Homeschool In the Woods: A Review and A Great Giveaway!

Be sure to read to the end for your chance at a great giveaway!

My kiddos absolutely love, love, love doing lapbooks. They're such a cool way to share what they are learning and David, in particular, loves to revisit them to "review." The only trouble is, 8-year-old David really and truly dislikes the predesigned kind. You know what I'm talking about, the kind where someone else has done all the work of designing templates and clip-art. You just print it out on cardstock or paper, color, fill-in, cut out, and put it together. Nearly every lapbook he has enjoyed putting together has been planned and designed from beginning to end by him and dear old Mom. All the others (so far, anyway) have bored him. They're either too plain or require too much writing or something.

Enter Homeschool in the Woods! Amy Pak has designed a truly wonderful Activity Pak on the New Testament which includes the templates you need to make a high quality lapbook, an Armor of God poster, and a New Testament Times scroll (scroll pages could also be used to make notebook pages). And it's in pdf form (either as a download or on cd), so you can print it out and do it as many times as you want!

The detail of the artwork is amazing. Be sure to click on the pics for closeups. My kiddos were begging to color more instead of complaining about being bored with coloring cartoony pictures. They had a real sense of creating something of beauty, and took care to fill in the details with their colored pencils. For each activity, I read to them about the topic and then we would discuss it, while they colored away.

We were on an abbreviated schedule with this due to review deadlines and a baby coming any day, but when the kiddos are a bit older, I plan to get this project out again and combine it with a complete study on the New Testament. We didn't do the scroll this time (a little too much writing at this age), but I know it'll be a fun project when they are older.

The scriptures quoted in Amy Pak's New Testament Activity Pak come from the NKJV. There really isn't any Biblical commentary included (though there are some summaries given in a couple of places), and this isn't really a study per se, just activities, so you can supply whatever is appropriate for your denomination. The activities are designed for grades 3 and up, though a younger child could do them with plenty of adult help (5-year-old Mary loved doing her share). Some of the cutting is quite detailed, so even a 3rd grader may want some help in the cutting department. And some of the scripture readings will be way above a young child's head...another reason to revisit the project again as your children mature.

You can purchase the New Testament Activity Pak directly from Homeschool in the Woods for $18.95 (download) or $19.95 (cd). Other products include: the Old Testament Activity Pak, Time Travelers History Studies, and Timeline Figures...I just might have to add some these to my collection!

Ok, here's the part you've been waiting for!

Amy has very generously agreed to let me giveaway a free copy to one of my readers! Here's what you need to do for your chance at winning a free pdf download of the New Testament Activity Pak:

• Visit Amy's website, then leave a comment here on this post telling me which of her products most interest you.
• To get an additional entry, blog about this giveaway on your own blog, then leave me another comment here linking to your post.
• Please be sure that you leave a way of contacting you in your comment.
  

I'll draw a winner at random April 3, 2009 (that's the baby's due date:-).

For more reviews of this product, be sure to visit the link below: