Teaching with What's in the Bible? plus all DVDs only $10 for 1 week

Our family loves the What's in the Bible? DVD series. The DVDs are an in depth study of the entire Bible, book by book. Yes, even books like Leviticus are made easy for kids to understand, without being completely watered down. 

The DVDs are fun and educational and are a great balance of silly kid humor and parts that are genuinely funny as well.

For the past few months, we've been using these DVDs as a base for a children's Bible study that I teach on Sunday nights.

The children in the group range from 11 all the way down to two babies under a year old (thankfully, one of the babies is mine and the mother of the other baby helps out with the kids as well). I think children of all ages can learn from these DVDs. In fact our two year old has repeated things she's learned and I usually learn a thing or two as well.

Even though we've made it part way through the series during our Sunday evening Bible study, our family is going to be using the What's in the Bible? DVDs as our Bible curriculum for this year of homeschool as well.

So, in case you'd like to use these DVDs with a children's Bible study, your own children as a homeschool Bible curriculum, or even as a part of your family Bible time I thought I'd share how we've been learning with What's in the Bible?

In our Bible study, we watch the same DVD episode twice, which means that each DVD takes us through 4 weeks worth of lessons. (Carisa @1+1+1=1 uses the DVDs with her own kids and chooses to have them watch each episode 3 times before moving on.)

Start out with Reading

I find that if I start the lesson with a read aloud it helps to get everyone focused and the kids seem to stay calmer throughout our entire lesson. Don't fall into the misconception that older children don't like being read to, from my experience, children enjoy listening to someone read a story long after they can read themselves. 

If you have older kids, you can get them involved as your story readers (you can help encourage then by giving them a copy of the story before hand so they can read through it first).

We read from a variety of Bible storybooks, mostly because some of the stories covered in the series are not the "major" Bible stories and not all kids' Bible storybooks have them all. It's also nice to be able to read the same story from two different Bible storybook since we watch the same DVD session twice. I also like to read an except of the story from the actual Bible as well.

Here are some of the Bible storybooks we frequently use:

The Jesus Storybook Bible (our personal favorite)
The Beginning Reader's Bible (read our review here) 
The Jesus Said Bible Storybook

The Early Reader's Bible

The Beginners Bible

The Young Reader's Bible



After we read the story I usually ask a few questions or make a connection between the story and our lives today. Some times volunteers act out parts of the story (the kids love this part).

Watch the DVD 

After our story time we watch the corresponding What's in the Bible? DVD episode. So far, there are 8 DVDs covering the books of Genesis through the Song of Solomon. The ninth DVD is scheduled for release in the middle of August.

For one week only you can get each DVD for just $10. What's in the Bible? also offers FREE shipping on all orders over $15. Check out all of the DVDs in the What's in the Bible? Store.

Review with the the Flashcard Questions

When the DVD is finished, I use the questions from the What's in the Bible? flashcards to review the information we've learned. Some of the questions may be a little too difficult for very young children, so don't feel like you need to use all of them, just make them work for you.

DVD 1 flashcards 

DVD 2 flashcards

DVD 3 flashcards

I'll be making flashcards for all the other DVDs, too. Go ahead and subscribe for free updates so you won't miss them.

You can laminate the flashcards keep each episode's cards on a different book ring or make the flashcards more interactive by having kids pick a card and read the question to the group. Non-readers can pick a card and hand it to you to read.



Color a Picture

Once we've answered and discussed the flashcard questions we usually color a picture about the Bible story or book of the Bible we learned about.

What's in the Bible? coloring pages

My Bible Coloring Book (This 119 page coloring book was created by Shirley Dobson and has lots of coloring pages for some of the lesser known Bible stories.)

As you can see, the planning of the Bible study actually takes me very little time, but the kids really enjoy it and are learning a lot. 

I love that even as a busy mom who doesn't have time to make up my own Bible study curriculum, the What's in the Bible? DVDs allow me to teach and impact children beyond my immediate family for Christ!

Today's Question: Have you watched the What's in the Bible? DVDs? Do you have any more ideas for extending our learning?

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Modest Dresses: Lengthen a Dress (or Skirt) by Adding a Ruffle

Our oldest daughter, Emahry, loves to wear dresses. For some reason she's convinced that long dresses equal fancy dresses...not that we're complaining about that at all!

So, what do you do when little girls grow taller and their dresses don't magically grow too? Or when someone gives your little girl a dress that is already too short for her (or your) liking?

In our house, those scenarios are often fixed by an appointment with my sewing machine and a pretty new ruffled hem.

When a dress or skirt needs lengthening I typically head to my fabric stash first to see if I already have something that coordinates. If not, then I'll wait until I have a couple pieces that need fabric before I make a trip to the fabric store. Four kids in tow helps deter me from becoming a Hobby Lobby regular.

Whether I find fabric in my stash at home or have to go to the store looking for it, there are a few criteria I'm looking for.

Picking a Fabric for the Ruffle
I want the ruffle fabric to coordinate. It doesn't have to be the same exact color or pattern, but I want it to look like it belongs. (For the daisy dress, I chose a yellow fabric with white polka dots.)

I also make sure that I have enough fabric to make the ruffle strip 1 1/2 or 2 times the width of the bottom of the dress depending on how "ruffly" I want it to be. With Emahry, the more "ruffly" the better, so I tend to double the bottom width of the dress most often.

The ruffle fabric should also be the same type of fabric as the dress (or skirt) itself. If I'm working with a cotton dress, I'll add a cotton ruffle. If the dress is knit, I add a knit fabric and so on.

Tips for Buying Fabric for the Ruffle
Before going to the store I figure out how big I want the ruffle to be and add in my seam allowances and hem. Then I have the fabric cut slightly larger to accommodate crooked cutting and possible shrinkage. Usually I only need somewhere between a quarter and a third of a yard, so the cost is fairly minimal.

When I do go to purchase fabric I take the dresses (or skirts) with me so there's no guessing about color while I'm at the store. I normally just hunt down a sales associate when I go in to let them know that I'm bringing some items to match.

I also read the fabric labels at the end of the bolt to make sure I know what I'm getting. It may help to write down the care instructions to refer to later.

*Make sure you also have matching thread for the ruffle fabric.

Preparing the Fabric
I think it's very important to prewash all new fabric before sewing. There's nothing like spending precious time making something and then having it shrink the first time through the wash.

I simply prewash all fabric on the same setting the finished garment will be washed in. If I have any doubts, I play it safe and run it through on the hottest setting for the type of fabric.

Once it's dried, I press the fabric to get out any wrinkles. Then I fold it back in half (like it was at the store), make sure both edges are straight and cut the fabric to the width and length I need. I also make sure to cut off any edges that frayed in the wash. I like to have two long rectangles, one for the front and one for the back of the dress. 

Getting Ready to Ruffle
Since I don't own a Serger, I like to use french seams to keep all the raw edges contained.

To do this, place your ruffle pieces with wrong sides together, then sew these two pieces together along the short ends using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Next, flip the fabric the other way (right sides together) and enclose the raw edges of the first seam. It really helps to iron now to get the seam to lay flat. Now sew both the short ends with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Then open it back up and those raw edges are nice and neat with no fraying. Iron both of the seams open and flat. 

Next hem the bottom edge under. I like to fold over a 1/4 inch and then another 3/4 inch to get all of the loose strings enclosed.

Gathering the Ruffle
Now that we've taken care of all of the other edges of our ruffle fabric, it's time to gather the top.

Ashley @ Make It & Love It has a very detailed tutorial for gathering and attaching a ruffle so I won't try to reinvent the wheel here. I use the "short-cut" method most of the time although I do prefer the look of the correct method. I attach the ruffle to the bottom of the dress the same way that she attached the gathered ruffle to the tube. Scroll down until you start seeing pictures with the orange polka dot fabric.

Finished!
Now that you've attached the ruffle to the dress, trim any loose threads, sit back and let that little girl twirl.

here's where we share our projects

This project will be entered in Kristin's Summer Dress Challenge.

Today's Questions: Have you ever altered clothing for yourself or your children? What's one way you've changed a piece of clothing to make it work for you?

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DIY Beaded Sun Catcher {Finished Friday} Link up your finished projects, too!

Join the fun and link up your finished projects at the bottom of this post.

A few months ago I was inspired to make a beaded sun catcher by this pin. Unfortunately I couldn't track down the original link, but the picture was enough to help get us started in the right direction. Over the past few weeks the kids and I have been working on this project as a graduation present for my niece.

The bead stringing was simple enough for our 5 year old and 3 1/2 year old to do independently, which made this a fun project to work on here and there as we had time.

Materials
wooden top (painted, stained, or left natural)
drill with small drill bit
monofilament fishing line
metal circle key ring
metal crimp tube beads
small needle nose pliers ( I have a pair of chain nose jewelry pliers like this that I love)
lots and lots of beads (we used mostly glass beads to help reflect the light)

My dad helped with the project by cutting out the letter R (our niece's first initial) that I traced on a 1 inch thick board. He also drilled small holes where I had marked, about an inch apart around the entire letter.

You can see the holes here.

Since the sun catcher will be hanging, I chose to make the letter face the correct direction when viewed from below. Even though this sun catcher is meant for indoors, I couldn't help snapping this shot while taking some photos outside.

(We painted the wooden piece white and let it dry completely before starting.)

I simply cut the fishing line to double the length I needed (for the beaded part as well as the part at the top to attach the key ring). Then I added a small bead to the string. Once the bead was on I pulled both ends of the string together so the bead was in the middle and I slid the crimp bead onto both ends. To keep the bead from moving around I pushed the crimp bead down to the other bead and pinched it closed with the pliers.

You can see the ends in this photo. (The crimp beads are the tiny silver ones.)

Once I had finished securing the bead to the middle, Emahry and Jonathan took over the stringing of the beads. Emahry (5) was able to hold both strings together and get both ends through the beads quite easily. Jonathan simply used one of the ends to strings his beads and then gave me his strands so I could poke the second string through each bead.

We made all of the strands about the same length and the secured each one with another crimp bead before passing the end of each strand through the wooden top. Once each strand was through I topped it with another small bead and then used another crimp bead to keep it in place.

Attaching the strings to the key ring was definitely the hardest part. If your piece of wood is symmetrical I would highly suggest just hanging it by attaching a couple of eye screws and threading a length of chain or wire through them. Since the R wouldn't hang evenly I attached each set of fishing line to the key ring with a crimp bead. This was a lot easier said than done. 

Finally, I decided to pinch each crimp bead partially closed as I got it positioned correctly, then when each set of strings was attached I went back through loosening and tightening each string to make the R hang evenly. Finally I used the pliers to close each crimp bead completely and I cut off the extra strings.

I already have another beaded sun catcher in the works as a gift and would love to make one for myself soon as well.

Today's Questions: Have you finished any projects this week? Let us know in the comments and link up your posts below.

I'm trying to hold myself accountable to finish some of the projects on my to do list by posting each Friday about a project I've completed.

Would you like to join in? Link up to your own projects below.

1. Link to your project post, not your blog's home page, so we can find it easily.
2. Let us know what project you are sharing in your title, for example: Spring Wreath
3. We'd love it if your post links back here so that your readers can come join the fun. Feel free to copy & paste our Finished Friday Button into your post. (Just copy the text in the box below the button, click on the "Edit HTML" tab for your post and paste it there.)





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Saving Time on Pinterest

If you’ve join Pinterest, you’ve probably see how it can easily become a time sucker. I love Pinterest, but to help manage my time online I needed to minimize the inspiration overload of my Pinterest home page.


Many times I simply go on Pinterest to find something I’ve previously pinned. But instead of going straight to the board where my pin was housed, I’d wander through the pins of those I follow for a few minutes (or more) first.


Even if I go straight to my Pinterest profile page I can still get a little distracted. (Just look at all those pretty things!)



So, now, when I need to find something I’ve pinned I simply type the pinboard name into my browser and go straight to the appropriate board. This way I’m able to bypass all of the new pin distraction and get right to what I’m looking for.


To go straight to a specific board simply type pinterest.com/your personal Pinterest URL/your board name. Dashes are placed between words and in place of apostrophes in the board title and symbols are omitted. You can easily find the URLs by looking at the address after you’ve click through to a specific board.

Here are some examples of my boards and the direct URLs.

Blogging = pinterest.com/heart4home/blogging

Healthy Eating & Real Foods = pinterest.com/heart4home/healthy-eating-real-foods

Alphabet Activities = pinterest.com/heart4home/alphabet-activities

By going straight to the board I need, I’m able to avoid wasting time and find the information I need more quickly. This is one of the ways I make Pinterest work for me.

Today’s Question: How do you deal with or avoid time wasters online?

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Sturdy Recycled Newspaper Pots Tutorial (“Origami Fold”)

We’ve been making these post for several years now and love how they are made from newspaper which most people can find for completely free.
Check to make sure your newspapers are printed with vegetable based inks. If they are recyclable they should be fine, but it doesn't hurt to call your paper and find out for sure.

These recycled newspaper pots are relatively easy to make and allow you to easily transplant seedling to the garden. By making pots this way you won’t need to use any tape, glue, string, or staples. These finished pots are also very sturdy.

By the way if you have older children they can definitely help make these. We also have lots of other tips for gardening with kids.

Instructions

1. Start with a single page of newspaper folded in half on the crease.


2. Fold the newspaper in half again, lining up the bottom and top edges of the newspaper.


3. Cut about 3-3 1/2 inches off of the right side, through all four layers. If your newspapers are wider you may not need to cut any paper off. (The newspapers we used were approximately 11 inches wide.)


4. Fold in half from the bottom up.


5. Crease well.


6. Fold in half from the left to the right.


7. Crease well.


8. Take the bottom right corner (blue flower in the photo) and opening up the flap, line the corner crease up with the crease in the middle.


9. Flip the whole thing over.


10. Repeat with the flap on the left. (red flower in the photos)


11. Pull the left and right flap that are face up together.


12. Pull the back two flaps together. You should now have a smooth looking "triangle" with no loose bits.


13. Fold the top right flap in so the edge meets the middle crease. Crease firmly.

14. Fold the same flap in again (kind of like a paper airplane).
 
15. Repeat with the top left flap.
 
16. Flip the whole thing over and fold both flaps in the same way as the previous side.

17. Fold the tabs that are facing up into the pot so that the top folded edge lines up with the sides.

18. Flip the pot around and fold down the other tabs.
 
19. Fill with potting soil, dirt, or seed starter and plant your seeds or seedlings.

We normally make a large batch of newspaper pots at once. To keep the folded in tabs from coming undone, we collapse the first pot, folding the sides in like the sides of a gift bag and place it under a book.


Once another pot is complete we simply place the first pot inside of the second. The pot inside is still collapsed like a gift bag and keeps the second pot from coming undone. Four collapsed pots fit nicely into one expanded pot.
This also makes it easy to keep track of how many pots you have made since each group consists of five pots.

Place your recycled newspaper pots on an old cookie sheet or tray that has a small side to keep pots from falling off.

 

To transplant into the garden simply cut the bottom of the pots and plant the entire pot along with the plant. Make sure you dig holes large enough to bury the entire pot (having exposed newspaper can cause issue with moisture loss). Keeping the seedling in the pot helps protect the roots during transplanting and the newspaper will decompose in the garden.

Today’s Question: Do you have any tried and true garden tips? We’d love to hear them?

Find more great gardening ideas on our Backyard Homestead and Garden & Yard Ideas boards on Pinterest.

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