The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean

Believe it or not, I had never heard of a Jesse Tree before this year.  I have a fellow homeschooling friend, Jenn, who has made an online Advent Idea Box, and that's how I heard of the Jesse Tree.  That's also how I found this book, The Jesse Tree, by Geraldine McCaughrean.

The Jesse Tree is a fantastic book that you can read to your children during the season of Advent.  It's definitely something I plan to use with my boys next year.  The author weaves the stories of the Bible in such a way that children of all ages, including "older" children, can enjoy them together.  In the beginning and at the end of the book is a huge 2-page spread of an actual Jesse tree, illustrated, of course, with all of the symbols that you would put on your Jesse tree.  The Introduction explains what a Jesse Tree is, in simple terms, using the example of a family tree.  A Jesse Tree is simply a tree that depicts stories of the Bible that led up to Jesus' birth.  As the book puts it, "Jesse trees were the Bible-storybooks of unlettered people" (page 8).  As you add the daily symbols to your tree, you can read the corresponding chapter from this book.  At the top of each chapter is the picture of the symbol that should be placed on the tree that day.  Here's a picture of our Jesse Tree this year....since I had never really done one before, we didn't get too creative, and we still have a couple of ornaments left to put on....although now that I know the true meaning behind this tradition, I'm anxious to get more creative on next year's tree.  The kids still had a lot of fun with it, maybe a little too much fun, as I see Jaden took the green marker to our tree. 

Anyway, the book starts out with the story of a carpenter, who is working away when a little boy wanders into the church where he's working.  As time goes on, the carpenter begins to tell the little boy the stories behind each symbol of the Jesse Tree.  Stories such as the story of Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, David, etc., are told in chronological order, leading up to the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of the Baby Jesus.  As the stories weave on, told in such an imaginative and wonderful way, it seems the carpenter rather enjoys his time with the little boy, even though he might not admit it.  The story ends in a surprising way. 

The book is just full of beautiful illustrations, and I really do recommend this for any family celebrating the season of Advent.  You could get a headstart on it by getting it early and reading it for yourself....as it will probably lead to many discussions with your children.  I am very much excited to have this on my bookshelf; it's a resource we will use over and over, I am sure.  You can purchase The Jesse Tree from Lion Hudson for £4.99, or from Eerdmans for $20 in the U.S.  I definitely recommend this book for all families.  It's a resource that will help you teach your children the true meaning of the Christmas season....and may lead to an even deeper meaning for yourself.

To read more reviews by Mel, visit her at Real Heart Prints.

(Disclosure: I was provided this book, free of charge, by Lion Hudson.)

Wright on Time: Book 1: Arizona

Mel's Thoughts:

The boys and I have been reading a new chapter book before bed at night; it's part of the Wright on Time series, Book 1: Arizona by Lisa Cottrell-Bentley.  It's an adventure story; only, it's not your typical adventure story.  It's the story of a homeschooling family's adventure in Arizona.  The Wright family lives in an RV, travelling to all sorts of new places to explore and learn and just be together.  This particular story is set in the state of Arizona.


As the story unfolds, the family is going on a cave exploration for a day.  They have found a cave that is family-friendly, and they are going to see what they can find, what they can dig up.  They end up finding a room filled with bats, and they find some pretty cool rock/mineral specimens, like garnet and wulfenite.  Nadia and Aidan explore the differences between stalactites and stalagmites ("Stale egg mites," in Aidan's words).  At the end of the day, the owners of the cave unknowingly lock them in the cave....will they be stuck there all night, in the dark, without anyone to hear them hollering?  Hmmmm.....I guess you'll just have to read the book.:)


The more we read the story, the more I realized how much educational material was contained in this one book.  It is essentially concerning caves.  There is a lot of great science material covered throughout, so it would make a great supplement to a study of caves.  Not only that, but just the way the family lives and interacts is a wonderful example for children; it's not one of those adventure stories that's packed with all sorts of stuff you wouldn't want your child reading.  It's a book that I would totally feel comfortable letting Jacob read and have no worries about.  I love the fact that it's about a homeschooling family; as a homeschooling Mama, I just want to promote, promote, promote this series.:)  The only thing I found a tad bit repetitious was Aidan's use of the word, "Freaky."  I think I'm the only one that noticed, though, because Jacob seemed pretty absorbed in the story. 


Find out more about this series by browsing through the Wright on Time website.  You can buy Wright on Time: Book 1: Arizona for $12.99 in the Wright on Time Store or from Amazon.  You can also watch the following video to find out more about this book:



Melissa J's Thoughts

The Wright on Time series is a series that writers like me think, "Now, why didn't I think of that?!"  I mean, what a concept - an entire series based on each state in the US! Not only is a series like this, a writer's dream, it's an awesome collection to build up for children. 

Homeschooling families need to start getting this series! It teaches some history, alot of geographical facts, has vocabulary words in the back, and would be great books for book reports!  These books are going to be an invaluable resource as time goes on for many families. 

I enjoyed, even as an adult, reading Book 1: Arizona. I had no idea that you could mine in caves for gems and for the first time in my life I will now remember the difference between Stalagmites and Stalactites (G for ground, C for ceiling.) In fact, book 1 made me excited about Book 2 and it also made me wish I could homeschool our children in an RV and travel the States!

The only thing that made me have a question, is the bat cave? I wonder how true to life this is, because I thought bat poop/urine gave off toxic fumes and if a cave was full of thousands of bats, going in that cave (much less sitting on the floor of it) could be dangerous. That is the only thing in the book that didn't seem completely accurate. 


The Wright on Time series is more than a book I'm reviewing for Mama Buzz. I have already determined that it will be a part of my homeschool curriculum. I can't travel the states in real life, but I'll enjoy my travels with my children as we go through this series in the years to come.  

Timberdoodle: Rapelli Game

Mel's Thoughts:

Timberdoodle has provided us with another great product, the Rapelli game.  Rapelli comes in a big orange box, that also has a convenient carry handle.  It is eco-friendly, being made out of 100% bamboo, and it is very sturdy, which is important to me, as a Mama to boys (not a slam to boys, just a fact that sometimes my boys can be a little rough, especially my toddler).  This game is best suited for ages 4 years and up, and it's made for 2-6 players. 

We eagerly sat down to play one night this past weekend.  The game is put together really easily.  You connect the two bamboo halves together, and there are two attached stretchy bands that hold the tower together.  Then each player chooses a color of caterpillar that they want to play with.  My toddler liked this next step the best.  Each player has to push all his caterpillars all the way into a row of holes that are on the tower.  Then the game begins.  There are two dice provided that show what color of caterpillar and which direction to pull the caterpillar out, plus how many notches to pull it out.  Each caterpillar is flexible and a little stretchy....but still quite sturdy.  Whoever gets all of their caterpillars totally out of the tower first, wins the game.  It made for a very fun time.  Jacob loved it.  Jaden loved it when he could get his hands on a caterpillar....and he loved throwing the dice down the middle of the tower and yelling, "Tada!" when he picked the tower up to reveal the dice at the bottom....LOL.  

I really love this game, not only because it's fun to play, but because I can also get it out while we're working on school, and I can set it up for Jaden to work with.  Now, it's got small parts, so he needs to be supervised (due to choking hazards), but he can work at putting those caterpillars in and out of the holes, which helps to work on his fine motor skills, not to mention his color skills and directional/organizational skills.  It could also be a wonderful tool for learning how to count.  When being played, it allows the players to begin thinking about strategy, as well.  So, yes, I definitely recommend this game.

You can get Rapelli from Timberdoodle for $21.50.  In my opinion, it would make a great Christmas present for the children on your Christmas list.  Really, it might even make a great family gift.  


Melissa J's Thoughts

Because I have a 2 year old, I had set up a family to come over to our house to help us review Rapelli - - but they had to cancel because of sickness. So. . . . I recruited my husband to help me review the game. We're in our 30's, but we put ourselves into a child-like mindset--and had fun doing so!


We were both impressed with the sturdy material the game was made out of, as well as how easy it was to assemble and set up. The instructions were easy to follow, and I can see how children in the age group the game was created for, would really get a kick out of the game. How could they not with the cute little worms that are being pushed and pulled with every dice throw?  

The worms have alternating colors on them, separated by plastic pieces that keep them from falling all the way out or all the way in as the game goes on. The only "complaint" I would have, is those plastic pieces to make it sometimes hard to tug out or push the appropriate number of sections sometimes, without going too far. But that is easily adjusted as necessary. 

For parents, it could be the game that never ends. :-)  It reminded me of Chutes and Ladders, in which it can go back and forth for quite awhile. That being said, it's a game kids will love, for that very reason - though I can see younger children being upset if their worms have to get pushed back in. 


Rapelli is a great teaching game and is worth the money!  Not only will kids enjoy the game, it will cause them to use heir counting skills and that is just awesome! I can't wait until my daughter and daycare kids are old enough to understand how to play it. We will be using it for sure, in our homeschool years. Until then, maybe I can get my husband to play it with me again.  ;)




(Disclosure: We were provided with this product, free of charge, by Timberdoodle, in association with MamaBuzz, for the purposes of this tour.) 

Mel participated in this review with the TOS Crew.

Nature Friend Magazine is a wonderful addition to a child's reading collection, especially if your child is studying animals in science or if they love going on nature walks. Jacob and Jaden both love animals, so this magazine was a hit in our house. Jaden likes to point out the animals and try to tell us what sound each one makes. With this magazine come pages of full-color illustrations, and one of the magazines even came with a poster that the kids could tear out and hang up if they wanted.

Honestly, I thought that this magazine was just about animals, but I was happily surprised to see a spread about the stars and galaxies....this is going to come handy after Christmas when we start studying astronomy in science. So, the magazines are all about nature and the outdoor world that God has created. Their motto on the front cover is actually, "Helping Families Explore the Wonders of God's Creation."

Not only are there great articles to be read throughout every issue, but there are activities as well, which include crossword puzzles, drawing activities, etc. Inside the front cover of each issue, there is a "Scavenger Hunt" introduction, in which the kids have to look for a few certain things throughout the magazine, as they are reading. For example, in one issue we received, we had to look for a hidden deer track and an acorn. There is also an "Invisibles" page, in which the kids have to look at a picture and find all of the things that are hidden.


If you choose, you can get an optional Study Guide edition of the magazine. The Study Guide insert comes with many more activities, including writing activities and research activities. It's $2 extra per month for the Study Guide. If you are going to subscribe, the Study Guide adds a lot more content to the magazine than what there would be otherwise, in my opinion.


Kids are able to interact with the magazine, as Nature Friend actually accepts questions, photos, poems and drawings from readers to publish in the magazine every month. Any questions that are received are answered in "The Mailbox" section.


You can subscribe to Nature Friend for $36 per year (12 issues). For a 2-year subscription, the price is $68. I do not want to sound negative, because it really is a wonderful magazine; but to be honest, if our family had not been able to review this magazine, we probably would not be able to afford it at that price, and even though it is a wonderful magazine, I'm just not sure that we would want to pay that for the subscription. Without the Study Guide insert, the magazine would have much less content also.


To read more Nature Friend reviews, head on over to the TOS Crew Blog.

TOS Crew: Growing Healthy Homes- Nutrition 101

Mel participated in this review with the Crew.

Learning about nutrition can often be overwhelming; there are so many opinions and books and ideas out there on what is healthy and what is not. It can often lead to information overload because you're just not sure whose advice to follow. Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a handy resource that basically covers everything for you in one spot.

There's no need to run off and look something up somewhere else, because this e-book is chock full of anything you'd ever want to know. It is meant for the family to use together, and it's based on Scripture. It was written by four moms, all with education and experience in nutritional studies, who wanted to share with other mothers how they can feed their families, according to God's menu.


One of the things I really found interesting with this book is that it covers the major systems of the body, first of all. It explains how they work and gives prompts for family discussion. The book is wonderfully illustrated with pictures and diagrams to further study. It covers the following systems:
1) The Brain and Nervous System
2) The Digestive System
3) The Respiratory, Olfactory, Auditory, and Visual Systems
4) The Skeletal and Muscular Systems
5) The Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
6) The Endocrine System and Emotions

Throughout each section, there are also activities to do with your children. For example, in the section on the brain, there is an activity in which you help your kids understand the difference between left brain and right brain by simply having them brush their teeth with first their right hand and then their left hand. It helps them to see the difference when one hand works better than the other. The authors also suggest supplements for each system of the body and several recipes, or "power" recipes. In fact, last night we made the Ultimate Pizza, found in the section on Endocrine health.

Jaden loved it; it was actually really good! The sauce was a little different at first, but it grew on me.I couldn't be more thrilled about the information given on different supplements, because over the years, I've heard so many opinions on which supplements I should/should not be taking, and with all of the opinions out there, it's hard to discern which ones are going to be the best and which ones could actually be harmful. Now, I can actually sit down and read about how these supplements actually work with the particular systems in my body and if they might be beneficial for myself or my family to take.

Not only does the book break down the major systems of the body, but it also breaks down nutrition and explains the different terms, such as omega fatty acids, carbohydrates, glycemic index, fiber, etc. Certain health topics and diseases are covered, such as vaccines, diabetes, cancer, etc. It makes these topics very real within the study of nutrition and helps the reader to learn how to apply these Biblical, nutritional concepts to their everyday life.

My favorite part of the book comes toward the end, in the form of the Appendices. There are certain things that help make my life easier, such as a shopping list, vitamin chart, tips on how to select fresh produce (which I've always wondered if I'm getting the right stuff), etc. I especially appreciated the page that gave information on nutritional recommended daily allowances for not only adults, but children as well. Dan and I have been questioning how much we should let Jacob eat because we know he's growing, but it just seems like he's starting to want more and more, and we just weren't sure where we should draw the line. Now, we can kinda look at this to get an idea of how much is probably too much.

As I studied through this book and started using it to make recipes, I realized that living organically takes true dedication because not only are the ingredients a bit more expensive, but it takes more time to prepare some of the dishes in this book. If you are a mom who is dedicated to helping her family live more organically and healthy, then this book is a great resource for you. If you are a mom who wants a quick solution, then this might be a more difficult transition. I am actually hoping to use this myself, as well as with my children through the next few years to try to teach them about proper nutrition and how their bodies work. It is an awesome resource for any family.

At 448 pages, this book is basically a manual on how to have a truly, healthy home. You can order the book via the Growing Healthy Homes website. It is available as a CD-ROM for $79.95; print book for $99.95; or the combo pack of both the CD-ROM and the print book for $129.95.

To read more reviews, head over to the TOS Homeschool CREW Blog.

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Growing Healthy Homes - Nutrition 101