BIble Bee 2012/Giveaway

Our family is participating in the 4th Annual Bible Bee this summer. We will receive our study pack the first week on June.

I had seen a link on another Mom blogger's site and clicked through. After looking over the info I believe this will be a great way for the kids to learn Bible skills they can use all their lives.

The program is 12 weeks long with you practicing at home and if you live close enough practice drills before the final contest on Saturday, August 25th.  Below is some info about the Bible Bee from their webpage.

"Our desire is to help your family move closer to God and closer to one another as you learn, live out, and celebrate His Word. Register your children ages 7-18 years for the 2012 Bible Bee and learn how we can equip and encourage a lifestyle of investing in and living out your relationship with Christ.

In return for the $30 Registration Fee, each contestant receives, on June 1st:
 

• 25 Bible Memory Cards. That works out to just over 2 cards per week during the summer, a "do-able" goal for your whole family!
   
• A Bible in one of five translations
   
• A "Sword Study" in-depth study on one book of the Bible leveled for three age groups, enabling the whole family to study the same book at the same pace. Sword Studies don't just teach the Bible, they teach a lifelong skill of how to study and apply the Bible, in just 20 minutes a day.
   
• An official participant Bible Bee T-shirt and button
   
• Gifts from our ministry partners that support the Sword Study learning
   
• A Parent Guidebook that gives a solid overview of the study and includes a Family Bonfire Guide, so that you can easily lead your family in fun times of learning and sharing what the Lord has taught you throughout the week."

Mattie is very excited about the Bible Bee, she hopes in will help her with the Bible Drill that she participates in at church during the school year. 

I am excited to be able to offer FREE registration to one lucky reader. Even if there isn't a Bible Bee Contest close to you register to win. We are going to participate this year and my host the contest next year. 

Leave a comment below and you will be registered to win a registration. 

Disclaimer: We received a family registration in exchange for blog post about our experience this summer with the Bible Bee.

Contest is open until midnight, Monday, May 21st. 

Bible Islands Free Pass--Educational Christian Website for Kids

I'm so excited!! I have been selected to stay on as a "Tommy Mommy" with Tommy Nelson Kids. That means I get to give more books away to you my readers.

This month I have a giveaway for everyone. Tommy Nelson and the new faith based Bible Islands have teamed up to provide a website for children. The website characters teach the Bible, Math, Reading, Hebrew and other subjects using a Christian worldview through educational games.

My kids have been checking this website out the past few days and really like it. Now your kids can share in the fun. Click here Bible Islands Free Pass and sign up for your Free Pass. It's simple and fun for kids of any age. If you can get your computer away from your kids, come back and comment below and let me and Tommy Nelson Kids know what you and your kids think!

Look for another giveaway this week, for Tween girls!  

Have a great week!!

My summer of book reviews #1

       This summer I have completed a graduate level course in which I learned about using books in the classroom. During this class I read 21 Caldecott and Newbery Award books. Over the next few weeks I’m going to share those books with you. 

Our family loves to read and I have found several new books that are our new favorites. Today I want to share Sector 7 by David Weisner. Sector 7 was written in 1999, is a picture book and therefore was a Caldecott Honor book for the year of 2000. 

Since I wrote book reports on each of the books I read I’m going to leave them in semi-book report form for the most part. 

Synopsis: This book has no words to tell the story. A little boy takes a field trip to the Empire State building. At the top in the observatory he realizes how cloudy it is. His scarf and hat are blown off. He turns to see them on a smiling cloud. The cloud takes him to the “Cloud Dispatch Center” Sector 7. The clouds give him a tour of how they are made, where they receive their assignments, the design area, the whole sector. The clouds are bored with the same old clouds. The little boy draws them as stars, fish and other fun designs. Then the other humans there discover him and he is sent back on a taxi cloud; while the cloud he arrived on is led away to be punished. As he and the other students return to school they notice all the shaped clouds; clouds the little boy had designed and how were now happy. 

Illustrations: The illustrations for this book where done in watercolor. They are very exquisite. The pictures indeed tell the story. The reader is drawn into the book through the emotions of the boy and the cloud. The details of every picture are so perfect. One would feel like they are in “Sector 7” also. Words can’t describe how excited I felt looking at this book, I couldn’t wait to share it with my husband and kids. This book makes me wonder if there really is a “Sector 7” in the sky turning out clouds every day.

     This book would be a great asset in the classroom or homeschool science class in teaching about the different kinds of clouds. It would help to pull students in and get them excited about learning about clouds.