Reviews

and other resources

Also see: Click on “select category” in the right column and choose “Book Reviews–Teens” or “Book Reviews–Kids” for great book reviews written by students.

For curriculum reviews, see the home-school tab on the main page or select the category at right.

Who Moved My Cheese (download) or click here to read online

A Mind At A Time (download) or click here to read online

Parenting the Internationally Adopted Child (download) or click here to read online

Whole-Brain Approaches to Note-Taking–review (download) or click here to read online

Boys Adrift (download) or click here to read online

Light Their Fire for God (download) or click here to read online

A Counselor Speaks on Developing Spiritual Growth in Children (download) or click here to read online. This is an article that has several mini book reviews included.

Other:

Parenting–

Parenting with Love and Logic by Jim Fay and Foster Cline—is my all time favorite “parenting manual.”  The loveandlogic.com website is also invaluable.  This “parenting advice” teaches how to lovingly help your children suffer the logical consequences of their choices (unless of course their health and safety is jeopardized).

YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES: What Every Father Needs to Hear by John Eldredge.  64 page soft cover.  Easy-to-read (in less than 2 hours).  My husband recommends this book to every dad he meets.

General–

EPIC—The Story God is Telling and the Role that is Yours to Play by John Eldredge.  This short, easy-to-read book should be required reading for all adults in our line of work and highly recommended reading for your teenagers as well!  Our 13 and 15-year-old sons enjoyed the book.  According to the back: “There is a larger Story.  And you have a crucial role to play.”  Eldredge begins with a quote from Tolkien – “I wonder what sort of tale we’ve fallen into?”

CAPTIVATING: Unveiling the Mystery of the Woman’s Soul by Stasi and John Eldredge.  This is a great book for the woman on your shopping list!  Stasi (w/John) does a great job of getting to the heart of a woman, discussing the root issues, unveiling hidden scars and applying healing balm.  They do a great job discussing the woman’s desire to be captivating, to be the Beauty, the Princess rescued in a great adventure!  I also recommend this for moms and teenage girls to read through together.

Speech Resources–

Teach Me How to Say It Right by: Dorothy P. Dougherty

This is a book that helps parents help their children who have speech/articulation problems. The author helps parents understand which speech errors are normal for a particular child’s age or development. She also provides exercises you can do with your child to help correct speech errors. This book offers more than fifty language games, as well as tips to know when and if professional help is needed. This book is geared to parents of newborn to eight year olds. If you have a 5-8 year old with speech problems (who has not been seen by a speech therapist), I would at least recommend that you try to get a copy of this book to consider whether or not there are things you can do to help or whether or not you should see a professional.  You will become familiar with what are normal articulation errors and what are not. Speech and articulation errors can lead to reading and spelling problems. This book is available used for around $6.

Baby Babble and Baby Babble 2 by: Talking Child

I recently checked out these two speech-enhancing videos created by speech pathologists. They are designed for 3 months to 2 ½ years and 6 months to 3 year olds. I was curious to whether or not they would provide any helps for older children with speech problems. Though they are definitely geared to younger children, I think that even many 4-6 year old children would enjoy watching and mimicking the games played by the speech pathologists in these videos.

Brainy Baby English by: The Brainy Baby Company

This video was created for 1-5 year olds. It is mostly about the introduction of first words, phrases, colors, numbers, objects, but it also incorporates many important speech sounds in a fun format. This DVD and the ones above can be purchased new for around $2-6 from many online vendors.

Educational Resources–

Leap Frog Videos

Parents of 3-7 year olds may want to put these on their wish list.  They are designed for 3-5 year olds, but if you have a child that is a little older and is struggling in phonics or math, then I would recommend these videos. Go to Amazon.com and type in “leap frog” in the search. You will find these Letter Factory, Math Circus, and Words Factory and more. Online you will see that they have new videos in the series dealing with sight words, vowel sounds, going to school, etc. If your child is high energy or just struggles with learning from you, let Leap Frog reinforce some concepts you want him or her to learn. This series gets an A+ from me!

Also, check out the Rock ‘N Learn Educational DVDs… http://theeducationcafe.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/rock-n-learn/

Helpful Resources for Sex Education

For children:

The Princess and the Kiss: A Story of God’s Gift of Purity – Jennie Bishop

The Squire and the Scroll  – Jennie Bishop

What is God’s Design for My Body (The Miracle of Creation Series) by Susan Horner

The Story of Me (God’s Design for Sex) by Stan Jones, Brenna B. Jones and Joel Spector

Before I Was Born (God’s Design for Sex) by Carolyn Nystrom and Sandra Speidel (designed for parents to read to their children at ages 5 through 8) (Bev S recommends that you read it first and tell about it to your preschoolers.  Some pages are more detailed than you might wish to share with a small child.)

For Teens:

Wild about You – Angela Thomas

Before You Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally

Facing the Facts:  The Truth About Sex and You (God’s Design for Sex Series) by Stan Jones and Brenna B. Jones

Every Young Woman’s Battle: Guarding Your Mind, Heart and body in a Sex-Saturated World (The Every Man Series) by Shannon Ethridge, Stephen Arteburn, and Josh McDowell

Every Young Man’s Battle: Practical Help in the Fight for Sexual Purity (The Every Man Series) by Stephen Arteburn, Fred Stoeker and Mike Yorkey

For Parents:

How and When to Tell Your Kids about Sex – Brenna B. Jones and Stanton Jones

Age of Opportunity:  A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens – Paul David Tripp

Parenting Teens With Love and Logic – Foster Cline and Jim Fay

I found that most of these books are available on Amazon.com and usually there are used books available.

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