Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Raising Homemakers Anniversary-- Meet the New Contributors! (Plus Doorposts Giveaway!)


Anniversary Day 2 – Meet the New Contributors! (Plus Doorposts Giveaway!)

Hit the above link to Raising Homemakers' post celebrating day 2 of their first anniversary.  I know it's been a blessing to me.

They share about the 5 ladies that are new contibuters and also are offering 5 give aways from Doorposts.  If you're not familiar Doorposts, you really need to visit.  There are so many great ideas and resources there including the famous "If-Then" chart.

So go check out the celebration all this week!

I Raise my Ebenezer on the Day After Memorial Day

The day after Memorial Day, specifically May 31 since Memorial Day doesn't fall the same each year, is a special day to me.  It's one of the days the reminds me to obey God above human logic, and He will provide help and hope.

Ooooooo, it sounds really deep.  Doesn't it? 

You see, way back when I was 21, I did something drastic.  For various reasons, the Lord had me leave the church I was attending.  My good friends were mostly understanding, but also concerned for me.  After all, I hadn't been able to attend a Christian college to earn my M.R.S. degree.  Now, I was leaving a church with an active singles' department  to attend a church where I was the singles' department. 

THE HORROR!!!!

I truly wasn't concerned.  Sure, I would like "the guy" in my life, but I apparently was naive enough to believe that God could bring it about as long as I followed Him.

So, I went to my new church and also kept up with my "old" friends.  One of my old friends was a guy named Tim.  He was in the Air Force and ended up attending a church that was closer to his post which fellowshipped with my new church occasionally.

No, it's not going where you think it might.

Tim was a great friend and helped a single girl friend a lot!!  Some people thoughts went where your thoughts might have headed, but that wasn't God's plan.  Thank God.  Tim was a great friend, but he ate a peanut butter sandwich with chili.  Who could be married to someone like that?  It grosses me out just typing it down.

Well, Tim actually found a girl at the church he attended that could accept his peanut butter sandwich and chili habit.  Her name was Tracy.  They got married, and she became just as good a friend to me as Tim.

Now pay attention.  This is where God really does His interesting stuff.

Tracy knew this guy.  She had graduated school with him.  So, about a year  and a half later, she and Tim just really felt they needed to get us together.  They tried a few times, but things just didn't work out.  Obviously, the guy just wasn't that interested in meeting me.

FINALLY, they got the guy to agree to coming down for a fish fry to meet me.  First, they didn't know he didn't like fish.  Second, they didn't know he didn't have a driver's license or a car which meant he bicycled EVERYWHERE.  Third, they didn't know there was a chance for rain showers that Tuesday afternoon.
 
All that meant that:  First, he ate fish anyway because he didn't want to offend.  Second, he biked from Leavenworth, KS (city not the prison) to Bonner Springs, KS which is about 20 miles.  Third, he arrived damp from riding in the rain.

That was 23 years ago today.  It wasn't necessarily love at first site (although Mike said it was for him after he heard me crack a Star Wars joke), but it was a definite interest.  Enough interest that we were married a little over 7 months later. 

So, today stands as an ebenezer, if you will.  Evidence of God's help.  I didn't have to manipulate my situation to find a husband.  I just had to follow God and hang around others who did the same thing. 

Thanks God.
Oh, and thanks to Tim & Tracy who allowed God to use them!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

More Smart People Saying Things (Quotes)

"True education makes for inequality;
the inequality of individuality,
the inequality of success,
the glorious inequality of talent, of genius;
for inequality, not mediocrity,
individual superiority, not standardization,
is the measure of the progress of the world."
-- Felix E. Schelling
(1858-1945) American educator


"The central task of education is to implant a will and facility for learning; it should produce not learned but learning people.  The truly human society is a learning society, where grandparents, parents, and children are students together."
-- Eric Hoffer
(1902-1983) American author, philosopher, awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A Science Experiement for your enjoyment

Mija has been going through the circulatory system and found an experiment that she really enjoyed (and was really easy for me!)  I'm posting the pictures; Mija will continue writing the explanations.  Take it away, Mija!




The heart pumps blood everywhere around the body.  It's easier for the heart to do down because it is down, and it doesn't have to work so hard to get up.  It's harder to pump up because the heart has to work harder.









See, the red one (on the left) is the one that was down.  The right one was white because that one was up, so it was harder for the blood to get up.






So there you have it.  I ended up doing the typing for her because it was a little much to think about what to say and try to peck through the keyboard at the same time.  The color choice was hers! :-)

Summer Reading Fun

Summer Reading Fun
from CurrClick's Weekly Newsletter 5/16/11
You can read the whole newsletter for yourself HERE.



Whether you take a break for the summer or school year round, summer is a great time to encourage reading. Struggling readers can take a break from their formal reading program and find pleasure in reading books they enjoy. Kids who love reading will be thrilled because they don't often have time to read all those books on their “want to read” list. Moms, you can use the quiet reading time to catch up on household chores or better yet, do some reading of your own!


So how do you keep reading time fun all summer long?

Here are some ideas for any age group:


1. Create a fun reading area. It can be inside or outside, but make it special.


2. Read daily as a family. Pick one or two novels for the summer. You can take a family vote to decide.

3. Make weekly or biweekly trips to your local library and join their summer program, if available.


4. Set a summer reading goal as a family.


Here are some ideas for each age group:


Pre K - Early Elementary


1. Let your kids select books they want to read.


2. Set up a reading center based on a theme your child loves.


3. Find book clubs in your area or plan your own with some of your child’s friends.


Elementary

1. Have your child make a list of book topics they want to pursue.


2. Gather games and activities to go along with that topic.


3. Find book clubs in your area or a few friends to form your own weekly group.


4. Challenge your child to read a longer book by selecting one associated with a movie. Use the movie as a follow-up to completing the book.


Middle School


1. Host a book swap with friends.

2. Host a weekly or monthly book club with friends.


3. Have your child select a topic that interests them. Then, help them find titles to go along with that topic. Let them host a family "show-and-tell" at the end of summer so they can share what they’ve learned about their topic


4. Allow summer to be their time for free reading. Don’t dictate every book they must read.


High School


1. Host a weekly or monthly book club with friends.


2. Host a monthly book share with friends.


3. Create a reading list but let your teen select which titles to read over the summer.


4. Choose a book and read along with your teen. Then discuss the book as you go along.


Do you have summer reading ideas? We'd love to hear them. Share your thoughts and ideas with us on Facebook.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Too Many Activities?

This article is from 5/18/11 edition of The Homeschool Minute e-letter from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

                          Mercy Every Minute

Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor

We have always exposed our children to a variety of extracurricular activities. From city soccer teams to homeschool drama; from jump rope classes to creation clubs-I can't say we've tried it all, but we've come pretty close. Many of those activities have been a direct answer to prayer for specific needs of specific children. Some have been time wasters.

The balancing act in all of this is learning what to decline and when to add another activity. We try to evaluate the benefit of the activity before just adding another thing to our schedule. We also check our schedule to make sure we still have time for our schoolwork. Before adding an activity, you may want to ask yourself a few questions:

  • Does my child have a bent for this activity already and would it benefit him further?
  • Would it improve his skills or just use his skills?
  • Would it be an outlet for cooped-up energy?
  • Could we find a way to do the same thing at home?
  • Can more than one child participate, or can the whole family participate?
  • Does it incorporate ministry or evangelism? (A huge plus!)
  • Does it give the child glory or God glory?
  • Are parents and siblings welcome?
  • Does it fit with our educational themes and goals this year, or can it wait?
  • Do we really have the time/energy to make this commitment?

 Because we have a large family, we try to incorporate as many children as we can in any extracurricular activity, or we focus on one or two children per year.


Whatever you choose, make sure your husband is in full agreement, as many activities take up precious and sometimes limited family time. And not only must Dad agree, we need to make sure we've prayed and asked for God's guidance and wisdom. He says He offers it freely to all who will just ask!


 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1:5

 
~Deborah

Friday, May 20, 2011

I'm a guest over at Many Hats Mommy!


I'm so excited!  Last month, my friend Jenny from Many Hats Mommy did that awesome Autism Awarenss Month.  This month she is doing a series this month on "Make It Simple."  She sent out a request for some easy recipes, and I volunteered.  I'm all into easy when it comes to cooking.

So, visit Jenny's blog at Make It Simple--More Reader Recipes and check out my culinary skills and her blog!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Here comes the Marriage Bundle...

April showers bring May flowers.
And what do May flowers bring?
June weddings, of course!

www.pdclipart.org

As graduation season slows down, wedding season picks up which brings about bridal shower and wedding gifts.  I'm going to tell you about a gift that can keep on giving.

This month, The Gabby Moms had me review The Marriage Bundle for Eternal Encouragement.  This would make an awesome gift for a future wife (or a current wife like me). 

When I say bundle, I mean BUNDLE.  It includes:

Audios

5R's Session 2 - Rekindle
One Life to Live, One Man to Love

E-Books
Loving Your Knight in Shining Armor Even When He Doesn't Shine
Roadmap to a Marvelous Marriage
Marriage Tidbits to Treasure
Quotes Not Quibbles
Marriage Report

E-Booklets
31 Daily Biblical Prayers for Wives to Pray for Their Husbands
Encouragement Report
Don't Settle
SHIMLY
What God Says about Marriage
75 Inexpensive Romantic Rut
It Happened One Afternoon

Magazine Back Issues
2001 Summer Issue TEACH Magazine "Loving Your Husband"
2009 Spring Issue TEACH Magazine "Marriages Made Marvelous"

All this could cost a bundle, too, since it's over $100 worth of stuff!  Instead, you can get the electronic version for $39.97 or the shipped version for $49.97

Either version would make a great gift to be sure, but it can also provide a wife at any stage of life with a personal workshop on being the woman, wife and homemaker God wants her to be.  After all,  Lorrie Flem's goal at http://www.eternalencouragement.com/ is "Inspiring Women to Become More Like Jesus Every Day." I think this bundle will accomplish that.

So instead of buying bathroom towels to match the decor in the new home, purchase this bundle that will help the homemaker make a marriage!  It will last longer than the towels; that's for sure!

I received this product for honest review from Eternal Encouragement Magazine as a part of The Gabby Moms blogging program. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Quotes

"Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom."
-- John Adams
(1735-1826) Founding Father, 2nd US President
Source: "Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America," 1787


"Far from failing in its intended task, our educational system is in fact succeeding magnificently, because its aim is to keep the American people thoughtless enough to go on supporting the system."
-- Richard Mitchell
Source: The Underground Grammarian


"Why is it that millions of children who are pushouts or dropouts amount to business as usual in the public schools, while one family educating a child at home becomes a major threat to universal public education and the survival of democracy?"
-- Stephen Arons
Source: Compelling Belief: The Culture of American Schooling

"Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to, convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty."
-- Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

A fine math howdy-do

My sister-in-law is finishing up her first year homeschooling.  She has not survived, but reports it being "pretty cool." 

She asked me a question about math for which I could actually help!

It's often a challenge to know if you should multiply or divide when changing from one measurement to another.  For instance, "Abigail walked 2 miles. How many feet did she walk?"

Here's a little phrase I picked up in my classroom days:
Bigger to smaller; Multiply
Smaller to bigger; Divide

And now with the help of an adorable model, I'll demonstrate the hand movements.  (I watched my students use them all the time!)

          Bigger                                                                  to smaller


Multiply


            Smaller                                                                        to Bigger


Divide

Hope that helps your student as much as it did mine!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Teach girls to say "no"

Teach girls to say “no” – British MP

Posted By Jennie Chancey on May 10, 2011 at Ladies Against Feminism
From Carolyn Moynihan over at Mercatornet:

British secondary schools are required by law to teach the biological facts of human reproduction in science lessons, but students themselves often say the instruction given is too biological. The facts also speak for themselves: Britain has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe.



Nadine Dorries
 So when Conservative MP Nadine Dorries (pictured) introduced a private member’s bill last week calling for all schoolgirls aged 13 to 16 to be given lessons in how to say “no”, you would have expected a good response. After all, she was not asking for the biological bit to be replaced, just something in the way of character education to be added.


However, her bill just scraped through by 67 votes to 61. And those 128 votes represent only a fifth of membership of the House of Commons (650 seats). Further, it is by no means assured that the bill will receive enough support from the conservative coalition government.

Read the entire piece here. It never ceases to amaze us that thinking adults believe all teenagers are animals with no ability to make wise decisions or delay intimacy until marriage. There are many of us out here who waited until marriage and have satisfying, emotionally fulfilling physical relationships with our spouses — not to mention no regrets or fears of STDs.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Make It Simple--Teaching Truth

This post involves two new blogging friends from Gabby Moms!  Jenny has Many Hats Mommy and MacKenzie from BOLD Turquoise. Jenny is doing a series this month on making things simple. 


Make It Simple–Teaching Truth


Posted on May 13, 2011 by manyhatsmommy

Today I’m happy to have MacKenzie as my guest! She’s got some good ideas for teaching our children about God, so get ready!

Hey there ladies! I’m MacKenzie from BOLD Turquoise, and today I am absolutely thrilled to be guest blogging here at Many Hats Mommy! Thanks so much for the chance Jenny! What an honor! I hope you all enjoy my little tips and tricks for hiding God’s Word in the hearts of your family!

One of my greatest desires as a mother is to impart God’s Word and it’s truths to my children in such a way that they will truly remember it in their hearts. However, there are many days that this feels like such a momentous task that I get intimidated, don’t know where to start, and am left leaving one more day empty and void of working towards that end. Recently though, I have stumbled upon a few little tricks that are simple but incredibly effective, and even enjoyable, for the entire family to soak up more of the scriptures throughout our busy days, and I would just love to share them with you!

Find out what those tricks are by continuing to read HERE

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Quotes

"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence."
-- Abigail Adams
(1744-1818) wife of John Adams

"Do all the good you can.

By all the means you can.
In all the ways you can.
In all the places you can.
At all the times you can.
To all the people you can.
As long as ever you can."
-- John Wesley
(1703-1791) Church of England cleric, Christian theologian,
a founder of the Methodist movement

Friday, May 6, 2011

Five Ways to Implement Computers in Your Homeschool

An intersting article from May Teacher's Toolbox from www.theoldschoolhousemagazine.com


/www.pdclipart.org
Five Ways to Implement Computers in Your Homeschool
by Phyllis Wheeler, the Computer Lady from MotherboardBooks.com

 
Coursework: There are plenty of computer-based curriculums and online courses that may provide just the education your child needs in a particular subject. You can experiment to find out whether a particular child takes to it or not.

 
Research safety: The Internet is a marvelous tool, supplying answers to all kinds of questions. But how do you protect your children? I recommend:
  • Put the computer in the same room where you are.
  • Use a login password that only the adults know.
  • Let younger kids use your email account.
  • Use a good filter.
Which one? My family is happy with Covenant Eyes, but there are plenty of others.

 

Fun collaboration: A little-known fact about the Internet is that students can use it to work together on projects, and they like doing this. Public schools have found that when kids collaborate in researching and writing a common online document, kids get interested in learning.

 

For instance, your kids could write a report about current events or snails or whatever and create an illustrated report with friends who live somewhere else. I've written a book about this, How Flat Is Your Homeschool World? It will tell you what the tools are. Best thing: the tools are free.

 

Learn by doing: Computers can help you address another lesser-known need in your homeschool. I'm sure you know that young children love to learn by doing. Kids love to act and explore, not just memorize. This is the teaching of educator Charlotte Mason, and many homeschooling families have picked up on it.

 

But can kids explore on the computer in a way that sharpens their minds? Yes! Through Logo, a computer language created just for kids as young as 8 at MIT.

 

Seymour Papert, Logo's creator, said it's one thing for a child to play a computer game. But "it's another thing altogether for a child to build his or her own game. In building his own game, the child hypothesizes, explores, experiments, evaluates, and draws conclusions. In short, he learns."

 

And for older kids: Reasoning challenges in programming can sharpen the brain for middle and high schoolers. And if there are creative elements, computer training becomes part of a great education for any student, not just the technically inclined. And my curriculums from MotherboardBooks.com have plenty of exercises to get creative juices flowing!

 

 

Phyllis Wheeler of MotherboardBooks.com wrote the award-winning computer enrichment curriculum, Computer Science Pure and Simple, beloved by thousands of homeschoolers. A writer and an engineer, she believes in creative exercises alongside logic challenges, exercising both halves of our brains.

 

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Call to Beauty and Grace

I first learned about the  Home Education Council of America last winter when I listened to their Super Summit.  Here's the links from my time listening during that:  Recap of Day One, Super Summit Tonight,   Thomas Jefferson Education.

In fact, in Recap of Day One, I mentioned Donna Goff and the Princess Academies.  There will be a teleconference with her on May 12 and it's free.  You know how I love FREE.  Here's what HECOA has to say about the teleconference.

Rediscover the lost art of womanhood in this special presentation by Donna Goff, creator and co-founder of Princess Academies, LLC – an international organization for young ladies, mothers, and women. In this presentation, you will learn 5 simple things you can do right away to begin teaching your daughters, and even some tips on teaching sons to be dignified and respectful. You will learn what it truly means to be a daughter of a Heavenly King as Donna shares some important scriptural references to womanhood. The information is critical, and you won't want to miss it!


Members of HECOA can listen in for free on Thursday, May 12th at 1:00 pm (Pacific Standard Time). For those who live on the east coast, that will be 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. Space is limited on the call, and on the webcast. Just sign in as a member and look under the navigation tab: Social –>HECOA Events –> Upcoming Teleconferences to register for the call.

Not a HECOA member? Join today! There are two options, the free membership (yes, you can listen to the live presentation with the free membership) and the Plus membership (Plus members can download the audio after the teleconference).

CLICK HERE to join HECOA now!

What is beauty? How do you differentiate between real beauty and the false messages of the world, and teach this to your children? What is your most important relationship? Do you teach grace or merely tolerance? Discover eloquence, etiquette, sisterhood and more! Find out where you can get the golden keys to everything needed to become the Heavenly daughter you were designed to be, and more importantly, restore the lost art of womanhood by teaching your daughters.

I'm planning to be listening.  Will you be there with me?  Did I mention it was free? 

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Some Math resources from Maria's Math Newsletter



I always enjoy receiving Maria's Math Newsletter.  You can sign up for yourself here.  I wanted to share a few of her tidbits from this month's newsletter.



Math Stars Newsletters (Grades 1-8)

"These newsletters have different kinds of puzzles and good word problems, including challenging ones. I'm currently using them with both of my girls as a once-a-week math enrichment material, and I can highly recommend them!"
This really looks cool.  If it weren't so late in the year, I'd definitely try them out.  I guess I'll have to wait until fall!

Decimal Videos
Maria makes great videos.  This entry from her blog had videos of adding and subtracting decimals, multiply decimals by whole numbers, and divide decimals using mental math.  If you want to check out some of her other math videos, you can go to her Youtube page at Math Mammoth Youtube channel
 
I've personally mentioned Spelling City before.  Here's Maria's thoughts on it...
 
Would you like to help children with their math vocabulary? SpellingCity has built a resource to address this: Math vocabulary spelling lists.
 
If you don't know SpellingCity, no matter what kind of spelling list you use, you can always practice the words in many ways: either just simple practice AND with several different games: MatchIt Sentences, Which Word (find which word correctly completes the sentence), sentence unscramble, hang mouse, word search, word unscramble, etc. Can't even list them all.

I did get a warning from one user that the definitions for high school math vocabulary were not up-to-par (for example, listing an ellipse as "a shape resembling an oval").

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Intentional Training

Intentional Training
From Raising Homemakers

by Christin on April 23, 2011 in Training Ground for Mature Adult Character


Some of you, [myself included] were probably not raised in the training and knowledge of biblical womanhood. As a result, you often struggle with raising your own daughters in this knowledge simply because you don’t know how.

You don’t know where to begin, how to introduce it, what resources to use. But you know what? There are more resources out there for help in this area than you might think. And perhaps you might be over-thinking the situation as a whole? I know I do.

Your home is a training ground for your children–daughters in particular. Your first priority is not to your home, but to your children. But, since your home cannot go neglected, how about meshing the two together?

Your daughter needs to learn laundry skills and organizational skills, among others. Sometimes children are naturally inclined to do well at these things, and sometimes they’re not.

You should set aside intentional time to teach your daughters those skills with which she struggles with. It will be much less frustrating for the both of you if you take the time to train and be certain she knows your expectations.

In addition to these tangible skills, you can [and should] be intentional about training your daughter in godly character. Often we rely too much on waiting for “teachable moments” before we train our daughters in godly character. Why wait until it becomes a problem when you can prevent [or minimize] the problem? These are questions I often ask myself.

I want to encourage you to begin being intentional about training your daughter(s). Everything from character training to homemaking skills. There are many very good resources out there to help you with this. Some are free, some are not (but well worth the investment, I assure you).

The concept is simple. Putting it into action is the challenge.

  • Choose a skill or trait and set out to work on it for a day or a week or a month. However long you think it needs to be “worked in” to your daughters life for it to become more apart of who she is. I suggest beginning with something that she can succeed at fairly quickly. It will motivate and encourage her (and you) to move forward and begin a new skill or character trait.
  • Create a calendar with the training items listed on it so you know what you will be working on. Plan no more than a month in advance simply because life can easily change things. I like to focus on one skill or trait for at least one week.
  • Write out a plan to put the training into action. What will she do? What is your role? Write down some encouraging scriptures or quotes to spur you both on.
You can look into these resources to help you:

*Home Ec 101 {website}


*Future Christian Homemakers {e-book}


*Beautiful Girlhood by Karen Andreola


*The Kings Daughter by J. White


*Polished Cornerstones by Doorposts

*Proverbs for Parenting by Barbara Decker


For more resources, you can view the “Recommended Resources” page, here on Raising Homemakers.




By Christin, Joyful Mothering





Monday, May 2, 2011

Three Cheers for Not Hiding God in Scholarship

Three Cheers for Not Hiding God in Scholarship


David Lyle Jeffrey and Gregory Maillet just published Christianity and Literature: Philosophical Foundations and Critical Practice (IVP, 2011). The series preface (by Francis Beckwith and J. P. Moreland) contains this heartening exhortation to Christian scholars to stop hiding their belief in God.
They quote atheist philosopher Quentin Smith who says that one reason the university academic community has become increasingly secular is because “theists tend to compartmentalize their theistic beliefs from their scholarly work; they rarely assume and never argue for theism in their scholarly work.”
Then they add: “This has got to stop. We offer this book to you with the prayer that it will help you rise to the occasion and recapture lost territory in your field of study for the cause of Christ” (25).
Hear. Hear.

Quote



"Freedom can exist only in the society of knowledge.  Without learning, men are incapable of knowing their rights."
-- Dr. Benjamin Rush
(1745-1813) signed the Declaration of Independence
1786

Blog Archive