It's Done

My Bug has waited almost 2 years for me to complete her crochet blanket. I just haven't had the time to do it. Finally a dear friend offered to finish it up for me. This friend is the one who taught me how to crochet. I am so thankful for her offer! Thank you Terri!

 She did the last three rows of colors for me. She also added in the ruffled edges and the pink tassels. I wouldn't of thought of adding that as a final touch.

This is my second blanket that I have done. The problem is that I don't remember how to start a blanket due to the fact that it has been so long since I began one.

Bug loves it. It's soft and has all of her favorite colors. It's a main stay with her pile of blankets that she covers up with at night.

CTC Math 12 Month Family Plan Schoolhouse Crew Review

Math is not one of my favorite subjects or an area that I excel in. When I had an opportunity to do a review for CTC Math for their 12 Month Family Plan  I was really excited to use CTC Math with my math minded children. 

 

Whether you have a child who is struggling with math or you need extra help teaching math. CTCMath may be just what you need. Right now CTC Math has a sale going on for a 12 Month Family Plan for $118.80  for 2 or more students. This is a discounted price for homeschoolers. Other plans are also available. 

CTC Math is an online math program. You get unlimited access to all the online lessons and all the K-12 and you can even get math tutoring in areas like calculus to trigonometry with your membership. You will need high speed internet for this online math tutoring. 

Not sure where to start? You can start by giving a diagnostic test available in every subject to help you determine what level of mastery in each area. 

The math lessons are taught by Pat Murray, an Australian math teacher. He presents each lesson in a simple and straight forward approach. Your child will watch an online math tutor video. The videos are anywhere from 4-10 minutes long. After the video they work on the math questions. If they get the question wrong they will be provided with instant feedback. The kids get reward certificates for every area that they complete. CTC Math even has speed drills to work on those dreaded math facts. 

Parents can see their child's progress online. CTC Math sends out weekly reports and when the student receives a certificate of accomplishment you get an email. You can set the percentage to determine the grade of each child’s needs. Having a special needs learner I set her goal lower than her younger brothers so she wouldn’t get frustrated. It averages out the three highest percentages for the final score.

I love that my child is not limited to one grade or level. They can work on any grade level in any area! 

How did we use CTC Math in our homeschool?

Little Man did the second grade level. Bug started out in second grade and then I let her jump around in grade levels up to fifth grade. 

In a typical week we used CTC Math four times a week. I had the kids do two lessons each day. Some days they did more if our schedule allowed. Some days they asked to do more math than I had scheduled. I had no tears!

Pros

K-12 and Basic Calculus to Trigonometry math tutoring

Access to all grade levels

Records all the work for each child separately

I can set the grade standard for each child

Navigation is super easy

I can print out reports for my records

Cons

Measurements are done in metrics. Not a problem if you live outside the USA

No audio on the questions. 

Can be a bit pricey

Not a full curriculum but an online math tutoring program.

I have to say that my kids really enjoyed CTC Math. It didn’t have any fluff like other online math programs. The videos are short and informative. The lay out of the program is simple to navigate. Bug had some issues with reading some of the questions. I would have loved to have the option to have the question read to help those struggling readers.

I may consider renewing this membership after my year is up. My kids have really learned a lot and they enjoyed CTC Math. For my struggling learner this has been amazing for her. It has built up her confidence and her independence. Having a child with special needs and having a straight forward, easy to navigate program without all the game distractions is something that makes me feel that the cost is worth it with her.

See what other in the Schoolhouse Crew are saying about CTC Math. 

  

Our Passover Seder

We had a lovely Passover Seder this year. I'll show it to you in pictures.

 The kids are all dressed up and ready for our Seder.

 Bug is feeling like a princess.

 My Little Man looking all grown up.

 The kids proudly posing with Daddy and Mommy.

 A very rare picture indeed. The whole family in one picture.

 Our Seder table ready for 10.

 My Seder plate is all ready to go. Well almost-we are missing the salt water. Good thing Little Man noticed before we actually needed it.

 Our main display table that the congregation sets up when you first enter the room. We had 26 tables this year with 10 at each table.

The Kissing Bridge by Tricia Goyer Book Review

 

In the third book in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series, award-winning author Tricia Goyer introduces a surprising new resident to West Kootenai as a young woman escapes from her stifling conservative Amish community to find a new life. Rebecca is an Amish woman whose pained past compels her to leave everything to become a nurse—abandoning her family and community. Caleb is an Amish man who is counting down the days until hunting season. At a crossroads in his own life, the excitement of hunting game is all he looks forward to. All the while he wonders what to do with the rest of his life. Even though he likes the Amish lifestyle, what good is an Amish man without faith in God?

An unexpected meeting pushes them together, and they embark with friends on a two-week-long wilderness wagon journey. Hardship tears down the flimsy walls of protection they've placed around their hearts, and as their friendship grows they open up to each other and eventually reveal their deepest secrets. While on the outside they appear to be traditional Amish people, inside they both know they are anything but that. Will their secrets pull them together or draw them apart? And will their faith in God grow? There is a bridge to cross at the end of the journey. Will true love take them across?

My Thoughts:

This is the third book in the Series “Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors” by Tricia Goyer. I was excited to get back to West Kootenai, Montana and get reacquainted with old characters and meet new ones. You don’t have to read the other books in the series to catch up first. I would recommend you read them because you are missing out on some wonderful books.

This series is different than most Amish fiction. I feel like every time I read a book in this series I don’t know what to expect from the characters. Each series has been different for each of the new characters that are introduced. Yet, within the newest of characters you get the old familiar characters that are woven in the pages of the story. I like ongoing stories that give you a glimpse of characters you have met in prior series.

 
I really liked Rebecca and Caleb. They are both such spirited souls who don’t live within a box. The story moved quickly. This is a book you don’t want to judge the title by the content. It’s not a romance novel that you go kissing on a bridge. I had several comments about the title from folks. It is a romance story with God and a tad of romance to not make it overwhelming. 

Tricia Goyer doesn’t shy away from God within the pages and the importance of a personal relationship with God is. Even though the characters are fictional she makes them real and the struggles they face aren’t so different from the ones we face in our walk with God and in other relationships.

 I enjoyed this story, and look forward to reading more of the stories in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series.

Disclosure of Material Connection: BookLook Bloggers-Thomas Nelson Publishers provided me this Book free as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have or my own.