ScanNCut CM550DX

ScanNCut CM550DX
From Brother Canada

I recently receive an amazing product to review.   This post is essentially to present you the product itself.  In about a month or so I will blog once more about it and present some of the projects I have done with it.

Presenting the Brother ScanNCut CM550DX!

What it is:

ScanNCut is the world's first home and hobby cutting machine with a built-in scanner. It can create outline cutting designs from a hand drawn sketch, original art, or something you saw in a magazine, without the use of a PC. It includes 702 built-in designs, 140 quilting designs, 5 built-in fonts and a built-in 300 dpi colour scanner. The scanner itself will allow you to create sharp and highly personalized shapes for your projects.  Once you choose your design or scan in the image, photo or hand drawn sketch, ScanNcut will precisely cut the shapes or outlines you want. It can cut paper, fabric or plastic at the press of a button- all perfectly. The only thing limiting you is your imagination.

To expand your possibilities, please visit https://scanncutcanvas.brother.com/

The machine is very light and easy to transport.  A lady at our church organize a monthly get-together for women who wants to do some crafting.  It would be easy to bring this machine and use it to make cards and scrapbook pages while being in fellowship with other crafty women.  And don’t forget that this stand-alone machine doesn’t need a computer or software to work.   It will automatically converts your scanned images into a cut data from which you can work.  You can also use the ScanNCut to create intricate designs with easy by using the draw function.

Here’s the information sheet for the ScanNCut machine.

Brother has three models of ScanNCut available – depending of your budget.

CM 100DM Red – 500 Built-in Designs, 100 built-in quilt patterns, 5 fonts, standard mat 12x12, low tack adhesive mat 12x12, standard cut blade, standard cut blade holder, deep cut blade, deep cut blade holder,  high tack adhesive fabric support sheet (2 pcs), iron-on fabric appliqué contact sheet (2 pieces), simple spatula, stylus.   Price 399$

CM250 Purple – 600 Built-in Designs, 100 built-in quilt patterns, 5 fonts, standard mat 12x12, additional standard mat 12x12, low tack adhesive mat 12x12, standard cut blade, standard cut blade holder, deep cut blade, deep cut blade holder,  color pen set (6 pens), erase pen set (2 pens), pen holder, high tack adhesive fabric support sheet (2 pcs), iron-on fabric appliqué contact sheet (2 pieces), simple spatula, stylus.   Price 449$

CM550DX Light Blue – 700 Built-in Designs, 100 built-in quilt patterns, 5 fonts, standard mat 12x12, additional standard mat 12x12, low tack adhesive mat 12x12, standard cut blade, standard cut blade holder, deep cut blade, deep cut blade holder,  color pen set (6 pens), erase pen set (2 pens), pen holder, 50 appliqué patterns on a CD, Cut Up This Book, high tack adhesive fabric support sheet (2 pcs), iron-on fabric appliqué contact sheet (2 pieces), simple spatula, stylus.   Price 499$

On top of this amazing machine, Brother has put together ScanNCutCanvas which is a cloud-based web application that gives you the ability to easily convert .svg files to .fcm image tracing and processing overlapping patterns.   It allows you to expand your craftwork by importing projects that you have created or edited with ScanNCutCanvas into your ScanNCut cutting machine.  The best part is that it is free!

This ScanNCut machine will allow you to do a multitude of projects like artistic journal, fancy boxes, cards, table setting name cards, banners, beverage tumbler, calendar, lampshades, photo stands, pop-up cards,appliqué tote bag and more.   The possibilities are unending!

More project can be found on the official website of ScanNCut

The Brother ScanNCut is available at amazon.com.

 

Starter Packages:

 

Patterns for Quilts and Appliqués:

 

Other Accessories

 

  

  

  

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to Brother Canada for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

The Case for Faith Student Edition

The Case for Faith Student Edition – A Journalist Investigates the Thoughest Objections to Christianity
Written by Lee Strobel and Jane Vogel
Published at Zondervan

About the book

Is Faith Possible in Today’s World? It’s not easy to believe in Christianity when there is pain all around you and issues that defy easy explanation. Unless there are answers to the questions you face. Lee Strobel knows how important it is to find answers that ring true. With his background as an award-winning journalist, asking tough questions has been his business. And while his search for the truth convinced Lee that Jesus is real, it also confronted him with some particularly knotty, gut-level questions about Christianity you’ve likely asked as well: Why is there suffering? Doesn’t science disprove miracles? What about hell---and the millions who’ve never heard of Jesus? Is God unjust? They’re the kinds of conundrums that can block---and have blocked---people’s faith. But those questions don’t have to block yours. Join Lee in a fascinating journey of discovery. You’ll gain powerful insights that will reshape your understanding of the Bible. And you’ll read true stories about people whose experiences demonstrate that faith in Jesus not only makes excellent sense, it makes a life-changing difference as well.

My Thoughts

This Student Edition of The Case for Faith will give the most important notions found in the original edition to your teenager in order to make him/her realize that faith is possible in our world today.   Lee Strobel has taken the time to present the important questions of: Why is there suffering?,  Doesn’t science disprove miracles?,  What about hell – and the millions who’ve never heard of Jesus, as well as Is God unjust? – in a format that any student of middle and high school can read.   

Not only will you see how Strobel himself have decided to find the answers of his own questions but you will read amazing testimonies from a friend of his as well as Ravi Zacharias.    I believe strongly that learning other people testimonies are very powerful when you discover their own struggles.  

I have read this book in 2 days – mind you I am a fast reader.   The main reason why I requested this title is because I want my 8th grader (and eventually his siblings as well) to go through this book during the school year.    This little book will answer questions he might have about his own faith that he has not formulated to us.  It will also give him a solid base on how to speak with people who can disagree with his own faith.   While reading this book, I have gained new insights that have deepened my own faith (and I want to read the full book!). 

If your teen is struggling with his/her faith, this little book will provide the guidance in reshaping their understanding of the Bible.   I would suggest that the parent read the book as well in order to talk about it with your child if he/she wants to discuss what has been said in a specific chapter of the book.

The Case for Faith Student Edition is available for purchase at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

It is also available on Kindle.

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to Zondervan for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

National Geographic Kids Cookbook

National Geographic Kids Cookbook – A Year-Round FUN Food Adventure
Published at National Geographic Kids

About the book

Join Barton Seaver—master chef and National Geographic Explorer—on a year-round culinary adventure as he explores what it takes to create the ultimate dish. Barton provides mouthwatering recipes, the ins and outs of healthy eating, awesome crafts and activities, and food-focused challenges, proving once and for all that cooking can be a blast. Follow along as he teaches you to plant a kitchen garden, host a dinner party for your friends, and pack the perfect school lunch. Other highlights include ways to play with your food, festive holiday meals, snow day snacks, and family cooking competitions. With fascinating sidebars, profiles on real people, and cool facts, the National Geographic Kids Cookbookwill have you ruling the kitchen in no time!

My Thoughts

I love it when my kids have an interest in doing something in the kitchen.  I am not just saying that because they do their chores like doing the dishes but they also enjoy making food.   And they love new cookbooks!  So when I got the opportunity to review the upcoming new cookbook from National Geographic Kids I couldn’t pass this up.    And I am delighted to see that the book is very colorful, packed with fun recipes and the kids will definitively learn a thing or two with it.

Here’s the table of contents:

• Cooking tools
• Kitchen safety
• Cooking Techniques
• January – New Year’s Party, cuisine scene: Southern United States, healthy eating, snow day snacks, challenge: play with your food, kitchen skill: how to use a knife.
• February – Valentine’s Day Dinner, science of sweet, kitchen skill: seasoning with salt, edible weather report, green scene: make a 3-D valentine, challenge: soup off.
• March – International Feast, people profile: George Washington Carver, green scene: grow an indoor herb garden, kitchen skill: blanching vegetables, challenge: what’s your green tally?
• April – Egg-stravaganza!, edible weather report, breakfast block party, green scene: food for your garden, challenge: fruit salad face-off.
• May – editble treats, kitchen skills: how to measure, green scene: make a birdbath, people profile: Sam Kass, challenge: farmers market name game.
• June – grilling 101, dinner time, green scene: ocean alert, challenge: protein power-up, people profile: Dune Lankard and Forrest Pritchard
• July – plan a picnic, edile weather report, kitchen skill: cleaning up as you go, green scene: green summer adventures, challenge: family chef competition, goin’ veggie.
• August – heritage recipes, understanding heritage, truth about food waste, green scene: water, water everywhere, people profile: Sandra Postel, challenge: family recipe book
• September – lunch, anatomy of a sandwich, scheduling September, people profile: Alice Waters, green scene: make a reusable lunch bag, share your food, challenge: pack your lunch
• October – spooky pizza party, scary snacks, edible weather report, challenge: witches’ toenail trail mix
• November – harvest feast, volunteering, green scene: create a green Thanksgiving, cuisine scene: Mitsitam restaurant, challenge: leftovers bonanza
• December – holiday celebration, cuisine scene: a cultural melting pot, green scene: Earth-friendly holidays, challenge: start a cooking club, people profile: Haile Thomas
• Resources, thematic Index, Recipe Index.

As you can see not only will they learn recipes to make but they also have a monthly challenge, kitchen skills to learn and will discover people who have influenced the food world.    This book is the first book for junior chefs with Barton Seaver.    Your junior chef will also learn new ways to play with the food, weird-but-true food facts, as well as activities and challenge to do.

The photos included in this book are stunning, the meal presented in order to get your stomach growling, and the information included in this book is definitively informative.  With a child who keep saying he wants to be a chef, this book is definitively a blessings.   As soon as he saw it he said:  “What is this book?”   I look forward to see what he will make based on the things included in the book.

Whether your child is already involved in the cooking time at home or has not helped yet, I think this book would be a great challenge for any child interested in doing more in the kitchen.

National Geographic Kids Cookbook is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to MM Publicity for sending me the above mentioned title for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Learn and Master Piano

http://www.learnandmaster.com/homeschool/piano/

Are you looking for a way to incorporate music lessons in your homeschool?   You would love to learn piano but can’t afford the one-on-one lessons?    Someone gave you a keyboard or a piano but you don’t know where to start?

No problem.    Learn and Master offers a wonderful package for homeschoolers wanting to learn piano.   The Learn and Master Piano is offered as a Home School Edition.  This complete 2-year piano curriculum is specifically designed for home study.   It contains the complete piano course, a 68 pages teacher’s guide which includes a full 2-year scope-and-sequence as well as a DVD containing teacher’s resource.  Learn And Master Piano Home School Edition has been widely recognized as the best home instruction course for learning piano available anywhere. It consists of 20 professionally produced DVDs, 5 Play-Along CDs, a 100+ page lesson book, and a free online student support site.

It’s quite easy to go through the lessons.   Pop in a DVD in your player and listen to the lesson given by none other than Will Barrow.    Listen to what he has to say about the Learn and Master Piano course.

This specific course will allow you to learn piano from the comfort of your home.  However, make sure to practice because listening to the lesson itself won’t be enough.  Before moving on in your lessons, you need to master the previous one and practice quite a bit before continuing.   

When I initially received the product, my intent was to get all my kids on the piano and learn.  However, I quickly realized that this product was mostly geared for older students and adults.   I didn’t find it flexible enough for my younger kids.

Over the course of the next few months, I am planning to take the lessons and advance at my own pace.   I will also challenge my oldest son to do some lessons as well.    At the end of September, I will post an update on how we are doing.    Then again in November I am planning to update on our learning the piano adventure so you can discover how it is working for us.

In the meantime, I would like to encourage you to check out the product on the website.  They do have a 60 days money back guarantee if you are not satisfied.  When you consider that the average music lesson is around 35-40$ for 30 minutes per week, I think the price tag attached to Learn and Master Piano isn’t that bad.   Granted you might not have feedback from the teacher immediately but there is a student support forum which consist in a vibrant community of 15,000 active users.   Will Barrow himself is online regularly and will take time to answer questions and offering encouragement.   It is possible to build a student profile, post recordings, track your progress, and get feedback from the experts and students.

So this year as part of your homeschool, why not incorporate a bit of music lessons?    Piano Lessons with Grammy Award-Winning Pianist Will Barrow - Home School Edition from LearnAndMaster - ORDER NOW!

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Learn and Master offers various courses if you are not interested in piano.   Check out the guitar, drums, dance, painting and even photography courses available!

Learn and Master offers Homeschool Editions of Piano, Guitar and Painting instructional courses. Shop now at LearnAndMaster.com and save BIG on award-winning course materials.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Learn & Master for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

When the Game Stands Tall

A new movie is getting released in theaters on Friday.   When the Game Stands Tall is a sports drama film that is a movie adaptation of the 2003 book of the same name by Neil Hayes which was published by North Atlantic Books.  The film is about the record-setting 151-game 1992-2003 high school football winning streak by De La Salle High School of Concord, California.   When the streak is broken and tragedy strikes their community, the coach, Bob Ladouceur,  must teach the team - and the entire town - that it’s not about how you fall, but how you get back up.

Watch the preview below to get an idea of what the movie is all about.  

Just be watching the preview of the movie, you do get a sense of it being inspirational.    I like it when I have the opportunity to watch inspirational sports related movie even though I am not into sports myself.   But there is always little gems of wisdom that can be gleaned when you watch true stories coming on the big screen.  All you need to do is to have your eyes and ears open when watching the movie.

The movie has a running time of 115 minutes and can be found at specific theaters.   In Ottawa, the movie will be available at either Starcité in Gatineau or Silvercity in Gloucester.

I would like to challenge anyone reading this post –whether you enjoy watching sports or not – to go see the movie next week and share what you have thought of it.

Disclaimer: This post has been written because I have received free tickets to see the movie from Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

DK Readers–for the love of reading

If you want to instill a love of reading to your child I find it necessary that you discover what interest them.   With four kids in our home let me tell you that they taste can be completely different when it comes to reading.  For example, my oldest son at this point in time really enjoys any novels based on war stories while these are not interesting for the other boys which would prefer reading about Star Wars or Lego.

DK Canada offers a multi-level reading program that will allow your child to progress from easy to follow stories to more complex ones as he/she becomes more confident with their reading skills.  

For the purpose of this review, I had the privilege to choose some titles from the DK Readers.  This time around, I decided to select two titles that will present us some aspects of the Artic since we will be studying the Great North this coming year.

The first book is titled Polar Bear Alert and is a level 3 reader.   Polar Bear Alert is a virtual visit to Churchill, Manitoba, the Polar Bear Capital of the World and a look at the threats posed to these animals by climate change.

The second book I chose is Snow Dogs! Racers of the North which is a level 4 reader.  This book takes the child into the exciting world of dogsleed racing, revealing what it takes to be the leader of the pack.

Each of these books are unique in its own way.   Packed with images and text related to the theme presented in the book, you child is guaranteed to learn quite a bit while reading this.   Maps and a glossary complete the books.

I find the DK Readers offer a wide variety of titles that will bring interest to any kids in your life.  From Lego titles to Star Wars one as well as specific themed titles you can be guaranteed to find something for the child in your life.

You can obtain the full list of the readers available at DK Canada but clicking here.  DK Canada also offers the DK Adventures  for older readers.

Note that DK Canada is offering a BUY 2 Get 1 Free for anyone purchasing DK Readers from their website.

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for sending me the above mentioned books for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

YEAR 2014-2015

A new year of homeschool is dawning on us.   With four kids in the family, it takes some organization.   I am using the app Homeschool Helper to manage our homeschool schedule and curriculum for each of the kids.   Mind you my oldest son is pretty much independent but I do go through his assignments to make correction and guide him.

Below are the curriculum of the kids for this coming year. (note that I might include a few other things as I finish planning our school year)

Grade 8 – Alexandre

Servant-in-Training (S.I.T.) for SHINE Vacation Bible Camp at the MET (July 21st to 25th, 2014)

Galilee Bible Camp (July 28 to Aug 2, 2014)

Boys JIM Camp (Aug 9th to 23rd, 2014)  Gospel Magic, Music, letter writing skills, learn a sermon by heart, learn a chapter of the Bible by heart,

 

Awana  - Trek Year 2 and Leader in Training (L.I.T.)

Swimming at Dovercourt

Apologia Exploring Creation with Physical Science

Math U See Algebra 1

Math U See Stewardship

Easy Grammar Ultimate Series Grade 8

Fix- It! Grammar – Tom Sawyer (and read the book)

Of Places (Language Arts)

IEW SWI Continuous B

IEW Phonetic Zoo Level C

Pearson Canadian History 8

Pearson Canadian Geography 8

Courage & Conquest

French –  Clés du verbe, Ortho-Fiches, Dictées Progressives, Le Petit Prince

Languages Arts – The Giver, Anne Frank, A Wrinkle in Time

World History Detective (Critical Thinking Co.) – I will ask him to concentrate on the Medieval World section.

Spanish - Duolingo app

Guitar - http://www.justinguitar.com/  (advance at his own pace)

Youth group

 

Grade 5 – Dominic

SHINE Vacation Bible Camp at the MET (July 21st to 25th, 2014)

Galilee Bible Camp (July 28 to Aug 2, 2014)

 

Awana  - T&T Year 3

Swimming at Dovercourt

Math U See Epsilon

Easy Grammar Grade 5

Easy Writing

IEW SWI Level A

Courage & Conquest

French – A variety of resources will be used: Je Lis…. J’écris, À Vos Marques, Couleur de la grammaire , Je conjugue donc je suis, workbook from Colette Laberge found at Costco, grammaire, Duolingo app and more.

Exploring the Net Science (Critical Thinking)

Cursive Writing

Lapbook Art Appreciation + Children’s Book of Art + Lives of the Artists

Activity Pack Old Testament

Guitar – practice and http://www.justinguitar.com/

 

Grade 4 - Jérémy

SHINE Vacation Bible Camp at the MET (July 21st to 25th, 2014)

Galilee Bible Camp (July 28 to Aug 2, 2014)

 

Awana  - T&T Year 2

Swimming at Dovercourt

Math U See Delta

Easy Grammar Grade 4

Easy Writing

IEW SWI Level A

Cursive Writing

French – A variety of resources will be used: Je Lis…. J’écris, À Vos Marques, Couleur de la grammaire, Je conjugue donc je suis, workbook from Colette Laberge found at Costco, grammaire, and more.

Exploring the Net Science (Critical Thinking)

Activity Pack Old Testament

Guitar – guidance from Alexandre

 

Grade 2 – Jasmine

SHINE Vacation Bible Camp at the MET (July 21st to 25th, 2014)

 

Awana  - Spark Year 3

Swimming at Dovercourt

Math U See Beta

Easy Grammar Grade 2

Rocket Phonics

IEW Primary Writing

English Made Easy Grade 1 & 2

French - A variety of resources will be used:  Je Lis… J`écris, À Vos Marques, Couleur des sons, workbook from Colette Laberge found at Costco, repeating sentences after me, grammaire, and more.

 

Multi-Grade Curriculum (for Dominic, Jérémy and Jasmine unless specified ALL which will be for all kids)

Apologia Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology

Canada My Country

Great Books to Study Canadian History (ALL)

Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization (ALL)

Who Is God? (Biblical Worldview) (ALL)

Heroes Tales

Medieval Times (ALL) – Mystery of History + books we have at home and borrowed from the library.  Novels: Adam of the Road and A Door in the Wall.  Also Project Passport The Middle Ages.

Horrible Histories episodes on Netflix (ALL)

Visual World Geography (ALL) (Revise Americas and learn the rest of the world)

REACH COOP – Medieval Life (3 weeks), Human Body (3 weeks), Netherland (Christmas),  Artic (3 weeks),  China (3 weeks),  Electricity & Magnetism (3 weeks), End of Year Party (ALL)

Other Activities

Visiting Washington, DC (June 22nd – July 3rd, 2014) (Baltimore Aquarium, Medieval Times, Smithsonian museums and zoo)

Kingdom of Osgoode (July 11th, 2014)

Visiting Cleveland, OH (August 21st – 28th, 2014)

 

 

HAVE A GREAT YEAR EVERYONE!

2015 Mom’s Family Calendar

2015 Mom’s Family Calendar – Who does what and goes where when. (But not why.)
by Sandra Boynton
Published at Workman Publishing

About the calendar

It’s the super calendar for super moms. Mom’s Familycombines the usefulness of a planner with Sandra Boynton’s funny, colorful, and energetic animal illustrations. The generous, ingeniously designed grids allow parents to see what each family member is doing every day of the month. Add a lively crew of silly chickens, tumbling cats, marching reindeer, and befuddled frogs, and it’s total Boynton charm.

Who is Sandra Boynton?

Sandra Boynton is a popular American cartoonist, writer, and songwriter. Since 1974, Boynton has written and illustrated over forty children’s books and seven general audience books, including four New York Times bestsellers. More than 60 million of her books have been sold—“mostly to friends and family,” she says. She has also written and produced five albums of award-winning children’s music. Three of her albums have been certified Gold, and Philadelphia Chickens, nominated for a Grammy, is nearing Platinum. She lives with her family on a farm in New England.

My Thoughts

I love a calendar that I can easily discover what is happening when for every individual in our family.    Most calendar will have only one square for a specific day.  This particular calendar is flexible to the point the each people have their own column through the month and for a specific day I just have to look at the row to see who has something going on that day.

Okay, I will admit that I use various calendars – one in the kitchen for a quick look at it if I am on the phone and the outlook version on my pc and iPad for when I am out of the door as well as to coordinate with my husband.    The computer is not always open in my office so it is easier for me to have a quick look on the kitchen calendar in order to see if there are any issues with appointments or activities.   

I particularly like this calendar because of the bright colors, the funny illustrations and the stickers that are included in it to make the month more interesting.    Besides, with this calendar starting at the month of August 2014 and going on until December 2015, you can be sure you will be all set up for the upcoming school year.    We already started entering the events going on in our lives in August and September – things like camp, vacation, a birthday party, coop days, Awana nights and much more.    I am waiting to learn when the swimming lessons will start in September.  Already I have four appointment for my eldest son who will have orthodontics as well as our regular dental appointments and the optometrist for the kids.    Without realizing it, the calendar is slowly getting filled for Aug., Sept, and Oct.  

To be honest, knowing when our coop days for our homeschool will be happening, I have already entered them through the calendar.   Same goes with birthdays in our family.   That way the kids can flip the pages of the calendar and learn when they will have something happening.   They love to check the next month when the current month is almost finished.   

In our family, mom and dad share a column and each kids – all four of them – have their own column.   So it is easy for my 6th year old girl to check the last column and see if something special is happening for her that day.    Right now, I feel as though my oldest son has a more active life than us but seeing that he is at youth on Tuesdays and serving at Awana on Thursdays it make sense.

If you are looking for a calendar that will give you a quick idea of what is happening for each person in your family, I think that the Mom’s Family Calendar would be a great product for you to look at.    I have seen another mom calendar at Costco and I don’t find it as flexible as this one since it doesn’t give you a column per person.   I really like the fact that I can do quick glance view in order to see if a specific family member has something special going on.   

The 2015 Mom’s Family Calendar is available for purchase at your favourite store, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Allen for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

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The Butterfly and the Violin

The Butterfly and the Violin
By Kristy Cambron
Published at Thomas Nelson

About the book

And then came war . . .

Today. Sera James spends most of her time arranging auctions for the art world’s elite clientele. When her search to uncover an original portrait of an unknown Holocaust victim leads her to William Hanover III, they learn that this painting is much more than it seems.

Vienna, 1942. Adele Von Bron has always known what was expected of her. As a prodigy of Vienna’s vast musical heritage, this concert violinist intends to carry on her family's tradition and play with the Vienna Philharmonic. But when the Nazis learn that she helped smuggle Jews out of the city, Adele is taken from her promising future and thrust into the horrifying world of Auschwitz.

The veil of innocence is lifted to expose a shuddering presence of evil, and Adele realizes that her God-given gift is her only advantage; she must play. Becoming a member of the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz, she fights for survival. Adele’s barbed-wire walls begin to kill her hope as the months drag into nearly two years in the camp. With surprising courage against the backdrop of murder and despair, Adele finally confronts a question that has been tugging at her heart: Even in the midst of evil, can she find hope in worshipping God with her gift?

As Sera and William learn more about the subject of the mysterious portrait—Adele—they are reminded that whatever horrors one might face, God’s faithfulness never falters.

My Thoughts

As I read this historical novel I was immediately sucked in the story.  Part happening in the past and part happening in the present time, the novel is based on a mystery that two people are trying to resolve but for different reasons.    The main characters in the present day  will go through the emotions of their discoveries in order to mend their own heart and to discern God’s guidance in their lives.   However, as the two main characters of the present time try to resolve the mystery of the missing original painting, the reader is propelled into the 1940s during the 2nd World War and learn how Adele Von Bron, Vienna’s prodigy, ends up in Auschwitz and how she will learn to live in the conditions she finds herself in.  Did this talented young woman survived her time in a concentration camp?   To discover the answer you will have to read the book.

I really enjoyed the book.   I discovered in the past year that I really like historical fictions.    They have a way to touch your soul in the deepest ends.  This time, as I read the book I reflected on the fact that many have died in the concentration camps during the 2nd World War.  One morning as I was breading the hair of my 6th years old daughter, I was almost in tears thinking of the fact that kids went there and died during their imprisonment.   This book has encouraged me to read a bit more about the 2nd World Ward and learn about this part of history.   I already have selected some other titles during this period of time – some novels and others being autobiographies.

If you have an interest of reading historical fiction and enjoy learning more about life in the concentration camps, I suggest that you pick up The Butterfly and the Violin.  It is a great book that is perfect for anyone.   It could also be used as a fiction to read while studying the 2nd World War.

The Butterfly and the Violin is available for purchase at your favourite bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

The book is also available for the Kindle.

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Nelson for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Make Your Own Skeleton

Make Your Own Skeleton
Published at DK Canada

About the product

Learning takes on an extra dimension with this Make Your Own Skeleton kit.

Assemble the model skeleton while learning about different parts of the human body — feet and legs, hips, spine, ribs, arms, head, and jaws — in the accompanying book. Following easy step-by-step instructions, Make Your Own Skeleton blends model-making with anatomy and behavior, teaching children about the human body in a whole new way.

Includes Book and Gigantic 100-Piece Model!

My Thoughts

This year as part of our homeschool coop we will study the Human Body for three weeks.   So when I saw this specific title as part of the Summer Fun Boutique I knew it would be a perfect fit for our studies in the fall.  The kit contains a book of 32 pages and a 2 foot model of the human skeleton.  

As you open the book you can see that you will get numerous information about the bones and the human skeleton.  You will also learn more about joints, growing bones, mending bones, body muscles, pulling muscles, tendons and how everything work together.  Also as you read the book you will get instructions on how to build your skeleton which is composed of 67 pieces and 10 clamps that are used for the base of the model.

Throughout the book you will also get some tidbits of information that will deepen your knowledge on the skeleton of a human.  The book is packed with information specific to the human body – like how joints moves with illustrations that will allow you to visualize it.   The model will be very useful when we bring it to the skeleton session while we study the Human Body during coop.

Make Your Own Skeleton is a great visualization product to better understand how our bones are needed and how they all fit in our body.   It is a great tool for kids to discover more about the skeleton system.

It isn’t too late to take advantage of the Summer Fun Boutique with their 30% off offer – swing at their webpage to discover what could occupy your own kids during the month of August.

Make Your Own Skeleton is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

   

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for sending me the above mentioned books for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Atlas Girl

Atlas Girl – Finding Home in the Last Place I Thought to Look
Written by: Emily T. Wierenga
Published at Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group

About the book

Emily Wierenga left home at age eighteen with no intention of ever returning.

Broken down by organized religion, a childhood battle with anorexia, and her parents' rigidity, she set out to find God somewhere else--anywhere else. Her travels took her across three continents in buses, cars, and planes, across mountains and over deep blue seas.

What she hadn't realized was that her faith was waiting for her the whole time--in the place she least expected it.

Poignant and passionate, Atlas Girl is a deeply personal story of the yearning we all share to be truly known, entirely forgiven, and utterly loved.

My Thoughts

I enjoy reading memoirs, autobiographies and biographies.   I find it gives you a new perspective on life in general when you read about the live of people.   This memoir will give you an insight in the life of the author and how she was able to lean on God in the midst of struggles and issues in her own life.  This is a great testimony in how the author searched throughout the world and find her faith in the place she least expected.

The book is beautifully written and will bring you through her past from 1998 until more recent years.  You read about her struggles and how she overcome them.   You read about her love story, about how she came to help her parents when there was health issues, about her travels , about anorexia and her kids.    It is a poignant and touching book that will touch you in many ways.    It is a book about restoring relationships – whether with God or with aging parents.   It is a book where the author deliberately pours out her heart so that the readers can see that in the midst of all there is hope.  That ultimately you are loved by the God of the Universe.

This kind of book can be difficult to read for some people.  But I would like to encourage you to read it in small portion at a time – process the information slowly so you can savor every words of her book. 

Atlas Girl is available for purchase at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  
Disclaimer: The book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.