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Marvelous Mommy Monday–*Smile*!

Monday, January 31st, 2011

We had a wonderful time with our friends on Friday!  And then got to go to a baby shower Saturday–so much fun!

Now for Fabulous Family Friday–on Monday! ;)

There is a song we sing called “The Smile Song”:

Every day in this world, there are people that I meet.

I walk up, shake their hands, and they see

The kind of person that I am by the smile that I wear.

I am blessed by the smile Jesus gives me.

 

A smile, a smile to make this life worthwhile;

A smile, precious smile  Jesus gives me.

And someday I know up to Heaven I will go,

Where I’ll thank Jesus for this smile He gives me.

 ~The Smile Song, Author Unknown, Adapted by Janna DePue

 

How important is a smile?   VERY!

There are several verses about a cheerful or merry heart in Proverbs.  Here are a few:

“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” ~Proverbs 15:13

“All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.”  ~Proverbs 15:15

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”                ~Proverbs 17:22

Scripture tells us where a smile comes from–the heart!  And how can we have a merry heart?  By focusing on all Christ has done for us!  And allowing Him to live in our heart–and permeate the rest of us, too! ;)

Just recently I had a friend at church comment how our girls are always smiling.  I have received that comment/compliment frequently!   Often the moms will tell me how they just don’t really smile a whole lot.

Now, I don’t smile all the time, either!  But, I would say overall, that I am a cheerful person and smile and laugh a lot with my family.   If we’re not careful, we can get so focused on all that needs to get done, on what’s wrong with our spiritual walk, or our husband, or our in-laws, or the world…..that we let these things steal our joy.

Look again at the verses quoted above.  All refer to a “merry heart”.  But what does that mean?

It means you will become what your heart dwells upon.  If you dwell on all that’s wrong with the world (or your family, or your homeschool, or you), then that is what will “show”.  Remember this kids’ song?

“If you’re happy and you know it, then you’re life will surely show it….”

As Christians, all the more should joy and gratitude show through our lives.  And maybe that second part is the key–gratitude.

It is hard to be joyful or have a merry heart if you are not grateful.  If you think life has handed you a bad platter, then it’s easy to go through life with a chip on your shoulder, and hard to see how you can be a blessing to others because you are, ultimately, self-focused.

We are Christ’s ambassadors, reflecting His heart and His mind to the world.   There is no room for self-focus in that!  Jesus was never focused on Himself.  He always was in tune to the Father’s will.  We have that pesky sin nature that makes it a bit more difficult, but it is really a continual choosing of where you will focus your thoughts.

I am doing a wonderful study called The Mind of Christ, by T.W. Hunt and Claude King.  (I am doing the workbook, not just reading the book.  I highly recommend this workbook!  It was recommended to me by a dear “cyber-friend”, Asha!)  Here is a good quote:

I had spent most of my life unconscious of the process of thinking.   Little of my thinking was controlled by my will….

Then our thoughts often lead to actions–godly thoughts to godly actions, wrong throughts to wrong actions.

  

The mind of Chrsist was not disordered but ordered.  He controlled His thinking in such a way that only godly actions came though His life.  This is one reason you and I need the mind of Christ.

  ~The Mind of Christ, p. 36

We need to purpose what we will think and dwell upon. Then we will find our heart lighter and more merry, which leads to the “cheerful countenance”!

In Nancy Leigh DeMoss’ book,  Choosing Gratitude, Joni Eareckson Tada writes a convicting foreward.  You can read a few paragraphs on the sample front flap at CBD.  Here is a woman who must have everything done for her—and yet she is grateful.  I haven’t read much of the actual book yet, but just the foreward is enough to give you an attitude check!

I would challenge you to focus on gratitude–to God, to your husband, to your parents and in-laws, and to your children.  Let go of some of the things that are keeping your “countenance” from being “cheerful”.

And really, just focusing on our wonderful Father, Bridegroom King and Comforter is enough to make us grateful!

As you let go of the things cumbering you about like Martha, you will find a song in your heart and a smile on your face—and your family will start reflecting it back to you and to others!

 

I found this blog, Heart of Virtue,  when looking for an audio of The Smile Song, and I thought she had a delightful post–enjoy the post and her pictures!  (Maybe when everyone is well and gets their voices back, we’ll do a video of The Smile Song since I didn’t find any! ;) )

A smile, a smile–yes, a smile from a grateful, merry heart DOES make this life worthwhile!

 

Still Here….

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

Just wanted my blog readers to know I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth!

I hurt my back a few Fridays ago, then a week ago we were out of town, then this past week I’ve been fighting off a nasty cold.

I will try my best to get back to posting this next week!   In fact, stay tuned MONDAY for the next “Fabulous Family Friday” post—only named something a bit different!  ;)

In the meantime, you might want to check out how we’re “going green” over at my girls’ blog!

Fabulous Family Friday–wRitin’, Part 1

Friday, July 30th, 2010

 

 

 

Now we come to the second “R” of academics–wRitin’.  (I’m talking about writing to express yourself, vs. handwriting.)

 

Of the 3 Rs, this one is the most fun, and yet can seem to be most intimidating to “teach”.   It can be as easy or as hard as you make it, really.

 

Now, language arts is my “thing”.   It might not be yours, but I am going to share some things with you that will help demystify teaching writing.

 

What is the reason to learn writing?  It’s to be able to express yourself.     Please keep in mind that not everyone needs to know how to write a short story–or a research paper.   For some, being able to write up a quote for a job and maybe a love note to a wife may be all the “writing” they really need!    As in all of education, having a “one-size-fits-all” attitude is not going to work well here.  You may have some children who are trying to write their own novels at 9 and others who seem allergic to anything to do with the subject!    The first axiom in teaching writing is, Know whom you’re teaching and why.

 

I have daughters who love to write more prosey things and stories, and I have one that is “Just the facts, Ma’am!”.   I have another who thinks she doesn’t like to write, but if you let her do it with the computer vs. pen and paper, does very well.   Had I insisted they all write short stories and novels, or had I insisted they all do research, had I insisted they all use pencil and paper, I would have killed any love of writing in my four oldest daughters.

 

There are some things I could have done better, don’t get me wrong!   But overall, I’m going to share some very simple ways to teach writing as well as some resources I like.

 

Teaching to write is as simple as writing a letter.   Really!  The “program” I used with my two oldest was Understanding Writing by Susan Bradrick (here is another review, by Cathy Duffy, and here you can get information directly from Family Discipleship Ministries, the Bradrick’s ministry).    It was the best investment I made!

 

Basically, you are teaching writing through the medium of writing letters.   Mrs. Bradrick teaches how to evaluate your content and focuses on Christ-honoring writing.   Grammar is sprinkled in throughout level 4 and up (levels do not necessarily mean grade level), and she advises taking the “junior high” years to study grammar using Easy Grammar, while reviewing and honing skills learned in levels 1-5.   I admit right here that we tried Easy Grammar and I thought it was an overkill.  But I have an aversion to workbooks of just about any stripe!  LOL!  

 

I “taught grammar” in context.   Mrs. Bradrick has you using grammar handbooks, and although you might occasionally need to work on a concept, my oldest two daughters really absorbed a lot this way.  They might not know all the “grammar terms”, but they have proven Ruth Beechik right in that they write beautifully!   By the way I highly recommend first reading everything Ruth Beechik has to say about teaching grammar before you stress about it! ;)

 

Understanding Writing is not something you can just give to your child and they do with minimal input from you.  The lessons are well-laid out, not twaddly, and really fairly short.   Older children could possibly read it and do the lessons on their own, and sometimes I “doubled” up–while practicing a concept by writing a letter, I would sometimes teach another lesson (depended on what the next lesson was and my daughters’ ability to absorb something new while practicing the previous concept).

 

The most wonderful part, to me, is that this becomes a ministry!   One of my mother-in-laws lived out of state and loved getting letters from her granddaughters!   We had a neighbor who was dying of cancer, and one of my daughters wrote her a few times before she passed away.   She had told me how much those letters meant to her. 

 

Shut-ins, grandparents, neighbors, friends far away–what a beautiful way to keep in touch!

 

It’s also nice that there is a purpose to writing vs. filling in a workbook that only Mom is going to see.  

 

My girls would make a copy of their final letter to keep in their folder before sending the original off.

 

 

 

Another resource I’ve used is Jill Bond’s “Writing to God’s Glory“.     The first part is for the “teacher” or, if it’s an older student, the student could read this part.   Jill helps get you focused on using your “red pen” for highlighting all the good stuff, vs. marking up what’s wrong with a child’s writing!  Again, this is not a “pull it out and hand it to your child” resource, but I personally found it good!   I did some of the activities in the “teacher section” with my oldest two, then life took over and I just let Jessica finish it on her own.   It’s supposed to take 2 years to work through.  I honestly don’t remember how long with Jessica–we think it was longer.

 

Some don’t consider this an “in depth” program, but I know I am writing to many young mamas of many.  To be honest, if your older child is really into writing and needs something more “in depth”, then by all means find what will work for them!  But I will tell you that Jessica got started on a sweet children’s character novel simply by the section that had her coming up with a plot, characters, etc. for a story!

 

It’s considered K-12, with older students able to go through it on their own (although some feedback from you would be nice!).

 

Writing Well is the first section, talking about the process (mechanics of building a story) and the features (aspects of writing).   The Craftsmen section is grammar, although again, not an in depth treatment of it (not all bad!).   Jill makes it really fun with titles like “Gotcha (“Got” Is Not the Past Tense of “Have”)” and “Love is Lovely” (Overuse of words).    Ideas is the section that has you coming up with a plot, developing characters, setting and research for a book.  Note–you do not HAVE to write a book!   But by going through those processes, you get an idea of what  plot, setting and character are!

 

Finally is the “Favorites” section, where students will write down favorite things they like in others’ writings.  First lines.  Vignettes. 

 

Jill gives a couple of “scope and sequence” ideas for working through the book. 

 

Because I have “different kinds of writers” in this family, my third and fourth daughters did not enjoy this as much.  So the hunt was on, again, to find something for them!

 

 

I latched onto Diane Hopkins’ Journal and Language Arts Program, from Love to Learn (K-5).  About half of this binder is filled with papers with different sized lines for writing, with the front page half blank for a drawing.   The idea is that the student draws a picture and “journals” on the lines.  You don’t “grade” their spelling or grammar, although you should encourage good handwriting, you don’t “grade” that either. 

 

Spelling grows out of their journaling, and she has spelling list pages that you can keep track of the words they need to “study”, gleaned from their writing. 

 

Next is the “Teach When Needed” Language Arts section!   She has some ideas by grade level (nothing daunting–it all fits on one page!).  Then there are ideas for lessons on everything from Abbreviations, ABC Order, Addressing an Envelope to Prefixes, Suffixes, Roots, Punctuation, and Synonyms (there’s more than just that, but I wanted to list some to give you an idea).  There are even some spelling families listed.

 

The final section is Dictation Instructions, along with four sections of quotes of various lengths to use for dictation.     This was very gentle and worked well for us for awhile.    Again, to be honest, no, I did not do everything all the time.   But it was a sweet, non-threatening way to get them journaling.  They kept their work in  a binder, which is funny to go back through now!

 

 

We found Sandi Queen’s Language Lesssons  series at Queen Homeschool Supply (K-12), and because life had gotten a bit insane for us, they were an answer to prayer!  These are more like traditional workbooks EXCEPT—they are based on Emma Serl’s Language Lessons and are definitely Charlotte Mason and relaxed schooling friendly!  Short, sweet lessons, picture studies, grammar, writing, phonics for the younger set (although not enough to get them reading–but good review), and  poetry.    My girls really like these.   When Susannah and Cassia got to the upper levels, they didn’t care for them as much, but neither of them are prosey fiction writers, and there was more writing at those levels.    I also would say the copywork is maybe a bit overdone sometimes, but that is probably because my children copy daily from the Bible.  So I sometimes excused them from some of the copywork.  I realize copywork is GREAT to teach handwriting and other skills, but use your discretion on this (if you have one with an aversion to pencils, maybe you would cut down how much they did).

 

 

The resource we started using last year is Andrew Pudewa’s Teaching Writing: Structure and Style.   I only have the teacher’s syllabus that I’m teaching from, although I have viewed the dvds as well.  With the dvds you have a very comprehensive course on writing.  I’m not very qualified to tell you how it all fits together, but you do not have to buy the student dvds.   Since I have seen some of the dvds, heard Mr. Pudewa speak and like language arts myself, I am fine using just the syllabus.  It is definitely a more expensive option if you go with the dvds, but many homeschool groups have invested in some to share or a mom who had been through them may teach at a co-op.     I really like Mr. Pudewa’s teaching and he makes it “easy” to write–I was teaching my 9, 11, 12 and 16 year olds, and the 18, 21 and 23 year olds want to be in on it, too!   My one daughter who really dislikes writing the most actually enjoyed it, and my friend who is loaning it to me said her older son is in college and writing essays very well.  Her younger son is severely dyslexic, and HE enjoys them!  That says volumes!

 

I need to say that they don’t advise teaching it without going through the course.    Of course, I have to be different!  ;)    I had borrowed this to see if it was worth investing in, and I believe it is.   So I will probably be getting my own set of dvds and syllabus this fall.

 

 

 

I realize all of these require a bit of investment.   To be honest, if you are willing to go against the flow, you can teach a lot with Ruth Beechik’s recommendations in her books (A Strong Start in Language–good for K-3, and You CAN Teach Your Child Successfully–grades 4-8).   Another really good resource that is helpful, free, and not too overwhelming (as long as you don’t keep reading all the rest and feel you have to add it in) is “Making the Transition” at Simply Charlotte Mason.  You don’t even have to be a “Charlotte Mason” homeschooler to use these ideas!

 

The page I linked to first is “stage 1″, basically talking of short lessons, living books and narration.  For younger children, that plus copywork is really all you need!  But if you want to know more, click here and scroll down a bit for spelling ideas, and click here for ideas on language arts.  But don’t try to do it all at once.  “Make the transition”, as it says!

 

I am mainly covering writing as expressing yourself, vs. grammar and spelling.   I will cover them in wRitin’ part 2 in two weeks!  It will be a MUCH shorter post, believe me!  :D 

 

If you have any questions about the resources I’ve used, or if you want me to clarify anything, feel free to ask in your comments or e-mail me.   I really love language arts and want to get back to having fun with this with my younger set!   

 

The bottom line is—don’t stress and have fun!  Teaching “as you go” is one of the best ways—and it works!    :)

 

 

Wordless Wednesday–Watermelon Sweeties!

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fabulous Family Friday!

Friday, May 21st, 2010

I’m sorry about last week–I had a busy Friday, and thought I’d post a late one on Monday, only to find I couldn’t because of the big changeover here at Homeschool Blogger!

I’m learning the ropes here, got some of my “widgets” back on the sidebar, and it’s starting to feel a little bit like “home” again! ;)

Years ago Mary Pride had a wonderful newsletter called “Help for Growing Families”.   I devoured and re-devoured each issue and kept them in a handy place to refer to for years!   Lots of good stuff, and there were some Godly, older “Titus 2″ moms who contributed quite a bit!

One tidbit that I remember was how to avoid one of the pitfalls of a big family.   What usually happens is you train your children to help (out of necessity!), and they become quite good little helpers!  Then they get older, and you have more little ones, and you depend on your older ones.  They’ve become your right hand!  (And left, too!)  

So what’s wrong with that, you ask?  What’s the pitfall?

Well, the tendency is that life is so busy, that you never get around to training the younger up-and-coming ones as well as you did your older ones.  That makes for a double whammy–the older ones are overworked, and the younger ones aren’t contributing as much–which sometimes leads to a triple whammy–too much free time to bicker!

The tip from the older mom (wish I could find that exact article to give her credit!) was as you come to a job, ask yourself,  “Who is the youngest child that could do this job?” 

I confess that it is hard to do this!  After all, the dishes need done NOW and by the time you get Sally to quit playing and back on task, Janie could have had them washed, dried, put away and on to the next thing!

But Mama, if you keep doing that, some day Sally not only won’t be good  help, she won’t want to help!  And Janie won’t like Sally much, either!

I think it is God’s design to get us to slow down and….you know what I’m going to say, don’t you!!!

Focus on the relationship!

 

This isn’t just “train them to work so we can get it all done” (if you do that, let me know how it goes!  :) ).   This is truly character training.

Yours just as much as theirs!

Little ones really do want to help, and yes, you could do it faster yourself, but unless you want to wear yourself out doing it all yourself, I suggest you lower your standards of perfection and train the littles—and try to enjoy the process as you go!  Let them know how much you enjoy their help and their chatter and brag on them!

I remember when our Noah was just a toddler, he would “help” the girls bring in a jar of milk.  They would be hanging onto it at the top, and he’d put his sweet baby hands underneath.  They’d let him carry a bit of the weight so he really felt a part of it, and we’d brag on what a strong boy he was and such good help, too!  

As he got older, he brought in a jar by himself one day and said,   “Look!  I strong boy!”   Oh, how sweet a memory!

So as you think through different chores, think youngest to oldest, and you will avoid one big pitfall of big families—and have good helpers and sweet memories to boot!

Remember, “Life is what happens while you’re trying to get everything back to normal!”  

 

 

Something we and many families I know do is to divide up the house into “areas” 0r “jurisdictions”.   I know the Duggars do this, but we were doing it long before we heard of the Duggars!  (And I had the privilege of hearing Michelle speak back in 2000!)   

 

Our “areas” are library and living room, kitchen and laundry room, entry and main bath, sunroom.    The girls are responsible for their own rooms, and a few older girls now take care of the upstairs bath and stairway (including two landings).

 

They are assigned their area and they stay there for quite awhile.  I used to rotate more, but now they ask to trade out every so often, so they’re basically doing the rotating!  ;)   They are to dust –it’s supposed to be weekly.  Reality:   it gets done every other week and sometimes monthly.  When they were younger, if we were dusting they would ask who is coming over!   Now you know my deep, dark secrets!  (To be fair, dusting was way low on my husband’s priority list–he was made to dust daily and thought it was a major overkill!)   They also sweep/vacuum their area, and they are responsible to straighten it daily.   Whoever is in charge of the library is expected to straighten up the children’s books bookcase as needed!

 

Now whoever has the kitchen is only responsible to sweep and mop—cleaning of the kitchen itself goes to the girl in charge of meals.   When Jessica, our oldest, was around 13, we graduated her out of her area and she helped make supper.  She became responsible for supper all the time, eventually.  So at that time, she did not have to do dishes (we’ve changed some things since then), but she was responsible to clean out the microwave, clean the stove, clean out the refrigerator, etc.

 

Before that, *I* was the one doing it!   But it still was quite helpful to have my helpers all over the house, each doing her part!

 

Bathroom detail is three times a week.  Basics are cleaning the toilet, sinks (we have two in the main bath), and the outside of the tub.   Once a week they are to clean the tub/shower, wipe down cupboard doors, etc. 

 

We clean baths 3 times a week, and we sweep 3 times a week, so Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are bath cleaning days, while Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday are sweeping days. 

 

There are times, of course, when we need a little extra cleaning or sweeping on an “off” day.  And yes, I have and still do hear, “But this isn’t sweeping day!”

 

To which I reply, “I just made it sweeping day!” :)

 

The downfall of “jurisdictional areas” is that people become quite possessive and dogmatic about it.  Which means I also hear, “This isn’t my area!”  

 

 

To which I reply, “I just made it your area!” :)

 

 

I explain to my children that this is not just about getting things done.  There are times we need to pull together and help each other because perhaps company is coming and a younger child can’t get their area all cleaned up quickly.  Or someone is sick.   Then there are other times that yes, that person needs to take care of their area.  One thing I have to constantly be on guard is a selfish, “I got mine done, so why should I help her?” attitude.

 

 

I remind them that we are to develop the heart of a servant–Jesus came not to be served, but served others, and He did the job of the lowliest servant of His time!

 

There is a training time, and I’ve had checklists on the back of cupboard doors or on clipboards for them to check off that they did what they are supposed to.   Then when it’s time for them to move to another area, they are responsible to train the next sibling!  (With my oversight, of course!)

 

 

 

What do you do with all those cute cards your children make you?  Or the sweet pictures that you would like to keep?  First of all, put their name and age on it, perhaps the date (have them write their name if possible!), then you can either make a file with that child’s name on it in your filing cabinet or box, OR you can use Ziploc bags!   I write the year on them, and then all the Mother’s Day, birthday, Christmas and whatever cards are put in there.   Pictures I try to put in a folder or box, but I’ve been known to fold it nicely and stick it in a Ziploc, too!   That way, if you don’t have lots of file space, you can keep mementos somewhat together! 

 

I’d like to say that I have a wonderful organizational system for you to keep those Ziploc bags under control….but I don’t!  

 

And of course, after awhile you may need to pare down the file or box where you keep these treasures!  

 

 

 

 

Do you have a difficult child?  One who is on hyperdrive most of the time?   Or just one that seems to always be in the middle of a muddle?

 

Have you ever tried “Hug Therapy”?

 

 

On the T-Tapp Mommy Fitness Forum we were discussing this just a little while ago.   Many of us have found that these children actually need our love the most when we want to give it to them the least!  

 

 

Kind of like our Abba Father, isn’t it?

 

Often, just grabbing them and hugging them or reaching out and tousling their hair, rubbing a back…many times that will do much to diffuse a situation that could escalate into a battle of wills.

 

 

It doesn’t always work (just like it doesn’t always work with us!), but many times we need to diffuse our emotions, too.

 

So try it!  You’ll be amazed what a hug will do! 

 

 

 

 

What do you do when life happens and “school” slams to a halt?

 

 

Well, for awhile you could play Horseopoly!

 

 

Then when you get tired of that, you could make your own game of….

 

 

Alphabetopoly!

 

 

Or how about Muffin-opoly?

 

 

 

Pig-opoly?

 

 

Cat-opoly, maybe?

 

 

I know!

 

 

Cow-opoly!

 

Pie-opoly?

 

 

Well, that’s what my younger girls (Anna, Bekah and Charissa) have been doing these past two weeks!

 

 

If you think about it—there are many skills covered here!

 

 

Critical thinking skills.  Art.   Math.   Problem solving.   Sorting and classifying.   Creativity.   Spelling.  Language arts (for the cards you draw!). 

 

 

I am always amazed at how much “school” they do on their own…..how much they learn when it’s something they are excited about!

 

 

I’ve seen it happen before–chaos hits, “school” stops, they do their own thing, and then I’m amazed at how much they learned in spite of the unplanned crisis!

 

 

Which is why Isaiah 54:13 is a good,  if not THE, homeschooling verse:

 

 

“And all your children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of your children.”

 

 

Because the Lord knows that we don’t live in some sterile bubble.

 

 

We live this thing called “life” and He actually makes sure things don’t always follow our well-laid plans.  Especially if we’re leaving Him out of the planning!

 

 

We’ll get back to whatever “normal” is sometime. 

 

 

Or maybe not . 

 

 

Maybe we’ll just have LIFE!

 

 

 

An Unplanned Vacation and Other Musings

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

This has been an interesting adventure!    Homeschoolblogger is changing things over, and we’re still in process, from what I understand.

I took a big step just getting this far!  Ha!   :)

If you have wondered where we all went, why things look differently, and why we haven’t updated recently–now you know!  (I just got my new password today!)

In addition to that, I’ve been pretty busy getting my mom’s apartment cleared and cleaned out.  We had to have everything done by tomorrow.  It’s kind of hard–you can’t really put it off anyway, but it’s just another step in the process. 

I find myself crying at unexpected times and places….like at the bank today when I took all her change in.  (One of our local banks has one of those neat machines that take your change and count it–no more rolling quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies!).

But I know it’s going to happen here and there.  Just odd how it hits me at times.

I guess I was thinking how I graduated 30 years ago today, and what would I have thought if someone had told me, “Both your parents will be gone in 30 years.”?  

What would I have done differently?  

I’m sure I would have let some things go, and not let go of others.   But we don’t have that foreknowledge.

Except for knowing that day is coming for all of us.

May I gently encourage–even challenge–you to “redeem the time”?   Let go of things that don’t really matter for Eternity.  Usually those grudges and gripes are truly over nothing, in the grand scheme of things.

Certainly, compared to the fact that Jesus Christ forgave you and me, and He did nothing wrong….well, I would say that in itself is enough of a reason to forgive others. 

And don’t let go of the things that really matter.    Hugs.   Love.   Kind words.  Tenderness. 

Relationships.

“Prove all things;  hold fast that which is good.”  1 Thessalonians 5:21

Blessings on your day, your journey, my friends!

Wonderful Cause, Wonderful Resources!

Saturday, October 4th, 2008

UPDATE!

I just got an e-mail that Hopeful Farm Foundation is extending their fund raiser until October 27th!!!

Hope you head over there and see what a wonderful ministry they’re wanting to provide and if you can, please donate to help them out.   You will love the wonderful gifts you receive for your donation!

 

 
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` 
 

 

I should have posted this earlier!   It ends tomorrow (October 5), but head over to Hopeful Farm Foundation and check out their wonderful vision and how you can help out.

Please do check them out!  (And sorry I didn’t post this sooner!)

 

Blessings!

 

 

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"Home and family seemed by providence
to be my special field of duty."
                                     ~America Holton Ford, 1889~

Scroll down towards the bottom to see their incredibly generous offers for your donation!  You can’t go wrong–helping out a wonderful cause, and in return receiving some of the most wonderful resources for your family and homeschool!

 

 

 

 

Last Day of Sale!

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

Head on over to Kelly’s site Generation Cedar to have a look at her wonderful e-books!  I bought three of them and am enjoying them immensely!   Today is the last day of the sale–but if you miss it, they are still worth every penny!

 

Here are a few quotes (used with permission!)

 

From Think Outside the Classroom (Relaxed Homeschooling):

 

"A Word About Relationships

So often I’ve seen parents trying to implement their idea of what homeschooling is, even to the detriment of the relationships with their children. I’ve said before, if my children learned NOTHING except how tolove the Lord, and we had their hearts, I would consider it a successful homeschool experience. No academic goal is worth losing the priceless relationships with our children. I’ve advised frustrated mothers to “take off” for the remainder of the year and just focus on building relationships. Once those are established, homeschooling gets so much easier! And to borrow from the Scriptural concept, “What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his own soul?” I ask,  “What does it profit a parent to raise studious children and lose their hearts?”"

(p. 10)

 

 

 

And here is a wonderful gem from Getting Your Children to Obey:

"A word about relationship.

A most crucial thing to remember as a parent charged with the responsibiltiy of raising up godly children, is to maintain fellowship and a loving relationship with them. Many parents make the tragic mistake of being strict, expert disciplinarians, but then lose the heart of their children because they failed to keep a loving, close relationship with them. Our training and insistence on obedience MUST be balanced with a tender, loving relationship. The simple rule to remember is: “rules without relationship equals rebellion”.

 

Furthermore, true respect is only accomplished when a child feels safe and secure in hisparents’ love. He must know that a parent’s motivation for discipline is out of his utmost love for him.  If he feels a parent is simply trying to wield his superiority, he will never truly respect  his authority."

(pp. 9-10)

 

Those are just a few of the wonderful gems I’m finding in these books!   Getting Your Children to Obey is, to me, a wonderfully concise resource.  I feel it condenses the most important aspects of child training in a short, readable, doable book!    There’s even a chapter entitled "Am I Too Late?"  (The answer is NO!)

 

Think Outside the Classroom  is also worth every penny!  If you haven’t figured out by now, I am a very relaxed homeschooler, and although some would think I’ve figured it all out, I haven’t!!!  I love resources that God uses to reaffirm the path we’ve chosen and help us keep the most important aspects of homeschooling (and really, being a family!) top priority!

 

Since Kelly has written that book, I don’t have to write one! 

 

This is a great opportunity you don’t want to miss!  You will feel a breath of fresh air reading both these books!  (I didn’t get the one on Finding Financial Freedom , but I can only imagine it’s as wonderful and practical as her others!)

 

Click on her blog name above–that will take you to the entry with the sale prices—but hurry!  They’re only good through today!   And when you have time, check out her blog–she’s doing a "MakeOver" series interspersed in there, and it’s been great! 

 

Blessings on your day!

 

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"Home and family seemed by providence
to be my special field of duty."
                                     ~America Holton Ford, 1889~

Wonderful Resources, Wonderful Prices!

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

Kelly over at Generation Cedar  is having a SUPER sale on her e-books!  Head on over there and take a look!

 

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"Home and family seemed by providence
to be my special field of duty."
                                     ~America Holton Ford, 1889~

A Wonderful Free Resource!

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

We all like free, don’t we?!

 

I just found out about this, and although I haven’t used it, it’s certainly gotten rave reviews, and I remember it being on my "wish list" at one time!

 

For now, it is free to download–check it out here:  Teaching with God’s Heart for the World

 

Be sure to check out her blog, Mission Minded Life   blog, too! 

 

Have fun!

 

~ ..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

 

"Home and family seemed by providence
to be my special field of duty."
                                     ~America Holton Ford, 1889~