Nature Friend Magazine

　
During the month of August I received my first copy of Nature Friend Magazine to read. I was intrigued right from the start by the photograph on the cover. It was an owl swooping down to catch a rat in the dark of night. I have read other nature magazines but with as much information as this one has to offer.

Nature Friend is a company that upholds the principles of the Word of God and has high Christian family Standards, Divine Creation (no evolution) and practical stewardship of God’s creation. The previous statement is mentioned on the first pages of the magazine.

I have read both of the magazines I received thoroughly at least 2 or 3 times and am amazed at the quality and accuracy of the photographs. The feature article in August was on Owls and was extremely detailed including all the information on how the author and photographer had to set up the stunt to take their pictures. Other articles in the August issue were Animal Footprints, Tree Frogs and the Soft Shelled Turtle.

With the September issue I was introduced to stick insects, a peculiar bird called the Malleefowl from Australia, pictures of star formations at night, photography of fall colors and my favorite was on weaver birds. I grew up overseas in Africa with Weaver birds all around me and it was good to see them again even if only in a nature magazine!

In both issues one had a chance to do a crossword, fill in the blank sentences, pages of drawings done by readers copying the examples of “You can Draw” from other issues of the magazine, and a readers mailbox with photographs included. These are the Study Guide parts to the magazine available at an additional cost. . This is a safe magazine to subscribe to with no advertising in for a yearly cost of $36.00. A 2 year subscription is $68.00. To subscribe from Canada and other international countries is more though. The study guide will only be in your copy of the magazine if you subscribe to it for $24.00 per year or $48.00 for 2 years. It enables the student to see how much of the magazine he/she has comprehended. In my opinion I would say this would be an excellent addition to a science curriculum or even used entirely for a science curriculum, with a little art thrown in to the mix. You could take the major article and expand on the information already given to you, perhaps making a scrapbook or lapbook out of it. It would make a great birthday or Christmas present for the nature minded child. That is my opinion and if you would like some more information on the company and their principles go to http://www.naturefriendmagazine.com/.

I liked this magazine and will definitely look at adding it to our library of information in the future.

Nutrition 101: Choose Life!

This e-book ‘Nutrition 101! Choose Life’ is a goldmine for me to review. There is so much information in this e-book that has been compiled by Debra Raybern, Sera Johnson, Laura and Karen Hopkins. These authors have learned from life and from studying their favorite topic which is nutrition and how it can benefit our bodies.
The book is divided up into 6 units of 4 chapters each. The main topics cover the Brain; the Digestive System; Respiratory, Olfactory and Visual Systems; Skeletal and Muscular system, Cardiovascular and Immune System; and the Endocrine system and emotions.
We managed to cover 3 chapters in Unit 1 about the Brain, Brain Foods and the Nervous System and how it works. My son was not very interested in me reading out all this information to him that he did not understand. We looked at the pictures and I explained some of the processes of the brain to him in easier terminology. We especially had fun drawing out his nervous system on a large life size body image of him (see pics with this post above and below).
　

After the main body of the e-book where the student has numerous experiments and food activities to participate in and which cement the information they learned, Appendix A through EE reveals information and facts on foods. A Choose Life Food Pyramid is included. I printed this out and placed it on the fridge so my son knows what he is allowed to eat.

Daily menu samples are there to read through; sample shopping lists; alkaline and acidity food lists; how to bake bread; some brief ideas on how to use Essential Oils; Natural Remedy cleaning solutions; the importance of sleep to our bodies; how to counteract cancer before it grows in our bodies; how microwaves affect our food nutrients; the 40 best foods to eat; enzyme supplementation and many, many more.

We tried out 3 recipes Guacamole (Avocado is the brain food), Greek salad(using olive oil and olives for brain food), and Potato Salad (Flax seed Oil -brain food). They were all delicious but our favorite was the Greek Salad. Everything tasted perfect and the olives just gave it the right amount of tartness and spunk to the salad.

This e-book would make an outstanding science, Home Economics, or life skills course for children from ages 10 and upwards. I feel that my son was a little too young to comprehend all the scientific names. He did like the chance to taste the recipes and helped out a little. He is not a willing helper in the kitchen!

When I first received this book I sat reading it for hours and gasping in awe at the amount of information included. This is the kind of help I needed 18 months ago when my son’s brain cancer returned. I am going to have to keep reviewing this book and print it out when I get a chance to.
The selling price for the e-book on CD ROM is currently $79.95. A copy of the printed book is $99.95. A combo price of the printed book and CD-ROM is $129.95. I would highly recommend you start saving now if you want to change the way you and your family eat. Yes you can just start eating more vegetables and fruits, but do you know what kind to eat for what symptoms or health conditions. These ladies have packed the information into this book and done all the hard work for you already. I definitely will be purchasing more of these in the future and teaching as many Moms and Dads as I can with the help of ‘Nutrition 101 Choose Life’. What I have learned from our journey with cancer in our son Brendon’s life, using nutrition and supplements and Essential Oils is all covered in this book.

If anyone you know is facing a life- threatening illness I would suggest they look on the website for more information on this book. Please go to http://www.healthyhomesllc.com/index.html . I can not say enough about this book and curriculum and feel sure I will be utilizing this for many years to come and my son will learn from it what is the absolute correct way to be eating for his future. Please click over to the Homeschool Crew review blog using the button the right side of the page to view other's comments on this fantastic book now on offer.

StudyPod Book Holder

This unique item arrived in my mailbox a few weeks ago for me to try out both in the home, and homeschool environment. It is a StudyPod Book Holder. The item is 6 x 9 inches when closed and looks just like a book. It is unique in that it is a stand to hold books up at the same angle as a computer screen.

I immediately put the StudyPod into action and placed some school papers in it next to the computer. I no longer had to look down to my desk to see what to copy from but instead focused on the papers at my eye level instead. The work got done faster and was easier and less strain on my eyes too.

Once the StudyPod is opened it has two small metal arms to hold the pages in place, especially since some books are bound really tightly and the pages wave about when reading them. There is a third arm at the back of the Pod which supports the holder and prevents it from falling over.

My son used the book holder a few times during his school day these last few weeks. It does not phase him if it is not there. When he is doing more written work he will probably use this tool more. The StudyPod has spent a lot of time in my kitchen on the hutch counter supporting recipe books and has done a splendid job. I would recommend every housewife gets one of these as a cookbook holder as it is so secure.

We tried out atlas’, big huge reading books, board books and even a few thin binders and they worked fine. The inside of the StudyPod has a place to store a few pencils , note cards, calculator and maybe a cell phone if needed in a small net pocket which is installed. When the StudyPod is positioned correctly there is not much danger of it collapsing as the metal rods on the interior are very secure. It takes a few tries to get used to setting it up but my 8 year old son figured it out fast.

The company that produced this product has a website available for more detailed information at http://www.studypodbookholder.com/site/. One unit is $19.95 but for those of you who want one please email me and I will give you a special ordering code for getting $5 off each order. That is a good deal. These will make fantastic gifts for children and adults alike. If you order more than one at a time they discount the price too. Two discounts in one order is awesome. I will be happy with my study pod book holder for quite some time and glad I get to be the beneficiary of this ‘one of a kind’ product this year.

Hop on over to the Old schoolhouse’s review page for this item at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HomeschoolCrew/721260/ and search down for the StudyPod. There will be other reviews there from other members of the Crew.

Chemicals used in farmers fields to avoid at all costs!!

I have to include this article as I received the links to these from www.Organicvalley.com.
This kind of information is foremost on my mind as the farmer we used to buy 'natural' beef from used this weed killer on his farm too. Brendon was exposed to this through his meat and eggs 2 years before he was diagnosed!. I thought I was buying a natural product. He understands now why I don't buy meat and eggs from him any longer! Please I am warning you of the dangers of buying your meat and eggs from the store, and from some farmers. Look them in the eye and ask if they use soy in their feed or Roundup on their farm in any place! If so avoid their product - it will affect your children's growth and health too. Watch what kind of much corn product is in your cereal, baking powder, cornstarch, and processed meat and grain products. You are exposed every time you eat these especially in restaurants too! the weekkiller may give the farmer a higher yield but it is at your expense!!!

I am trying to help you avoid your child getting sick like mine did and then there is nothing you can do about it!

Thanks Julie

The way we eat is trashing the fragile conditions that make human life possible
www.grist.org work work September 02, 2009
In the ongoing debate about whether sustainable agriculture can “feed the world,” it’s important not to lose sight of what industrial agriculture is doing to ecosystems—both in specific areas and on a grand scale.
Producing and distributing lots and lots of calories, leveraged by fossil fuel and synthetic fertilizers and poisons, may solve certain short-term problems; but the practice also creates long-term ones that won’t be easily solved.
In June, a study emerged showing that so-called inert ingredients in Roundup, Monsanto’s widely used flagship herbicide, can kill human cells even at low levels—“particularly embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells,” reports Scientific American. This is an herbicide that’s used on virtually all of our nation’s corn and soy fields, covering tens of millions of acres of cropland. (It’s also widely used by landscapers and on home lawns.)
Then there was the recent atrazine imbroglio. For years, the EPA has been assuring the public that the highly toxic herbicide, still widely used in the Corn Belt, wasn’t showing up in drinking water in worrisome levels. Turns out that was a lie, as some excellent muckraking by the Huffington Post Investigative Fund revealed. Atrazine exposure has been strongly associated with reproductive health maladies, including a rise in hermaphroditism among frog populations.

Popular herbicide more deadly to liver cells than its active chemical alone
www.environmentalhealthnews.org work work August 20, 2009
Very low doses of some types of the herbicide Roundup can disrupt human liver cell function; the formulations' toxicity may be tied to their "inactive" ingredients rather than the active weed-killing ingredient glyphosate.
French scientists report that a number of Roundup formulations tested at very dilute concentrations can alter hormone actions and cause human liver cells to die within 24 hours of treatment.
The toxicity of some of the formulations was independent of how much glyphosate – the active herbicide in Roundup – they contained, suggesting it is other "inert" ingredients that may alone – or in combination with each other and/or the weedkiller – assault the cells. This study's results are similar to prior studies – as reported in a recent Environmental Health News article – that find human embryo cells are affected more by the Roundup formulations and an inert ingredient than by the active ingredient.

Balloon Release for Childhood Cancer Awareness Day

Well yesterday went off so well. We gathered at the cemetery where Brendon is buried and after placing an angel on his tombstone and his picture next to it we went about setting up the tags to attach to the balloon strings. this is where the fun began. Well all my dozen balloons had got tangled together in the back of the van on the way there. We spent twenty minutes trying to untangle the mess and attach them together. Moral of the story is make the stings shorter or cut them off and then attach the tags.

A friend of mine who I recently met Justine had the tags made on her home computer. There was a little pic of Brendon and then his website address and some places to send money to support for cancer research for children. On the bottom of the cards were lines with which to write a message to Brendon. She did such a great job and I am so thankful to her and her family who took time out to help us out.

Folks came out for the release I have not seen in person for ages, I was so blessed that at least 6 families and their children came to bless us with their support. I will post pics later today both here and on Caringbridge.

Homeschool is progressing oh so slowly. My oldest never does seem in the mood to learn so we just take it one day at a time. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers as we could feel your support.