Reading and Writing and Worry and Lots of Love

Being a homeschooler is such a privilege and such a joy. I love being in the middle of my kids learning. I love seeing their excitement when they learn something new or see something they've never seen before. And I love partnering with them when they're struggling and working on the solution together. I love that we trust each other in the process of learning and that we're forced to communicate in a variety of ways in order to meet our goals.

Today we're working our new language arts plans. Both boys have assessed their strengths, weaknesses and passions in the areas of reading and writing and have come up with a learning plan to follow for the next month. So far so good. They like the fact that they're working their own plans not one that's been forced on them. I like that they're taking responsibility for their educations and working toward their goals.

Joshua is a budding writer! How exciting! He can spend hours at the computer writing his book. Love it. He's really enjoying the book, Write What You See. It's full of interesting photographs and story starters.

Wesley is doing a lot of reading...quietly and out loud. He's really committed to improvement in this area. Right now he's reading the book, Indian Captive, The Story of Mary Jemison.

As for me I'm working hard to be consistent with our schedule. The whole family does better when we follow a basic routine but for whatever reason I find it hard to stick with it for more than a week or two at a time...

Lately I've been hearing, "I want to go to school" from the boys a lot more often than I used to. It makes me sad and I end up thinking, maybe it's time. Then I start praying about it and I fall in love with homeschooling again. Hopefully some of my passion will rub off on them...

Tomo

This feature requires Adobe Flash Player. Install it now

Just wanted to introduce you to W's new favorite books. Tomo is a graphic novel series published by Zondervan. You can learn more about Zgraphic novels here.

Sex Education

I was so scared to talk to my boys about sex! Afraid that they would laugh the whole time, that they would go around saying vagina in public and they would want lots more information than I was ready to give them! But now that I've done it I am so relieved and I realize how silly my fears were.

We chose to use the book pictured above (Learning About Sex for the Christian Family: Where do Babies Come From? for Boys ages 7-9) as a spring board to start our discussion. It gave the perfect amount of information, was very appropriate and interesting enough that the boys asked if I would read it to them again soon.

We took it slow and covered just a few pages or so a day. I thought it would be good to stop and talk at the end of each topic. The boys asked lots of questions and we were able to have some really wonderful discussions.

Best of all, now that the basics have been covered, the lines of communication are open and I'm no longer fearful of their questions!

Hope you're having a terrific day,

A Child's View of Swaziland

Learning to Swim in Swaziland is a cute book written from the perspective of a young American girl who lived in Swaziland with her family for a while. We'll be reading this book at church next week as part of a missions lesson.

The author includes lots of fun facts, drawings and actual photos of her Swazi adventures! Your kids will enjoy this book on their own or as a read aloud and they'll learn a little too. Don't forget to find Swaziland on the map when you're done!

Happy reading,

Loving Liberty's Kids

While browsing through the library yesterday I spotted the Liberty's Kids Complete Series on DVD! I can't even express to you how excited I was because I know that this is one of my kids' favorite shows of all time and it's such a treasure trove of knowledge about the American Revolution!

Yesterday we watched disc 1 (there are 6 discs and a total of 40 episodes) and this morning the first words out of W's mouth were, "Can we watch Liberty's Kids now?"

Following his lead I did a bit of research and found a Liberty's Kids website that includes games, e-cards, and a ton of behind the scenes and historical information. I'm sure the boys will be playing on it all day if I let them.

I'm loving immersing ourselves in a little American history...it's a nice change from the ancient history we've been studying for the last 2 years.

Hope you're enjoying your day,

My Latest Purchases From Veritas Press

• Latin for Children Primer A DVDs and CD - DVDs and CD's are perfect for us because W is an auditory learner. This way we can listen to the CD in the car or while we do chores.


• Latin for Children Primer A Activity Book - Also purchased with W in mind. He hates workbooks but loves word searches, mazes, etc.


• Usborne Latin Words Sticker Book - This one is for J. He still loves stickers and coloring books.


• Make Your Own Papyrus Kit - We just wrapped up a year of reading and learning about Ancient Egypt so I thought this kit would be fun.


• Polycarp: The Crown of Fire by William Chad Newsome - To be read aloud as a family.


• Within the Palace Gates: The King's Cupbearer by Anna P. Siviter - Also to be read aloud.


• Write What You See by Hank Kellner - I can't wait to check this out. It's the book I'm most excited about!!! Hopefully it will inspire lots of good stories and conversations.


• Matisse Art Activity Pack - Someone we've yet to study. This may end up being more for me if the kids aren't interested...we'll see.


• Geography Songs: Sing Around the World - To use in teaching missions and like the Latin CD we'll listen to it in the car and while doing chores.

I'm super excited to see what we end up doing with these awesome books and resources!

Bug Sculpture

So what do you think? Does the pipe cleaner sculpture look anything like the ground beetle it's supposed to represent?

You never know what you'll get when you throw a few interesting things on the table and give your kids some (adult free) time to create!

By the way, we *heart* Flash of Brilliance Flashcards...well the bug ones anyway.

Hope you're having a wonderfully creative day!

Free One Year Missions Curriculum

Just a quick note to let you know that if you are at all interested the missions curriculum, Teaching with God's Heart for the World, now is the time to download it. The Harvest Ministry website has been moved and they are not sure that they can take this file with them. Click here for more information.

My Thoughts on the Veritas Press Bible Curriculum

We recently wrapped up our studies of Genesis through Joshua using the Veritas Press Genesis through Joshua Bible curriculum. The entire study took a full year...sometimes we used it as written and sometimes as a guide and the kids and I loved it! It has something for everyone...Bible story cards, worksheets and tests, Bible memory songs, projects, etc. I will definitely continue buying and using this curriculum.

So I thought I'd share with you the results of our last project for the book of Joshua. As suggested, we created a book recounting Joshua's Last Words.

Here are the covers each boy designed for their books.

Page one reads, "He reminded them of God's blessing them with the Promised Land."

Page two, "He warned them about what would happen if they broke the covenant."

Page three, "He recounted to them their history of God's great victories for them."



Page four, "He pleaded with them to not forsake the Lord."

We have learned about and enjoyed the first 6 books of the Bible so much over the past year and much of the credit must be given to this curriculum so I thought I'd spread the word and share my thoughts.

Hope you're having a wonderful day,

My Fav Writing Workbook

I almost didn't write this post because as most of you know I don't prefer using workbooks to homeschool and do not use them everyday. However, when my kids do reach for a workbook it's usually one of 3. I love Singapore math workbooks, Handwriting Without Tears and now Evan-Moore's Daily Language Review workbooks.

For any others who use workbooks occasionally I thought I'd give my opinion on Daily Language Review Grade 1. ( This is the only one I have any experience with but I'll be buying more as needed.)

I love this book because it is very kid friendly with only 4 items to review daily and a good mix of skills in every lesson. In the 36 week school year this workbook is designed to cover the following topics are addressed in various ways.

• Reading Comprehension
• Vocabulary and Word Study
• Punctuation and Grammar
• Alphabetical Order

What we do is ignore the book for several months and then decide it's important again. When this happens we'll get it out and do several pages a day for several days or weeks and then forget about it again. However, even in with our starts and stops the skills are being learned. It's not mostly because of this book, (it's mostly because we read a ton, memorize beautifuly written Bible passages and listen to books on CD daily) but it's nice to have a kid friendly book to practice the technical aspects of writing with every once in a while.

Learning with Little Christian

We love this book and will be re-reading it with our co-op
starting this Friday or next...Little Pilgrim's Progress.

So to reinforce the lessons we'll be learning I picked up this game today...Pilgrim's Progress The Game.

And we'll also be coloring these color pages as often as the kids will tolerate them...The Pilgrim's Progress Color Pages.

Personally I'm looking forward to it!

Life and Love Learning Center Update

I'm happy to report that our homeschooling has been going very well the last several weeks. We've stuck pretty closely to the routine I wrote about at the end of December and so far it seems to be working out.

We've enjoyed the KONOS in a bag unit study on Africa, although I admit that it takes a back seat when needed and without guilt. Some days we just can't fit it in.

We're loving using Teaching with God's Heart for the World, although I admit it might not work out for us if we were trying to use it more than one day a week.

For now we've pulled way back on foreign languages and our 50 states study. These things just don't seem to fit in for now. We'll get back to them and I'm looking forward to it but for now they are no longer a priority.

The boys are fully immersed in Bible study with church twice a week (this is new to us), Bible memory and the KONOS study. W has drama and J has an enrichment program he enjoys (art, martial arts and choir) and we belong to a mini-co-op (art, cooking and field trips). We've also refocused our energy toward the 3r's so I'd say we're having a nice rich learning focused life.

So anyway, that's where we are and what we're doing! And for the first time this school year I feel like we're in our groove. Praise the LORD!

A Couple of Great Books for Teaching Kids About Missions

As a missions educator I get to teach the kids who go to church with me once, sometimes twice a month about the work God is doing in the world. But as a mom who is passionate about missions, I just don't think that's enough. I think it's a good start...but I have sensed God leading us to do more in our homeschool and so missions has become the backbone of the majority of our learning.

For others who may want more than an occasional lesson on a particular country I wanted to recommend a couple of wonderful resources, Window on the World and You Can Change the World. (I have the version of You Can Change the World shown in the pic...but there are a few different versions.)

Sonlight Curriculum lists the book, Window on the World as a "wonderful resource for families who want to pray together for the success of God's work through missions all over the world." and I have to agree! It's over 200 pages of stories and information, color photos and prayer focus' for many, many different people groups.

As for You Can Change the World, it's a children's version of Window on the World. It has beautiful drawings rather than photos, is arranged alphabetically and includes little rhymes to help you remember each people group or country. For instance:

O is for Oman,

an oil-rich state;

The land of the palm,

the pearl, and the date.

I've used these books as devotional books, to show pics of people groups as I teach on them, for direction as to how to pray and for research in writing missions lessons. I hope you'll consider one or both of them for your home library. You won't be disappointed!

KONOS in a Bag: First Impressions

If you've been reading my blog lately you know that over our Christmas break I ordered the KONOS in a Bag study on Africa, the Land of Stewardship. I've been patiently (ok not really) waiting for it to arrive and now it has! It came yesterday with the mail. So after spending the majority of the evening reading the curriculum book and looking through the rest of the included materials I thought I'd share my first impressions with you.

First let me just give you the facts...The kit comes with the curriculum book, a DK Eyewitness book on Africa, four craft kits (enough for 3 kids) and a map. The crafts are a pygmy hut kit, a monkey kit, a kente stamp kit and a crocodile kit. (My map is on back order so I didn't get to check that out but I'm looking forward to receiving it.) There are 45 lessons included in the curriculum book but I gotta say...you could really stretch this out if you were inclined to do so. Each lesson has about 10 activities to go with it and there are all kinds of rabbit holes you could enjoy pursuing with your kids. The subjects covered are Bible, science, history, art, music, drama, geography, social studies, literature, writing, critical thinking, practical living, health/safety, field trips, PE and creative expression.

And now my humble opinion...So far this looks awesome. There's a lot of geography, cultures and science covered but more importantly Bible study and Godly character are the backbone of the lessons. I was also very pleasantly surprised to see lots of activities that have to do with learning about missions and missionaries!!

One of the lessons I think will be memorable for the kids is found in week 9 of the study. What they suggest you do is pretend that your back yard faucet is your only source of drinking water. You haul in water for every thing you use it for...brushing your teeth, drinking, doing dishes and even flushing the toilet. This will help us remember that in Africa many people do not have access to clean drinking water. I have a feeling it will also bring attention to how much water we waste.

I'm also looking forward to trying out the recipes and the many geography and map skills activities but one of my favorite things about this study is that many times it is suggested that you quote a verse or sing a song or do a drama "for dad this evening". I really enjoy a study that encourages us to learn and grow as a family!

So do I have any negative comments so far? Not really but I will admit to being a little overwhelmed and hoping I can pull this off. I'm not really a crafty type person...I'm more of a "hey, let's sit on the couch and read together and then maybe draw a picture of what we read" type person. Don't get me wrong there's plenty of reading but the good and scary thing about this curriculum is that there are no worksheets or color pages or lap books or notebooks. It's mostly hands on. Making crafts, cooking, dramatizing stories, field trips, etc. Basically, it's the type of teaching I'd like to be doing but have never really been able to pull off on my own. So maybe this will help me. We'll see!

Inspiring Quotes About Missions

A sweet friend gave me the book pictured to the left as a Christmas gift. It's called God's Great Ambition and describes itself as "A Mega-Motivating Crash Course on God's Heart...". It's full of quotes about missions, missions work and Christianity in general, many of them from the Bible. I've really enjoyed reading through it and thought I'd share a few of my favorite quotes with you.

• Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:8,9


• In Turkey there is only 1 Christian for every 160,000 people.


• There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things. D.L. Moody


• He rescues and he saves... Daniel 6:27


• Rise and shine friend, everyone you meet today is on Heaven's Most Wanted list. Chuck Swindoll
  

The book is full of this kind of inspiration and exhortation. I could share many, many more that are inspiring to me personally but instead I'll leave you with just one more. This one really hit me hard and has been the source of much pondering...

• Missions Omission: 8 of every 10 dollars held by Christians are in the hands of American Christians.

Book Review: Escape from the Slave Traders by Dave and Neta Jackson

I recently finished reading the book Escape from the Slave Traders by Dave and Neta Jackson. It's from the Trailblazer Books series and I found it at the library while researching David Livingstone. It's based on actual events that took place during his second visit to Africa.

It's the story of two young African boys who are captured by slave traders in a plot to start a war. David Livingstone is a missionary in Africa and doing everything he can to put an end to slave trading.

If you're interested in knowing if he's able to help these two boys then I highly recommend this book. It's written for kids ages 9-12 but I enjoyed it (and was able to read it in a few hours) and would pass it on to older teens and adults without hesitation.

Celebration and Contemplation

I wish I could take days like yesterday and wrap them into little balls that I could bounce (re-live) anytime I wanted. Spending time with family and celebrating together makes me feel all cozy and blissful. And I've gotta brag...my family and I have gotten really good at enjoying each others company. (We weren't always good at it. It took a little work to get where we are today.)

Now it's the day after and I am in a mode of contemplation. This is very typical for me this time of year. I'm asking, "What are our strengths? What are our weaknesses? Are we living God's plan for us? Are we being good stewards? What can we do better? Where do I need to back off and let God work?", etc. It's a time of prayer and planning and I actually enjoy it.

So next year is coming fast and there are changes to be made and to be looked forward to. A couple of those changes seem to be interconnected when maybe they wouldn't normally be. For instance, we've talking a lot about being better stewards of all that God has blessed us with and we've been wanting to focus more on character development and missions in our homeschool. So when we were checking out KONOS unit studies and came across their KONOS in a bag study called Africa: The Land of Stewardship we got really excited. We're hoping this will help all four of us achieve the goals mentioned above.

I truly hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that you're experiencing God's call on your life in a supernatural way! God bless you and keep you.

Book Review: Living and Learning on One Income

Have you been looking for ways to stretch your dollars? Would you enjoy learning how to save money on curriculum or would some new money saving and healthy recipes really bless you right now? Do you love reading stories of how other homeschooling families find success in the midst of the blessings and challenges that come their way? Then you should check out Living and Learning on One Income. It's a new ebook being offered by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

This ebook is well written, easy to read and full of practical ideas on how to save money in several different areas of your budget. It's written for homeschooling families by homeschooling families and includes recipes, links to money saving web sites and free homeschooling resources.

You may be able to find many of these tips and ideas in other books but the stories of the homeschooling families that contributed to Living and Learning on One Income, is what really sets it apart. I found myself relating to the ups and downs, the shopping (and money saving) adventures and most of all the commitment these families share to serve God and each other and to stay together in their learning and growing.

The Story of the World on CD

I love teaching history when I can do it with literature, and in my last post on the subject I described how I choose historical fiction to read aloud to the boys. However, I am always looking for ways to reinforce and explore what we're learning beyond the read aloud I've chosen.
That's why I was so excited to discover that I can check out The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer on CD from my local library! We are always listening to books on CD in the car so this was an obvious choice for us.
The Story of the World is a core history program that is written in story format. It's split up into 4 Volumes and written primarily for grades 1 -4. I've always been interested in these books but didn't want to pay retail for them and now I'm glad I waited.
We've started with Volume 1 (Ancient Times) and the whole family is loving listening to it! Usually Hubby has us turn off our story in the car when he's driving but this one he wants to listen to with us.
So anyway, if you're at all interested in this history program be sure to check your local library and see if you can borrow it!

Everybody Cooks Rice / Everybody Bakes Bread

Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley, is the story of a little girl who knocks on all of her neighbors doors in an attempt to find her little brother and bring him home for dinner. Her neighbors are all originally from various countries and what the little girl discovers is that they are all cooking rice for dinner. This is certainly not the most captivating story I've ever read but it makes a nice point and includes lots of authentic recipes and that's why I'm going to use it as the focus of my next missions lesson.

Seven countries are represented in this book, in addition to the United States. These include; Barbados, Puerto Rico, Vietnam, India, China, Haiti, and Italy. I'll be letting the children in church choose a couple of the following printables to work on after class.

Barbados Flag and Map Color Page

Flag of Puerto Rico Mini Book

Vietnam Shutterfold Map

India Shutterfold Map

China Shutterfold Map

Haiti Flag and Map Color Page

Italy Shutterfold Map

During class I will read the book and we'll locate all the countries on the world map. Then we will pray for the countries and the world as a whole. We'll be praying in the following ways,

• that Christians everywhere will be thankful to God for the way he supplies us with the things that we need
• for our friends and neighbors all over the world to be hungry not just for rice and bread but also for the bread of life
• and that where people are hungry for Jesus there will be believers ready and willing to share the gospel with them

Because I teach in two church services I'll also be using Everybody Bakes Bread, another of the books in this series. I believe there are a total of four and they are all written by the same author. The story in this book is very similar to the story in Everybody Cooks Rice expect in this one everyone is making bread.

I'll teach from this book in the same way I teach from the other. Three new countries are introduced in this book. They are Lebanon, El Salvadore and Israel.

Lebanon Shutterfold Map

El Salvadore Flag and Map

Israel Shutterfold Map

I know I can get these books at my local library so hopefully you can too, and if you're looking for something more in depth there are a ton of lesson plans and unit studies on these books. Just do what I do and google it!