Review: The StoryBook Knight

This has got to be one of the CUTEST books I've read in a long time.  

Not sweet or fun, just oh my.. I find it very cute.

 

A family unit much like my own.

A mom, a dad and a young lad.

This young lad.

Strikes me as the geeky sort who thinks and likes to read.

His folks expect him to be a knight and to that end get him a shield and sword.  

A DRAGON HAS BEEN SPOTTED.....OH NO!!!!

Leo packed up his things (including some books) and off he set.

 Leo fought,

But he fought in a most unconventional way.

I smiled.

Such a cute book with such a lovely unconventional lad who solved things his own way.

I LIKE IT.

I'm kinda thinking that your children might like it to. 

 After all... the sign of a good children's book is when the adults like it as well.  :)

If you want to know more about this book, check it out at Raincoast Books.

The Storybook Knight

Author: Helen Docherty

Illustrator:

Thomas Docherty

Published by: Sourcebooks
Size: 10.27 x 11.25

 32 pages
Ages 4-8 years

affiliate link:  The Storybook Knight

Hymn Study: Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

This hymn fit perfectly the sermon we had this past Sunday.   Speaking to how Christ left heaven to come to earth as a regular person, except he wasn't.   He was the one the John the Baptist pointed the way to, the one to whom we are called to come to in repentance.  

Written by Emily Elliot with music by Timothy R. Matthews.   This hymn was first sung at St. Mark's Church, in Brighton England where Elliot's Father was rector.

In 1870, it was published in the Church Missionary Juvenile Instructor, which Elliott edited. (source)


This was a hymn written to help children understand advent and the Nativity.  (source)

Lyrics

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.

Refrain

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in great humility.

Refrain

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.

Refrain

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word,
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.

Refrain

When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home,
Saying Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee.

Final refrain

My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When Thou comest and callest for me.

Days of December: List

You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
He's making a list and checking it twice
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is comin' to town

These words are so familiar this time of year aren't they?

I grew up NOT believing in Santa, my mom did...and when she found out that he wasn't real, she wondered what else her mom had lied to her about.   Ergo.. .no Santa.  

Therefore as I grew up I didn't understand the fervour of "needing to be good" at Christmas time.  The wanting to make sure that you only had good things on the list that some Santa figure was writing down.

I remember, as a teen, a little girl crying because she just knew that Santa had caught her being bad and had written it on his list.  She was SO frightened about this.

This list.

So I wonder.... is it really helping children to teach them about Santa.  To teach them about a fat, jolly man who watches them ALL THE TIME so he can decide if they are good enough to get presents.

Wouldn't it be better to teach them about Christ, and about God's immense love for them.   That he even sent his son to cover all the naughtiness that we can get into.  How all we have to do is accept that love.   Love rather than fear....  

Just makes me wonder...

 

Do not Forget the Lord God

Picking up my studies in Ezekiel here.    You can find the rest of my study HERE. 

Today Ezekiel 23

   
First the written word of God, then I will give my thoughts as I do my devotions.   Perhaps you might like to join me in this study?

Days of December: Peace

When I thought about the word peace this morning, this song immediately popped into my head.

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Father
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Father
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
In peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.

This song was written by Vince Gill.

 

As I hummed it, letting the words run through my mind, I started to think about those words "And let it begin with me".

I started to feel bothered by them.  

Peace doesn't begin with me.   It doesn't.  It can play out through my actions and attitude, but it really doesn't begin with me.  It begins with God, from the very beginning of time.

Adam and Eve sinned, and God promised this, that even though there would forever be conflict between man and Satan, between man and God...that Satan might bruise our heels but we shall bruise his head.  Throughout scripture we can find references to how God will best Satan, and in Revelations we see that truth fully revealed.   So Satan HAS been beaten (it just hasn't been fully completed yet).   and I fear I am not saying this all correctly....so work more with my thoughts than my words.   If that makes sense.  :)

Will there truly be peace on earth until that final day?

No.  There can't be.  God promised in Genesis 2

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel

So until one or the other is destroyed, there will be no peace.  Enmity means no peace.

BUT peace is still hoped for and longer for and sought after.

Peace can still be seen in small part in the things we say and do and how we live.

We don't have to fight and make war and what not.  

 Peace, can be seen and lived in part, and shows as if in a mirror dimly, what will come.

This post is part of my Days of December series, The others so far are:

Weather.

Santa Based Christmas Books

Do you do Santa at your house?   There are many people who do, and if so...I have a couple of picture books that just might delight your children this Christmas season.

Santa, in the eyes of so many, is getting set to come to town.  Have you been naughty, have you been nice?   Excited children want to know... Santa where are you?

Does Santa really care?  Does Santa have the time he needs to bring everyone presents?

Today I have two books here that will help excited children answer their questions about Santa.

Santa's Sleigh is on it's way to my house is a hardcover book about an excited little girl who can hardly sleep because SANTA IS COMING to HER HOUSE.  Santa is coming.  Santa is coming!!!

Beautifully illustrated, with select easy to read lines if you want to read it with your children.  Lines like  HEY SANTA HEY SANTA!   In this book, all those questions children have about Santa are answered, and some additional ones are raised, like does Santa really have a motor on his sleigh?

It's actually a nice little book, the last part of it making me smile, as a sleepy child COMPLETELY misses out on seeing Santa as he becomes a broom, or a curtain or .....  For Santa lovers, this book will go over rather well.
 

Written by Eric James

Illustrated by Robert Dunn 

Published by: Sourcebooks
Size: 10.86 x 8.75 

32 pages
Ages 3-6 years 
Affiliate link, Amazon.com Santa's Sleigh Is on Its Way to My House: A Christmas Adventure

Presents Through the Window answers the question, what would Santa do if he's running out of time... afterall..all those presents must be delivered!   What would Santa do?  Even if he's an unusual helicopter riding, pink-suited Santa.

Santa has a great solution...he'll just look through the window, see who is there and toss a present through a window.   It's actually a book I think children would get a kick out of... potentially.  It could, depending on the child, raise fears that Santa MIGHT get it wrong too.

Santa is peeking through windows, that are interactive.   Do you see the cut out?

Some children might find it simply hilarious how many times Santa simply gets it wrong, and BADLY.  BUT by the end of the book it all works out.  Everyone has a present, and everyone is happy.  It's just a silly little book answering the question of what would Santa do if he was running too short on time and just needs those presents delivered.

Author: Taro Gomi
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Size: 9.43 x 8.91
36 pages
Ages 3-5

Affiliate Link: Amazon.com: Presents Through the Window: A Taro Gomi Christmas Book

Review: The Art of Beatrix Potter

Does the thought of Beatrix Potter and her books bring back good memories?   Do you love the art work that she did?   Wouldn't it be neat to watch a talent develop and see the progression in a famous series of books, as well as to see what else Miss Potter was interested in as an artist?

Well then... Have I got the book for you!!!  

I originally was going to put this book in my art series, (would post mid January), but as I started going through it I thought no.... I cannot wait that long.  This book is WAY to beautiful and nice to let it wait that long.   Beatrix Potter did such lovely work.   I will be referring to it later on in the Art Book Series, but for now, let me tell you about this lovely hardcover book that tells us all about The Art of Beatrix Potter.

So what do you get in this marvellous book?

Five main sections covering
1. Becoming Beatrix Potter
2. London and the South Coast
3. Scotland
4. The Lake District
5. Wales and Beyond

 As I went through this book I discovered reams upon reams of gorgeous drawings.  I met all the characters from her book, discovering that:

I discovered that Beatrix secretly bought Peter Rabbit, and eventually trained him to walk on a leash.  Can you imagine seeing that?   Made me grin when I thought about it.

There is SO much I could tell you about this book, just so very much, but I wanted to tell you about the fungi pictures.  YES.. I like fungi, I love taking pictures of them, and as I was browsing through this book look at what I discovered!!!!

Did you that Miss Potter did up a whole bunch of drawings on fungus..and she did them really well?   I was thoroughly impressed and learned so much!   :)

That was only one part of the book though, scattered throughout were all her characters that we know and love, Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin and all the rest.

This image made me smile as well, three guinea pigs in a basket.  I used to raise guinea pigs and still miss their wheeking at me first thing in the morning.  Seeing this picture brought back good memories for me.  In fact this whole book did that, seeing the pictures of the Peter Rabbit books and the guinea pigs...just gave me the warm fuzzies.

 This is a very thorough book that is not a dry treatise.   Tons of art work with the words to fill in the details to delight and educate the reader.  Beauty in art, and strength and knowledge in words.  

For anyone who treasures the work of Beatrix Potter and wants to know the woman behind the books and how she developed her talent, this book is a perfect fit.

Author:  Emily Zach

foreword by Steven Heller

introduction by Linda Lear

Publisher:Chronicle Books
Size: 9.96 x 11.28
256 pages

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

Amazon.ca

 The Art of Beatrix Potter: Sketches, Paintings, and Illustrations

Amazon.com

The Art of Beatrix Potter: Sketches, Paintings, and Illustrations

Jumping Around This Week

Since I've been battling illness yet this week, our schooling is still not back on track.

I have been trying though to do a bit more.

We've done a bit of reading in our history encyclopedia, story of the world, wolf keepers (which is a great read!), wonders of the ancient world and coyotes.

The lad is continuing re-reading the Warrior Cat series.   I've spent sometime listening to book 12 of the Ranger's Apprentice Series.  I've also scheduled a few blog posts.

In our reading we came across some interesting "let's learn more ideas".  

To that end we've learned about Japan's Keyhole graves.   You can see a link all about them here.

We learned a bit about St. Peter's Basilica as we tried to build a 3D model of it.

We listened to some coyote noises.

We also then hunted up what some of those noises meant. Adirondack Almanack helped.

Most days the lad did his Veritas History and Bible, and worked through his smarts.   More about them here, Working through our Smarts.    We've struggled to get in a whole lot more.   I could tell he's getting on the mend as Thursday and Friday he was begging his dad to take him out pokemon go-ing and these last two weeks that hasn't come up at all.   SO YEAH!!!!!   Perhaps we're going to kick this bug after-all eh!  :)

What else?

OH... I can't forget to tell you about this COOL virtual tour of St. Peter's.   Check it out here!

The rest of the time the lad played computer games, read, tidied his room and chilled out.   He continued with doing his archery, karate and Cadet meeting.   I did a lot of sitting, handling digestive upset due to a new med, got some blood work done (learned I'm a bit anemic) and generally worked to get better.   I did some blogging, sleeping, TV watching and eating of tootsie rolls (see crave).

Since I've been mostly chair bound and getting more mentally alert (another yeah!!!) I've been doing some blogging.   I also switched blogs.   I used to do most of my blogging on Weebly, but lately it's having issues with my server and I said "nuts to this" and have moved back to my blogger account full time.  I will have the LONG job of copying over my posts from there, but what's a gal to do eh?

But back to the point at hand:

Word Prompts posts 

These are just FUN to do.  They are normally short and sweet, and let's me feel creative.  :)
What I crave.   Five minute Friday post
Weather.  Inspired by my international student
Decorate.   Tis the season you know?
Lesson.   Illness teaches much.

Life and Faith

Field Trip to Fort York.   A trip to Fort York in Toronto.
God sought a man.   Ezekiel 22
God's sword is out.  Ezekiel 21
Book Club: The book of Negroes.   What the title says.  Good book.
Sunday Sermon: Keep awake, be alert.
Hymn Study: Rejoice, rejoice, believers.

Homeschooling and Reviews

Alpha-Mania Adventures. Prereaders phonics and phonemes program.
Working through our Smart books.   What this part of our dailies is.
Art Series: Draw, paint, print like the great artists.   GREAT BOOK for doing art lessons.
Seasonal Books to Enjoy.   Two fun books.

(link up is here)

What I Crave

When I saw this word prompt this morning you know what popped into my head?

Yup.   Tootsie rolls.
The local dollarama sells 2, 2 packs for $1.   This is not a good thing.

When I am ill, or tired, or grumpy, or just generally out of sorts, this is what I crave.

I also crave other things like doritos, Mr. Big chocolate bars, and hickory sticks.   But mostly... Tootsie rolls.

I've been sick a lot these past two months.  Cold, flu, pneumonia, generalized exhaustion, and persistent cough.j

ALL that weight I lost (to help with my overall health).... well...it's kinda crept back because... As much as I love tootsie rolls...they certainly like to stick around.

I will have work to do again eh?

I really really need to learn how to get my comfort in other ways.
From reading scripture, to talking with friends, to just relaxing with my family.... but what do I do?
I want a tootsie roll.

How does one break that cycle?  
Especially when one doesn't feel well and the whole world feels like ick because well "I" feel like ick?

I know it doesn't help that my hubby is the same way... he loves his pastries when he's ill/tired/out of sorts just like I love my tootsie rolls...

It does sometimes confound me though.   God calls me to be BEYOND my temptations.   But this one... this one I don't know how to beat.

Thoughts?

This has been a five minute Friday post, word prompt provided by Miss Kate.
It's a quick five minute free write.  No editing or fussing about.  Just writing on a given prompt.
Then linking up and encouraging those who have gone on before.
Join us won't you?

Review: Alpha-Mania Adventures

Are you working at helping your youngsters learn to read?   Today I have a series of five books called "Alpha-Mania Adventures" that should prove to be an aid to you.

This series of book has been created based on a program by Ruth Rumack, who has a Bachelor's in Education.  She has a particular interest in working with students of all ages who experience reading challenges, as well as those diagnosed with learning differences and other exceptionalities such as ADHD, anxiety, and executive functioning issues. She is a member of the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario and regularly attends learning conferences to ensure that she is on the leading edge of new research and new methodologies. At her Learning Space, Ruth and her team of highly-qualified educators provide individualized support that emphasizes honoring the individual strengths and needs of each child. Their goal is to provide all students with a strong academic foundation, achieved through active, kinesthetic learning that doesn’t feel like learning at all.  (supplied information)

These books are actually rather cool.   Children, playing pirates, happen to meet some real pirates.   These pirates all talk in rhyme. The goal of these books is to, in a fun engaging way, introduce children to phonics and phonological awareness.

Brightly coloured pages tell the story.   Which are interlaced with predominately white pages with activities for the learner to complete.

E

 Each book closes with a number of bonus activities.   Some of these activities are: making salt-dough letters, making letters in sand, making up their own pirate rhymes, say it slow, say it fast games, making alliterations with food, and digging for treasure as well as many more.

The alphabet is provided as well as answers for each activity are found in the back of the books.   I would recommend getting the whole series as each book works are a particular set of phonics and phonemes. 

There are five books in the series, each book introducing children to new sounds and letters.  Each book is about 40 pages long.

Written by Jennifer Makwana
Based on the the Alpha-Mania Program by Ruth Rumack
Illustrated by Jalisa Henry
Pages 40
Meant for Pre-readers

Website: Rumack Resources and Alpha-Maniacs   

Amazon.ca
 Alpha-Mania Adventures: The Great Riddle Race: A Sound Manipulation Book
Alpha-Mania Adventures: The Splitter Critter and the Greedy Pirates: A Segmenting Book
Alpha-Mania Adventures: The Fantastic Floating Feast: An Alliteration Book
Alpha-Mania Adventures: Slomo's Secret Treasure: A Blending Book
Alpha-Mania Adventures: Captain Ray and the Rhyming Pirates: A Rhyming Book

Amazon.com
 Alpha-Mania Adventures: Captain Ray and the Rhyming Pirates: A Rhyming Book (Volume 1)
 Alpha-Mania Adventures: Slomo's Secret Treasure: A Blending Book (Pirates) (Volume 2)
 Alpha-Mania Adventures: The Fantastic Floating Feast: An Alliteration Book (Pirates) (Volume 3)
 Alpha-Mania Adventures: The Great Riddle Race: A Sound Manipulation Book (Pirates) (Volume 5)
 Alpha-Mania Adventures: The Splitter Critter and the Greedy Pirates: A Segmenting Book (Volume 4)

 

For more information, connect with Rumack on her website and the series' site, as well as Rumack's Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.