B is for Bagged Adjectives

Bagged Adjectives is one Grammar activity that I love using when teaching children about adjectives. First, the child chooses an object to place inside the bag. It can be any item found around the house or classroom. Brown or white paper lunch bags work well with this activity. Then, the student writes a list of adjectives describing the object on the front side of the bag and reads it aloud. Next, other people will try to guess the object inside the bag based on the adjectives stated aloud. You can even add on a Yes No Question Game where the other children can ask up to 10 Yes or No questions about the object for additional clues. That's it . . . super simple. I highly recommend the use of thesauruses for this activity to enrich vocabulary skills.

Sealed with Tape
Object Inside the Bag

I will link this post up at A Net in Time and Hopkins Homeschool's Blogging Through the Alphabet Linky. There are many cool posts this week related to the Letter B. Come join the fun and link your post!

BookLook Review: Brave Girls 365-Day Devotional: A Year of Devotions for Brave Girls

My daughter begged me to review the Brave Girls 365-Day Devotional: A Year of Devotions for Brave Girls Like You! written by Jennifer Gerelds and Tama Fortner. The book is illustrated by Aleksey and Olga Ivanov. It was published by Tommy Nelson: A Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers. We own all the other books from the Brave Girl Brand except for the Brave Girls Holy Bible.

This devotional book is suitable for tween girls between the ages of 7-12. My daughter doesn't actually know that I received this tween devotional yet. I plan on giving it to her as a gift soon. I read through many of the devotions during the review period. She is going to absolutely love this book! It is written in a similar format to their book series. She is currently using a Brave Girl devotion. She writes out her SOAP (Scripture/Observation/Application/Prayer) after reading the devotion. I ask her to think about what God is saying during her readings and apply it to her life.

At the beginning of the devotion, there is an introduction based on 2 Corinthians 3:12, "We have this hope, so we are very brave." The introduction reminds the reader that we are all brave. The foundation or emphasis was on how God used ordinary Bible girls who followed His lead to accomplish amazing things in this world. The author also reminds the reader that God's love is what makes us strong and brave.

They will also read the "Meet the Brave Girls" section which contains information about each brave girl: Hope, Glory, Honor, Gracie, and Faith. The characters are relatable. I am sure your daughter will relate to one or more of the girls in some way or another. Alyssa will most likely relate most with Faith who is a homeschooled perfectionist and Glory whose parents are divorced. There are several paragraphs describing each character's personality and character traits.

At the end of this "Meet and Greet" there is a "Youth Group" section encouraging children to work and worship with others. I appreciated the statement, "But together, we're even stronger - which is a great part of God's plan." This little reminder resonated with me after reading it. It reminded me that I need to work with others to accomplish God's plan for my life. I am hoping it will motivate my daughter to get more involved at our church and to worship more with others. I believe this devotional will help her develop a closer relationship with God and will inspire her to serve others as her faith grows.

The devotion is dated on the side but excludes the year so it can be used any year and can be started on any day. The creative titles sum up the devotion.

Each Daily Devotion Includes:

• Referenced, Italicized Scripture
• Short Devotional Story
• Prayer Pointer 

Scattered throughout the devotion are Brave Girl activities including but not limited to true/false quizzes, thought-provoking questions, multiple choice questions, surveys, and what would you do scenarios. This is my daughter's favorite part of their books. It really helps her connect with and apply what she's learned to life.

I highly recommend this children devotional for tween girls between the ages of 7-12 yeas old. We are huge Brave Girl fans and have loved every single book we've utilized so far. The positive devotions will help guide tween girls through this crazy world we live in. Brave Girls 365 Devotional may just be that special gift you want for a child you love. It's definitely worth checking out!

Price

Amazon $12.63
Thomas Nelson $16.99

Disclaimer
I received a complimentary, free copy of this book from BookLook Bloggers Review Program in exchange for an honest, unbiased review on my blog. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

A is for Armand Acrostic Poem: A Literature Unit Activity

Alyssa recently finished the book, The Family Under the Bridge, written by Natalie Savage Carlson. She wrote a Character Acrostic Poem about the main character, Armand, as one of her final Language Arts projects. Acrostic poems are one of our favorite types of poetry and can be easily added into your studies.

An acrostic poem lists the letters for the subject or topic vertically down the paper. Words or phrases are written describing the subject beginning with each letter.

She brainstormed ideas before writing her poem. My daughter wrote the letters A - R - M - A - N - D down the left-side of the paper vertically.  Then, she wrote her descriptions beginning with each letter and added an illustration of the main character. Today I will share a photo of the completed activity. Have fun creating main character acrostic poems!  The illustration can show character development and changes for dynamic characters. In our story, Armand was a homeless hobo living alone under the bridge. He made a huge transformation at the end of the story. :)

I will link this post up at A Net in Time and Hopkins Homeschool's Blogging Through the Alphabet Linky. All the posts this week are related to the Letter A. Come join the fun and link your post.

Starting Another Wonderful Year on the 2017 Homeschool Review Crew

Many of you know that I have served on the Homeschool Review Crew for several years. I was thrilled to be invited back again for the 2017 school year. The homeschool curriculum we've received and the virtual friendships I've made have been an absolute blessing.

The homeschool bloggers on the Homeschool Review Crew come from all walks of life and each individual blogs about a variety of topics. Please grab a drink and click on each blog button below. You may find a new friend to follow and I know you are bound to find interesting material to read. Enjoy!

Let me present to you . . . 

Several members of the 2017 Homeschool Review Crew.

Thank you for visiting A Learning Journey! 

Our Christmas Kitten: Meet Gypsy

My daughter begged me for a kitten for Christmas. It was a very hard decision to make. I hope everything works out so that our home can be her forever home. I wanted to surprise Alyssa with a kitten, but I decided it would be better if we chose one together. After visiting the animal shelter several times, we added our names to a waiting list to adopt one of two cats. Both cats were adopted over the weekend. One was over a year old and looked like Gypsy. She was a very gentle and affectionate cat, but did NOT play at all. The other kitten had strange bloating medical issues. 

A neighbor friend asked me what kind of cat were were looking for one day, because she saw one at the vet's office. We wanted a female calico kitten. We quickly hopped in the car and headed over to the vet's office to see the rescued kitten. My neighbor said we might be interested. We were pleased to find a female tortoise kitten. This kitten was found on the side of the road wandering about as a baby kitten around 5-6 weeks old. So, we decided to adopt her and give her a home. Alyssa named her Christmas kitten Gypsy.    

She was calm, skittish, and playful at first. Now . . . she is one wild kitten who attacks and bites! We are trying to train her NOT to bite all the time. We are still learning how to handle her wild kitten behaviors. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. 

Meet Gypsy

Gypsy Finds a Owner and Home

Relaxing First Couple Days Home
She had diarrhea and blood in her stools.

Waking From a Nap