Evan-Moor Heart and Mind Activities (Review)

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I have recently had the opportunity to review Heart and Mind, Activities for Today’s Kids from Evan-Moor. This is a workbook with 75 activities and hands-on projects to social and emotional development.

We reviewed the book for ages 6-7, but it is available for ages 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, and 10-11. It is a paperback book full of brightly colored pages and fun age-appropriate graphics.

What is Evan-Moor’s Heart and Mind Activities Book?

Skills Covered

Being a good friend
Being creative
Managing emotions
Developing empathy
Being grateful
Showing kindness
Being a good friend
Taking responsibility
Etc

How Did We Use Heart and Mind Activities

I used this book with my son, who turned eight, during the course of the review. I really like how the activities helped children think about and better understand emotions. While there were activities that focused on the child’s emotions, there were also lots of activities that focused on the emotions of others and helped them to understand how to be kind and empathetic.

The book could be used by going from front to back in order, or you could skip around. I think it would be great to choose activities that focused on issues that the child was struggling with or to allow them to choose which activities look the most interesting.

Some of the activities were as simple as coloring a picture or drawing lines to match up pictures that went together. Others involved cutting and pasting, but none of the activities were overly complicated or required a lot of additional materials.

Favorite Heart and Mind Activities

Some of the activities that we really liked were the card games at the back of the book and the kindness hearts activities. The card games involved cutting out cards for different emotions and directions for playing memory or go fish with the cards.

The kindness hearts activity had the child cut out a set of twelve hearts. Each heart had something nice to do for someone else. For example, share, write a thank you note, and say good morning. The child was then to fold up the hearts and put them in a bowl. Each morning they could pull one out and complete the task. It also encouraged them to have family members participate. It was a simple but great way to help them remember to be kind.

Our Opinions

I love that this book was simple and fun but helped my son better understand his emotions. I really appreciate that it showed him to not only focus on his own emotions but to think about those around him. I think my four-year-old might benefit from the book for ages 4-5.

I encourage you to learn more about the Heart and Mind Activities for Today’s Kids at the Evan-Moor Website. You can also check out my reviews of these other Evan-Moor products:

Teacher File Box From Evan-Moor

Evan-Moor History Pockets Ancient Egypt

Avoid Summer Slide with Evan-Moor Daily Summer Activities Workbook K-1 (Review)

Evan-Moor’s Skill Sharpeners Critical Thinking (Review)

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Farmyard Faith by Whatsoever Stories (Review)

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

My children range from four to almost sixteen, and our family loves books. Sometimes it can be a challenge to find books that everyone can enjoy together, but we recently had a chance to review Farmyard Faith.

Farmyard Faith is a fun book from Whatsoever Stories. They recommend it for ages ten to adult, but even my four-year-old enjoyed listening to the stories.

What is Farmyard Faith?

Farmyard Faith is a chapter book of exciting stories from the author’s time growing up on a farm. Our family doesn’t live on a full-fledged farm, but we have four acres with goats, chickens, and pigs. We found the stories in this book very easy to relate to and quite funny. I had planned to read one chapter each evening, but the children begged for more most nights.

Farmyard Faith is 203 pages long and contains 25 fun farmyard stories. There is also an epilogue, glossary of farm terms, and a fun list of 101 things most farm books won’t tell you.

It was written by Kinsey M Rockett and shared real stories from her life.

Each chapter told a different story from the farm and then finished with a biblically-based lesson that related to the story.

For example, there was a funny story about an escape artist chicken and the trouble caused for the family and the chicken. At the end of that story, the author talked about how the chicken thought things were better outside of her pen but, in reality, were quite dangerous. The same is true for our lives; God’s boundaries for us are for our good.

How We Used Farmyard Faith

We enjoyed reading this book together as a family. It is important to me to find books that we can read together because they create family bonds and shared experiences. This book was fun to read together and brought up great discussions in the lessons at the end of each chapter.

Our Recommendations

We enjoyed the farm stories because we could often relate to the antics of the animals or the trials of farm life. However, I do not think you need to have a farm or animals to enjoy these stories. It would be an excellent way for children to vicariously experience farm life in all of its ups and downs.

We enjoyed this book and the opportunity to read it together as a family. Other Review Crew members reviewed different books from Whatsoever Stories, and we plan to try them. You can click on the graphic below to see what other Crew members thought about the different books.

LeapStart Learning Success Bundle (Review)

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Our most recent review gave my four-year-old a chance to get in on the action. We received the LeapStart® Learning Success Bundle™ from LeapFrog. This kit included the LeapStart Learning Success learning system and two books.

What is the LeapStart® Learning Success Bundle™?

The books had activities for various ages, from preschool through first grade.

The system operates on two AA batteries and is lightweight and portable. It works great for using at home or when traveling.

In addition to the books that came with the bundle, various additional books are available to purchase separately. You can find a book based on age (from two to eight) or skill and subject. You can choose from math, reading, science, creativity, and more.

The price is reasonable, with the set being less than $50 and additional books being under $10.

When you purchase additional books, you have to connect the device to your computer with the USB cord (provided with the set.) This allows you to download the audio for that particular book onto your learning system.

How to Use the LeapStart Learning Success Bundle

Once you download the audio and your learning system has batteries, you are ready to get started. Simply open the device and place the book that you wish to try. Then press the power button to get started. The child can use the attached stylus to press on different parts of the page.

There are options for activities, more advanced activities, and more information on each page. When the child presses the stylus down on different pictures, the book will tell them about the images or ask them to find certain things.

For example, one of the pages of the included book has lots of animals. My son could press on any animal, and it would give him the name and sound. He could also push the activity button, and it would ask him to find specific animals.

How Did We Use the System?

We do not do any formal schooling with my four-year-old, but he loves to learn and often asks to ‘do school’ while I am working on schoolwork with my older children.

This program was perfect for him to use during our school time. Once I took a few minutes to show him how it worked, he could use it independently. It introduced and reviewed key concepts such as letters, shapes, numbers, animals, etc.

It met another important criterion for me; it allowed him to learn through play! He was able to play and explore the different pages of the book without having to go in order or meet any objectives.

Our Opinions

My son enjoyed this set, and he would often reach for it and play it on his own time. I could also give it to him to keep him occupied during school time with the older children.

I think LeapStart® Learning Success Bundle™is a fun toy with many educational benefits, and we will continue to use it as an educational supplement.

Click on the graphic below to check out all of the reviews from other Review Crew families!

Dynamic Christian Living Positive Action Bible Curriculum (Review)

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

My daughter enjoyed her Bible curriculum on Proverbs from Positive Action Bible Curriculum last year; therefore, I was excited for the opportunity to review another one of their selections. We reviewed Dynamic Christian Living, designed for middle and high school students.

What is Dynamic Christian Living?

We received the student book and teacher’s manual for Dynamic Christian Living. This curriculum covers basic Christian doctrine, salvation, the study of the Bible, and the power of prayer. The student book was a 271-page paperback workbook and the teacher’s manual was enclosed in a three-ring binder. The manual was organized with tabs into teaching material, testing material, and the answer key.

Each week there is a guided lesson for the parent or teacher to do with the student. The teacher would teach the lesson and the student would complete a guided notes page in the student manual. Then there is work in the student book for the student to complete independently. It took my daughter about an hour to ninety minutes each week to complete the lesson.

There are 35 lessons in the book, which works out to one lesson per week for most students.
The manual also includes tests and quizzes that we could use for student evaluation. There is an optional scripture memorization plan as well, but we chose not to use that memorization plan since my daughter already does other scripture memorization.

Positive Action Bible Curriculum Daily Christian Living

What is Included in the Content?

Unit 1: Birth (Salvation)
Unit 2: Growth (The Bible)
Unit 3: Breath (Prayer)
Unit 4: Communication (Witnessing, Sin, Questions)
Unit 5: Behavior (Living a Godly Life)

What Did My Daughter Think About Daily Christian Living?

“I have enjoyed working on this bible study. So far, it has talked about salvation, faith, grace, and a few other words relating to those topics. It has me read a section from the Bible, answer questions, and it explains some of what I read and helps to tie it into the word we are discussing.
While I have learned from this study, it would make an excellent curriculum for someone who didn’t know how to be saved.” Elizabeth, 14

What Did I think?

Overall, we like this program. I love that it is set up to allow me to stay involved but also has students work through some of it independently.

I appreciate that it is more than surface-level devotionals or character education.

I did feel like they underemphasized baptism when they discussed the process of salvation and receiving the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, I was pleased with the theology and thought it was Biblically accurate. Since the parent is involved in the lesson, it allows me to continue to monitor the theology to make sure it aligns and facilitates any necessary conversations about Biblical interpretation.

We plan to have her continue to use this program and believe that it will help her in her Biblical foundation. While some of the first chapters were mostly review for her because of her spiritual maturity, I believe that the three units she has left will help her continue to grow.

I encourage you to click on the graphic below to see what other families thought about Dynamic Christian Living and several other selections from Positive Action Bible Curriculum.

Memoria Press Famous Men of Greece

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

I have had the opportunity to review Famous Men of Greece from Memoria Press over the last few weeks. I was given the textbook, student guide, teacher guide, and flashcards. I was happy to check it out because it tied in nicely to the era in history that I have been covering with my elementary and middle school students.

What is Famous Men of Greece?

Famous Men of Greece is a history program designed primarily for middle school-aged students. The program includes a student textbook broken down into sections focusing on different men from Greece. For example, it covers Socrates, Philip of Macedonia, Alexander the Great, and Aristotle.

It also covers the Gods of Greece and the Fall of Greece.

There are many pictures throughout the book, which help keep it exciting and engaging for students.

The book is 126 pages long, including the table of contents and a pronunciation guide at the end of the book.

The set also includes a student guide which is a workbook that accompanies the text.

Each lesson includes vocabulary, facts to know, and comprehension questions. There are also additional activities that often involve mapping or timelines.

The teacher’s manual includes an answer key for the student guide and tests and a final exam.

Finally, the set includes a nice pack of flashcards. These flashcards can be a great way to review the material, and you can use them as traditional flashcards or create a game to help make studying more fun.

How Would We Use Famous Men of Greece?

Famous Men of Greece is a very classical style product. Since our family leans towards a more Charlotte Mason style approach, we would adapt our learning. The textbook is written in an exciting story-style fashion that works well for classical and charlotte mason style families.

In our family, we do not use a lot of workbooks for history, especially before high school. However, using the comprehension questions as discussion starters could be a great resource. We would read the section in the textbook together and then discuss the vocabulary and comprehension questions.

Who Would Benefit From Famous Men of Greece?

I think that the Famous Men of Greece would be great for middle grades students who like using a classical or traditional approach. It is also a good resource for adapting to families that enjoy a Charlotte Mason style approach.

The program could also be a part of a high school curriculum, particularly for a student that did not have a strong history background.

The Review Crew is reviewing Famous Men of Greece and several other products from Memoria Press. Click on the graphic below to see how other families used these products in their homeschools.

Tuesday Tips: Relationships Over Academics

I only have to learn some lessons once, but this is one that I have to remind myself and use to help evaluate our schedule constantly.

Relationships are more important than academics!

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Some of you are shouting Amen, and others wonder if my children can read or if I threw out the textbooks. Hear me out; I am not saying that academics aren’t important or that we shouldn’t be teaching our children a wide variety of subjects. However, I do strive to put relationships first in our home.

When I think about relationships in this context, I think first of our relationship with God and second of our relationships with the family (marriage, parent/child, and sibling).

Our relationships with others outside of our homes are also meaningful.

Relationship with God

Mark 8:36 says, “For how is a man benefited if he should gain the whole world and he should lose his soul?”

I do not believe that our relationship with God excludes academics; on the contrary, I think that he gave us minds to learn and grow. However, I think that my children’s relationship with God is ultimately far more important than their academics. That means that I try to prioritize our time in the Word, our time worshipping, and our time in discipleship.

It also means that if I see issues with a child’s relationship with God or struggling with sin, I do not mind putting the academics to the side while we deal with that. I try to keep eternity in mind when setting our priorities.

Family Relationships

I need you to know that I am preaching to myself as much as I am sharing with you on this one. When you are in the same house, doing school, meals, and all of life together, it can create close relationships. However, it can also create friction.

Marriage Relationships

It is vital to take the time to work on the relationships within your home. First, as a homeschool mom, it can be really easy for me to get wrapped up in homeschooling, house cleaning, and feeding the children who eat like hobbits.

None of those are bad things, but if you are not careful, they can cause you to neglect your marriage. Sometimes you need to put away the lesson planner, turn off the computer, and focus on your spouse.

This might also look like stopping school in the middle of the day to take your husband something he forgot or help him with a project. Your children will benefit from seeing you prioritize your spouse.

Sibling Relationships

This might just be at my house, but I think my children are far harder on each other than they are on people outside of our home. We struggle with raised voices, tense words, and unkind actions in our sibling relationships. While I do not think this is uncommon, I also believe it is essential that we take the time to address those issues.

For our family, that has meant stopping schoolwork to have family discussions or to help two children work through their issues. It has also meant adding in sibling Bible study to help them understand how God wants them to treat one another.

Other times, it means encouraging them to stop what they are doing to help out a sibling or to go and support them at an event.

Parent/Child Relationships

Last but not least are the parent/child relationships. Putting relationships first in this category means spending time together that does not revolve around school, and it might mean taking a day to hang out and have fun or taking the time to listen when they are having a tough day.

For us, it also meant getting an online program with tutoring for upper math. I love teaching my children and learning along with them. However, my son and I were constantly at odds over Algebra.

There were tears and harsh words, and it strained our relationship. After much discussion, we tried a different program for Geometry (Thinkwell) that had online tutoring. Having someone else help out with that one class was so worth the benefits to our relationship.

Relationships with Others

In addition to our family relationships, we need to think about our relationships with others. This might mean friends, neighbors, church family, the mailman, or anyone you come into contact with on a given day.

At this point, your teenagers might agree with me and use this as an excuse to hang out with their friends instead of doing math.

What Does That Look Like?

That is not what I am talking about, but it might look like taking the day off to sit with a friend whose parent is having surgery or supporting a friend going through a difficult time.

I am not saying that we should put aside academics for every social activity. However, we must remember it is okay to set aside academics for a day or a time to help others. A day spent with grandma will be remembered long after that history lesson. It is okay to take a break from math and help your neighbor get her heavy groceries put away.

Overall, academics are necessary but not as important as relationships. Relationships have a lifelong and sometimes eternal impact!

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

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Deals and Freebies

If you have not tried SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you don’t want to miss this sale!

Journey Homeschool Academy is having their early bird sale! It is their best deal of the year and we love the high school science courses.

Whistlefritz Spanish Review

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

My second grader had been asking to learn Spanish, and I honestly just had not made it a priority. When I heard about Whistlefritz, I decided it would be an excellent opportunity to try Spanish with both my second grader and my four-year-old. We received the Educator’s Spanish Collection (with ¡Buenos Días! and La Música) for our review.

What is Whistlefritz?

Whistlefritz is a language program geared towards prekindergarten and early elementary students.
The kit includes a teacher’s manual with lessons and activities, videos accompanying the program, and a CD with music. There is also a set of memory matching cards. A downloadable parent’s guide also gives a suggested schedule for homeschoolers. That schedule is flexible and can be adapted to fit the needs of individual families.

During an average week, the parent would lead a lesson that introduces the concept for the week. For example, one week, we learned the colors in Spanish. The program is also cross-curricular and introduced the idea of primary and secondary colors in that lesson.

After introducing the lesson, there is an activity to complete together. There are suggestions for which videos/video segments and songs on the CD to do throughout the week to reinforce the concepts.

For instance, after the lesson on colors, we watched a video about a birthday party that talked about the colors of different balloons. The videos are immersion-style, with everything being in Spanish. There is some live-action with an instructor and young children and some animation.

How We Used the Program

The guide suggests doing Spanish 4-5 days a week, but we usually fit Spanish in 2-3 days a week. However, with the program’s flexibility, that was not a problem.

I would teach a lesson one day a week, and then they would watch the videos on the other days. The classes generally took me about 10 minutes and then another five to ten minutes for the activity. The book appears to be written for classroom instruction, but it was not hard to modify for home use.

They enjoyed the songs, and I am looking to get an inexpensive CD player for the boys to listen to those as they do other activities during the day. We currently have to use a computer to listen.

My four-year-old is on the young side (just turned four) and did not pick up on the language as quickly as my second-grader. However, he enjoyed the videos, and I think the exposure was beneficial. He can repeat the program next year and continue to add to what he is learning.

Our Opinions on Whistlefritz Educator’s Spanish Collection

Overall, we enjoyed the Whistlefritz Educator’s Spanish Collection. My son was hesitant initially but told me that he really enjoyed it and wanted to do more. It was reasonably easy to implement, though you need to look ahead in the book to ensure you have needed supplies and copies. Many supplies were things that were already found in our home, but some, like transparencies, might not be something you already have available.

While there are videos included in this program, it is important to realize that they are supplementary and it still requires parental instruction. They provide pronunciation guides to make it easy for parents to implement.

We plan to continue implementing this program with both of my younger boys at least through the end of our school year and possibly into next year.

Click on the graphic below to see what other Crew members thought about Whistlefritz.

Tuesday Tip: Read Alouds and Legos are like Peanut Butter and Jelly

Read Alouds and Legos are like peanut butter and jelly; they just go together. (Full disclosure: I dislike peanut butter, but my kids love PB&J).

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One of the questions or concerns that I often hear from the parents of young children is that their children have a hard time being still and focusing when they read aloud. Too often, the solution is to stop reading or spend the whole time stressed out about getting the little one to sit still.

Instead of being a fun learning experience, it becomes a stressful chore for both the mom and the child.

My Own Experience and Background

I had a habit, some might say a bad habit, of doodling in my notebooks when I was listening to a lecture in a class. Later in graduate school, I would eat dry Lucky Charms while listening to the professors.

I knew that I could eat and listen or doodle and listen, though I sometimes tried to break the habit. It was not until I was talking about it to one of my graduate professors that I realized it helped me focus. The professor said it did not bother her because she knew that it was keeping my hands busy so my mind could focus on what she was saying.

This concept really helped me better understand how my brain worked and has been super beneficial in allowing me to help both my public school students and now my own homeschooled children find ways to help them listen.

Why Legos?

Legos are great for working with while listening because they can be done quietly and without a lot of movement, and this keeps them from being distracting to the other children in the room.

We particularly like free building instead of kits for read-aloud time because it allows their brains to still focus on what they are hearing. Younger children can work with Duplo blocks.

As a bonus, Legos are great for helping with fine motor skills and creativity.

Are Legos the Only Option?

Legos are a great tool but just one of many great options for read-aloud time. My daughter often worked on her hat loom or colored pictures while I read aloud. Other students enjoy snack time as you read.

Any quiet activity that does not take too much mental focus can be great for read-aloud time.

Do All Students Need an Activity?

Some students can sit and listen to a read-aloud for long periods without any activity and may prefer to sit and listen.

Activities are particularly helpful for those like me and my son who have ADHD but can benefit many children who do not struggle with ADHD. It is all about what works best for the individual child.

Conclusions

If read-aloud time is going great in your home, do not feel the need to make changes. However, if you are disappointed with your read-aloud time and feel your children struggle to focus, do not be afraid to try Legos or another quiet activity.

These activities can also work well with audiobooks to get in even more great literature. Nothing fully replaces the example and bonding of having a parent read aloud, but audiobooks are an excellent way to supplement that and fit in all of the great books you want your children to enjoy.

Blog Posts with More Read-Aloud and Audio Book Resources

Remarkable Read Alouds

Tip Tuesday: Our Homeschool Secret Weapon-Audiobooks

Reading With Your Ears

Read-Aloud Family Book Study: Chapter 1

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NIrV Adventure Bible for Early Readers Review

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

This review is a little different than many of the reviews that I share on the blog. Instead of reviewing a curriculum or book series, we are examining a particular translation and the formatting and information included in the NIrV Adventure Bible for Early Readers from Zondervan.

I want to be upfront that I have been reading and studying the Bible since my childhood, I am very familiar with the Bible, but I also do not claim to be a Bible scholar. This review is my opinion as a Christian and a mother. It is also important to note that we hold the Bible in high esteem in our home and consider it the holy and inerrant word of God.

Layout and Formatting of the NIrV Adventure Bible for Early Readers

The paperback version of the NIrV Adventure Bible for Early Readers that I received to review is a full-color book that includes a bright and lively cover that both of my young sons found interesting.

The bulk of the print was black, but headings, chapter numbers, and other information were in different colors. I thought this was very helpful for teaching a new reader how to navigate the Bible. Colorful sections are included throughout the Bible with additional information, illustrations, and thoughts.

The beginning of each book of the Bible has a page that gives information about who wrote the book, when it was written, important events, etc. In addition, there are full-color pages sprinkled throughout with important information, such as a list of the Old Testament prophets, a list of the disciples, and a timeline of the life of Christ with scripture references.

Thoughts on the NIrV translation

When I looked over this translation and compared it with the translations that we traditionally use, I felt like it was a reasonably accurate translation of the Bible. There were times when I felt that other translations were more precise because of the more complicated language. However, I did not think that this translation for inaccurate or false.

The wording was similar to the New International Version (NIV), but many sentences were shorter, and simpler language was used. It was very appropriate for a beginning reader but not as precise as I would want for a study Bible.

How We Used the NIrV Adventure Bible for Young Readers

I decided to review this edition of the Bible because I have a seven-year-old who is just learning to read, and I thought it might be a good fit for him. He is not to the point in his reading that he could read the Bible independently.

The NIrV is on the third-grade reading level, and my son has an early second-grade reading level.

He enjoyed spending some time looking over the Bible, looking at the pictures, and decoding what he could. We also used this Bible when we looked up verses in conjunction with his Bible curriculum.

Since he is a very early reader, he still needed help with some of the words, but he could be much more successful at reading this translation than some of the other translations.

Opinions of the NIrV Adventure Bible

Overall, I think that this is an excellent translation for younger readers, and I am excited to use it with my young sons over the next several years. I believe it is the perfect bridge between children’s Bibles, which are often more of a collection of Bible stories and a more traditional translation.

In our home, I will have my beginning readers use it to allow them to start reading scripture for themselves and following along with our family studies. However, it will not replace the translations we prefer for teen and adult Bible study.

Be sure to take a look at the NIrV Adventure Bible for Early Readers and click on the graphic below to see what other Review Crew families thought!

YWAM Christian Heroes Then and Now Eric Liddell Review

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew

We are always blessed when we have an opportunity to review books from the Christian Heros Then and Now series by YWAM Publishing. I do not have to ask my children if they want to participate in the review, just which title they want to try. Since we were getting this one around the time of the winter Olympics we decided to try Eric Liddell: Something Greater Than Gold.

Christian Heroes Then and Now Series

The Christian Heroes Then and Now series are all biographies of Christians who have faithfully served God in various ways and places. Most are what we would call missionaries, and they include well-known names such as Elisabeth Elliot, George Mueller, Nate Saint, and more.

The Story of Eric Liddell: Something Greater Than Gold

This paperback book, written by Janet and Geoff Benge, is just under 200 pages long. It would be great independent reading for upper elementary and middle school students. However, we decided to use it as a family read-aloud. You could even use these for high school students, especially with the in-depth unit study.

This book is a biography of Olympic gold medalist Eric Liddell. However, his greatest accomplishment is not his gold medal but his work for Christ as a missionary to China. This book tells about his time as an Olympian and as a missionary.

Eric Liddell Unit Study

In addition to the book, we received a PDF study guide that included almost 70 pages of ideas and activities. You could use this to make the book into a complete unit study, or you can pick and choose activities to make it fit your needs. There are discussion questions for each chapter, writing prompts, creative writing activities, hands-on projects, and arts and crafts. The guide also included a timeline activity, a basic information sheet, and several maps.

The unit study allows students to go more in-depth not only in the life of Eric Liddell but in the Olympics, which he was known for, and in Chinese culture to bring a greater understanding of the people he served.

Conclusions

The books work great as a family read-aloud, independent reading, or complete unit studies when combined with the study guides. I prefer to use most of the books as read alouds or personal reading for our family but add in the study guide for a unit study once or twice a year.

If this book interests you, you might also want to check out my reviews of several other books from YWAM Publishing: Alan Shepard, Benjamin Franklin, and Orville Wright.

Don’t forget to click the graphic below to check out the variety of reviews by other Crew members. There are many great choices; which one would you like to try?