Homeschool Resource.....

I just learned about a great new homeschool resource that is available for Pre-Order as of TODAY. 

Christmas Around the World - PreOrder Here

by Katie Horner

180 pages

$15.99 (until 10/12/15) and $17.99 (starting 10/13/15)

Features of this Unit Study are:

1) Suitable for kids K-Grade 6, possibly late preschool ages if you tweak it a bit.

2) Geography Based - a great opportunity to discuss your kids' heritage and learn about how their ancestors once celebrated the Christmas Holidays in their country.

3) Countries included are Australia, the Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, England, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Middle East, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Tailand & the US. 

4) 60 pages of printables, internet links & a suggested reading list included.

5) Ideas, materials, and other resources for math, reading, writing, science, history, geography, language, music & art for all ages are included. Coloring sheets for PreK so they don't feel left out. 

6) Families & Personal Classrooms have permission to reproduce the activity sheets.

7) Based on Facts: Information was gathered from online & offline sources & presented from a biblical worldview. The author is a trained teacher, curriculum author & current homeschool mom.

Per the website:

With 180 pages, this ultimate guide to Chritmas is your one-stop 

curriculum for the holidays. Pre-order by 10/12 and get our "Kids

Travel 2015" Printable Calendar ($7.99) as a FREE Bonus!

Launch is October 13th & your items will be shipped!!

Linked @

   

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I'll receive a small commission and loads of hugs and kudos from the powers that be as well as a copy of the book to review and use with my littles this Christmas. Regardless of this, I only share information and products that I think my readers will enjoy and use. Thanks for reading GivingNSharing.

12 Pearls of Christmas - Day 11: Carla Ann Coroy

Welcome to the12 Pearls of Christmas blog series!

Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days.

We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items (books, a gift pack, music CDs) from the contributors! Enter now on Facebook or at the Pearl Girls blog. The winner will announced on January 2, 2013 at the Pearl Girls blog.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl, Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

Just Like Mary

By Carla Anne Coroy

Mary. Amazing Mary. Mother of Jesus. We marvel at her simple, faith-filled acceptance of God’s will for her life. There’s so little written about Mary in the Bible. We know almost nothing, really, about this woman that God chose to parent His Son.

Many have speculated about the exact age of Jesus’ mother. How old was she, really? What would it have been like to be greeted by an angel—and told you would become pregnant by the Spirit of God?

I wonder about other things sometimes, though. Like if she had morning sickness, or gained a lot of weight during her pregnancy. Was she overdue, or was baby Jesus born right on time? Did she mistake Braxton Hicks contractions for the real thing before labor really started? Was it a fast labor or did Joseph have eighteen hours to get that place into birthing readiness?

Most women who have ever given birth to a child have shared pregnancy stories. Everyone’s story is unique and interesting. Surely Mary’s was, too!

Then there are the stories of potty-training and conversations on how to get the baby to sleep through the night. Did Mary bounce Jesus on her knee while sharing recipes with other young moms?

We cannot find answers for these questions in Scripture. And as interesting as it might be to share pregnancy stories with Mary over a cup of coffee (maybe in heaven?) and get her tips on potty-training, we really don’t need to know any of that to love the Son she bore.

But Mary’s example raises questions about me and my own life that get under my skin.

Am I the kind of woman God will choose to be part of His plan? Do I trust and love my God enough to give faith-filled answers like she did? If there were just a few paragraphs written of my life for future generations to read, would those words reveal a heart of willing submission to God?

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38, NIV)

God has not asked me to carry the burden of His Son in my womb. There are other burdens He is asking me, and you, to carry instead. Are we being the women He needs for the part of the plan we’re living in now? Am I saying to Jesus today, “May it be to me as you have said”?

During this Advent season, let’s prepare ourselves to be used by God, filled with faith and anticipating His grace—just like Mary.

***

Carla Anne Coroy is a Christian speaker and blogger, and the award-winning author of Married Mom, Solo Parent. She ministers to a wide audience through her website and blog at www.carlaanne.com. Carla Anne has served full-time with organizations such as Youth for Christ and Crown Financial Ministries, and is currently developing mentoring resources for women and an international mentoring organization for youth. She also serves as a staff writer for the online magazine Mentoring Moments for Christian Women and is a spokesperson for Faithbuddy.com. Carla Anne lives in Canada with her husband and four homeschooled children.

12 Pearls of Christmas - Day 6: Leslie Gould

Welcome to the12 Pearls of Christmas blog series!

Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days.

We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items (books, a gift pack, music CDs) from the contributors! Enter now on Facebook or at the Pearl Girls blog. The winner will announced on January 2, 2013 at the Pearl Girls blog.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl, Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

Year of Adversity Brings Joy

By Leslie Gould

I’ve been writing Amish fiction for nearly three years now—telling stories about non-resistant people who live a simple life. It’s a nice reprieve from my own life.

When my husband, Peter, joined the Army Reserve back in the mid 1980s, I wasn’t thrilled about it. Nor did I believe him when he said he’d probably never see action. Sure, the Cold War was ending and—for a short time—all seemed well in the world, but I had a degree in history. I knew better. I didn’t want to be a controlling wife (as new to the job as I was!) and come out and say he absolutely couldn’t do it. And it did help that he was joining a medical unit. Still I had my reservations.

We’ve been far more fortunate than many military families, but still it’s been quite a ride. The first exciting episode began in 1990 when Peter flew to Germany on Christmas Eve to work in an Army hospital during Desert Storm, leaving me behind with our two young sons. During the next twenty years, Peter went from being a Lt. to being a Col. and commanding a unit. Countless maneuvers and a mobilization occurred during that time, but his Army Reserve career culminated in his deployment to Afghanistan in 2011.

My days throughout last year were an odd combination of hearing the daily news from a war zone via Skype and then writing about the plain life of the Amish. By last December I was working on my third Amish novel of the year while, in contrast, Peter and his field hospital staff had cared for hundreds of NATO soldiers and Afghan nationals, endured ten months of rocket fire, and continued to grieve the killing of one of their own.

Surprisingly, what seemed like it might be our worst Christmas ever, even harder than in 1990, wasn’t. Our four children (one teen and three young adults now) rallied to help make it a memorable day. We counted our blessings—Peter was well, we had all we needed, and God was at work in the life of our family. The result was an underlying joy, deeper than what we’d felt during past Christmases.

In reflection, I wrote: When it started, I thought 2011 might be one of our worst years. But it hasn’t been. Sure, it’s been one of our hardest, but a lot of good has come from it.

That was evident on Christmas morning as we Skyped with Peter. We were so thankful for the good connection and for all of us to be “together” that we hardly noticed we really weren’t.

This December, Peter is back at his civilian job (as a manager for a hospital corporation) and also commanding a nearby Army Reserve unit, which means one weekend a month and plenty of evenings—but no rockets or causalities.

I’m working on a new Amish novel and still enjoying my “time” with those who practice non-resistance, which doesn’t discount the appreciation I have for my husband’s service. I’ve even grown to the place where I’m thankful he joined the military. They’ve served each other well.

Our year of adversity resulted in a deep joy. I’m pretty sure it will carry over to this Christmas as well.

***

Leslie Gould is the award-winning author of fifteen novels, including the #1 bestseller and Christy Award winner The Amish Midwife, co-written with Mindy Starns Clark. Her latest release is Courting Cate, a retelling of the “Taming of the Shrew.” Leslie lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, Peter, and their four children. www.lesliegould.com

Welcome Wednesday

Hi everyone - I've had to re-add my GFC.  It must of disappeared sometime during the night as it was there last night.  Has anyone else been having issues with Blogger the last day or two?  Oh, and if anyone is using LeeLou Blogs templates be sure to check for an email from her to see if you need to redo your template.  She had to purchase a server to hold her designs as photobucket was having problems due to the sheer amount of designs on theirs.  Anyway here's her website: LeeLou Blogs

Here's what you'll find on my blogs this week - 
Family Literacy and You: 
Wednesday's Reading Tip & a Book Review of Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott

GivingNSharing: a new link has been added to the Saving Money page for Simply CVS, a recipe for Chicken and Rice is posted (thanks to whoever added it to their blog about 2 weeks ago, I didn't write down your name so I wasn't able to give credit), and this week I will be posting a review/giveaway for Connectagons from Hearthsong!



 
Announcing.... a new blog!
Holiday Gift Guide is all about Holiday Traditions, Gifts and Recipes.  Again, my goal is an interactive blog - so  please share YOUR family traditions and if you have a favorite family recipe posted on your blog and would like to share it, please do! The recipe page is a linky. You will click on the Your Next link and add the link to the post where YOUR recipe is posted. This can be a salad, main dish, dessert, side dish or a Gift Recipe from YOUR kitchen. If you don't have a picture of your recipe - use your blog button or find a picture of something similar to what your dish looks like.  If you are a business and would like to participate in the Holiday Gift Guide and promote your products, please email me so I can give you the details - thanks!