God Schooling {Review}

I have long believed that there is a way that God intends for our children to learn. God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn by Julie Polanco is a not just a guide but a lesson in how God intends for our children to learn. My oldest son flat out says right now, “learning is not fun”, so we have been off the rails as of late. As we delved into what many consider rather unconventional methods of learning, this book was a timely reminder that this is not really so.

We are all taught about the value of the wisdom that comes from the Word of God. Seek God’s way in all things. We say it but do we really mean it?

Let me tell you a bit about Julie because I find her so amazing and so inspiring. She’s just a homeschooling mama just like many of us; she is in the Chicago area (hello from SE Wisconsin) so she is almost my neighbor. Ha-Ha This book is written from within the trenches and honestly, from the very first page I was hooked. She spoke to her search for those perfect teaching materials, her struggles with her children who just didn’t want to do the work. I thought of my own son who refuses any lesson I ask him to do as of late (I take that back, he did draw me a lovely image of Paddington Bear the other day).

 

Within the first few pages I already realized that I needed to re-examine my goals and my relationships. I need to emulate more and more the patience in the love that God shows me, with my own children. If there is one thing I am reminded of, it is that we need to take care of the relationship. I just saw something the other day that spoke of how, “In this world where we can be anything we ought to be kind.”

 

 

The pages of this book are her own personal journey; to a place of peace and joy. I don’t know about you but right now I definitely need more of that!

 

This is not just a personal memoir though. In my humble opinion this is also a Bible study. This must be read with an open mind. as you read through the pages of this book it is important that you read putting off all that you think you know right now how about education. These pages are full of scripture meant to guide us and show us the freedom God offers us in this way (the early Christian Church was The Way…by the way).

 

 

There are also other resources to review. Some of these speak to motivation; others speak to the identification of character traits us to understand and encourage our children. I recently added to my collection a few of the materials she mentioned in the pages of this book.

This book is divided into two parts. In the first section we work to dispel the myths. I mean, there are just so many things that we are taught, things that we “know” that really aren’t so. We have to get to the place where we acknowledge that what we know may not be before we can truly embrace the freedom in the way that God has for us.

In part two she talks about the practice; this is broken up in two different age ranges. it also helps give some tips on getting started, keeping track of things and maintaining some form of structure. This is the perfect spot for those of us how to get started for our wondering how we can support our kids who may all be different ages.

And what book for us mama’s isn’t complete without a couple study questions? At the end of each chapter there are questions to help us think more deeply. This helped us really start thinking about how to incorporate service into our homeschool (we start doing this next week by the way at a local little farm).

 

 

She is also the author of 100 (no and low cost) Ways to Motivate Kids (anyone else excited about that? I need SO much help motivating or her two of mine as of late).  You can also
get the first chapter of God Schooling FREE when you sign up for her newsletter. Or if you are as excited about this book as I am, you can get your copy of the ebook now; on sale for half price, through August 22nd. I highly encourage you to get a copy if you are struggling in your homeschool. Or even if you were just looking to bring some new life into things. This is a challenging and encouraging read; so much so that I will be reading this one again.

 

Follow Julie’s Journey:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliepolancobooks/@juliepolancobooks
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jpolancobooks/

Advertisements

Branch Out World {Paddington Bear Review}

Who else just loves orange marmalade? I know ever since I first met Paddington Bear as a child, it was one of my favorite things! And because this little guy was such a delight to me when I was a child, I was eager to share him with my own children so they could experience him as well. You can imagine how excited I was when I learned that I had the opportunity to enjoy a literature study unit for Paddington Bear from the Picture Books Explorers series created by, British based, Branch Out World. These are downloadable studies and are great for those between the ages of 5-10 (although I love these as does my older son who is almost thirteen).

If you are not familiar with literature studies, if you love to read, I strongly encourage you to give these a try. This is an amazing way to bring any story to life! I encourage you to dig in to all that is offered within the 60+ pages that make up this literature guide. There are lots of activities to do, but don’t be overwhelmed. Designed by a homeschool mom, these are the perfect way to really explore the stories you read. Each day has a specific focus: geography/history, math, science, creative writing and art. The goal isn’t necessarily to do it all, but rather to enjoy exploring some of those things within a book that we may otherwise gloss over. Just one example: we read how Paddington’s first question to the family is, “how can I help?” Do we read over that or do we linger upon those words? Here is one opportunity that, perhaps, we may not use as we could. This is just one of many amazing learning opportunities within the story, that this guide draws our attention to as we go along.

Since we have an old friend who was once in Peru, my kids were pretty interested in learning more about this faraway place; because older brother loves to talk “in a British accent” his sister and brother were curious to learn about this place as well. I was excited to see that there was a list of recommended resources for further learning including some very old cartoons of Paddington Bear which I had never seen before (I was delighted, my daughters too!). Since it was, I guess, stop motion animation, my boys were curious to watch an episode or two. These were so much fun, I think we spent most of a day just watching them all together.

We began this study by looking at maps and doing a bit of coloring and labeling. It is good to know where thing are and fun to see how this little bear traveled from the “darkest Peru” to the station where he was found in England. Imagine that journey! How exciting. How scary for a little bear, all alone/ My daughter was so impressed with “how brave he had to be” to go so far”. My younger son really enjoys map work and so this was something that drew him in. It also led us to watching some documentary type videos to see. This also introduced, just a bit, the concept of immigration (quite a topic for discussion with older kids I think). As a whole this led us to talking about languages and customs both there and here. How do we fit in? Do we fit in at all? A great way to discuss the value of community and of the importance of curiosity and being friendly to those who are different or seem to get lost in the crowd.

What would have happened if no one ever reached out to Paddington in that station? We can imagine how different this story could have been if there was no one kind enough to reach out.

We did a lot of narration as we completed this book! The second day is full of activities to help grasp and identify grammar concepts; this also talks about the themes that run through this book. Creativity, inquisitiveness, helping others. There are so many to identify and discuss. Since we have been really starting to look more closely at good character, virtue training, there were so many good things to share and show one another as we looked at the adventures of Paddington Bear.

Following this portion of the study we move on to pictures, or illustrations, for some other fun opportunities. All of my children love to draw; my oldest son has quite the talent for this and so he definitely enjoyed this part. In this section we learned more about the illustrator; we explored the various images within the story book and how they work together with the story itself, to give us more insight. Perhaps they help us to enjoy a silly portion of the story, or to see a bit of expression whether sorrow or joy or fear. There is a great deal of power that can be told with a picture.

And what study would be complete without a section of science? Who doesn’t love science? The opportunity to get our hands dirty- to explore for ourselves. This is always a favorite part of our day (okay, their day – I admit, I struggle with the mess part of all this some days!) Here we learned more about different kinds of bears (what kind is Paddington anyway?) There were experiments with shaving cream and soap – My younger son just loves to say, “ Cream and jam all over me coat!” There are opportunities to explore nature.

Nature study is always good! My older son is in a photography class this summer so we appreciated the opportunity to get out and photograph some of those most interesting things we see. It’s another great way to encourage these guys and gals to get outside and really take their time to see all the amazing things around them! Slow down 🙂

There really are so many wonderful things we can learn from a book! I know there are so many others stories out there, like this one, that are full of goodness. I think it is so important to share these sorts of things with our children to help them learn and grow thinking on those things that are good and right and pure.

One nice thing about studies like this one is that they also help to provide direction for other books to enjoy and learn from with your kids. There are certainly plenty other resources to enjoy once you have completed this one. I know when I am choosing books to enjoy with my children, it is so important to me that they have value; that they somehow come alive and teach us, in the way we should go, perhaps providing examples of right and wrong, so that we may see and know the way to go.

Help Your Home School Branch Out :

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BranchOutWorld @BranchOutWorld
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/belzibow @belzibow
Instagram: www.instagram.com/belzibow @belzibow
Twitter: www.twitter.com/belzibow @belzibow

Blogging Through the Alphabet {The Letter L }

It seems that this summer has been full of challenges and changes.

I am trying to once again consistently share my studies and our families activities here.

The words matter. They mean something and they reveal something.

I think how God reveals himself through the many names we know him by.

Logos a term used in Greek philosophy, referring not to irrational principal or an impersonal sores but to the one who created the universe, speaking it into existence.

The prophets spoke God’s word but Jesus is God’s life-giving word.

The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Did you know that the Greek for “made his dwelling” can be linked to the word for “tabernacle”?

Logos or “the word” tells us all we need to know about Jesus. His miracles, resurrection, truth and life. How well are we listening to this message?

Do we hear his call as He beckons us from darkness to light and from death to life eternal?

Goggles of Gratefulness

Gratefulness is something that is so important. I think of all the things that come from simply being grateful.

When we are grateful we are not likely to be angry or bitter; we are content and blessed in exactly what we have.

 

That’s something we could all practice more right? (I am so guilty sometimes of wanting what my neighbor has).   😀

 

In this sweet e-book we can help our kids to learn and practice gratefulness.  This is a free e-book for children, Goggles of Gratefulness, from Compassion International. Full of activities and based on a true story of a family who visited their Compassion sponsored child in Uganda, this book takes a closer look at what it means to be thankful for what we have and generous with what we share. As you journey with Amelia the bird to visit others and see how different their needs are from ours, we get an opportunity to discuss the value of what we have.

 

 

 

Along with this free book think about using the Family Generosity Challenge devotional! What a difference we could make if we really took to getting out there and doing so many of these things that we talk about.I know we have been looking to become more involved in giving in our community as of late. What powerful examples these actions can be too!

 

 

I hear so often that still small voice reminding me that we all need to “go”; maybe it isn’t to another part of the world. Maybe it is just down the street. But we need to “go” if we are going to shine that light.

 

 

Be sure to get a copy of this book and learn with your children, generosity, humility and thankfulness through a fun, colorful and sweet story! You get so much more than just a little book; you learn and walk together in the way.  Each day reading a Bible passage that talks about the topic, a short devotional message, prayer and application points. It’s so simple!

Don’t miss out. Get yours today and let’s be the world changers that He calls us to be.  ❤

Time Travelers {Home School in the Woods Review}

For a couple years now we have been enjoying history in a whole new way. Thanks to Home School in the Woods my oldest son has gone from being a child who finds history boring, to someone who is excited to see what he can learn and create as we learn together! With the Time Travelers U.S. History Studies, we can have a blast learning with lots of hands on activities that bring history to life! For this review we received the study pack for World War II. These are recommended for grades 3-8 but these can easily be used with a variety of ages and with all the activities they offer, even little ones can join in with a little help. With 25 lessons in all, this is the most fun one can have!

There are a lot of different pieces to these packets and I am the first to admit that initially it is rather overwhelming BUT do not be afraid. This is so well put together that every step of the way, you have instruction. In fact the very first files you open relate to helpful tips (setting us up for success!) as well as a lesson plan schedule! I know I desperately need that sort of thing – what shall we add to the timeline and the newspaper? What we will we explore on the map or through penmanship? Don’t these sound like really fun ways to learn and explore World War II?

It all begins with Ante Bellum; we learn just a bit about World War I – so we can better understand World War II of course. We are briefly introduced to the Versaille Treaty and we learn about the poverty that ensued in Germany. This helps us to better understand, as Hitler is introduced, how he so easily took charge and led Germany forward. As we read about the conditions Germany was in, we also learn about Hitler’s ambitions. Can I say that in this very first lesson, we had an amazing experience – We got out the maps to locate each country; we watched a couple shot videos about Hitler so we could see him for ourselves and hear his powerful speeches. Just in this very first lesson we talked so much about poverty and war; we talked about the ideals and the reasons people believed and followed Hitler as they did. My kids pondered and even admitted for themselves that we may well have made the same choice had we been one of those people in Germany back then.

As we progressed we learned about Blitzkreig-Dunkirk, Pearl Harbor, Hitler’s Fortress, War in Africa (I know I often overlook that piece), War in the Pacific, the European fortress of Italy and so much more! This is an amazingly thorough project and even I learned a great deal as we went through this one.

With each lesson there is a project page that helps you to see each step for every lesson. Nice and simple right? Each lesson includes a penmanship page which is typically a quote from a famous person of the time. My kids always had to look up the person and sometimes the quote too. This is a fun opportunity to learn a bit more about these men and their role in the times. Every five days, there is a project day, allowing our kids to catch up with all of these projects and maybe complete some that we may not have done before.

There are so many different opportunities here; it is good to have a day to just relax and get those creative juices flowing again. My son enjoyed working while listening to a podcast or audio book (sometimes related to World War II, other times not).

Our favorite part of this, I think, were the authentic recipes that we scattered throughout this. Delicious meals and treats: Quick Cinnamon Crumb Cake, Buttermilk Sponge Custard, Mashed Potato Soup and Wiener Noodle Casserole (because what kids don’t love wieners). There are lots of other ones too meant to help give us an understanding of the ration cooking. Can you imagine, a time when coffee, meat, butter and sugar were limited? I sure would have been one of those folks hoarding the coffee! ha-ha

There are even “ration tip” cards providing suggestions and tips for meat alternatives and making the most of the little meat you have. I can appreciate this, as a momma to a larger family who is always trying to stretch what we have.

And what boy wouldn’t be excited to learn more about the weapons of war? This one really got both of my boys excited because they love shooting sports. Right now both are learning archery but my oldest son had a chance to do some shooting with a pistol and a rifle with his scout troop and really liked that.

There are also fun games to create play using file folders; in one of these you can use fact file cards (these are great for reviewing what’s been learned) as well as question cards to “Fight for Freedom”. This is a fun way to learn and master details, maybe vocabulary, that is being learned and for my younger son, who loves games, this is always a preferred method of learning. We are all about board games – especially strategy games and war games – We did make sure to laminate the cards as we went along; my oldest son has hopes to add some question cards of his own in the near future – to keep the game interesting!

There is even a Language Bingo game which was lots of fun for my oldest son especially (and I had fun too!) What a fun way for younger ones too to learn a little bit of Russian, Japanese, German (I get to practice a little) Italian and French. We learned how to say: power, battle, prisoner, war and leader in all of these languages. I think my oldest did best at this. But my younger ones had fun too.

Another really cool thing was learning about the Navajo Code Talkers – I don’t think they ever covered this in school when I was learning – the idea came from a missionary to the Navajos and became a part of all US Marines assaults. The boys had fun learning a bit of military code talk; we even had the chance to practice The Marine Hymn in English and Navajo. My boys say this is better than learning Morse Code. haha

As you can see there are just so many great activities for our kids to enjoy as they learn about this historic time. We all know that kids learn best, through play, when it becomes real to them.

 

There is so much more we can experience when we are not just learning but also doing. Being able to eat some of the same foods they ate; to put ourselves in their shoes as they go to battle – these are things that make what is being learned matter more. It has been a year of “why” in our home – these really help my boys in seeing how it is all connected both to the Word of God and also to life today. It is said that those who do not know (and understand) history are doomed to repeat it; certainly this is obvious in our world today. We do not want to be destroyed for a lack of knowledge!

CONNECT WITH HOME SCHOOL IN THE WOODS:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homeschoolinthewoods

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HSintheWoods

G+: https://plus.google.com/+Homeschoolinthewoods

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hsinthewoods/

Science is FUN! {WriteBonnieRose Review}

Around here we absolutely love science and we are always looking for opportunities to learn even more. This summer we inherited a rock tumbler; we got to enjoy some amazing videos about geology and dinosaurs! These things really opened the doors to a lot of questions and since it’s summertime we are able to get out there and explore! Isn’t that the best way to learn after all? And because we are really trying to be more consistent with handwriting and notebooking type activities, as we learn, we were thrilled to get our hands on the Learning About Science Collection, Level 3 (Print) from WriteBonnieRose.

We love Bonnie! I don’t personally know her, but I feel like I do. We have had many conversations about homeschool courses and materials that can be used to help encourage our kids to have fun (and learn a bit too!). We are actually “working” on a course together as I write this. I tell you, this lady is a major blessing to homeschoolers all over the place and if you are not familiar with her materials you need to 🙂 From history, to sports, to missions there are books to color, works to copy – all in such a way that our little ones and even our reluctantly learning ones – can find something that lights that fire in them.

Let me say, we are not big fans of worksheets. If I am completely transparent here, typically, my request for any of my kids (especially my older son) to complete some worksheets like this, is met with a ton of whining and complaining…Which leads to worksheets not being completed as momma trains our children in how to “do everything without complaining or murmuring”. Truth be told, I think that falls on deaf ears BUT when it came time to do these, my boys were especially excited. Perhaps it was because we have been out and about a lot more this summer; chasing butterflies, trying to identify plants, just exploring the great outdoors and for my younger son, this was his first year getting to go camping with his friends, through our church group. More time outside definitely inspires more curiosity and more curiosity definitely brings about lots more questions.

When we received the email with all of the links to download these files (they are pdf, by the way), immediately we printed every one one of the seven and got them neatly put into a binder. I am horribly unorganized so if I don’t print and bind right away – who knows what will happen! These included lessons on Rocks, Minerals and Crystals, Energy and its Many Forms, Exploring Earth’s Landforms, Forecasting and Understanding Weather, Life in the Ocean’s Hidden Zones, What’s Going on Inside Plants and Kinds of Animals & How They live. Exciting topics right? These are all recommended for the elementary age – this one is also available in cursive – many of these topics can easily be expanded upon for those slightly older kids. My oldest is almost 13 (gasp) and he enjoyed a great deal of the information in these sets; he especially was a big fan of all the videos that were linked for further learning. I think he could have easily just sat and watched one after the other too, they were all so good I am told!

My younger son chose to work first on Discovering Rocks, Minerals and Crystals. He loves when we go down to the beach for the day and he can just search for sea glass and all sorts of rocks and shells in the lake. We just brought home his latest find and it was exciting to see him trying to determine if these were igneous or metamorphic or sedimentary. And as we moved forward we learned minerals and the elements they are made up of )a great introduction to some chemistry). Of course, our learning isn’t complete until we learn how to tell the difference between a geode, limestone, schist or agate. This gives a great, basic understanding of all of the different types that are out there! It’s definitely just what was needed and gave my boys some great direction for further studies.

We also dug into Forecasting & Understanding the Weather. Tornados and hurricanes, thunder and lightning – my kids are fascinated with these things! Making a tornado in a bottle is probably one of their favorite activities. This begins with a very basic understanding of exactly what weather is. It then talks about air pressure, air masses and lots of other terms that relate to the different types of weather we experience. My son was definitely very curious about the science of meteorology and so this was one area that we really dug into a bit more. It’s always fun to see how something simple, a basic introduction to a new topic – can really become so much more for a kiddo!

We are looking forward to exploring some of the others as well! Up next is Life in the Ocean’s Hidden Zones and Kinds of Animals & How They Live. At the same time my daughter is having fun learning What’s Going on Inside Plants? She loves flowers and butterflies – she longs to have her own garden and maybe next spring we will work on that. But for now she is learning what goes on inside and having fun tracing some of those bigger words as she learns what they mean. And she especially loves coloring and trying to draw some of the pictures on the pages for herself.

Since we are preparing to start working (volunteering I should say) at a local farm helping out with animals and whatever else they have for us, these have all been fun ways to learn a bit more about things. For my younger daughter this is a fun introduction to lots of science, and a good thing to encourage my boys and get them excited about the opportunity to work with plants and animals.

This really is a fun way to do some basic science, get your feet wet with something new. We definitely are having fun with this and I expect that we will be working quite a bit more with her resources as well this year since there are lots of other good ones to choose from. Definitely consider giving these a try; your younger ones are sure to love them and your older ones may too. 🙂

!

CONNECT WITH BONNIE ROSE WRITES FOR LOTS OF GREAT LEARNING FUN:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WriteBonnieRose/ @WriteBonnieRose

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriteBonnieRose @WriteBonnieRose

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/writebonnierose/ @WriteBonnieRose

Blogging through the Alphabet {The Letter K}

Jesus is Lord! The earliest Declaration of Faith made.

Paul is convinced “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Are we convinced as well?

One day those who love him and those who oppose him will call him Lord. Today is the day of salvation.

If we truly know him as Lord we place our life – the disappointments and the struggles and our greatest dreams – in His hands.

The Greek word Kyrios, is used in the New Testament and refers to an owner, emperor, father, husband, king or master.

Kyrios can also translate to three Hebrew names and titles of God: Adonai, Elohim and Yahweh.

Jesus was addressed using Kyrios in the Gospels, it was a sign of respect to him as a rabbi or teacher. After his death and resurrection the title Lord became more widely used in a greater sense. Surely now we know Jesus is truly Lord!

Thomas doubted Christ’s resurrection. When Jesus appeared to him he said, “My Lord and my God!” Declare your faith!

As time progressed the title Lord took took on characteristics of a name. Kyrios is found 717 times in the New Testament, identifying Jesus with Yahweh (using the covenant name of God).

How good it is for us to know Jesus as Lord that we may experience his power and his presence more deeply in our own lives..

Learning with Lauri {Tryazon}

---

It’s summer time and while we try to relax and do less “work”during the summer, I still like to have things on hand that are fun and educational. Play is such a powerful tool for our younger children when it comes to learning. We want to make sure they have plenty of opportunity to explore and have fun as they learn. Thanks to Tryazon our family recently was given the opportunity to experience and share some great new materials for little ones. We received an amazing package that made my little ones squeal for joy when the box was opened!

 

 

Included in our pack of fun materials for learning with Lauri were the following items:

1. Tall-Stackers Pegs & Pegboard Set
2. Action-Stackers Little Builder Set
3. Objects magnetic set
4. Actions language cards
5. Create-A-Scene Magnetic Farm
6. Shape & Color Sorter
7. Lauri Crepe Rubber Puzzle

The Lauri products started with the creation of Fit-A-Space in 1961 by a retired school teacher. These items are designed in a Montessori style, great for hands on learning and very affordable. These are durable and the materials used provide all kinds of tactile, sensory input for our kids as they play. These are just what younger kids need to be able to get creative and make great things!

 

As part of our local homeschool community, this was one thing that I really appreciated being able to share with some of the other parents. All of the materials provided are recommended for ages 2-3; there are puzzles to beginner building, and magnetic fun on the farm as well as counting and pre-reading and writing, these are the kind of toys that encourage creativity and really build one skill upon another. Our children learn and grow in amazing ways when they are given the opportunity to freely play with these sorts of materials. Just look at all the fun experiences our kids can have when they are learning with Lauri.

These are toys that I can see our littler ones enjoying repeatedly. Every time they play something new they create. These were also great for making for the girls dolls. Chairs and cars and a lounge chair or two. I love seeing the imagination in little ones. 😁

We got a fun set of photo action language cards everyone had fun with. this is a great way to practice word recognition and also get some of those wiggles out.

I love how vibrant stays photos are. And the images are easy to recognize so there is no doubt what each picture represents.

The the puzzle was great fun too. We love the bumpy texture of the pieces and the bright colors. Some of the little ones did need help getting these pieces where they belonged but with a little help (and after this was done a few times) it got easier to fit the pieces together. This was a fun thing to do with the little ones, and we even had fun practicing color recognition as we completed it!

 

Although this one did stump a couple of the little ones we definitely had lots of fun and when they all worked together they were able to get those pieces right where they belong. Although one kiddo determined she said one or two pieces in a different spot. Lol

And and who doesn’t love books in which you can create your own scenes. Since all kids love animals this is a great one for recognizing and identifying different animals and the sounds they make. It was also a great introduction to the farm for some children and an encouragement to many of us Mamas to get our kids to see a local farm. This reminds me of those books where you can choose your own path for older kids. This can even be fun for little ones who love to tell stories.

Some of the kids, mostly the older ones, enjoyed using the phone magnets we received to tell a story or two. With a kite and a seal, a drum and a xylophone.. the possibilities are endless.

The monkey the grapes sitting under a rainbow. Or maybe these are some musically talented creatures. You never know what you can come up with!

We sure had fun with these making up silly stories and songs with a handful of these.

There are just so many ways that these toys can be enjoyed by little ones and even bigger ones. we found but these can easily become a part of regular get-togethers for the newly-created play group for those of us with children who are three and under. these materials will definitely be ones that we use again and again.

 

 

 

Lauri has over 100 other amazingly fun products available. You can shop for some great Learning with Lauri materials HERE.

 

Smart Kidz Radio {Review}

A couple years ago  we had the opportunity to review Smart Kidz Media Library for Homeschoolers and their amazing digital library, with our oldest son. Being that we love to listen to music and audio books throughout our day, we were really very excited to have the chance to review something new from the same company. This time we happened to get the chance to enjoy a ton of “edutainment” through the Smart Kidz Radio.

 

 

While this is not really Christian focused, this is an opportunity for our kids to have a safe place to go online to listen and learn. This just for kids. How unique is that! Recommended for ages 2-10 this is something our kids can enjoy that will build them up; help them to learn and grow, in a fun way! There are songs to enjoy and there is also a podcast for listening to stories like The Itsy Bitsy Spider or Cinderella. My girls loved that part of this.

 

 

 

If you want to listen for free just enjoy the online stream; if you prefer to listen when you want and be able to hear whatever you like, you can upgrade and enjoy them on-demand. What’s nice, aside from the fact that this is a safe place, for kids to enjoy without us mommas having to worry about what they might hear, is that everything on here comes with a lesson. Things like curiosity, respect and sharing, being kind to one another, these are excellent themes that you hear as you listen. With every song and story that you hear, our kids are encouraged to be who they are; there is great value in strong character that I know sometimes I forget to focus on, as we go about reading and writing and math. If we want friends, let us show ourselves friendly (that’s what the Bible tells us anyway). This is a great way to get our little ones thinking on things that are honest and true and good.

 

 

My girls especially loved listening to the podcasts; we learned the hard way however that even though you can pause, the live stream is still going so unless you have the on demand feature you will hit play and possibly find yourself in a completely different story. Which can be fun as well I guess; my daughter found it fun to listen to a portion of one fairy tale and then a portion of another. Mixing and muddling stories for fun? It could work I tell you!

 

 

 

While right now this is only available through the live stream, there will be apps in the near future for use. And once they launch their on demand program, there will be so many additional options for our kids to enjoy! According to the FAQs on the Smart Kids Radio website that there will be the Tales of Peter Rabbit, Best Loved Bible Stories, and so much more. There will also be categories of music to choose from, such as Bedtime Songs and Christmas songs too (I am not ready for that one!) There is going to be so much good stuff here for our kids to enjoy. I am excited for this launch and I really think you should be too! Questions? Just visit the FAQ page for answers to all of your questions.

 

 

SMARTKIDZ RADIO IS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smartkidzmediainc/ @smartkidzmediainc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/smartkidzmedia @SmartKidzMedia