I Choose Joy!

for the joy of the Lord is my strength in home, in family, in homeschool

One Small Donkey: A Christmas Story (review and giveaway)

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We have a wonderful collection of Christmas books in our home, and it's so fun to take them out every December and read through them all month. Here is a new book to add to our collection! One Small Donkey: A Christmas Story by Dandi Daley Mackall. Be sure to enter the giveaway at the end of the … [Read more...]

Book Review/ Giveaway “Good Good Father” by Chris Tomlin & Pat Barrett

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Today I have a book review (and giveaway!) of the brand new picture book Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin and Pat Barrett. Last week my 6-year-old son told me that we need to have "Picture Book Reading Time" every day. I'm very good about reading aloud to my kids, starting with board books … [Read more...]

Book Review: Love the Journey (Homeschooling Principles to Practices)

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Love the Journey: Homeschooling Principles to Practices About once a year I read a new homeschooling book. Even after homeschooling for 10 years, there is always something new to learn. This summer I read the wonderful book by Marcia Somerville called Love the Journey: Homeschooling Principles to … [Read more...]

Review & Giveaway: Wonders of Creation: Illustrations to Color and Inspire

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I have a gorgeous grown-up coloring book to share with you today -- to review and give away! It's called Wonders of Creation: Illustrations to Color and Inspire. It's illustrated by Cindy Wilde and Pimlada Phuapradit and is published by Zondervan. The paperback book has 94 wonderfully illustrated … [Read more...]

The Best Children’s Book Explaining Conception to Birth I’ve Seen

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I'd love to share a review with you today of the children's book by Danika Cooley called Wonderfully Made: God's Story of Life from Conception to Birth. It's really the best children's book explaining conception to birth that I've seen! What I love about this book is that you can read it to … [Read more...]

Review & Giveaway of I Am: 40 Reasons to Trust God

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Review of I Am: 40 Reasons to Trust God We have received a new book called I Am: 40 Reasons to Trust God by Diane Stortz, illustrated by Diane Le Feyer. I've been using it with my elementary-aged kids for our daily Bible time. The main way to describe the book is that it goes through names of … [Read more...]

Reviews of “Big Book of History” & “Big Book of Earth & Sky”

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Today I'm sharing reviews of 2 unique books called Big Book of History and Big Book of Earth & Sky. These are both published by Master Books and can be purchased at Educents. My kids and I had a lot of fun exploring the books. Big Book of History: The Big Book of History contains … [Read more...]

Review: YWAM Publishing book about Milton Hershey

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My daughter and I have recently had the chance to review the paperback book Milton Hershey: More Than Chocolate from the Heroes of History series by YWAM Publishing and the Unit Study Curriculum Guide on CD-Rom. I have read numerous YWAM books throughout my homeschool years and have loved … [Read more...]

Book Review: The Conversation by Leigh A. Bortins

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I have recently had the pleasure of reading Classical Conversations' newest physical book The Conversation: Challenging Your Student with a Classical Education, by Leigh A. Bortins. From the very beginning of my homeschooling journey, about 14 years ago, I have been focused on teaching with the … [Read more...]

Review/ Giveaway: Jesus Calling for Little Ones

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Another wonderful children's book is here for a review and giveaway today  .  This one is Jesus Calling for Little Ones by Sarah Young, illustrated by Antonia Woodward. It's a "Jesus Calling" book, which means that it comes from the adult book Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His … [Read more...]

Review/ Giveaway: Noah’s Noisy Zoo: A Fit-Together Shapes Book

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   Today I'm happy to share a Review and Giveaway of Noah's Noisy Zoo: A Feel-and-Fit Shapes Book, illustrated by stuart Lynch and published by Tommy Mommy. As you can see from the pictures this is a very cute and colorful board book for babies and toddlers.  The shapes of some of the … [Read more...]

Review: Delightful Planning: A Unit Study Planner for Every Homeschool

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One of my favorite bloggers, Marcy Crabtree of BenandMe.com has put together a new ebook called Delightful Planning: A Unit Study Planner for Every Homeschool.    Delightful Planning is 49 pages long.  I had expected it to only be a planner, full of different worksheets (which is has), … [Read more...]

Review/ Giveaway: “Daddy Loves You So Much!”

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What a precious book to review for you today! Daddy Loves You So Much is a padded board book for babies and toddlers.  It's published by Tommy Nelson and illustrated by Jo Parry. I think this book is just perfect for Father's Day!  It reminds me of my husband with his little boys and girls.  Each … [Read more...]

Review: Redo Your Room- 50 Bedroom DIYS You Can Do in a Weekend

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Do you have a teen or tween daughter who is looking for some ideas to tweak her bedroom?  I think you'll really enjoy this book review today of Redo Your Room- 50 Bedroom DIYS You Can Do in a Weekend.  It's published by FaithGirlsz by Zonderkidz.  The book is a handy small size, paperback, 127 … [Read more...]

Review: “S is for Smiling Sunrise” by Vick Wadhwa

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I'm happy to review a wonderful children's book today called S is for Smiling Sunrise by Vick Wadhwa of WordsBright. I was afraid this would be "just another average kids book."  But it isn't, and I really like it! It's beautiful and colorful and immediately grabbed my 4-year-old son's … [Read more...]