Timeless and Treasured - My Three Girls

Monday, April 1, 2019

This Blog Has Moved!!

This blog has a new address!! Please continue to follow along over at

Heather O'Steen Photography!

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Mosdos Press Literature ~ Jade ~ A Timberdoodle Review

Hello blog world! I have another great Timberdoodle review for you today from Mosdos Press Literature. I have never been disappointed with ANY products from Timberdoodle - but this curriculum might be one of my favorites yet! We take education pretty seriously around here - maybe even a little too seriously, I'm the first to admit it. One of the reasons I love Timberdoodle is that they incorporate FUN into learning. This literature kit has been a breath of fresh air!

The kit "Jade" is designed for 7th graders. They have many levels all named after gemstones - how fun is that? They have six levels ranging from third grade to eighth grade. Each level comes with two volumes of a teacher guide, the student text and the student activity workbook.

What do I love most about the program? Well - there's a bit of a story here. I mentioned above how we take education very seriously? We are pretty devout on classical education with a Charlotte Mason twist. We study age old classics in literature, theology and history. The foundation of our curriculum is rigorous and thorough and steeped in historical values and traditions. While there is SO MUCH GOOD in that, Mosdos has taken that SO MUCH GOOD and brought it to today's standards. This literature kit covers everything from the old classics to the brand new favorites - in a very fresh, fun and so easy to incorporate kind of way. When I was given the chance to review this kit, I was completely intrigued as I have had my eye on it for quite a while. I was hesitant to veer off our solid classical literature curriculum we have followed throughout Boo's entire education. So we actually ADDED this on to her regular course load. That is something I would never recommend to any homeschooling mom, but it worked out well for us. We used this whenever we had some extra time. We found that we LOOKED for extra time because we enjoy these stories so much! We actually looked forward to doing this bit of our school day together.

While we always have a great classic read aloud going at any time, one we read aloud from almost every morning over coffee and breakfast before we start our day.... this one is great because we can take a half hour or an hour from our day and take turns reading aloud these stories and actually finish them! Towards the end of the book there are longer reads which we will enjoy just as much - but for now we enjoy that they are short easy reads. They are so enjoyable, and so different from what we are mostly used to. We have enjoyed exciting stories of a 12 year old boy suddenly having to land a plane by only given instruction from the control tower, to stories of a mongoose to stories that are more rich and classical, to poems both old and new. Right now Boo is reading classical works in her other programs that are easily used in high school, college and beyond - which is super fantastic if your kid is wired to think and study that way - but what I love so much about this kit is that every story is directed right at the 7th grade level.

The workbook covers all the things you might think of related to literature - recognizing plot, defining character, exploring setting, understanding theme, writing activities, vocabulary words and so much more! This is absolutely able to be a stand alone curriculum and will cover everything a literature curriculum should. You can also use this very easily as an enjoyable read-aloud together, or independent read and workbook for your student. The beauty of this is it can be so easily implemented either way. We do both depending on how heavy her other studies are at the time. But one thing is for sure - we both LOVE using this book! I couldn't recommend it highly enough. I honestly even pick up this book sometimes just for pleasure reading.

Just because no Timberdoodle review is actually complete until Bentley the Worlds Cutest Dog shows up - spoiler alert....

There he is!!!

You can find the Mosdos Press Literature Kit by clicking HERE.

It is also part of Timberdoodle's 7th Grade entire Curriculum Kit which you can find HERE.

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Color Fold - A Timberdoodle Review

Hello Blog-land Friends! We are so thrilled to once again be a part of this years Timberdoodle Official Blog Team that brings you fun and engaging Crazy Smart homeschool products! Today we have another fantastic Timberdoodle Product for you.

This is the Color Fold Logic Puzzle by Thinkfun.

We have enjoyed so many brain puzzles by Thinkfun through the years and this one has a fun new twist. My married 24 year old daughter enjoyed it just as much as my homeschooled 12 year old daughter! Dad even took a turn or two at solving the puzzle.

The Color Fold puzzle comes with 40 different challenges ranging from Beginner to Expert level. The back of the cards show the solution if you need a tip or you just want to see how it's done. That was really helpful for the first time or two you were solving a puzzle. Also - the self correcting nature of it lends itself to independent learning play for younger ones.

The fabric seems super durable and able to be folded for years to come! I love that the puzzle is quite small and easy to throw into a bag for on the go learning and fun.

"The concept is simple: Fold the Cloth along the lines until only the colored squares shown on the Challenge Card can be seen. Finding the right combination of overfolds and underfolds will challenge even the most skilled puzzlers. Strengthen your visual perception and sequential reasoning skills as you fold and flip your way through 40 beginner to expert challenges!"