Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Montessori at Home! Giveaway

Congratulations #300-Lindsey, you won!!

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A few months ago I got an email from John Bowman asking me to review his books. I get emails like this quite often and honestly I don’t review many books simply for lack of time. However, my heart is based in Montessori and I was excited to review these particular books!

Soon after beginning to read both the paper book ~ Help Your Preschooler Build a Better Brain, and the eBook ~ Montessori at Home, I was in love! Both books are exactly what I had been looking for when I began homeschooling PacMan.

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You may be wondering, “why 2 different books…what is the difference?” Honestly, I was too. Mr. Bowman sent me both formats and I have been able to pour over them both. Here’s my thoughts…

If you are on a computer or have an eReader that can read PDF books {like I do with iBooks on my iPad} I personally recommend getting the PDF version, Montessori at Home! It is more extensive and has more meat to it. The paper copy, Help Your Preschooler Build a Better Brain, was written for those parents who like a traditional book and want something to hold in their hands. It is filled with much of the same info and gives you everything you need, but is a bit more condensed.

What will you find in the books? Tons of scientific stuff, which I love! Tons of early childhood education stuff, which is my background and I love reading it even for the 100th time! Information about Maria Montessori and the background behind her methods. Lists of items to gather, simple ideas to make Montessori work for you at home.

You will also find TONS, and I mean TONS of activities…most which you can begin the day you read about them! Mr. Bowman makes it truly easy for you to do the activities at home! You can already see many of his activities featured in our first Montessori Minute post…

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Each month, John will be sharing a new post with us, so be sure to follow along so you don’t miss his extensive posts!

I promise if you are even remotely interested in doing homeschool with your child for the early years, you want this book {either or both}. Mr. Bowman empowers you to believe you can do this. Many times in my early homeschool years-even with my early childhood degree, I felt like it was out of my reach and too complicated to pull off at home. John Bowman lets you know how wrong that thinking is! He assures you that you CAN do it!!!

Here are some more details straight from John Bowman himself…

Montessori At Home! is 193 full size pages with color photos throughout and over 200 Montessori early learning activities, adapted for use by parents at home. This book is available on CD for $12.95 and as a download for only $9.95. Most activities use common household items and are designed for easy, quick setup & use. Complete background information on Montessori education and how to set up, display, and do Montessori activities successfully at home are included to guide parents. Activity groups include Everyday Life, Sensory Experience, Science, Math, and Reading. The Math & Reading sections are completely sequenced for ease of use. Recommendations are given for a selection of Montessori and other excellent materials for home use by preschoolers. A second PDF file includes 36 printable activity sheets for use with various activities. A comprehensive guide just for parents.

For those who prefer a book to hold, I recently collected the activities from Montessori At Home! in a paperback titled Help Your Preschooler Build a Better Brain.

Want to know about John and his personal Montessori background and why he wrote these books? Here’s what he told me…

I spent 12 years as a Montessori preschool teacher and center director. I actually shelved this project after I got married in 1980 and entered a new career. In late 2009 I again became interested in writing a Montessori book for parents. I assumed that multiple similar books had probably been written in all that time, so I checked out most of the books on the market. Surprisingly, I found none that covered the subject in the comprehensive way I had in mind, especially concerning modifying Montessori activities for easy set up & use at home and giving parents a complete Montessori at home program. So, I wrote Montessori At Home! and then the second book.

BUY IT

You can go ahead and purchase your copy of Montessori At Home! here on his website, or you can order the paperback book Help Your Preschooler Build a Better Brain here on Amazon.

WIN IT!

John Bowman is giving away a CD with the Montessori At Home! book & Activity Sheets in two PDF files; and a copy of Help Your Preschooler Build a Better Brain (paperback).

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment telling us you’d like to win and who you are hoping to teach with your new books!

After you do that, you can gain some extra entries by any of the following, remember to leave an extra comment for each item so they will count as entries...

  1. If you Follow/Subcribe to 1+1+1=1, give yourself an extra entry!
  2. If you visit and read our 1st Montessori Minute post and leave a comment {on the other post, not this one} for John with either a question you have or a comment about his post…give yourself an extra entry!
  3. If you follow @1plus1plus1 on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway, give yourself an extra entry! Sample tweet: @1plus1plus1 is hosting a giveaway for #Montessori At Home! enter here: http://bit.ly/ilWDos

This Giveaway is open for anyone for downloadable book, paperback book can only be sent USA!

I will select a winner using Random.org, so be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry, I will also be moderating comments to check that your entries are valid-please be honest!

Contest ENDS July 3, 2011. Winner will be announced here, and emailed (your email MUST be in each comment/or enabled in blogger). Winner must reply to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen.

Linking up with Giveaway Day on Hip Homeschool Moms!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Skylar and George Washington ~ Book Review

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We were sent an adorable and unique book recently to review.  Skylar and George Washington is unlike any book we have, in that it is both a fun picture book and an in depth book with awesome and accurate historical facts!  The book combines digital illustrations and photography in a unique way.  I love the combination of the two.

The book is laid out like this…image

You can read just the left side-which is written using a simple, rhyming text. For older kids, the historical information, including many famous quotes, is written on the right side.  Even I learned many new facts about George Washington, making him seem much more real.  I look forward to diving into the book even more as we study George Washington in our homeschool. You can preview the book yourself by clicking here.

We really enjoyed this book and are hoping the author writes more.  What a neat way to learn about history!

Another cool fact-Skylar is actually the author’s dog!  You can see the real dog here in a video where the author, Matt Burgess, explains the book and it’s purpose for your family.

You can order a copy of Skylar & George Washington here on their site…

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You can also purchase this book on Amazon!

 

Matt has provided my readers with a generous discount code for those of you who would like to order 2 or more copies.  Use the code 1+1+1=1 to receive 23% off when buying 2 or more!  What a unique gift to give, especially to another homeschooling family!  Look for the discount code box on the order form to enter the code…image

Thanks Matt for providing our family with this awesome book free for review!  We greatly appreciate it and are continuing to enjoy the great book!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

The Jesus Book ~ Review

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We have had this book, The Jesus Book by Stephen Elkins,  for some time now…and have been reading bits and pieces over time.  Here are our thoughts…

  • The illustrations are awesome, I specifically like that Jesus has dark hair!
  • It is not a book I would recommend sitting and reading straight through, but rather using it more as a reference tool to look up certain things about Jesus.  There are categories {Who, What, Where, When, Why, How} and short excerpts digging deeper into specifics about Jesus.
  • The stories are well done and simple, yet explain a lot.  Pac Man {age 8} really enjoyed the book and read much of it on his own, then asking me questions later.  Krash {age 4} enjoyed it too, but he doesn’t have great comprehension skills so much of it was over his head.  He was drawn into the illustrations though.
  • Overall I am glad we own this book, as it is unlike any other children’s Bible storybook we have.  It is one I am sure we will go back to over the years as we dig deeper and deeper into the life of our Savior!
  • I would recommend this book, and I especially think of my blog readers who have emailed me telling me that they did not grow up in a Christian home yet want to teach their children about Jesus.  Many of you have expressed that you are learning right along with your children, I think this book would be great for you!

You can buy The Jesus Book here on Amazon.  See the book info page here on the Thomas Nelson Website.

Do you want to review books on your blog, here’s where I got this one…

I review for BookSneeze

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Girl’s Life Application Study Bible ~ Review

I was sent an awesome new Bible to review from Tyndale House, the NLT Girls Life Application Study Bible. I was so excited to see this Bible in real life and was even more impressed than I thought I would be when I opened it! it is simply gorgeous and perfect for a girl.

imageThe Bible is a regular size, with a soft leather cover, and the Bible inside is, THE BIBLE…not much to review there!!! It is the NLT ~ which is not a translation we use often, we are mostly NIV folks around here. I read through several parts of the Bible and it didn’t bother me at all that it wasn’t my normal NIV.

The Life Application portion of the Bible is great, with many different stories and notes focused around preteen girls. It also has several key features that make it unique…

  • “What Now?” Learn how to make good choices in tough times
  • “I Survived!” Personal survival stories from older teens about how they made it
  • “Amazing Facts” Bible trivia
  • “At a Glance”—the lives of famous women in the Bible—good and bad—become lessons for teens
  • “Is It OK?” A reality check on what the Bible says about the questions that are really on your mind
  • 2-color interior; 16 pages of full-color illustrations about Bible times
  • Book introductions and timelines
  • Charts and 3-dimensional maps
  • Unique colored pattern on outside of page edges

I am saving this Bible to be Ladybug’s first Big Girl Bible ;-). It is already hers, but she just doesn’t know it yet! We are grateful to Tyndale House for sending us this awesome Bible to review! You can purchase this Bible here on CBD!