Wife, Then Mama

If I have said it once I will probably say it 6000 more times.  Mother Goose Time is the ultimate theme creator.  Every month we get a box PACKED full of curriculum that is matched perfectly to the month's theme.  Storybooks, games, manipulatives, you name it, it "goes"!!! The Experience God add-on is no different.  God is an Artist fits seamlessly with our Art Studio theme we had this month.  It is SOOO true as well.  God is the ULTIMATE artist.  God made the world and everything in it!  Even the best artist has never created anything more than tributes to the beauty God has created. Every month the Experience God Teacher's Kit comes with Story Cards.  These cards usually have pictures related to the story that help the children remember.  On the back is the story you read to them, complete with prompts to make it more interactive.  This month was a little different, instead of 4-5 cards, we got seven cards, one for ea...

Have you ever written a book?  Yeah, me neither.  But Tracie Peterson has written over 100 of them!  An author with a career spanning over 20 years must know how to craft a compelling tale.  I was not disappointed. A Beauty Refined is a historical romance with mystery, murder, and intrigue.  From the back cover: Phoebe Von Bergen, the daughter of a German count, is excited to visit America for the first time while her father purchases sapphires in Helena, Montana. Little does she know, however, that her father's intentions--both for her and the gemstones--are not what she thinks. Ian Harper, a lapidary working in Helena, finds the dignified young woman staying at the Broadwater Hotel more than a little intriguing. Yet the more he gets to know her, the more he realizes that her family story is based on a lie--a lie she has no knowledge of. And Ian believes he knows the only path that will lead her to freedom. Meeting Ian has changed everything for Phoebe, a...

Little Guy and I have been having a lot of fun with Mother Goose Time this month.  I think it is really wonderful to teach him about great works of art, because what could be cuter than a three year old being able to identify famous artwork!  This is Little Guy's recreation of Girl With a Pearl Earring, next to a print of the original.  Yes, his lacks the detail of the Vermeer's, but it does have something it has never had before.  Facial features!  And in the right places!  Alright, I admit that I instructed him where they should go, but I have done that plenty of times before, and he just scribbled randomly.  So I was pretty impressed.  It doesn't take much to be impressed when you are a mom... This is his version of Monet's Chrysanthemums, which was made with a pokey ball (not to be confused with a PokeBall) and paint.  It was a lot prettier before he glued his "shapes" on, but I have REALLY been working on letting...

Every month Mother Goose Time Blog Ambassadors get a new topic to write about, in addition to the regular posts.  This month's topic, Professionalism, is more aimed at the people using the curriculum in a pre-school setting, but I figured it was a great time to write a "Mission Statement" for my homeschooling, and explain how Mother Goose Time helps with work towards my mission. As I have found out through homeschooling my foster daughters this summer, homeschooling is time consuming.  While the girls will be going back to school in the fall, Little Guy will always be homeschooled.  It is worth the time and energy to me, because I love him, and am responsible for him.  I feel that homeschooling has many benefits, including the ability to tailor the education the child receives, decide on the most appropriate curriculum, and teach them diligently about a Biblical worldview.  Different things matter to different people, but these are the motivating factors...

Just reading this title (and its subtitle) was a little reassuring to me.  I have thought those very words a number of times.  Obviously I wasn't the only one that had thought those ridiculous words.  If My Husband Would Change, I'd Be Happy: And Other Myths Wives Believe is not quite what I was expecting, but that was a good thing!  I am not a great wife and mother, but I truly desire to BE a great wife and mother, so I have read a number of marriage books, and this one is actually different than most of them.  Although all the "Good Wife Guides" I have read are definitely Christian based, most of them still focus on the practical steps you can take to be an excellent wife.  This book truly focuses on the fact that you will only be fulfilled through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  From the back of the book: Like most brides on their wedding day, you no doubt were filled with love for your husband and the hope of a happy life together. Bu...

Learning to be responsible with money is something most people don't think to teach their children until they are older.  Of course, Mother Goose Time is ahead of the curve!  This month, in addition to A LOT of art, we are learning character traits related to financial stewardship, and the ways to use money. We started out by reading the story of Falco the Flightless Bird.  Falco found a coin, and was intrigued.  He started to spend all his time looking for coins (kind of a gambling analogy), and didn't even realize he had lost all of his feathers in his pursuit of coins!  This month, we are helping Falco get his feathers back by making responsible decisions.  The first thing we do each day is find a feather from our "nest" (we were supposed to have used a box to make a nest, but I just pile them up every day) that is both the color of the day, and starts with a certain letter.  Then we read the scenario on the back of the feather.  If...

Children love art.  This month our theme for Mother Goose Time is The Art Studio.  In addition to learning to recognize famous works of art such as the Mona Lisa, The Girl With the Pearl Earring, and Starry Night, Little Guy will get to experiment with creating his own art in a variety of ways.  Printmaking, Pointellism, and Stenciling are just a few of the different techniques we will be learning. The set up for this month is completely different than most months.  It is designed differently because of the fact that many childcare facilities have older children during the summer months, so its a little more "day camp" and a little less preschool.  Opening this box was a surprise, because things I expected to be there were not, and there were lots of things I didn't anticipate that were included. One of the main focuses of this month is good financial stewardship.  Everyday we have an activity to do that focuses on learning responsible ways to ear...

I don't really know why I picked this book to review.  I was never a Joan Rivers fan.  Not that I had a problem with her, I just don't think I ever watched her or listened to her.  I did read an old book by her, which was funny, but not something that impressed me to terribly much. In all honesty I really only knew her as "the lady that had a terrifying amount of plastic surgery performed on her face", but the blurb on the back of the book made me want to read The Book of Joan.  That and the cover, with the vintage mother/daughter picture and the shiny lettering. I didn't love the book, and I didn't hate it.  On Amazon I am going to give it three stars.  It is a sweet book that showcases a loving mother/daughter relationship.  It was interesting to read the juxtaposition of their incredibly non-traditional lifestyle with the semi-normal family life they had.  Melissa's parents went to all her games and horse shows.  They tau...

One of my favorite things about Mother Goose Time is how well they plan their themes.  There are many things that we get that are quite similar every month, but is completely matched to the month's theme.  I love that each month is new and different, but still predictable, which is nice for both Little Guy and me.  Our Circle Time display gets a new poster, a new calendar, new shapes, letters, numbers, and colors every month, to match the new theme and the new basics we are learning.  I love updating my Circle Time display, and Little Guy loves to see what is new. Every month we get a storybook that matches the theme.  We get manipulatives that go with the theme, as well as pattern cards, "board" games, story problem cards, and so many more things, all tied into the same theme.  I absolutely love it! I think that the theme study is great for small children.  It allows for their knowledge and experience to build throughout the month.  For ex...

Every month our Mother Goose Time kit comes with the Experience God add-on pack.  This pack includes a teacher's pack that has a Bible verse poster, story cards, and story-telling set, and a guide.  There is also a child's pack for each student, and it has craft supplies for four projects, as well as family newsletters for each week. I am incredibly impressed with the way Mother Goose Time ALWAYS ties the Experience God kit into the regular curriculum.  It is so cohesive!  In March our theme was Discover the Desert, and our Bible story was Moses in the Desert .  April was Bees and Butterflies, and we learned about the Easter Story .  May was Bubbles, Boats, and Floats and  Catching Fish was our Bible story.  This month we were learning about A to Zoo Animals, so our Experience God theme was, of course, Noah and the Ark. Two fun activities we did this month that connected our Bible study with learning were Animals 2 x 2 and a God's Prom...