A Cool Resource I Waited Too Long To Use

Sometimes I can be slow and a little bit dense. I have heard people (well, homeschool people) talk about Rainbow Resource for years. And I blew them off because really, if I'm going to buy manipulatives I can do it cheaper in my own town, right? I so regret not listening to those people. I mean really listening.
Last week, while chatting with a homeschool mom I know IRL, she said, "Guess what I discovered? Rainbow Resource sells All About Spelling!!!"
I totally missed the delight of her discovery because my first and overriding thought was, "Rainbow Resource sells curriculum????"
She went on to tell me that she orders all the curriculum she can from R.R. because after a certain amount the shipping is free.
Free shipping???
I went home at once and began to hunt for the items on my To-Buy list.

I found all but Math U See, Rod & Staff, and Bible Study Guide for All Ages.


I qualified for free shipping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


But that isn't even the best part.



The best part is that Several of my items were CHEAPER than anywhere else I had found them. Anywhere else. Even used on Amazon. So I saved about $20 even before I got free shipping.

Rainbow Resource. I was very impressed and will Always, Forevermore, look there first for all my homeschooling needs. Even if it isn't a manipulative!

Rainbow Resource did not send me anything for this blog post. To R.R. I am only "Order Number 343k6786jy787". I am sharing this information with you because I wish it had been spelled out to me so plainly many many years ago.

500 Writing Prompts Review CLOSED

When I taught my niece and nephew a few years ago, I felt they needed a push into writing. So, I looked around for some fun writing prompts and came up with only cheesy, lame, "where did you GET these, Aunt Laura?" ones. Now my own kids are getting to age where they don't have teems of ideas at their fingertips and it is getting important for me to get them writing more. So I was pleased when Brian Cohen contacted me about his book,  500 Writing Prompts for Kids: First Grade through Fifth Grade. 
He asked us to review this book, which turned out very easy to do! The book consists of a short introduction and 500 writing prompts divided into ten different categories. I had the kids pick a category and a number (1 to however many prompts were in that category) then I read them the prompt and turned them loose.
Nate is seven years old and not a kid who writes on his own. In fact, he ended up dictating most of his story to me. His prompt was: Your favorite gadget, the one you can't live without has slipped out of your hands and smashed into a million pieces on the sidewalk. What happens next?
His story was:
I tried to fix it, but it burned my hand. So I went and bought a new one.
Kaytie is eight years old and she loves to write. She makes up stories on her own often, but they usually follow the same theme each time. Her prompt was: What is the first thought you remember having this morning? Was it something good or bad? Write about waking up this morning and what you did when you first had that thought.
Her story was:
What I Thought This Morning
When I woke up this morning, I rubbed my eyes and thought, today is Wednesday! And we get to go to the dentist, and church.

I am pleased to have this book, and we will use it often in the future, to give the boys impetus to write and to give the girls some variety in their writing. I liked the number of the prompts, the variety of topics and that they are things that kids actually can write about. I also liked that there was not a lot of "fluff" in this book, but just 500 prompts that were quick and easy to use.

In addition to the review, author Bryan Cohen is doing a giveaway of his book, 500 Writing Prompts for Kids for the next week, along with a grand prize drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card! Simply comment on this post and you are entered in the drawing for one digital copy of the book on this site (there are over 10 sites involved in the giveaway, with one winner of a book per site). One lucky winner will be picked from all the sites to win a $50 Amazon gift card! If 500 Writing Prompts for Kids reaches the top 500 in sales this week, he will add another $50 Amazon gift card to the drawing. The drawing will occur on June 22nd.
Visit his website at Build Creative Writing Ideas.
Remember that when you comment, I need to have an email address to contact you in the event you win!


UPDATE: Bryan Cohen did the drawing and will be contacting the winner via email. Thank you all for participating!

Their Bible Time

The most important thing I can give my kids is a relationship with Jesus. I really want them to understand that even though they are little kids, their relationship with Him is just as valid and authentic as an adult's is. I don't want them to view their dad and me as mediators in their relationship, but more as signposts. So, gradually, I've been giving Kaytie and Nate independence in their "quiet time" every day. It started with them reading their Bibles/Bible story books to themselves each morning. Then, when that routine was established, I gave them each a notebook with the instructions to write or draw about the story they read each day.

This term of school, we have taken it a step further. I set up a basket with their Bible, a devotional book for kids, their notebooks, a pencil, a baggie of crayons, and this sheet.

front page

back page

We went over it first, so that I was sure they understood, and now they take their basket every morning (right now they are taking turns because they are sharing a Bible story book) and trot off to the other room. If they want to, they show me their journals. But I don't grade, supervise, or even ask questions about this time alone with God. It's all between them.