Book Club: The AtoZ Reading Challenge for 2020

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(Update: The original site where I was linking up for the AtoZ Reading Challenge is undergoing changes.)

As someone who enjoys reading, I was very excited to see a challenge for 2020 from Ginger Mom & Company. They are hosting their 3rd Annual AtoZ Reading Challenge where participants are encouraged to read one book whose title starts with each letter of the alphabet over the course of the year. They are sharing a number of fun ways to participate from mini-challenges each month to a monopoly-style game to help you choose book titles.

In 2018, I shared my to-be-read list but I must admit that I never finished all the books on that list. I found that when I actually write a list of books down I have trouble sticking to it. I go to the library and find books that interest me so I put down the ones that I own to read the new book. Or an author I really enjoy publishes a new book and I choose that over one that has been sitting on my shelf for years. So while I do have a large to-read list on Goodreads, I don't have a set time frame for when I would like to finish them by.

I would love to write a post in which I say that all books that I read in the AtoZ Challenge will be from the historical fiction genre or from science fiction or fantasy. But I don't want to make any promises because I will probably veer off that path to read whatever I found interesting.

However, I do have a few goals and ideas of books that I would like to read this year, including the following:

Sequels

Some of these sequels might also fall under the series category. It seems like most authors—if they write a sequel—often write at least three books.

Flight of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse

I read and reviewed Mark of the Raven, the first in The Ravenwood Saga, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel. I had purchased the book shortly after it was released in April but misplaced the book after it arrived. I finally found Flight of the Raven in late December and I am very excited to read it this year.

 

King's Blood by Jill Williamson 

I found Jill Williamson on Instagram when she and another author hosted several photo challenges when Mark of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse was being released. I received the first book in her Safe Lands series for Christmas 2018 and then borrowed the first book in The Kinsman Chronicles series, King's Folly, through inter-library loan. I hope to purchase the series to own but for now I might have to borrow it through our library digitally.

Series

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls by M. J. Thomas

Our son received the first three in the series by M. J. Thomas and I am looking forward to reading the books with him and his sister. They should prove to be good fun as we read about siblings Peter and Mary, their dog Hank, and their adventures in Bible history.

The House of Winslow Series by Gilbert Morris 

I first heard of this book through another blogger. I was very intrigued as the books are historical fiction—one of my favorite genres.

Other Books 

I have a wide selection of historical books both fiction and nonfiction that I would love to read this year. Very often I end up just using some of my nonfiction books to help prepare for teaching, homeschooling, and blogging but it would be nice to read them from cover to cover to see all they have to offer their readers.

Over the course of the year I will come back and link up my reviews for letters of the alphabet. I look forward to sharing 26 reviews with you in the coming months!

A – Book Review of The Art of Friendship
B – Book Review of Before I Called You Mine
C – Book Review of The Christian Entrepreneur 
D – A Daring Sacrifice (An Uncertain Choice, #2)  
E – Book Review of Echoes Among the Stones
F – Book Review of Fight Your Fears
G – Book Review of Graceling 
H – Book Review of The Hidden Message of the Great Seal
I – Book Review of Ishmael Covenant 
J – Book Review of Jesus Freaks
K –
L – Book Review of Line by Line
M – Book Review of More Than We Remember
N – Book Review of A Name Unknown 
O – Book Review of Ottoman Dominion 
P – Book Review of The Pursuit of God
Q – Questions God Asks by Israel Wayne 
R – Book Review of The Runaway Bride
S – Book Review of Stay 
T – Book Review of The Timepiece
U – Book Review of The Unexpected Champion
V – Book Review of Venturing with God in Congo
W – Book Club: The Worst Jobs in History
X – 
Y – York: The Shadow Cipher (in progress) 
Z –

I linking up this introductory post with the Timberdoodle Blog Hop!

Finding a Homeschool Course for Everyone: A Review of SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Every Subject. Every Grade. Every Student.

When our family unanimously decided that we would start homeschooling our teenager beginning with his 10th-grade year, we needed a place to find as many courses as possible to fulfill his scholastic requirements. We were fortunate to receive access to SchoolhouseTeachers.com upon my writing several courses for them as well as when I became a part of the Homeschool Review Crew in 2018. Using the Ultimate PreK-12th Annual Membership enables us to homeschool not only our teenager but also to find courses and supplemental materials for our two younger children. In this review, I would like to focus on several different aspects of SchoolhouseTeachers.com:

• How you can fill your high school student's homeschool schedule using SchoolhouseTeachers.com exclusively
• How the Lesson Plans can help you easily schedule your homeschool day – especially if you use the digital planner available via the website
• How we supplement our homeschool day using the Video Library
• The resources available in the Focused Learning Centers especially those available to help you homeschool your high school students

Flexibility is the Key to Success!

With so many courses available across grades Pre-K to 12th, we have a variety of options open to our homeschooling family. I could spend post after post discussing all the great courses at SchoolhouseTeachers.com (in fact, I have shared information regarding some of the fantastic courses in prior posts including two reviews: one in 2018 and one in 2019).

If you have a membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com, the first step I would recommend is watching the tutorial videos available. Then I would recommend taking a look at the planners and schedule builders to help you organize the many courses that your children can take through SchoolhouseTeachers.com. Another great way to plan your homeschool year is to browse the courses by either grade or subject. Then you can look at specific courses and bookmark them.

If you pick a grade, you will see the subject areas separated. Each will then link you to several courses that can meet the needs of that specific grade (in this case, 11th grade).

Planning Our Teen's 11th Grade Year

During the summer, I went through classes I had previously bookmarked for our teen on SchoolhouseTeachers.com that we did not use for 2018-2019. From there, I looked at what subjects he still needed credits in and browsed the different subject areas looking for courses that would fit our homeschool. With so many options, it would be very easy for me to overfill his homeschooling schedule!

Once I picked out his core classes and electives, I used both the "Hey, Mama! Schoolhouse Planner for 2019-2020" and the "2019-2020 Schoolhouse Planner" which is digital to plan out the school year. I love using a mix of both because—with the digital planner—I can make edits very easily and print out the pages I need for our son. (There is even a High School Schoolhouse Planner that you can print for your teen if you wish them to track everything themselves.)

Since our teen has an interest in pursuing photography as a career, he is taking Photography by lesson designer Michele Peterson. It is a 30-week, text-based course that can be assigned two days a week where students will learn how to use their camera including all of the special features of a camera with manual exposure settings. I love that our teen can take an elective that will help him develop the skills he might need for his future career path.

I love how he captured the setting sun in this photograph.

Another course we are using is Christian Values in J.R.R. Tolkien which is an advanced course for 11th-12th graders. One of the key details I like about this course is that it includes 2 short papers and one longer research paper that will allow us to help our teen become a more skilled researcher and writer of essays and papers. There are several books to which students need access in order to complete this course but—like most of the courses on SchoolhouseTeachers.com—the majority of the materials are available online through PDFs or through World Book Online. So, there is not too much outside prep work needed on the part of the parent.

Some of the other courses that are available to fill out an 11th grader's homeschool year include:

• World History 
• Apologetics: Creation vs. Evolution 
• Spelling High School Year One 
• Algebra II 
• American History: From Columbus to 1914 with Socratic Discussion 
• Friendly Chemistry 
• Botany

We have not started his Botany course yet but I am very excited by the materials when I was putting together his schedule for the rest of January. Looks like all three of our children will be able to join in on some of the lessons and experiments.

Using the Lesson Plans

This year I took a different approach to our son's homeschool schedule. I printed more of the Lesson Plans that are available rather than reinventing the wheel myself. In some cases, I copied and pasted the instructions from the Lesson Plans into the digital planner.

For the Lesson Plans that I printed out, I was able to highlight important tasks, make notes and adjustments, and add the dates I wished him to work on certain assignments. The suggested Lesson Plans give you the class length, schedule, resources needed, instructions, a place to check off lessons as they are completed, and week-by-week and day-by-day instructions and information for your children.

The first page of the lesson plans provides you with all the necessary information for the entire course.

Each week lists daily assignments and I can write down the dates in the appropriate space.

I admit to not really utilizing the Lesson Plans with our younger children. For the most part, we are taking a relaxed approach with our preschooler and first grader this year. For the two lapbooks we created, I did take a look at the Lesson Plans as we did not follow them exactly since we were doing them more quickly. As they get older, I know that I will rely more heavily upon the Lesson Plans.

Flexibility

Just to show you that there really are classes for every subject, every grade, and every student, I want to share a bit about the history course we are using with our first grader (and of course our preschooler is joining in for some of the activities, too). "Hands-On Notebooking: The United States" is written for grades K - 2nd and provides 50 lessons, one for each state. Our homeschooling first grader is learning about each of the 50 states in alphabetical order. We read about famous people or groups of people from each state, sometimes create art projects, and learn about the state symbols.

While reading about California, we talked about the state flag and examined bridges. Different states have different activities but they all have a spot to study a famous person or group of people from the state as well as a sheet to keep track of books read.

This was such a fun experiment to talk about bridges.

While I am working on different homeschooling tasks with our older children, I can peruse the Holiday and Seasonal Resource Center to find activities for our preschooler. The resources are organized in a manner that makes lessons, videos, and worksheets very easy to find. And with two of the activities I found, our first grader and our preschooler can work on the lapbooks together.

During the fall, we read The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter using a Unit Study on SchoolhouseTeachers.com and colored in pictures related to Thanksgiving. There are activities for one week and you can download a copy of the story because The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin is in the public domain. The copy of the story you can download also has the vocabulary words in bold and contains some notes on the side to share with your children.

Everything is laid out on the site – very easy to navigate.

Our daughter had great fun cutting out the pieces and coloring them in for the lapbook. 

We also read Christmas in the Barn by F. Arnstein from the book In the Child's World by Emilie Poulssen which is also in the public domain. This lapbooking Unit Study can be taught over the course of two weeks. Per the lesson plan, you can download it for your homeschool. I like the fact that I was able to print some of the activities twice for both our younger children to complete. For those that are better suited for just our first grader, I printed one copy and we were able to work on them together. For example, our son wrote two similes after we discussed the simile from the story in which the cat was "curled up like a little bundle of wool."

Both kids working on the first activity. 

Our daughter's lapbook.

Our son's similes in his completed lapbook.

Video Library

There is an excellent collection of videos available with your membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com with the Ultimate Pre-K to 12th Annual Membership. While the videos are part of many different courses, you can find them all in one place – the Video Library – which categorizes the videos by

• Kids
• Art
• Apologetics 
• Bible 
• Electives 
• Foreign Languages 
• Geography 
• History 
• Language Arts 
• Math
• Marriage
• Missions and Persecution
• Music 
• Parents
• Science
• Video Courses on SchoolhouseTeachers.com 
• Christmas
• Easter 

Some of the videos and series that our children and I enjoy include:

• Adventures of Donkey Ollie
• From Aardvark to Zucchini 
• Drive Thru History 
• The videos that go along with the course They Lived For God 
• The videos that go along with the course Foundations for Teens which our son took last year 

We have watched the series From Aardvark to Zucchini more than once during our lunchtime. They make for a nice break from our homeschooling day while still providing lessons for our younger children.

Focused Learning Centers

There are many resources available in the Focused Learning Centers including Focus on Math, Help with Reading, and Focus on Special Needs, to name a few. I am very happy that there are many resources available to us as we homeschool a high school student. There are 6 eBooks available to members of SchoolhouseTeachers.com which can help prepare parents of high school students as well as information for academic weighting of courses for transcripts, the use of Applecore Recordkeeping System, and a career center.

If you are in need of inspiration, the Focus Learning Center: Focus on High School and College offers such titles as Homeschooling the High Schooler: From Transcripts to Graduation which provides readers with advice and resources from a variety of authors. If you are worried about dual enrollment or how you can include extracurricular activities in your child's transcripts, you can sit down with a cup of coffee and read through this useful eBook. One can also find help with career training, the various paths that your child can take to go to college, and advice from one whose child attended college.

With video tutorials to help you use the materials and resources—plus helpful tools, you will find many ways to succeed on your homeschooling journey with your children.

In the Career Center, SchoolhouseTeachers.com pulled together some key classes and categorized them into how they can suit several different careers. For example, if your child is interested in an art-related career, SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers at least five specific courses for high schoolers and many other art courses as well. As our teen is interested in photography, he has taken one of the courses listed (Image Creation and Editing) and is currently taking Photography.

I think the Career Center would be a great place for your high school child to peruse to help figure out their homeschooling schedule. If they know what careers they are interested in, then they can help look for a science or math course or an elective that might fit their needs.

My Final Thoughts 

I truly feel our family has been blessed with becoming a member of SchoolhouseTeachers.com. From being able to homeschool our children quite easily using the many courses and other resources on the site to finding a unique family of fellow blogging homeschoolers via the Homeschool Review Crew, I feel we are successfully moving forward as a homeschooling family. There is truly a course for everyone at SchoolhouseTeachers.com and I would recommend every homeschooling family takes a look at this great curriculum.

Do You Want to Learn More About SchoolhouseTeachers.com? 

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Pinterest 

I was only one of many members of the Homeschool Review Crew that reviewed the Ultimate PreK - 12th Annual Membership. Please be sure to check out the other reviews!

M is for Mobile Bay (Blogging Through the Alphabet)

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Even though I really enjoy studying the American Civil War, the battles and events that I am less familiar with are those relating to naval action or those in the Western Theater. The Battle of Mobile Bay, taking place on August 5, 1864, is one of those battles that I was not very familiar with prior to writing this post in my Civil War Blogging Through the Alphabet Series. The Union wanted to block off Mobile Bay, Alabama but was unsuccessful until the late summer of 1864. This was one of the last Confederate ports that was still open for the Confederacy.

Part of the reason why the Union was unable to capture Mobile Bay for so long was due to the number of forts that the Confederates had defending it. These forts included: Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and Fort Morgan. In addition to these three forts, there were also torpedoes and mines that the Confederates had placed in the channels leading into the bay. And on top of the forts and the mines and torpedoes, the Confederates had their ironclad – the Tennessee – stationed to protect the bay.  So with what was supposedly the most powerful ironclad, the Confederates had a very well-defended bay. 

Early on August 5, Union Admiral David G. Farragut sent his fleet of 14 wooden ships and 4 ironclad monitors in a double column to attack Mobile Bay. During the battle, Farragut climbed to the top of his flagship, the USS Hartford, and was lashed to the mast by a quartermaster. From there he could see what was happening all around him. 

Full Speed Ahead! 

One of the 18 ships, the ironclad Tecumseh, met heavy fire from Fort Morgan and was eventually sunk after striking a torpedo. It was with the sinking of this ship, another memorable statement from the American Civil War would be said (the other being "There stands Jackson, like a Stonewall."). When the Tecumseh was sunk, the whole fleet stopped due to the attack by Fort Morgan and the torpedoes and mines in the water. Farragut responded by shouting: "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" The Hartford went forward and the other Union vessels followed. 

The Tecumseh would be the only Union ship lost as they moved between Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines and the torpedoes to meet the smaller Confederate fleet commanded by Confederate Admiral Franklin Buchanan. The Confederate fleet also contained the CCS ironclad Tennessee which the Union fleet surrounded and pounded into submission. This left the smaller gunboats, which the Union quickly subdued. 

Even though the Union would control the waters at Mobile Bay, the forts did not surrender right away. However, the Confederate forts would be helpless without the support of the Confederate fleets. There would be no resupplying of food, materials, or men to the Confederate forts. By August 23, 1864, all three forts had surrendered to the Union. The city of Mobile would not surrender till after Lee's surrender at Appomattox but the port was closed down by Farragut in August 1864. 

Impact of the Battle of Mobile Bay 

The Battle of Mobile Bay helped imprint Farragut into American military history first by his being lashed to the mast of his ship and then with his famous quote (and yes there has been questions as to its authenticity but let's not erase every piece of fun history). Mobile Bay was also the start of a number of Union victories that may have helped President Lincoln win the reelection against the Democratic candidate, former Union General George McClellan.

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Book Club: Book Review of Braver, Stronger, Smarter

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

I was very excited to read and review Braver, Stronger, Smarter: A Girl's Guide to Overcoming Worry & Anxiety by Sissy Goff. I had read and reviewed the companion book for parents, Raising Worry-Free Girls, so I was very happy to see how Goff would relate her advice and wisdom to girls.

Sissy Goff is the director of child and adolescent counseling at Daystar Counseling Ministries in Nashville, Tennessee. Being director there provides her with valuable firsthand experience of the worries that girls and young ladies have and how to best attack their Worry Monster. While Braver, Stronger, Smarter does contain as much anecdotal evidence as Raising Worry-Free Girls, I can see how her time with real girls suffering from real worries and anxieties has helped to shape this book.

Braver, Stronger, Smarter is an 8.5" by 11" paperback book 96 pages long with black and white illustrations. It is divided into three sections (Understanding, Help, and Hope) that mirror the companion book for parents. Before the book proper starts, there is a note for parents and caregivers and rules for reading the book for your daughter. I like that Goff sets forth three very simple rules for her readers:

1. Go Slow.
2. Don't Give Up.
3. Have fun! 

I could see girls who have worries and anxieties wanting to rush through the book or giving up when things get hard so this simple set of rules will be helpful for those girls and families as they seek to fight their Worry Monster. 

Throughout Braver, Stronger, Smarter there are questions and prompts for the reader to answer such as "write down five words that describe you and that you want to write on your mirror to remember" as well as a place to draw their Worry Monster. This makes the book really a workbook that will hold meaning for your daughter as they read through the book with you. 

What Do I Think? 

I really think Braver, Stronger, Smarter will be of great use to girls and young ladies who are anxious and worrisome. There are so many things that impact our daughters but sometimes as parents we have no idea how to help them. As many times as we tell our own daughters that they are brave, strong, and smart, they may not believe us. Reading a book where the author knows they are brave, strong, and smart, a book that directs them towards God, can only help our daughters fight their Worry Monster. 

I recommend Braver, Stronger, Smarter by Sissy Goff for parents of girls and girls who are suffering from anxiety. I can also see the book being of use for counselors who minister to the needs of young ladies. This is the perfect book to recommend to families with anxious daughters. I would also recommend parents check out the companion book, Raising Worry-Free Girls.

Book Club: Book Review of Small Groups Made Easy

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

I recently had the pleasure of reading Small Groups Made Easy: Practical and Biblical Starting Points to Lead Your Gathering by Ryan Lokkesmoe. This 157-page paperback book helps getting one started on leading a small group through:

• Tips to spark engaging conversations 
• Advice for handling tough questions and other challenges 
• 12 Bible studies that walk you through your discussions 

(from the front cover of Small Groups Made Easy)

Small Groups Made Easy contains 17 chapters and a conclusion that are quite straightforward and full of very useful information for those who might want to step up in their church and lead a group Bible study or another similar group. There are four chapters that deal with practical points for you as a leader of a small group.  These points could be applied to your Bible study group or even a group you are leading in your workplace. Lokkesmoe touches upon:

• Defining the role of a leader by examining Jesus
• How one needs to work through logistical matters such as attendance, communication through emails, social media, etc.; co-leaders, the location and time of your meeting, and childcare for your group members  
• How to handle personal challenges such as conflicts within the group, needy people who monopolize the groups' time, those who always take a contrarian position on topics, individuals who dominate the conversation, awkward silences, and lack of friendships or bonds between group members 
• Spiritual concerns like how prepared one should be for Bible discussions or what happens if you, as the leader, can't answer a question 

The second half of the book provides twelve starter studies to help the leader of a small church group get started on their journey. Each chapter is laid out in the same manner with the following three sections:

• Social
• Study
• Prayer 

Personally, I love books where there is a common layout or theme that helps me easily reference just what I need to find at any given time. I can scan the table of contents to look at the topics and know that—if a group is going to be examining how we can repair broken relationships—that I can see a corresponding sample prayer.

What Do I Think? 

Ryan Lokkesmoe presents a very clear book to help those who are small group leaders. Throughout the book, Small Groups Made Easy, one finds numerous Bible and Scriptural references to help one become a strong small group leader. For example, in the starter study, "How Do I Grow Spiritually," we are presented with references to John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and the text of Matthew 11:28-30 to help us put our faith in Jesus and learn that "placing our lives in His hands should feel like rest" (84). I appreciate that Lokkesmoe does not only give readers topics, but also provides readers the means necessary to begin a discussion in one's own small group. 

From a practical standpoint, I think this is a very economical choice for someone who needs some help as a small group leader or as a gift for a new small group leader. I could easily imagine a pastor purchasing a handful for his small group leaders to provide assistance and encouragement. I would recommend Small Groups Made Easy for those involved in the ministry and those who are or who are going to be leading small groups.

Find my review of the second book 16 Bible Studies for Your Small Group here: Book Review.