"Wonderland: A Coloring Book Inspired By Alice's Adventures" Book Review

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland has a special place in my heart.  It was the first book I ever read to my little girl (before she was even a year old), so when I had the opportunity to review this coloring book, I jumped at the chance!

Adult coloring books have become all the rage!  Their intricate designs offer hours of stress-relieving fun!  (Adults are beginning to see why kids love to color so much.  It lowers blood pressure, relieves stress, and calms the mind.)

Protecting Our Kids: Keeping Kids Safe From Physical And Sexual Abuse

As a mom to three young children, their protection is ALWAYS on my mind.  Because they are still young, they are still pretty insulated.  But no matter how hard my husband and I try - or how hard every other mom and dad on earth tries - we can't watch our children every minute of the day.  And so, its EXTREMELY important to teach them safety tips that will keep them from danger.  With that in mind, I thought I'd share with you, my precious readers, some of my favorite tips and resources (from the experts) for protecting our kids!  I go over these tips during homeschool time, ask them questions and give them scenarios to help them be prepared!

Let me start by giving you a few statistics. (Stats taken from netgrace.org , safelyeverafter.com , and https://www.nsopw.gov)
1.) 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men have been sexually abused as children.
2.) 1 out of 4 children are physically abused.
3.) 90% of child sexual abuse occurs by someone the child knows.
4.) It takes less than 1 minute for a predator to lure a child away.
5.) Approximately 1.8 million adolescents in the U.S. have the the victims of sexual assault.
6.) Not all perpetrators are adults - an estimated 23% of reported cases of child sexual abuse are perpetrated by individuals under the age of 18.

NKJV Teen Study Bible Review

If you read my blog, you know how much I love a study Bible!  Seriously!  I can't get enough!  I love the notes and explanations in a study Bible.  They really help you dig into the Word!  So what could be a better gift for a teenager than a study Bible geared towards them!  The NKJV Teen Study Bible is just that sort of Bible!

All of the study helps in this Bible are geared towards teens - their problems, their questions, and their life...

NIrV Minecrafters Bible Review

I don't have any little "minecrafters" in my house, but I have lots of friends who do, so I jumped at the opportunity to review this new Mincrafters Bible (releasing June 7, 2016)!  One thing that really helps kids learn the Bible is being able to intereact with it.  This Bible helps accomplish that in a way that will keep your child entertained.

With the NIrV (NIV Reader-Friendly) translation, this Bible is easy-to-understand for young readers.  And throughout the Bible are full-color pages with unofficial Minecraft activities.  For example, their are challenges like building Solomon's Temple (1 Kings 6), planting crops (Mark 4), and create a stable and a manger (Luke 2, Matthew 2).

If your child is into minecraft, they probably want to play whenever they can (like most other video games).  If they're gonna play, why not have them read a Bible story and complete the challenge. Use their hobby to help them engage more with God's word!

I received a copy of this book, free of charge, from Zonderkidz, in exchange for my honest review.

Great Mother's Day Gift Ideas

*Note - I had planned to post this review much earlier, but my oldest came down with a NASTY bug.  When I finally had her nursed back to health, she lovingly shared the bug with me.  Haha!  I considered not posting, but then I thought of how many folks forget Mother's Day, so I thought it would come in handy.  Also, to be honest, as a mom, I much more prefer to be surprised with a gift on a day OTHER than Mother's Day.  It shows that my loved ones appreciate me even when they aren't required to!  So pick up one of these fantastic books for your mom and hold it as a "just because" gift. Your mom will love that!

Mother's Day is coming up!  (Yay!) Does anyone else wish Mother's Day was on a Saturday instead of Sunday?  Seriously, what mom gets to sleep in and enjoy breakfast in bed when you have little kids to get ready for church?  But I digress. Every mom wants to feel appreciated, so I thought I'd give you guys some great gift ideas for that sweet mama in your life.

1.) The Mother Letters (Revell Books)-

"Safe House: How Emotional Safety Is The Key To Raising Kids Who Live, Love And Lead Well" Book Review

There are thousands of Christian parenting books out there.  And I've read quite a few.  Some I've loved.  Some I've hated.  And some I've marginally agreed with.  I've found that its always good to take a parenting book with a grain of salt.  After all, no two parenting situations are exactly the same.  I enjoyed Joshua Straub's Safe House because it focused on something that I need to work on - emotions.  I often find myself getting emotional when my kids disobey - getting angry, frustrated, exasperated.  But I know that if I respond in my emotions, then I'm not teaching my children good behavior.  (Have you ever seen your kid have a hissy fit and you realize that they are modeling you?  I have.  And its painful.)

Getting Artistic With Quarto Books!

There's nothing more fun that getting your craft on!  I'm a crafter at heart.  I inherited that from my mama, who inherited it from her daddy.  My problem is, unlike my mama and grandpa, I need a little "help" being creative.  Haha! With three small kids, I often feel like I don't have enough brain cells left to think things up on my own.  So I'm always thrilled to try a new artistic how-to book! 

The fine folks at Quarto Publishing Group were kind enough to send me some help, so let's take a look!

1.) Art Lab For Kids; 52 Creative Adventures In Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Paper, And Mixed Media -

Great Zonderkidz Resources for New Believers (Young Kids)

I am so thrilled to let my readers know that my oldest accepted Christ this past Sunday!  Her father and I were blessed to be able to lead her to the Lord.  Although she's young, we feel confident that she understands her decision.  But we want to make sure that we help her to grow in Christ.  So I'm always on the lookout for great books that will help her to grow.  Thankfully, the AWESOME folks at Zonderkidz agreed to share some of their newest resources with my daughter so that I can share my thoughts with my readers!

1.) Kids Quest Study Bible NIrV (Releases April 19, 2016) - Up to this point, we've been mostly using Bible story books with the kids. But we wanted to give our daughter her very own Bible to celebrate her decision to follow Christ.  The Kids Quest Study Bible is a great option!  Its an NIrV. (That means its an NIV "reader friendly" version, perfect for kids 6-10 years old.)

Learning Made Fun: Great Educational Resources From Quarto Publishing Group

As a mom of three, I'm constantly on the lookout for great books to share with my kids. And as a homeschooling mom, if I can find a great book that teaches my kids, then all the better!  Recently I came across Quarto Publishing Group while searching Amazon for some new, interesting and educational books.  The fine folks at Quarto were kind enough to send several of their titles for review.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE that they're all educational in some way!  And I love that they have something for all ages!!!  So let's take a look!

1.) Animal Parade Puzzle Book - If you have a toddler, this is a great book for you!  Not only is it a board book (no paper pages for your little one to rip), but its bright and colorful!  Your toddler will love looking at all the colorful prints on these pages!

But, to take this book up a notch, its interactive!!!  There's a puzzle piece on every page!!!  So as you're reading, your little one can remove the pieces and put the puzzle together!!!!  So cool!!!

And to add to the educational aspect of this book, it teaches little ones about the concepts of "bigger" and "smaller."  The farther along you get in the book, the bigger the animal!

Once you're finished, the puzzle pieces go right back in the book!  Fantastic!

2.) Amazing (Mostly) Edible Science - One thing that makes education more interesting is a hands-on activity!  This book is FILLED with them (and, as the name implies, most of them are edible)!

There are all sorts of experiments and activities of all different levels.  (Some are simple and some are more involved.) One of my favorites is this Candy-Cane Origami.  All you need is a handful of candy canes, tin foil, and a cookie sheet!  How fun is that!!!  And seriously, who doesn't have 100 old candy canes after Christmas?!?  I know we do!

3.) Art Lab: 52 Creative Adventures In Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Paper, And Mixed Media - My kids LOVE doing art projects!  And I love them too!  But I often find myself at a loss for a creative idea.  This book solves that problem!  There are all sorts of fantastic ideas in here - from drawing, to painting, to leaf prints.  Each idea has step-by-step directions and pictures (a MUST for people like me who do better if they can SEE what its supposed to look like).

There's also a section at the beginning of the book that has lots of helpful hints for setting up an art space, working with others, etc.

4.) Nature's Day: Discover The World Of Wonder On Your Doorstep - This is a BEAUTIFUL BOOK!  I'm so impressed by it! Its a large, hardback book, full of beautiful illustrations. 

Its divided up by seasons, which makes it a fantastic educational source!  Each season has 8 sections: the backyard, the veg garden, the woods, the farm, the fields, the pond, the orchard, and the street.

Each section has beautiful illustrations and lots of information to help you and your child learn more about the world around you!  Take your child for a walk and see how many things you can find and learn about!  Have a picnic outside and read the book to learn! SO lovely!

5.) Nature's Day: Out And About - If you REALLY want an interactive nature experience, I highly recommend you get this newly released workbook to go along with the book mentioned above!

Written by the same author, and with the same format - broken up by season - this book takes you on a great treasure hunt through the world around you! 

Your child can learn about different types of flowers and birds and then draw the ones that they see around them.  They can color beautiful scenes of the different seasons. 

And they can learn how to do awesome crafts and activities - like how to make a daisy chain, how to do leaf rubbings, and how to make ice art. 

This is a great way to get your child interested in nature!


6.) The Secret Life Of A Snowflake: An Up-Close Look At The Art & Science Of Snowflakes - If your kids are anything like mine, they're obsessed with Frozen right now.  This book is a FANTASTIC way to take a subject that they are interested in and use it as a teaching opportunity!

This book is amazing!  Beautiful pictures of all sorts of snowflakes, plus tons of incredible information.  There's even a page to teach them how to make paper snowflakes!  This book is lovely and fascinating!  The photographs are particularly fascinating!

7.) Enchanted Coloring Book: Magical Images To Make Your Own - I know what you're thinking.  How is a coloring book educational?  As a homeschooling mom, I learned something very quickly -  my five year old actually listens MUCH better if she has something to do with her hands!  If I tell her to just sit and listen, odds are she will be distracted in half a second.  But if I let her color while I read, I'm amazed at how much she absorbs!

So coloring books are very important to our schooling!  This book is beautiful and intricate enough for an adult to enjoy, but the pages are not so intricate that my daughter can't enjoy them as well.

8.) Bletchley Park: The Secret Archives - This final book isn't for small children, but its definitely educational!  With the recent film, The Imitation Game (about Alan Turing and the breaking of the Enigma Code during WW2), Bletchley Park is back in the news!  Bletchley Park, once an estate, was used during the war as the central location for Britain's famous codebreakers. 

This beautiful, hardbound book is full of the fascinating history of this place and the people who worked there!

There's also tons of extras!  There are several "pockets" with drawings and copies of actual codes and notes that the codebreakers made!

There's even a copy of a poster used to remind military men to be careful not to spill secrets when they're out on a date!  LOL!  So interesting and definitely a collectors item for anyone interested in the codebreakers or WW2 in general!

This book is extremely fascinating!  As soon as my husband got home from work last night, he spent half an hour just flipping through it.  It looks like we'll be fighting over who gets to read it first! 

I received these books, free of charge, from Quarto Publishing Group, in exchange for my honest review.

"Proof Pirates Family Devotional" Review

As a Christian parent, one thing I struggle with is balancing discipline with grace.  We want to teach our kids to obey, to be productive members of society, and to understand good behavior.  But, at the same time, its a very tight rope to walk.  I want my kids to obey, but I don't want them to think that my love - or, worse yet, God's love - is dependent on performance.  "Proof Pirates" is a family devotional/children's book that covers this very subject!