Zonderkidz Faith Builders Bible TOS Crew Review

I'm back with the Schoolhouse Review Crew this year and our first 2016 review here at Redhanded Homeschool was for a Zonderkidz Bible.  Zonderkidz is a division of Zondervan, a publisher of Christian books and curriculum, as well as Bibles for just about anyone!  We own some of their Veggie Tales story books and a few of the newer Berenstain Bears books.

Zonderkidz's Faith Builders Bible arrived to oooo's and aaaah's from all three of the littles.  Somehow, Xavier won the scuffle and took it straight to his room to look through it.  He's a pretty good sharer (most of the time!), so when his brothers eventually followed him in and curled up with him to look over his shoulder, he was fine with it.  A bit later, they all scattered to their respective Lego stashes and started planning and creating.

They came up with some really good builds, but I did kind of chuckle about the somewhat more modern appearance of their handicrafts!  Who knew Goliath was armed with some sort of rifle or that Jesus walked out to the disciples floating in their rubber raft fishing boat?

The Faith Builders Bible is the complete old and new testaments in the New International Reader's Version (NIrV).  The NIrV is based on the NIV, but is meant for children who read at about a 3rd grade reading level, making the Bible accessible and easy to understand.  The 9 point font is a tad difficult for my old eyes to read and could be tough for a struggling reader.  All the text seems very tight on the pages, which are not broken up by any graphics or boxes of information.

The 24 pages of full color brick creations will inspire your little brick lovers to recreate their favorite Bible adventures.  My guys spent days building and rebuilding the featured events, but really never considered building anything different.  Most of the featured builds are *very* ambitious projects, particularly The Tabernacle and Solomon Builds God's Temple.  Besides this page of simple projects, I think only The Fruit of the Spirit and The ABC's of Salvation were at an easy level.


The Faith Builders Bible is a sturdy hardcover which is really holding up to the kind of havoc my boys can wreak on a book.  In the four weeks we've had it, with all the use it has seen, I haven't had to tape a single page or broken spine.

In the front of this Bible is a presentation page for gift giving and the usual table of contents.  A brief description of the breakdown of the 66 books of the Bible is illustrated using towers of color coordinated bricks sorted by Law, History, Poetry, etc.  It's clever and actually very pleasing to the eye.  There's a short, five page dictionary at the back of the book, defining words like abyss, hosanna, temple, and yoke.  This Bible also contains a list of the more well known Bible narrations and events.

If you're looking for a nice, basic, understandable Bible for your little architect, this would definitely fill the bill.

Book Details at a glance.
Size: 8.5x5.5 inches
Format: Hardcover
Price: $24.99
Bible Version: NIrV
Publisher: Zonderkidz

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CFS Chapel 2/11/11

I have this ongoing love/hate relationship with Facebook.  One thing they're doing right, though, is their "On This Day" app.  I love to look back at all of my old posts for a specific day over the past seven or so years.  I like reminiscing. I enjoy the reminders of funny things the kids say, great days, and even some sadder moments.  Recently, I stumbled across an old outline for a Friday School chapel I wrote five years ago.  It's about preparedness and submitting to God.  I thought I'd share that here.

This is the outline for CFS Chapel 2/11/11

*Show backpack*

What is this?

A bug-out or go bag is a portable kit that contains the items one would require to survive for seventy two hours when evacuating from a disaster.

What is the importance of having a go bag?

What is in a go bag?

Flashlight
What is the benefit of having a flashlight?

Some responses – see into the darkness, light the path ahead.

Verse – In John 12:46, Jesus said, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness."

Clothes
What is the benefit of having a change of clothing?

Some responses – warmth, modesty, cleanliness, comfort.

Verse – Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

Food
What is the benefit of having food?

Some responses – energy and strength.

Verse – Psalm 136:25 He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.

Water
What is the benefit of having water?

Some responses – hydrates, quenches thirst.

Verse – John 4:14 ...but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Radio
What is the benefit of having a radio?

Some responses – news, communication.

Verse – Luke 2:9-12 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.


Bible – the ultimate go book.
Who was one of the most prepared people in the Bible? The biggest go bag ever had to have been Noah's ark. Noah built an ark according to God's specifications and loaded it with food for all of the animals and for his family.
The memory verse is Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
The point of all of this is that you never know when God is going to ask something of you or what it will be, how outrageous it will be. But be prepared to submit and GO!

Wondering - The High Cost of Healthy Food

The only post good ol' Google can find on this quote for me, is a tweet attributed to chi-chi rodriguez @HennyNHandcuffs.  I have my own thoughts about this statement and I would love to discuss it with all of you.  Please comment, letting me know your thoughts about the accuracy of this statement and your opinions about *why* it is/isn't accurate.  Put on your critical thinking caps.  I'll tell you what I think and why next time.

Ready, set, go!

Reminiscing - "Ringamajigs"

I found these in the Target Dollar Spot.  I didn't buy them, but I sure was transported back to my childhood when we had a bucket full of these things.  They were quite a bit larger in the 70s.

Funny Find from Hershey's

I had to laugh at this candy bar. All I can imagine was some sort of aeration kafluffle at Hershey's one day, ruining all of the milk chocolate bars.

"Quick!  Call the marketing department and get them to design a wrapper for this bar!  We've got to do something to save this chocolate.  We'll even charge the regular amount for the bar with all that extra air."

PS.  It wasn't that good.  No that I love Hershey's anyway.

Cards "Kind Friend"

I made these cards a while back, which made me feel quite "accomplishy" since I rarely make my own cards anymore.  I have a whole craftroom full to the ceiling with papercrafts, some beads, and a few sewing supplies.  It's pretty sad. 

Most of what I own (and really love) is older Stampin' Up! stuff.  I used to be a demonstrator.  These cards used one of my all time favorite stamps.  I quite literally bought the All Holidays stamp set just for this stamp.  Not that I didn't *like* the others, there are just a bajillion and three other sets out there for the same holidays.

I didn't really have a plan before I started.  I just wandered the room grabbing stamps, ribbon, and punches that I really love, then I came upstairs and chose my paper.  Probably kind of backwards, but I think it really worked here.  I created three friend cards and one birthday card while I was at it, as well as bookmarks.

Bragging on My Boy

I know the Matthew 6:3 tells us "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."  If no one ever told of good deeds done, the world would seem a dark and scary place.  So, today, I want to brag on my little boy.

Xavier heard about a fire last spring in which some children lost their home, everything they owned, really.  His heart broke so much for those kids, he began to wonder what he could do to help other children in similar situations.  He devised a plan and I spoke with a friend of ours who works for the Red Cross.  Then we spoke to the local fire chief who also liked Xavier's idea.  By summer, we were shopping to see his plan come to fruition.

We thought that what these kiddos needed most was to be comforted and to have something new that was just for them.  I purchased six school backpacks on clearance for just $3.50 each.  Then we started collecting stuffed animals, fleece throw blankets, coloring books, and crayons for each bag.  As we were nearing Christmas and I started to really feel a need to finish up, I put the word out and three of my friends helped us complete EIGHT backpacks which even ended up including a picture or chapter book and a small puzzle or toy.  We are so grateful for each of the people who caught Xavier's vision and wanted to help him make it a reality. 

Sorting stuff for Xav's backpack project.

We recently took those backpacks to the fire station where the boys were treated to a tour, played on the fire trucks, and even rang the bell.  We learned how the toxic exhaust was sucked away from the trucks to keep the firemen safe in the truck bays.  Though Xavier's reward will be in Heaven, it didn't hurt to have a little treat here on earth.

When we left, Xav told the firefighters to let him know if they needed more backpacks.  One of the men said, "Hopefully, these will last us forever." 

Amen.

If you think you would like to start something similar in your area, contact your local fire chief.