FREEBIE: Learn about Genesis with the Cereal Bible

I wanted a unique way to share the Bible with my daughter who is a hands on leaner. After seeing a Pinterest post where they used a cereal box with a hodge podge of pictures to help review books of the Bible,  a light bulb went off. I created a printout for Genesis. Then I realized,  I just had an empty box.  So I made cards that fit in the box.  they include mini coloring pages,  a quick guide to the stories in Genesis,  a fact sheet, activities pages and so much more.  We've been having so much fun that I thought I'd share.  My eventual goal is to do a box for every book in the Bible.  My Genesis printable is free. It is just a small portion of what the other boxes will have in them.   It can be downloaded for free from Teachers Pay Teachers. Please let me know your thoughts and ideas for cards.

The printout is made to fit an an individual size cereal box.

My Baby Story

Eloise was born at 24 weeks and 5 days.  I had a very normal pregnancy until week 23.  Friday, March 25th, I woke up very early, around 3am, and felt something was wrong.  I quickly found I was bleeding and got very scared.  My husband was out of town on a church retreat so I was home alone.  So, I called my parents who called an ambulance.  I was rushed to the hospital.  My husband was finally located and rushed back to to town by a friend. 

            The doctors found that my normally low blood pressure had sky rocketed so I was kept Friday night for observation.  I also received a steroid shot so that Eloise could develop a little faster since the doctors felt she would come early.  Saturday afternoon I was sent home with blood pressure medicine and put on bed rest.  Early Monday morning I woke up again with back pain; not an incredibly unusual thing.  Unable to sleep I went to the living room and took some Tylenol.  Within an hour, I had a horrible headache and decided to wake my husband up and head back to the hospital.

            My blood pressure was once again very high.  I was diagnosed with preeclampsia in the 2nd trimester.  The decision was made to transfer me to another hospital that specialized in high risk pregnancies.  When I arrived, I was immediately placed on magnesium and more blood pressure medicine.  We were told I would be here for the duration of the pregnancy which hopefully would be a few weeks.  My husband stayed all that week until Thursday when I insisted he go to work.  Thursday afternoon, I was sitting in the hospital bed visiting with my parents and my pastor when the doctor came in.  She explained my blood work that morning didn’t look good. My liver was having issues from the blood pressure which was staying around 170 though had been around 200.  The pregnancy would likely only be a few more days or, at worse, hours.  My husband was immediately called back to my side.

            Late Thursday night, I was about to take my evening medicine and my husband was getting into bed.  The nurse had left for a moment and I stated the room just spun around.  My husband asked lots of questions but I couldn’t really give him an answer.  He told the nurse this when she returned.  Within minutes, I went into a seizure.  My husband was taken out of the room while nurses and doctors worked on me; shortly after I went into a second seizure.  The pregnancy was now too dangerous to continue and an emergency c-section had to occur.          

          I was wheeled into an operating room, unaware of what was going on.  I delivered my baby girl at 1:27am Friday morning… just one week after any signs of preeclampsia and hours after eeclampsia.   I was the first person in my family to have preeclampsia. We have no history of high blood pressure, diabetes, or seizures.  There was no way to know what was going to happen. 

   In early July I received a call from my OB/GYN who wanted me to come and do a full blood work up.  2 weeks later they called back and told me that something was wrong and I was to go see a specialist who could tell me what was happening.  It was discovered that some of my genes were not normal.  Recently connections have been shown between this particular abnormality and difficult pregnancy, in particular, eclamptic pregnancies.  So Eloise will likely be our last but our perfect little princess.  We were so thankful not to know about the gene before, otherwise we wouldn't have tried to get pregnant in the first place.

            After 115 days in the NICU we were told our little girl was finally able to come home.  We were thrilled and terrified all at once.  We were able to stay our first night with her in the hospital.The next day, we packed up our home for the past few months (at the Ronald McDonald House) and drove home…. This time with our little Eloise.

            Eloise has dealt with a lot in her life so far.  She has faced many of the typical preemie issues: PDA, lung issues, NEC (that was scary!), multiple blood transfusions, bradycardia, etc.  She also had some issue gaining weight early on.  She has gone through physical therapy and multiple cast for her club foot.  Such a minor thing considering all the obstacles she has already overcome.  At 6 we learned she was also autistic and has ADHD.  But she is a spunky little fighter. She is living proof that God still performs miracles.  She brings joy to a room and I wouldn't want it any other way. 

Read Aloud: “Mouse Scouts: Make a Difference”

“Mouse Scouts: Make a Difference”

By Sarah Dillard

Buy it on Amazon 

Rating: 10/10
Age: 5+

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

The world of the Mouse Scouts takes place in our world... but on a miniature level. The book follows a Mouse Scout troop as they begin the next level of scouts.  The scouts have a new troop leader, rumored to be very tough, and the girls are nervous.  This girls start their scouting year be creating a garden.  Like any project, there are setbacks and things the girls have to work together to overcome.  The mice make for a great example of using their resources wisely, taking care of their community, and teamwork.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:    

Each scout has very different personalities.  One of them is a bit of a mean girl, but she has redeeming qualities and does still work with the troop.

REVIEW:

This is a lighthearted book about friendship and of course, being a scout.  It is neatly written and you will enjoy reading through it as much as your daughter.  There are lots of fun pictures to accompany each page as well. A fun bonus with this book is that your daughter (and her troop) can earn a badge alongside the mouse scouts. You can technically earn the badge by just reading the book, but it's more fun if you do the printable activity kit. 

What my young reader most enjoyed was the similarities to her own scout troop. At the end of each chapter is an excerpt from the Mouse Scout Handbook. She loved reading their handbook and seeing the mouse uses of everyday objects. For example, the use of a fork as a mouse rake.

WHO SHOULD READ IT?

Girl Scouts! And really any girl. The chapters are short and could easily be read at a troop meeting. I would think ages 5-11 would most enjoy this book.

IF YOU LIKE THIS…

"Mouse Scouts" is the first in a series

Buy the badge

Printable activity kit from the author

Book website