the socialization question.  Each lesson recommends other resources: websites, helpful books, and curriculum sources.  Each lesson also comes with free resources you can download, and there are free gifts sprinkled throughout the course.  Over $200 of free gifts and curricula, to be exact. 

 

Terri knows how overwhelming this task can be to beginners, and she has provided a logical, simple approach to homeschooling.  She helps parents put their priorities in order, and focus on what is truly important.  It's so easy to become sidetracked, or bogged down in lesson plans and grading keys, that homeschooling parents can lose their focus.   Parents are left discouraged and disappointed in the homeschooling adventure.   How many have reached that point, and then quit?   I believe Homeschooling ABC's can prevent that.

 

The Homeschooling ABC's class costs $60, broken down into six monthly $10 payments.  I was thinking back to our early days of homeschooling, as we tried to purchase our curriculum.  I was afraid that $60 would have been too much for us to afford.  I mentioned this concern to my husband, the Frugal King, and he assured me that almost everyone can scrape together $10/month ... especially when it can save you money in the long run.  Not only because of the free resources and curricula that come with the class, but it will also save you from making costly mistakes in choosing the wrong curricula for your family.

 

I wish I'd had this class when I first began to homeschool.  It would have saved me so much stress and frustration.  It would have helped me remember why I was homeschooling, and not become focused on the wrong things  (like finishing every single math problem in the lesson that day ... even if it made my daughter cry.)  I definitely will be recommending Homeschooling ABC's to anyone who asks me about homeschooling.

 

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Trusting in Him,

April

Help Me 2 Teach Review



As a member of The Old Schoolhouse’ Homeschool Crew, I had the opportunity to review the website: HelpMe2Teach.  The owner of HelpMe2Teach was a teacher for more than 40 years.   She has worked hard to create a searchable internet directory of educational websites. 

The index is categorized by subject, and well-organized.  You can scroll through the table of contents, find the topic or subject area you desire, and then click to see a description of each website in that topic.  You can also use the search feature to find websites relating to your topic of interest. 

The websites in the list are clearly labeled to show you which ages they are most appropriate for.  This will save time when you are looking for information on the election process for your high school student, as opposed to elementary students. 

HelpMe2Teach is safe.  You could allow your children to use it to find information for themselves, and know that their search will not bring up inappropriate  websites.  There is no need to worry about who is in the room when you open a new website, hoping it is what it claims to be.

The creator of  HelpMe2Teach is very responsive to her customers.  When several members of the Homeschool Crew requested that she add faith-based websites to her directory, she did.  When others reported dead internet links, she corrected them.  When I had a problem with my account, she responded to my email and resolved the problem quickly. 

I’ve explored  HelpMe2Teach for 2 weeks now.  I’ve been pondering whether this was a service I would recommend to others.   I've debated whether it was a service I would purchase for myself, or not. 

Many homeschool Moms are excellent at internet scavenging themselves, or they are members of message boards and email groups where online resources are shared frequently.  Like me, they have a long list of homeschool-related bookmarks already.  For those moms, HelpMe2Teach may not be the best way to spend their money.  The main benefits for them would be time saved in searching for online resources, the safety of letting their children use the directory to find information themselves, and the ability to replace some purchased curricula with online free resources.

But for the moms who rely heavily on the internet for free resources, who don’t have a core curriculum already purchased, or who are just beginning to homeschool and don’t yet have a long list of bookmarks ...  HelpMe2Teach will be even more beneficial.  They can also use  HelpMe2Teach to find websites that will fill holes in their curriculum, or to cover all the subjects they teach.   They can easily create their own long list of bookmarked websites, as well as letting their children explore the directory.

HelpMe2Teach is a great resource for homeschool families that desire to use the internet as a core part of their curriculum.

HelpMe2Teach offers several different pricing structures, so you can choose the plan that best meets your family’s educational (and financial) needs.
12 months for $29.95
3 months for $15.95
1 month for $9.95
3 days for $4.95

The long term memberships allow for continual use as a family, in your homeschool.  This would be an excellent way to let your students do online research as you cover new topics in your lessons.  It also allows you to explore the directory in a leisurely manner. 

The shorter memberships would be good for those who desire to quickly search the directory and bookmark any new sites that they find, or any sites related to the topics they plan to cover in the next year. 

At the moment,  HelpMe2Teach has a SPECIAL OFFER!!  From now through December, you get a free year of membership, when you purchase a one year subscription.  Buy one year, get one free.  That’s 24 months of membership for $29.95 – just $1.25 per month.  That is a price that will even tempt the internet-scavenging experts.   To participate in this offer, you need to enter the code TOS into the discount coupon box in your order form.

Trusting in Him,
April