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Showing posts with label Mosaic Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mosaic Reviews. Show all posts

Monday, November 4, 2013

See The Light - Tiffany Window - A Mosaic Review

Have you wanting to incorporate Art into your homeschool?  Maybe you already do Art and you are looking for something new, easier to understand, better, or Biblical?  See The Light may be just what you need!  As part of the Mosaic Reviews team, I was asked to try and review See The Light - an Art class & project option that is just what our homeschool needed.  I chose to try Tiffany Window in the style of Louis Comfort Tiffany.  The project is on one DVD and is broken up into 4 lessons with  Pat Holt teaching the class.


I loved that we could play each lesson and pause it along the way as needed.  I would say each lesson took us about 30 minutes or so to watch.  After watching the lesson - we would do as instructed.  It took is a bit longer to do the artwork and that was OK with me!  We really did take our time.  With each lesson,  Pat Holt would tie in a Bible scripture and not only read aloud the passage, but also explain what it had to do with what we were learning (I say we, because I followed right along with my children and loved it).

So we started with Lesson 1 (of course):  Planning your composition,  Drawing & sketching our flowers

Ready with our supplies!
Beginning to sketch
First part of final sketch

We started with a rose and ended up drawing another bunch of flowers because, I'll admit, we had a very hard time with the rose.  I do NOT suggest learning to draw a rose as your first attempt at drawing. 

Previously, it has been very hard to get my youngest son interested in anything having to do with art, while my daughter loves ALL things art.  See The Light did a great job at bringing my son's interest level up and letting him see that he could do this.

We followed through with Lesson 2 which was learning all about the Rule of Thirds (new concept to us all).  Not many pictures from Lesson 2 because we felt like we did a good job with our sketches and didn't make many changes.

Lesson 3:  Color Theory with marker techniques on flower, stem and background shapes (the really fun part!)

Just beginning to color and learn color techniques

A work in progress

See how much our flowers changed?  But, that was OK!

My daughter working intently!


Lesson 3 took us the longest to complete.  We spent quite a bit of time getting our colors as we wanted them and making sure everything was done correctly.  My children added their own touches which was great to see.  We had fun with this lesson!

Lesson 4:  Completed Masterpiece - The stained glass window effect

All colored in

Finishing coloring

Beginning of Lesson 4

Adding our stained glass window style

Almost complete!

The dog wanted to help

Completed Masterpieces and their Artists!


What fun!  Not only did we create this art together - we learned so much in the process!  My mother was an artist and taught me a lot about art, but I still learned quite a bit from this See The Light Art Project.  My son learned that he CAN draw and enjoy it.  My daughter learned a number of things she didn't know and loved the completed project SO much that she posted it on her Instagram and sent it to all of her friends.  I would say this was a complete success.

If you are looking for an Art Class or Art Projects for you or your children - I certainly recommend See The Light

There are many purchasing options for the Art Projects -
You can also buy the Art Projects separately for $14.99 each -
  • Tiffany Window
  • Repeated Sweets
  • Paper Jungle
  • Pointillism Fruit
  • Poppy Collage
  • Dreams of Joseph
  • Horsing Around
  • Peaceful Seas
  • Sunflowers
  • Cartooning
Another option is to buy the Art Class (many different options) or Bible Stories.  Head on over to the pages to see all of your choices!

If you would like to contact the company you can do so on their  Contact page.  You can also email them at:  See the Light Information.

Would you like to read other Mosaic Reviews?


Sunday, September 8, 2013

EEME / Electronic Projects for Kids - A Mosaic Review

Looking for some fun science projects?  As a part of Mosaic Reviews, I was asked to try out one of the projects from EEME.  Jack Pien, the founder of EEME, was dissatisfied with all the educational toys out there and wanted something that not only could children build themselves, but also learn about what they were building.  We got to try the Genius Light project (scroll down almost to the middle of the page).

The contents of our Genius Light Project kit

EEME offers hands-on project kits with video references for kids ages 7 - 12 years old.  I do think older kids (and even younger kids - with parental guidance) would also enjoy and be able to use these kits.  They have two choices when it comes to the monthly subscriptions:

We enjoyed working on this together and my husband was even able to join in on the fun.  I loved how the videos walked us (especially me - one with little knowledge and understanding of putting these things together) through the entire project.  It was a GREAT step by step learning experience.  All of my children enjoyed putting this together - even the "not so interested in much of anything educational" 16 year old.

Our version after watching the video
Video reference









The kids all got to do something - the videos had us changing things up a few times to see how different ways of arranging the wires & resistors had different outcomes on our finished project.


An screenshot of one of the videos included in this project
Showing different ways to build
The light is working!


Redoing the wires
Changing things up again

















Our finished project was pretty neat!  The kids were excited to see it work and they enjoyed, even more, knowing how it worked.  They had the basic concept of the circuits and electricity down before this project, but they really did learn some new things.  I enjoyed the video portions of the lessons.  EEME does have the option to sign up to watch FREE online lessons to teach your kids electronics.

Finishing Up!

Finished Project!

EEME is offering my readers their first month FREE towards a subscription (meaning you would get the Genius Light project - that I received) by clicking here to sign up.  This offer ends on September 16, 2013 - so, act quickly!  If you have any questions - you can reach the founder, Jack, by email :  info@eeme.co

You can view other reviews of EEME  by visiting Mosaic Reviews.



Wednesday, June 19, 2013

How Do We Know God Is Really There? - A Mosaic Review

As a member of Mosaic Reviews I was asked to read and review HOW DO WE KNOW GOD IS REALLY THERE?, by Melissa Cain Travis and illustrated by Christopher Voss.  Apologia is the publishing company.


This book is about a father and son who spend an hour, each night, in their backyard tree house.  They would use this time to take turns telling each other about their day.  On nights when the sky was exceptionally clear - Dad would bring out the telescope, they would study a sky map, and - together - would decide on a planet or stars to watch that night.  In doing this - the son, Thomas, begins to wonder if God is really out there.  He asks his Dad and the rest of the story attempts to explain how we KNOW that God really IS there.  HOW DO WE KNOW GOD IS REALLY THERE? approaches the answer - YES, God really IS there - in a very creative way and my entire family was entertained while reading this. 

It really is a great book with a positive message we can all benefit from.  While it is certainly meant to be read to younger children - my children (I'm including my husband here) truly enjoyed this book.  We also all appreciated the illustrations throughout this book.




 HOW DO WE KNOW GOD IS REALLY THERE?
  • ISBN: 978-1-935495-96-3
     978-1-935495-96-3
  • $ 16.00 


Wednesday, May 22, 2013

My Home School Grades - A Mosaic Review

As a part of Mosaic Reviews, I was asked to review My Home School Grades - an online program that gives you a way to track student grades and activities throughout the years & even prepares official, college ready transcripts.


My Home School Grades allows you to manage your student's grades easily & effectively.  You can choose if you want to use letter grades (A, A+), number grades (93), or even fractions (13/15).  You can see below that we use letter grades.

Letter Grading Option

My Home School Grades lets you use your own curriculum and lesson plans when adding a class.  It's easy to set up and they're adding new curriculum all the time.  We are, in part, using Alpha Omega - Switched on Schoolhouse this year & so we were able to add the lessons, quizzes, and tests we wanted and update grades that way.  A few of the other curriculum options listed on My Home School Grades are Teaching Textbooks, Math U See, Apologia and much more.  You, also have the option to add other or custom curriculum.  It's very versatile & useful for any home schooling family!

Some Curriculum options when adding a class

My Home School Grades even lets you track extra curricular activities!  I love this feature!  I aspire to be SUPER organized (granted, it doesn't always work out that way), but this is a great option especially if you have a lot of extras going on.

Add an activity option

Now - are you ready for something that is going to save you a TON of time, stress, and yelling at inanimate objects?  Well, here it is - My Home School Grades will help you prepare official, college ready transcripts!  Yes it will!  How great is that?

See that handy transcript button?  Just click it & voila!  ALL of your needed & required information is turned into an official and college ready transcript!

My Home School Grades was founded in 2012 by a Home School Dad named John Echols and a Home School Graduate named Jordan Shute.  Seeing the need to gather a family's home school experience and information all in one place, they worked together to create My Home School Grades.

The cost for  My Home School Grades is incredibly reasonable!  Just $49.99 for a LIFETIME membership - yes, lifetime!  What's even better than that?  I'm actually not sure - but, the two week FREE trial is a great way to see just how useful the program is & how well it will work with your home school.  The free trial does not require a credit card to sign up as you'll have a chance to purchase the program after your trial time is up.

The support system for My Home School Grades is phenomenal!  You can use the page to find information such as:

You can find My Home School Grades in some other places as well:
I think you'll love My Home School Grades for your home school as much as we love the program!  I encourage you to try the two week FREE trial and see how much it can help you!






Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Waterproof Bible - A Mosaic Review

Let me first say that when I was asked, by Mosaic Reviews, to review the Waterproof Bible by Bardin & Marsee Publishing - I was very excited!  I'd been wanting and needing a Bible that could withstand the elements and my children.  Yes, my children.  Though they try to be careful - the pages on a Bible are just so thin and easily torn.

My pretty, pink Waterproof Bible (front cover)

I love the design on the front cover - isn't it pretty?  The entire Bible (cover, pages, binding, etc.) is 100% waterproof inside and out.  It is made of 100% synthetic materials and, because of this, you won't have to worry about water, mud, dirt, sand or even a bubble bath ruining your Bible!  I had to throw in the bubble bath because that is where I like to read.


Let's get down to business with the waterproof part!  This was REALLY hard for me to do because I have always taken really good care of my Bible(s).  I'll start by saying that nothing I did had any negative impact on the Bible at all.  I used a ball point pen to underline or write and a dry highlighter (do not use a regular highlighter - it will smear) for things I wanted to quickly reference. Okay - now some photos!

That is my Waterproof Bible floating in my bathtub.  I wanted to test it's ability to float & it does! 
Just out of the bathtub soak & float!  No damage to the pages or print at all!  The water just rolls right off.
See the water to the left of the photo?  This is my Bible laid out after its bath.  It was really wet & there is no damage at all!

 Still not believing it?  Keep scrolling ......

It rained & I saw the perfect opportunity to test this Bible out with mud.
Time to clean it up!  The water just runs down the pages and takes the muddy grime right off!
Almost all clean again!
Like new, again! 

 Did you notice that the print doesn't smear & the pages just wipe clean.  I also LOVE that when you write or highlight in this Bible - you cannot see your writing on the backside of the same page.

My highlighting & writing. 

So - if you are looking for a Bible that you can take with you anywhere - THIS is it! 

Outside binding view
As you can see - I received the King James Version - New Testament plus Psalms and Proverbs of the Waterproof Bible.   You can also purchase full versions (both Old & New Testament).   There are a number of versions to choose from:

The prices for each are:
  • Old & New Testament Bibles - $39.95 - $44.95
  • New Testament plus Psalms and Proverbs - $24.95
  • Imprint Personalization - $7.00
You can also purchase additional things:
  • Accessories - Waterproof Bible jackets ($16.95 - $29.95), All weather journals & sketch books ($5.95 - $18.95), pens & dry highlighters ($3.25 - $12.00), and more!
  • Specials & Clearance Page - You may find something you want for much less than the normal price here!
  • GIVE - Here you can purchase a Waterproof Bible to be given to someone / some group needing them.  Read more about this wonderful program here!
There are five cover designs & colors you can choose from (the Blue Wave & LilyPad are only available in certain versions from what I see):

Blue
Pink
Camo

 




Blue Wave
LilyPad





The Waterproof Bible by Bardin & Marsee Publishing is great for anyone who wants or needs a Bible that can withstand everyday & out of the ordinary situations.  Do you know someone in the military or maybe someone who enjoys the outdoors?  What a great gift this would make!  I love this Bible & will continue to use it every day!