Bible Study For All Ages {Review}

I love all things multi-level teaching, meaning subjects that I can teach everyone the same thing, at the same time.  Bible is one of those subjects where I try to keep everyone on the topic or study.  

I had not heard of Bible Study For All Ages, until the opportunity to review for them came about from the TOS Crew.  

The Bible Study For All Ages is a curriculum that has families {or Sunday school classes} studying the same part of the Bible at the same time, but on their own levels.  This curriculum takes you and your family through several parts of the Old and New Testaments each year. 

There are 416 Bible Lessons that take you through an in depth study of the Bible. 

We were given the following materials for this review:

 

Beginner Level Student Pages 

Beginner Time Line

 

Children's Songs CD Set

 

 Advanced Level Student Pages

Bible Book Summary Cards 

Let me give you an example of how the lessons are laid out.  Let's take a look at lesson 14, we are studying Genesis 49-50, which is the account of Joseph.  We have been studying Joseph since lesson 1, which started at Genesis 37.  

Here is a sample of one of the Beginner Student Pages.

Here is the layout for the Beginner Student Pages and how it works for us.

Learn the Basics 

• We review our timeline cards, which we have hanging on a large kitchen doorway.  

These have been really helpful to us.  The kids love to take turns reviewing the cards.

Sing & Remember 

• In this portion we told to review books of the Bible we are memorizing (Matthew - Galatians)
• We sing He's Got the Whole World in His Hands, which is on our Children's Songs CD
• We also do about 4 or 5 review questions.  

The kids love to do the review questions, they especially LOVE THE SONGS!  They now know all of the names of the sons of Jacob thanks to a song we've been singing!  

Get Active 

• This section give ideas to get up and do something. This one has you blindfolding one child and talk about who takes care of us.  

Discover the Bible

• Here is where are read over the scripture for the day.  Most days it is a one chapter in the Bible, today there are two.  
• There are several pictures that show what happens in the scriptures we just read.  Each picture has an explanation and something to do.  For instance, one of the pictures talks about Jacob wanting to be buried in a cave, so the child is asked to color the cave brown.

This is the main part of our study.  We read through the scriptures, discuss and follow along with the activities they has us do.  I fell like this part is really helpful.  

Apply It!

• This part has a picture to color and application questions.

At the end of our study we talk about the picture and go over the review questions together.

Now for the Advanced Student Pages, these pages are set up a little differently.  Here is how we use them...

Remember It?

• This is the portion with review questions.  They are a little more difficult than the Beginner Student Pages.  Today the review is in the form of a matching/fill in the blank activity.

My girls do these on their own.  I do the review questions for the Beginner Pages aloud with everyone.

Memory Workout

• Here the kids are asked to review the New Testament Books and the Genesis Bible Book Summary.

We do the Bible Summary Card reviews together.  These are 8x11 flash cards that summarize the books of the Bible with one or more pictures.  On the opposite side of the picture there is a description that summarizes the book of the Bible that the card represents.
 

Guess What...

• These are mostly Bible facts like what a cup bearer and baker were to the Pharaoh. 

My girls usually read these on their own and share their new fond information with the rest of us.

Discover the Bible

• Just like with the younger pages, this is where we read the scripture and go through the pictures and questions.

We do this part together as a family. The Advanced Questions are more challenging than the ones on the Beginner Pages.  My girls have been fine following along with us for the scripture reading and then doing the questions on their own, asking me for help when needed.

Timeline or Map

• The timeline has several questions that the kids get to answer from reading a biblical timeline on their student page.
• The timeline portion alternates with mapping skills.  Which include labeling areas that were discussed in our Bible readings.
  

My girls do this on their own as well, of course I am available if they have a question. 

Get Active

• This is basically the same activity as the one on the Beginner Page, except this one goes more in depth with the application on blind faith.

We generally don't get to these.  

Apply It!

• This is the application part of the study.  Today's lesson includes re-reading a scripture, answering several questions related to our scripture and a prayer suggestion.

You guessed it, they answer these on their own as well{smile}

Conclusion

I like the over all idea of this program, a lot!  But I found it was hard to get into a "groove" with the different student pages.  It was a little frustrating at first, to be honest.  I felt like everyone was all over the place and Bible was taking a really looong time. 

The way that I tweaked this to work for us was that I stopped reading the scriptures twice.  At first I read the scripture while the boys colored the application picture. THEN, I would re-read the scriptures as we did the Discover the Bible portion of the study.  

I decided to pick and choose what was most important to me and focus on those things.  So we do the songs, timeline and review questions from the Beginner Student Pages.  Then we do the Discover the Bible portion, this is the scripture reading and discussion part.  Then we finish with the application.

At first I was trying to go over all the parts of both levels together, this did not work for us.  I am really glad that I found a way to make this work, because I love many things about this study.  

All of the different components in this Bible Study really set it apart from the rest.  The constant review through questions, songs, timeline and summary cards help the children to remember what they learned even two weeks prior.   I am amazed at what the kids have learned and retained about Joseph by using this study.  I believe my 5 year old could tell you Joseph's whole life story!

Another thing I want to mention, I liked that they did not include scripture on the student pages.  I know that may sound strange, but I think it makes it much easier to use your own Bible version

The student page booklets each have 26 lessons, priced at $5.95 per booklet.  To complete the whole program you would need 16 booklets per student.  First, you need to choose the products that would best suit your family, depending on grade and reading levels. 

I would love to continue with this program, but I am not sure it would not be affordable for us. I am figuring that it would cost a total of $380.00 for all four children to complete the whole study.  

If this was more affordable for me, like say if I could purchase the all the lessons together as a pdf download at a discounted rate, this would be what we used for Bible. 

You can see what other TOS Crew Members have to say about Bible Study for All Ages by clicking HERE!

Grace & Truth Books -With the Children on Sundays {Review}

We were recently given a copy of With the Children on Sundays by Sylvanus Stall from Grace & Truth Books to review.  Written in 1893, With the Children on Sundays is known as one of the greatest Family Worship books ever written.  This book is full of wonderful stories that speak biblical truths to children in a way that captivates them, while sharing the truths of the gospel and of Christ.   It is great for all ages, but particularly good for children ages 4-10.

There are 52 stories in With the Children on Sundays, some of them include:

• Oyster and Crab- Conscience
• Worm in the Apple - Sin in the Human Heart
• Nuts - God Means that We Must Work
• The Polished Stone - Perfection Through Suffering
• Lanterns - The Best Light for Our Path
• White and Charred Sticks - Good and Bad Company

The children and I are enjoying reading through this book together. The stories are interesting, as well as thought provoking.  We have also delighted the simple illustrations that are speckled through out the book, as well as the discussion questions at the end of each story.  They have really opened doors to some wonderful conversations. 

One of the things that I love about homeschooling is that I have the privilege of picking and choosing what my children read. Whenever I can, I try to incorporate good books that offer character building stories and biblical truths. This is one of those books.  It is a rare gem that we will continue to use over and over!

With the Children on Sundays has been out of print many years and is not being printed by anyone at this time.  Currently, there are only a limited number of copies of it available. You can purchase your copy from Grace & Truth Books for $17.50

 

Other members of the TOS Crew reviewed this book and many others from Grace & Truth.  Check the reviews out here! 

Heroines of the Past Bible Study by Amy Puetz {Review}

 

 

 

One of my very favorite things that we have reviewed this year with the TOS Crew has been the Heroines of the Past Bible Study from Golden Prairie Press. 

Golden Prairie Press is owned and operated by Amy Puetz, a homeschool graduate with a passion for God and for history.

 

Amy offers several different studies that look amazing, but we finally settled on Heroines of the Past.  This study included my two favorite subjects, Bible and history!

 

 

Heroines of the Past is a 13 week long study about real women from the past that showed real virtue in their lives.   The stories we read were powerful and the Bible study portions were pretty meaty.  I was very impressed!

Each study starts off with a story of a girl or women.  For instance in the story "Living and Dying for Jesus," we read about a young slave girl named Blandina and her Mistress.  We read about the Mistress, how she shared her faith in Jesus and how Blandina came to know the Lord. 

After the story we started a new memory verse for the week (Hebrews 11:1) and then answered a few discussion questions.  We read and discussed several scriptures, including the Parable of the Sower. 

Through out this study we got to read stories from the lives of women like Mary Slesslor (missionary), Katherine von Bora (Martin Luther's wife), A Brave Little Girl and many others.  The stories that we read displayed acts of courage, faith, compassion, gentleness, mercy, and love.  I felt that the stories included were great examples for my children, especially my girls. 

You can view sample pages and the table of contents for Heroines of the Past here.

We really are enjoying this study and I plan to continue using it.  I think it would be a great study for Bible or history or both! 

My first thought was that this study was going to be too girlie for my boys.  For the record, my boys really enjoyed the stories, especailly the one with a knight in it!  When we worked on memorizing Proverbs 31:10 (Who can find a virtuous women, for her price is far above rubies) my initial thought was to give the boys something else to memorize but the Lord led me to have them memorize it too.  My boys may not need to learn how to be a virtuous woman, but they are going to need to know what one looks like!  So, in other words, boys can definitely join in this study too.

As I mentioned, Amy offers several different studies to choose from:

• Heroines of the Past (this is the one we did)
• Ten Girls From History
• Costumes With Character
• Uncover Exciting History

These studies are available in Print or Ebook format and they range in price from $14.95 - $27.00.  Currently on sale for 20% off! The sale price of Heroines of the Past is currently $21.60.

I highly recommend this study, especially for young ladies in training to be Virtuous Women. 

Please check out what other bloggers from the TOS Crew have to say about studies from Golden Prairie Press.

 

 

Disclaimer: We received this product at no charge to us in exchange for an honest review.

Who Is My Neighbor? by Apologia

If you have been reading my blog for any bit of time you have probably heard me mention the What We Believe apologetics series from Apologia.  As well as how great I think it is!

We were recently given Who Is My Neighbor?, the third book in the four book series, to review.  Like the other two that we have, Who Is God? and Who Am I? - this book is amazing! 

We received the hardcover Who Is My Neighbor? book, a notebooking journal and a coloring book.  The illustrations through all three books are beautiful - the color and quality that we have come to love and expect from Apologia is also present in these books. 

The notebooking journal for the older kids.

This is from the coloring book, which is great for the littles!

I like how this series is designed to be used sequentially, each book building upon another. I am sure that you could just buy or the other but trust me, you will want them all! 

The purpose of the Who Is My Neighbor? book is to help children to understand what it means to be the the salt and light in this fallen world.  Children learn what it means to have a servant's heart and to be more like Christ. 

It focuses on biblical truths such as:

• God created me to be a blessing to the world
• God chooses to work through me
• I can make a difference at home, in my community, and at church
• The church is God's family
• The church is one body with many gifts
• I am an important member of Jesus' body

The Lessons included in Who Is My Neighbor? are:

• Lesson 1: Does Anyone Really Need Me?
• Lesson 2: How Can I Make A Difference?
• Lesson 3: Who Is My Neighbor?
• Lesson 4: Why Did God Make Families?
• Lesson 5: What Can I Do For My Country?
• Lesson 6: Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?
• Lesson 7: Who Is God’s Family?
• Lesson 8: Why Does the Church Need Me?

You can see a detailed table of contents here.

The Who Is My Neighbor? set is available directly through Apologia, the prices are as follows:

• Who Is My Neighbor? - $39.00
• Who Is My Neighbor? Notebooking Journal - $24.00
• Who Is My Neighbor? Coloring Book - $8.00

Please check out what others on the TOS Crew are saying about Who Is My Neighbor?  

Disclaimer: We received this product at no charge to us in exchange for an honest review.

We Choose Virtues {Character Training}

One of our FAVORITE things that we have EVER reviewed is We Choose Virtues! This is the second time we have reviewed for them. The first time, we reviewed the Virtue Clue Cards and The Kids of VirtueVille Coloring Book.
This time around we received the Parenting Cards {faith based}, which are AWESOME! My kids were so excited to be hanging out with the Kids of VirtueVille again! They enjoy the fun characters and really do try to emulate them - which is totally the point!

We Choose Virtues is a tool for Parents, Homeschoolers and Teachers to use to teach character traits to children. The genius of We Choose Virtues are the catch phrases!

The Virtue: Each Virtue is preceded by the words “I am.” Not “I hope to be” or “I wish I was”. “I am” creates positive momentum and a sense of personal ownership. “I am Content” for example.

The Catchphrase: More than just a definition, the catchphrases are positive, practical and precise action statements that form the core of this system. Use them throughout the day to reinforce right attitudes and actions. “I am Content. I have my ‘Wanter’ under control”.

The Antonyms: The antonyms are a glimpse into the person they no longer want to be. These explain the negative form of the Virtue by using the phrases “I am not” and “I don’t”. “I am Content. I have my ‘Wanter’ under control. I am not bored, greedy or always wanting more and I don’t beg or whine!”

The VirtueVille Kids are cute, colorful and great role models. Their catchy names help the children to remember them and their character quality. Even my 3 year remembers their names and character qualities that they promote.

Meet the Virtueville Kids and the virtues they teach:

• Airplane Betty Jane - Attentive
• Piggy Bank Frank - Patience
• Feather Heather - Forgiving
• Cake Jake - Content
• Kettle Gretel - Kind
• Gerbil & Jill - Gentle
• Duck & Chuck - Diligent
• Hat Mat - Helpful
• Stop Sign Madeline - Self Control
• Oboe Joe - Obedient
• Hockey Stick Nick - Honest
• Penny Jenny - Perseverance

The Parenting Cards have been a wonderful addition to our day. Each day we pick a new VirtueVille Kid to talk about and be like, we alternate boy and then girl. I introduce each of the Kids, we read the corresponding scripture verse and the story about each kid.

We really enjoyed the Virtue Clue Cards {very much},but I am really glad that we have the Parenting Cards too. The Virtue Clue Cards are small, like a business card - great for keeping in our memory box to go over daily along with our memory verses. The Parenting Cards, which I laminated, are larger and allow for more information. The larger cards have the story of how/why each VirtueVille Kid got their name, teachable moments that give ideas to incorporate the current character quality, a Virtue Challenge and more! I think that the Parenting Cards and the Virtue Clue Cards work very well together.

We Choose Virtues Family Kit

My kids informed me yesterday that they want to go back over each child, again! They asked if when doing Stop Sign Madeline they could play Red Light, Green Light and have a tea party when we get back to Kettle Gretel. And of course, they want to bake a cake with Cake Jake!!

Now that we have them hanging up, we are going to just continue focusing on one VirtueVille Kid and character trait per week!

I would absolutely recommend We Choose Virtues! The prices are reasonable and their products are definitely worthy. There are several products to choose from:

• Homeschool Kit - Faith Based - $98.99
• Family Kit - Faith Based - $69.99
• Parenting Cards - $34.99
• VirtueVille Clue Cards - $5.95
• Virtue Flash Cards - $15.99 - this looks really cool, the kids can play games with these!

May is free Shipping Month at WCV, so you better hurry!  You can also join the WCV Facebook Page to keep current on new products and promo codes.

What does your family do for Character Training?

Disclaimer: I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine. Also note that I am an affiliate for We Choose Virtues and there are affiliate links in this post : )

TOS Crew: Who Am I? by Apologia

Let me just start out by saying that I love Apologia.  I have used and read several of their products and not once have I been disappointed.

So we were very excited to find out that we were going to be reviewing for Apologia again.  We received the "Who Am I?" book from Apologia's "What We Believe" series.  Along with the book we also received the "Who Am I?" Audio CD, Notebooking Journal and Coloring book.

The "What We Believe" series was created when Apologia teamed up with Summit Ministries to create a family friendly apologetics series to teach our children the fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith.  This series is directed towards families with children aged 6-14. 

Like the Apologia science series, the books in the "What We Believe" series books are hardbound and have wonderful pictures inside.   

 

 

The Lessons in the "Who Am I?" book are:

1. What are we doing here?
2. What will you make today?
3. What's on your mind?
4. Can you trust your feelings?
5. Will you choose wisely?
6. How will you run the race?
7. What kind of fruit are you growing?
8. Who do you think you are?

Each lesson is about 30-40 pages long and is broken down into about 15 or so very manageable parts.  There are very specific instructions in the front of the book as to how they suggest you go about teaching the lessons.  I really appreciated them laying out a structure for me.  They also have made the lessons very flexible to meets the needs of individual families. 

The lessons are structured so that they each give a main idea, learning objectives, a short story (we really like these), thought provoking questions, vocabulary words, memory verses, character traits to follow, prayer suggestions and discussion questions.  These lessons are spread out through several sessions. 

Apologia has a sample lesson, as well as the table of contents, for the "Who Am I"? book available for viewing, right on the Apologia website.

The "What We Believe" Series consists of 4 books:

•  Volume 1 - Who Is God? (And Can I Really Know Him?) which focuses on Biblical Worldview of God and Truth 
• Volume 2 - Who Am I? (And What Am I Doing Here?) which focuses on Biblical Worldview of Self-Image 
• Volume 3 - Who Is My Neighbor? (And Why Does He Need Me?) which focuses on Biblical Worldview of Servanthood
• Volume 4 - What On Earth Can I Do? which focuses on Biblical Worldview of Stewardship and available Later in 2012

"Who Am I" is actually the second book in the series that we have.  We also have the "Who Is God?" book, coloring book and notebooking journal.  After listening to the Audio CD for this book, I had to order the 1st CD as well.  Lord willing, I plan on getting the entire series.

I love that we can sit and listen to the Audio CD, the narrator has a nice soothing voice that is very pleasant to listen to.  I feel like I am always reading to the kids, which I love to do, but it is nice for mom to be able to just sit and listen too!

The Notebooking Journals and Coloring Books are awesome too!  The Notebooking Journals have so many awesome things in there, they are so cool I think I want one for ME!  There are questions to answer, cross word puzzles, places to copy scripture, lots of spots for writing your own thoughts down and mini books too.  The mini book pieces are in the back of the book that can be pulled out, created and glued into their appropriate spots - VERY COOL! 

You would think that the coloring book is just for my little guys but that is not so, my girls love to color as well.  All of my children (AGES 3-11) can use the coloring book but I feel that the Notebooking Journal is definitely for my girls (3rd and 6th graders).

I love the "What We Believe" series and I really think you will too!  It is a great family teaching tool.  A wonderful investment that your family will truly benefit from.   

You can purchase your own "Who Am I?" book, as well as other materials from the "What We Believe" series, directly through Apologia.  The "Who Am I?" prices are as follows:

• "Who Am I?" Book   39.00
• Audio CD  $19.00
• Journaling Notebook $24.00
• Coloring Book $8.00 

We were given the "Who Am I?" book, audio cd, notebooking journal and coloring book for review purposes only.  Please know that the opinions stated here are my own and I was not in any way persuaded by the company or the free product.

2011-2012 Curriculum Choices Part 2 {LINKY}

As I said in my last post, I am really doing a mish mash of things this year.  Here is the complete run down:

Together as a Family:
Bible
My Father's World  (MFW) - We will be studying the Life of Christ and the New Testament.  Last year we used The Victor Journey Through the Bible and we have really come to LOVE it!  we read a chapter in the Bible and then we read the corresponding pages in The Victor, it is like a commentary of sorts plus it gives lots of history facts about the cities and time period - a must have in my opinion.

We will also pull from KONOS and I am sure we will continue with Keys for Kids, at least sometimes since the kids love to listen to them.

History
MFW - Rome to Reformation, the books that go along with it except we will use Mystery of History instead of Streams of Civilization.  KONOS - we will be pulling some fun activities from KONOS.  we plan on including lots and lots of living books.

Science/Health
MFW - Rome to Reformation which will include the study of the human body using The Body Book and planets using the Apologia book, Exploring Creation With Astronomy (Young Explorers). 
We are also going to pull in some fun projects from KONOS like dissecting a cow eye. Can I just tell you that I CAN'T HARDLY WAIT!!

Reading
We definitely read around here.   We do read alouds daily after Bible and then the kids have quiet time.  For at least a half hour I have the girls read and the boys look at books until they fall asleep for their naps.  We discuss our read a louds and I have the girls narrate their readings back to me. 

Art
My kids draw daily.  And craft almost daily.  I frequently have them color something to go along with what we are reading.  We also have several art idea books that we can pull from and the Abeka Art books that we complete projects from occasional.

Extra Curricular Activities I like to do stuff out side of the home but to many things can stress me.  I have been praying about speech, choir, soccer and piano lessons.  These are all things that I want to with me kids but I know that all those things would really be too much.  So, I have just been laying it before the Lord and asking Him what His will would be for us.   So far I think that all the kids will do choir, the girls will do speech and it looks as though the Lord is going to provide flute lessons for the girls.  I think for now soccer may be out. 

The Lil' Chef - 6th Grade
Bible
I am really excited to be adding Draw to Learn from Notgrass this year.  It is like a daily devotional that the children can use independently or together as a family.  Each lesson has a portion of scripture to read and then something for them to draw.  They have several of these to choose from, we are doing the Life of Jesus to coincide with our New Testament studies thru MFW Bible.  VERY EXCITED!!

Language Arts
The Lil' Chef is going to be using Easy Grammar & Daily Grams and Spelling Power. We are generally Abeka users but we are trying something new, I let ya'll know how they work out.  Lil' Chef is also going to continue with Institute of Excellence in Writing (IEW), which we reviewed last year.  IEW is a keeper by the way. 

Math
I am still on the fence about this one.  I really, REALLY, REALLY want to use Teaching Textbooks.  I really lack confidence in teaching math,  and it is not my favorite subject, so the idea of TT is very appealing to me.  After researching it, ALOT, and talking to a few homeschool mom's I decided that maybe it was not a good idea for us.  I have heard mixed reviews Teaching Textbooks, one of the not so great things I have heard is that many children do not test well in the upper grades which was a huge disappointment to me.  I had really hope to ride that little wave all the way thru high school but am now having second thoughts.  If anyone has had good experience with TT and would like to way in, please leave a comment.

As it stands right now she is going to use Abeka Math and continue doing Math Facts Now and Times Alive, which we LOVE!


Computer Girl - 3rd Grade
Bible
Computer girl is also going to include Draw to Learn - The Life of Jesus into her quite reading time.

Language Arts - She is also going to try Easy Grammar, Daily Grams and Spelling Workout this year.  I think I am also going to have her work from the IEW book at a very slow pace. 

Math
Computer Girl is using Mathematical Reasoning 3 from The critical Thinking Co. this year.  We reviewed another level of Mathematical Reasoning last year and LOVED IT!!  She will also be doing math drills using Math Facts Now and Times Alive.

Alpha Boy - Kindergarten
Phonics
Alpha Boy is going to continue using Sing, Spell, Read and Write, which  he really loves and BEGS ME TO!  I mean we aren't even doing school right now and it was a SATURDAY and he brings me his book to do.  I was thinking, REALLY!! 

I also decided, just last week actually, when visiting with some friends that I really wanted to incorporate MFW Kindergarten.  I really just wanted it to pull some of the hands on ideas into the letters that we are learning. 

Math
He is going to be using Arithmetic K from Abeka.  I am also adding in Mathtacular for some added hands on fun. 

Little Bits - Pre K
I don't do anything formal with this little guy.  We is more than welcome to hang with Alpha Boy and I when we do our Phonics and Math.  He is generally around for all our reading and I do read to him. 

I plan on setting up a workbox for him to have with lots of hands on goodies to play with.  I am going to include things like wooden puzzles, Play-Doh Cookie Monster Letter Lunch, Lauri Toys Number Puzzle Boards and Pegs and Lauri's Phonic Center

What is your family going to use this year??  Please link up and share with us.

Saturday Solutions: Bible Reading Time

I am not sure if I have mentioned before how I get my Bible reading done or not, but I wanted to share.  I would love to say that I am 100% faithful in reading every single day ,but I am not.  I have, by God's Grace, gotten much better at making my reading/prayer time a priority, do do accomplish it on most days.

Here are the things that are working for me:

• First Thing - For me, reading first thing in the morning works best.  I feel like, if I don't get it done right away, then it is really hard for me to get to it at all.  Once I get up, I get a cup of coffee,  quickly scan my emails and then go to my reading.  My desire is to go to the Lord first, and ask for His wisdom and direction through the day.  If for some reason we are having an off morning I can make up my reading time at quiet/nap time.
• Have a Plan - I am more likely to follow through with something if I have a focus.  I have found that I REALLY love the M'Cheyne Bible Plan.  It gives you 4 chapters to read each day (2 with the family and 2 alone), 2 are from the Old Testament and 2 from the New and takes you through the whole Bible in 1 year if you keep up.  I just read through the beginning of the Bible with the kids for MFW's Bible, so for now I am just reading 3 chapters a day. 
• Utilize Technology - Most of the time I do my Bible reading right online, I just go right the M'Cheyne website and read from there.  There as several Bible reading programs out there that you can even have sent right to your email. 
• The Kids - I need to have quiet to read and process so I let the boys watch a cartoon, like The Cat in the Hat or Curious George while I read.  The girls, at this point ,are usually getting ready for school, doing their independent work or making breakfast.  They also have a private Bible reading time that they do, usually in the afternoon during quiet time, but I think I am going to be moving that to 1st thing in the morning too!
• Just do it - Even if I over sleep or am having a bad morning, I still try to at least read one chapter from the Bible.  Whether you follow a plan or not, whether it is in the morning or not, find a quiet time with the Lord.  You really need it, I know I do!  If you don't have a lot of time, read a Proverb or just pick a book of the Bible to start in and read a chapterer a day. 

Keys For Kids

A while back a friend of mine had told me about this bi-monthly devotional for kids called Keys for Kids, it is put together by CBH Miniistries.  After checking it out,  I ordered Keys for Kids but when it arrived it got put on a shelf.  Since we are finished with MFW, I wanted to find something else for us do for Bible over the summer, so one day I decided to try reading it with the kids to see what we thought, well we've been loving it ever since. 

Each day there is a portion of scripture to read and then there is a little story that revolves around the scripture passage, an application and a memory verse.  It also has a few fun games and puzzles.  You can order them, view or listen to them online.  Sometimes I read them and sometimes I will read the Bible portion and then we listen to the story part online.  We really like the narrorator. 

If you are interested you can order 1 subscription of Keys for Kids online for FREE, otherwise they are $.50-$1.00 depending on the quantity you order.  They have really been a blessing for us.  Hope that you all check them out and are blessed too!