Are you SAD?

I think it's safe to say that the majority of the country has been fully experiencing winter this year so far, and sadly, according to our local weatherman, it doesn't look like spring is coming anytime soon.

"…February is likely to bring a lot of nasty weather our way. To repeat… I do NOT think we’ve had our biggest snow, yet." -Chris Bailey, our awesome weather man

So how are you holding up?  Are you enjoying all the snow and sub-zero temperatures?  Can't get enough of bundling up and freezing your buns off just to take the dog out?  Loving piles of wet, snowy clothes from the kids?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Winter can be hard to get through.  For most, it's just an inconvenient nuisance.  Some love the cold and snow.  If it's within the month of December, I'm one of those that welcome it!  However, if you are like many of us out there and have a hard time making it through the cold winter months you might be suffering from a condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, or S.A.D.

Some of the common symptoms of S.A.D. include :

• Sluggishness
• Increased sleepiness
• Increase in appetite/weight gain
• Less energy
• Difficulty in concentrating
• Loss of interest in work or other activities
• Social withdraw
• Irritability 
• Sense of unhappiness

The main cause of S.A.D. is actually very simple. Lack of sunlight! When the days grow shorter it means fewer hours of sunlight.  This can mess with your internal clock which tells you when you should be awake and when you should be sleeping.

A reduction in exposure to sunlight also causes a reduction in serotonin and melatonin in our bodies, each of which greatly affect our mood. Who knew the sun, which CAN pose some serious health risks if we don't take the proper precautions and limit our exposure, is also the main key to our mood and level of energy!

However, since most of us can't run away to a sunny beach for a few months every year, what are we to do about this?!  Well, here are some simple things you can do to help fight the symptoms of S.A.D.

1. Number one on the list of things you should try to do is to get your daily dose of natural sunlight.  I know this isn't always easy to do in the winter time, but even on the grayest of days if you can get outside for just 15 minutes you'll be surprised at how much this will help boost your mood. Investing in aclear umbrella will ensure you can still take a short walk even on those rainy days. Or maybe eat lunch outside if possible. Believe it or not your body will still absorb some Vitamin D even on cloudy days and your mood will boost!
2. If you can't get outside, make sure to try to let in as much light as possible. Open all the curtains and blinds in your home and let the light flood in. If this isn't enough you may want to seriously consider light therapy by purchasing a special light that mimics natural sunlight! I don't have one yet, but I can't wait to get my hands on one! I have friends who use this to help with their S.A.D. and swear by them!
3. Even though you may not feel like doing it, exercising and increasing your heart rate will increase serotonin levels which will in turn increase your mood. It's best if you can exercise in the morning to help set the mood for the rest of the day.
4. Making healthier food choices will go a long way in helping how you feel throughout the day. High carb, high sugar foods might make you feel good for a little while, but will soon cause you to crash and make you tired which in turn only adds to the feelings of depression.
5. Stay busy! Use this time to keep your mind and hands busy by tackling those unfinished projects you never seem to get around to or maybe take the time to learn something new! Maybe try your hand at sewing or take a class you've always wanted to try! Find something that interests you and that you will get excited about and look forward to doing. One thing I find that helps keep my mind distracted is to tackle a room or closet that's needed cleaning or reorganizing for a while. Not necessarily 'fun', but it kills two birds with one stone, keeps me busy and gets my house clean!
6. Laugh!  The Bible says that laughter is like a good medicine and it's true! Watch a funny movie and laugh yourself into a better mood!  

If you have found other things that have helped get through these rough winter months, please share with us!

Teaching Responsibility, Even When It's Hard

Two of our children have cell phones,one because she's a driver now and the other because he's in public school and getting busier as he gets older and needs a way to stay in communication with us.

From day one when they received their phones we warned them to always keep a protective OtterBox case on them in case they ever dropped them. My husband and I had seen shattered phone screens and it made us wince in pain each time we saw one.

They listened, for a little while. But as time went on they got comfortable with their phones and chose to change their cases to more cool/pretty/decorated ones that aren't even close to being protective. While I wanted to be the protective mom I've always been and MAKE them keep their OtterBoxes on their phones, I knew they were getting older and needed to learn responsibility as well as understanding that there are consequences for the choices we make, whether good or bad. Not that choosing a different phone case can be categorized as either 'good' or 'bad', but choosing to listen to the wisdom of your parents or choosing to do your own thing usually results in consequences we're not always happy with. We had told them repeatedly that if they chose to not keep the protective Otterbox on their phone and something happened to it because of it that we would NOT be replacing their phone.

I'm guessing you can see where this story is headed.

Last week, our son's phone fell to the hardwood floor and the screen shattered. As luck would have it, his warranty was up last month. He can upgrade his phone for free... but not until December of this year. And considering it shattered at the bottom of the screen where the keypad is, making it nearly impossible for him to type, I don't think he's too happy about waiting nearly a year to have this problem resolved.

So, we went searching to see what options he has. We found this iPhone screen replacement kiton Amazon and it seems to have the highest reviews from buyers, so when our son decides he's had enough of his busted, nearly-unusable phone screen and finds a way to earn the money needed to buy this replacement kit, we will help him get his phone back into like-new condition.

You may be thinking that this sounds a bit harsh, making our 14-year-old son pay to repair his phone when it was clearly an accident that it busted. However, I feel like this is what's wrong with so many young people in our society today. Everything was either given to them or done for them and they don't know what it means to take responsibility and work for what you want or need. Our son will soon turn 15. Another year and he'll be driving. Another couple of years after that he'll be graduating high school and making decisions that will affect the rest of his life. If we don't help him learn lessons like this now, then when? It's our job as parents to help our kids learn these hard lessons now, while they're still under our protective care. They're human. They're going to make mistakes. If we truly love them we won't jump in to save them every time but will instead give them advice, pray for them, help them (as opposed to doing it for them), and let them learn these lessons that will prove to be invaluable to them when they're older.

Oh, and by the way, the Otterbox has been back on his phone ever since it fell to the floor. *sigh*

Got a Young Seamstress in the Making?

One thing I love about homeschooling is that it allows our children the time and freedom to pursue things that interest them. True learning often doesn't come from a textbook, but instead comes from spending time doing things that interest us, getting hands-on experience learning a new skill, visiting with and listening to and learning from an expert, or maybe watching instructional videos or reading from a book specifically geared towards something we are interested in. When learning is fun and interesting it's no longer something that 'has' to be done but instead becomes something we WANT to do!

Our 12-year-old daughter has talked for quite a while about wanting to make clothes for her American Girl dolls, and considering the price of those things from the AG website, I am MORE than happy to hear that she is interested in making her own! My goodness, those clothes are just as expensive, sometimes more so, than the clothes I buy for HER, my real-live little girl! I LOVE that she wants to learn to make her own!

To help her do this we bought her her very first sewing machine for Christmas last month, a SINGER Pixie-Plus Craft Machine.It's a cute little thing. Just perfect for her to begin to learn how a sewing machine works and to begin to make her own little projects! I'm sure one day, if she stays interested, she'll move up to a bigger, more expensive model, but for just starting out, this little machine has proven to be perfect.

It has eight different stitches and comes with thirteen spools of thread, twenty-three pre-wound bobbins, an accessory kit that contains everything a new sewer (sewer? sew'er? sew-er?) would need to get started, as well as a foot pedal.

She couldn't wait to get her hands on it so after a few short lessons from mom on how to thread the needle and using the foot pedal and reverse stitch button, she dug into my box of scrap material and went to town, trying out all the different stitches, making her own version of a little bag (with its own handle!) as well as a 'pocket'. Yep, a pocket! lol

Now, since her idea is to one day have her own etsy shop where she sells her hand-made doll clothes, I thought she might need a little more instruction in the area of sewing projects that actually look a bit more professional than a pocket. (Not that a pocket isn't a handy little thing. Where would this world be without pockets?!) To help her out, we also gave her the book, A Kid's Guide to Sewing for Christmas.

I love this book! Its perfect for the new young seamstress! Here's the description of it...

"In this book by well-known modern quilters Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr along with their 11-year-old daughter Sophie Kerr, kids will learn how to navigate a sewing machine, make smart fabric choices, and use basic sewing tools. Sixteen kid-friendly projects run the gamut from clothes to bags to accessories while clear, step-by-step instructions from Weeks and husband/design partner Bill Kerr walk kids through the creation of each. Throughout the book, tips from Sophie offer design and construction advice from a kid's perspective. The book "grows" with the sewist, offering more complex projects as the reader's skills develop."

Now doesn't that just sound like the perfect little sewing book for beginning young ladies?! Kristin loves it and can't wait to get to all the projects in it.

Last but not least, as I was walking past the craft department in Walmart one day in December what to my wondering eyes should appear but Simplicity 18" doll clothes patterns! I had no idea they made these but I knew right away that our Princess would love them! I couldn't find the exact ones we got her, but here are a couple I found on Amazon to show you what they look like...

I am truly loving this special time with my 'baby' girl. I really enjoy sewing and wish I had more time to devote to it so I am thrilled I have a daughter who is showing interest in it as well! Helping her learn is causing me to take the time to slow down and spend quality time with her doing something we both love. It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks that are constantly calling out our name and let these precious, fleeting moments with our children pass us right on by.

I can't tell you the joy it brings my heart to watch my daughter sitting at that machine, using her imagination to create her own little masterpieces!  And the joy it brings her, the confidence I see it building in her, well, there's just nothing else like seeing that in your children.

So, if you have a young lady who is interested in learning to sew, this might be a good place to start. Naturally this machine isn't going to last her forever if she continues to show interest in sewing, but it's a good one to begin with to let her test the waters to see if it's something she truly does want to learn and continue doing. No sense in investing hundreds of dollars in a sewing machine if it's going to wind up only collecting dust and not something she is going to be interested in continuing, right?

Changes To Our Homeschool

Since the last time I regularly blogged, the look of our homeschooling has changed. We now have three children being homeschooled and one in public school. There are so many different emotions that have been going on inside of me for several months since this change has occurred, but I'll save that for another post at another time.

Our oldest is still home and is now a senior in high school. She'll turn 18 in April and we will celebrate 12 years of watching her grow and learn at home at her graduation in May. My goodness, how our lives are but a fleeting moment. How can our baby be old enough to be making plans for college?! Wasn't she just learning to multiply and divide?!

Our second oldest is now in public school. He's in 8th grade and this was a decision much prayed over, although I'm still not sure we have done the right thing or not. (Again, another post for another day.) The ONLY reason he is going to school is so he can play football, a great love of his. (Although 24 other states have passed some form of a Tim Tebow bill where homeschooled kids can join public school sports teams, if you live in the state of Kentucky the only way you can play is to enroll in public school.) It seems he has been blessed with some talent in the area of football and although school had already started by the time he got signed up to go, the very first day he was at football practice they put him in at quarterback and that's where he stayed.

Our second son is currently in 7th grade and I'm afraid I may also lose him to public school next year as well because he desperately wants to get back to playing football also. I'm pretty sure, if he decides to go, this son will decide that public school and all that comes with it simply isn't worth it just to play football but, I could be wrong. But mommas know their kids and I just have a hunch he isn't going to feel as strongly about football as he thinks he does right now.

And then our youngest, our 'baby', is 12 and in 6th grade. Unless God hits me over the head with a hammer and makes it abundantly clear she is to go to school at some point, she will be with me for the next six years and graduate from homeschooling just like her sister. That thought makes me very happy!

I always try to see the positive in every situation. Make no bones about it, it's my dream to homeschool ALL our children through high school, that was always the plan in my mind as well as in my heart, but for now we are in a different season of life. I don't know exactly what the Lord has planned for each of our children, but at least I can blog with knowledge about both sides of the coin, homeschooling and public schooling, and believe me, I plan on doing just that. I may have to be careful and sensor what I say on Facebook (several public school parents there that I don't want to offend), but here on my personal blog I will inform you guys of anything I feel needs to be shared regarding public school education because I know I'm not the only one facing this kind of situation. Even if you don't have children in public school and never plan to, I dare say most of us have nieces, nephews, friends' children, possibly even grandchildren in the public school setting and it's important we're informed of exactly what's going on and what's being taught to children. Regardless, today's children are our future leaders! God help us, literally, if we're not informed and involved!

I'm BACK!

WoW! It's been soooo long since I've blogged on a regular basis. But when, on a whim last week, I paid a visit to my nearly-forgotten blog, my love for blogging and reaching out to fellow homeschoolers was instantly rekindled inside my heart. As soon as the page opened up I just felt like I had finally come back home after a much-too-long hiatus.

So, expect to see a whole lot more from me starting this week! I've been doing some early Spring cleaning and sprucing up the look of my home here on the web. After not blogging in a couple years there were several updates that needed to be done. While I'm still working on that part, I'm jumping head-first back into blogging and I can't wait!

Our Curriculum for 2012-2013

I've had some dear friends asking me what curriculum we have chosen to use this year and while I'd really like to do some in depth blog posts about some of the things and tell you WHY we choose what we did, that will have to wait for another time.  For now I'll just give you a quick run-down of what each of the kids will be using in one form or another this year and maybe you'll find something you didn't know was out there!  That's always fun!

Ok, here we go.  From oldest to youngest:


*Kaity (grade 11):
-Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1 and 2
-Exploring Government (1st semester) by Notgrass Company
-Exploring World History (2nd semester) by Notgrass Company
-Analytical Grammar
-Essentials in Writing
-Biology 101 DVDs, The Rainbow Science/Biology section, Apologia's Biology (our own mixture of the 3)
-Tell Me More Spanish
-Total Health- Choices for a Healthy Lifestyle
-The Inner Man (Bible study) by Positive Action for Christ
-Mapping the World by Heart
-Meet the Masters (art)

*Caleb (grade 7)
-Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra
-Mystery of History Vol. 1 & 2 (since we've already done U.S. history we're doing ancient/world with this)
-Exploring Creation with General Science by Apologia
-Analytical Grammar
-Jump In! Writing
-Sequential Spelling
-Word Voyage
-Wise Up (Bible study) by Positive Action for Christ
-"Don't Check Your Brains at the Door" (apologetics book for him to read and get the 'why you believe what you believe' teaching)
-Tell Me More Spanish
-Mapping the World by Heart
-Meet the Masters (art)

*Cameron (grade 6)
-Teaching Textbooks 7
-Mystery of History 1 & 2
-Real Science for Kids
-Growing with Grammar 6
-Jump In! Writing
-Sequential Spelling
-Word Voyage
-Winning the Race (Bible study) by Positive Action for Christ
-Tell Me More Spanish
-Mapping the World by Heart
-Meet the Masters (art)

*Kristin (grade 5)
-Teaching Textbooks 5
-Mystery of History 1 & 2
-Real Science for Kids
-Growing with Grammar 5
-Jump In! Writing
-Sequential Spelling
-Word Voyage
-Possessing the Land (Bible study) by Positive Action for Christ
-Tell Me More Spanish
-Typing Web
-Mapping the World by Heart
-Meet the Masters (art)

There you have it!  Hope this helps you discover some new things out there you weren't aware of!  I just love finding new, fun curriculum.  Don't you?

God Can Use Anyone!

Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier, Gideon was insecure, Thomas was a doubter, Sarah was impatient, Elijah was depressed, Moses stuttered, Zacheus was short, Abraham was old, and Lazarus was dead!

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Am I Willing?

"You keep repeating a few words over and over.  Have you really heard yourself?  Do you really know what you are saying?  I... I... me... me... my hopes, my dreams, I'm unhappy, what will I do, what will become of me.  All your thoughts are focused on yourself.  All of them.  I suppose, considering the circumstances, that some of that is only natural.  But you can't continue in that spiritual condition.  You must ask the Lord to help you set yourself aside.  Because that is what is in the way of your spiritual growth.  Yourself.  It always has been.  It is for all of us.  Jesus said that you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him.  You are clinging to yourself and what you want, instead of denying yourself and clinging to what He wants.  I know it is hard.  It isn't easy for anyone.  We are too weak to do it on our own.  But remember that He has said that His strength is made perfect in wekaness.  Call on Him, ask Him to help you.  He will answer.  But you must truly want to set yourself aside.  You must truly be willing to take His will for your own."

What powerful words to think about!  This is a quote from a book we picked up at this year's Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati called Waiting for Her Issac by Mr. and Mrs. Stephen B. Castleberry. 

How many of us, if we were completely honest, could say we don't need to take this to heart?  Am I willing to 'set myself aside' and possibly give up all my hopes, my dreams, my plans and my ideas in order to allow God to have His perfect will in my life?  Isaiah 55:9 says, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."  Wouldn't it stand to reason that our human, fleshly thoughts and desires just might not match up with God's plan for our life if we haven't thoroughly prayed and KNOW that we've heard from God and know without doubt that we are walking in His will for our lives?  Maybe we have convinced ourselves that we are in God's perfect will for our lives because we are comfortable and happy.  And that very well may be true, God does care about every single aspect of our lives and from Him all blessings flow, including happiness.  But at the same time, from experience I know that we serve a God that sometimes likes to get us out of our comfort zone so He can teach us and mold us into who He created us to be!

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. " (Jeremiah 29:11)  We might have our plans and ideas about what we want out of this life, what we think will make us happy and will make everything alright, but if we are true followers of Jesus and we believe the Bible is the inspired true Word of God, then we have to take His words to heart and trust that while it may be hard, sometimes very hard, God knows what's best for us and if we will humble ourselves and seek HIS perfect will in every single area of our life... marriage, job, homeschooling, etc., then and only then will we experience true joy and peace that only comes from willingly His will for our own.

(Just for the record, this book is wonderfully encouraging as far as seeking God's perfect will for our lives, and we agree completely with waiting for the one God has created just for you instead of today's view of dating until you find one you think you want to marry, but our family plans to settle somewhere in between 'waiting on the Lord' and the story presented in this book for our children.)

Our Weekly Lesson Plans

I always love seeing how other homeschool moms organize and plan out their lessons, so, I thought I'd share with you what has worked for our family for the past few years.  Maybe something here will spark an idea for you that will help you just as reading about others helped me develop the best plan for our family.

First of all, I'm not going to lie and tell you that this way is neccesarily quick.  I do have to put some time into it each week.  But compared to the years I tried to get by without having a plan down for the week, the time invested in laying out our weekly plans is SO worth it!

When sitting down to plan out this school year the very first thing I did was take each subject and see where I wanted us to be by the end of the year then backtracked to see what we needed to cover each month in order to reach that goal.  Each month was then broken down into what needed to be covered each week.

The result is what I have sitting before me each school day:

I made this form myself using Mircrosoft Word, tweaking it here and there until I felt it was what would work best for me and our schooling.  Each subject we cover through the week is listed down the left side with the days of the week going across the top.  I have a section on the right side to list what books the kids are currently reading along with a place to write down about our week, a sort of easy-access journal of our school days.

Once I have this filled out for the week I transfer the kid's assignments to their own weekly checklists that they keep in their box with all their curriculum books.

I fill in as much as I can before the beginning of the week, but there are some things I have to fill in as the week goes on depending on what they do each day.  For example, how they do on their daily typing determines what they will do the next day.  Also, if more practice or help is needed in math, that also determines what the next day's assignment will be.  Again, like my planner, subjects are listed down the left side with the days of the week going across the top.  Each box has a place for them to check off each assignment as they complete it.  I also put their weekly scripture verse they are to memorize at the bottom so they have a visual reminder several times throughout the day and week.  (This has worked wonders in the success of them memorizing them!)

Having their own personal checklist has brought so much peace to our days and took so much frustration off of me.  No longer do I have to continuously hear, "What else do I need to do mom?" or "What's next mom?".  Along with having all of their books in their own boxes so they can find what they need at any time, these weekly assignment sheets have allowed my children to take some control of their own education, which is the ultimate goal as they grow into responsible young men and women.

So, there ya' go.  That's how our homeschool weeks are planned.  Hope this may help inspire someone to come up with a planner that fits their family.  As my very wise hubby always says, "Proper prior planning prevents poor performance." 

(Pssst... there are tons of planning forms here!  This is where I get most of the ones I use.)

One Busy Momma

Has it REALLY been nearly four months since I promised to give you all my best Disney tips!  Wow!  Time sure does fly when you're a busy momma. 

I truly am so sorry.  I do still intend to type up everything I can to help you have a wonderful Disney vacation.  When we got back from Florida I had two weeks as the VBS Director at our church to finalize everything for this summer's VBS fun.  Then it was on to getting our home back in order (because as anyone who has ever directed a VBS knows, it's either VBS or a clean house, but it's impossible to have both at the same time!), buying and setting up a new swimming pool, planning for a yard sale, and all the million other things summertime brings.  Thus, the Disney blog posts got put on the back burner.

However!  With one of our dear friends planning a trip for her family in November and excitedly telling me all about it, I am really, REALLY wanting to start planning our next trip as well!  So all the pictures and memories are flooding back into my mind lately and I desperately want to document everything, so I promise, it's coming.

Walt Disney World!

Our family recently returned from a long-overdue vacation.  I'm talking EIGHT LONG YEARS overdue!  And our vacation destination was the same place we went eight years ago... Walt Disney World!  It's our absolute favorite place on earth to go.  At least, it is right now, since we've not been anywhere else as a family!  LOL!  (We plan on taking them to Washington D.C. and New York over the next few years as those are my other favorite places to visit!)

If you have never been to Disney World I encourage you with all my heart to try to go, whether you have small children, older children, or no children at home at all.  It's such a magical place and everyone becomes a kid again when visiting the Magic Kingdom!  Or at least, they should.  But sadly, while there I saw far too many tired, whiney kids getting on the nerves of their tired, grouchy parents, and that is no fun for anyone.  Why get all the way to Disney World only to ruin everyone's vacation by not being prepared BEFORE you arrive?!

Over the next few weeks I'll be blogging all about our trip and sharing all the best tips I learned to help make anyone's trip to Disney World the best it possibly can be.  Please trust me when I say Disney World is NOT a trip you can just take with no prior planning.  For some, a trip to Walt Disney World is a once in a lifetime vacation.  For others, it's simply too magical of a place to only visit once.  Regardless, if you will take the time to plan and organize your Disney vacation you will come home with a lifetime of wonderful memories, and hopefully lots and lots of pictures to help preserve those memories!

Amanda, Light of My Life

When I was a little girl my stepdad was in a couple different country music bands.  That's all I knew growing up, hearing him singing and playing with his band buddies.  One song I remember fondly was 'Amanda' by Waylon Jennings.  I always loved that song becuase of the way the end of the word 'Amanda' ( followed by 'light of my life') was sung higher and higher and higher.  I loved singing those notes along with the drummer! 

When I was nine my mom and I moved from Illinois to Kentucky with my stepdad.  Being so young and moving from an hour south of Chicago to a small town in Kentucky was not easy for me.  I was very sad about leaving my friends.  I felt lost.  This was a whole different way of life for me.  I was used to neighbors being just a few feet away.  Now they were quite a walk away, if not a good DRIVE away.  A new school, a new home, a whole new way of life.  With no siblings to commiserate with I was really lost.

But God saw my little broken heart and sent me an angel, my new Aunt Mandy.  We moved in with Mandy, my stepdad's sister, while our house was being built.  Aunt Mandy took me right in and treated me like one of her own.  She loved on me and cooked for me and talked with me, she even tried to snatch my birthday present while I was opening it once (picture above)!  She always had a hug ready and waiting for everyone, whether she hadn't seen them in a while or if she had just seen them the day before.  It didn't matter to Mandy.  She loved everyone.

During this time of living with her I began transforming from a little girl into a young woman, if you know what I mean.  I was quite young for this and I was freaked out.  But I remember Aunt Mandy coming into my room, sitting down beside me on my bed, and talking to me about 'things'.  Her words comforted me and I was so thankful for her.

Once, I woke her up while I was sleepwalking.  She heard me and came to see what I was doing.  She caught me at the front door putting on my coat and asked me where I was going.  "I'm going home", I told her.  "Ok, here, let me help you".  She took my coat off and led me back to bed and tucked me in.  Thank God, literally, for her!  Who knows where I may have ended up!

Once our new home was built I still saw Mandy every day since we lived right across the road from her.  Even after I was married and had children of my own one of my favorite things to do was to go to Mandy's and just sit outside with her, enjoying the breeze and talking about whatever was going on at the time.  Just look at all that family sitting out under Mandy's carport and in the yard enjoying family time and some good music!

We weren't the only ones Mandy opened her home up to.  After we moved out and into our own home Mandy took in an older gentleman named Norwood.  I'm not even sure who exactly he was but I believe he was some relation to her late husband.  I'm sure this wasn't always an easy task.  The one thing I remember about Norwood is that he DRANK linament!  Oh, and smelled like it as well.  LOL!  But Mandy opened her heart and home and took care of him until his death.  What an amazing woman.

And oh what a cook she was!  I loved Mandy's potato salad.  To this day I can't stand to eat any other potato salad, except Mandy's.  She knew this and any time we had a family reunion she was sure to make some.  I think it made her feel good to know that hers was the only one I would eat.  Oh, and her potato cakes!  Oh my goodness.  Those were heavenly, and she used to make them often for me.  I'm going to have to make sure to get those recipes now I guess.  I didn't want them before because those foods were special any time I had them because that meant that Aunt Mandy had made them for me.  I'm crying, again, knowing I'll never again taste the love that went into everything Mandy made.

Due to other's situations and allowing life to get in the way I hadn't seen or talked to Mandy in a couple years, although we lived only 15 minutes apart.  It broke my heart and I thought of her often, missing her hugs and our talks and of course, her yummy food.  The saddest part for me, the thing that has my heart hurting more than anything, is that for the past few months I have had Mandy on my mind and wanted to call her just to hear her voice again.  I missed her.  I missed her laugh, her hugs.  She truly, genuinely cared about others and I missed her greatly.  But I would call, soon.  Aunt Mandy would always be there.  She was the rock of the family.  She was hardly sick.  She was the youngest of her siblings.  I never dreamed I would never get the chance to talk to her again.

Aunt Mandy went to be with the Lord yesterday after successfully coming through a heart cath where three stints were placed to open up blockages.  I was so very thankful to hear she would be coming home today.  No more putting off seeing or talking to her.  I was going to visit her this week!  I couldn't wait!  Sadly, God had other plans and He is now the One that gets to receive those hugs of hers, the One that gets to sit and talk with her and laugh with her.  What a glorious reunion they are having right now, with all her siblings that have gone on before her, her parents, and her beloved husband she has been without for so very, very long.  I'm so happy for her, but so very sad for those of us who are left behind to miss her every single day for the rest of our lives. 

Yet, I find comfort in knowing that one day I will see her again.  I can't wait to get to Heaven and feel those arms around me one more time, to hear her precious laugh, and just to sit and enjoy the breeze and talk about everything that's been going on.

I love you Aunt Mandy and I truly thank God for sending you into my life when I needed you the most.  Thank you for always loving me, as well as my own little family, no matter what.  Thank you for the hugs, the talks, the smiles, the home when we didn't have one, the potato salad, the potato cakes, the apple crisp recipe you gave me a few years ago, all the sweet corn, for letting my kids come pick apples out of your trees.  Thank you for the memories, and thank you for giving your life to the Lord so those of us left here mourning your passing can have the hope and the comfort of knowing that we can indeed see you again if we simply make the same decision you did to give our hearts over to the Lord and serve Him.

Thank you Aunt Mandy.  I miss you greatly, and I will see you soon.  I promise!

Review: Institute for Excellence in Writing

As a member of the TOS Crew my children and I were given the opportunity to review the Student Writing Intensive, Level C from the Institute for Excellence in Writing.

I had heard about IEW many times over our nine years of homeschooling, but I had assumed it was simply too intensive for our style of learning as well as being too expensive.  Granted, I never took the time to thoroughly research it.  I simply passed it off as 'not for us'.  Boy was I wrong!  Having a freshman in high school with no thorough, formal writing instruction up to this point, the opportunity to review this curriculum was most definitely a blessing.

First of all, the creator of the Institute for Excellence in Writing, Andrew Pudewa, is a homeschooling father of seven, a grandfather of three, and a teacher.  His primary profession is teaching music.  However, he was put into the position of being a history and an english teacher without any previous experience at either.  He was encouraged by another teacher to attend a teacher-training course on 'structure and style in composition' by a gentleman named Dr. James Webster.  Mr Pudewa was so impressed and learned so much and saw such amazing results in his students that he returned to the training course for the next two years!  Mr. Pudewa continued teaching what he learned to children which led to the opportunity to do some seminars and classes.  The interest from parents and other teachers was so great that those seminars and classes eventually evolved into writing the curriculum and doing the videos that became the Institute for Excellence in Writing.

IEW has products for every age level, beginning with the Primary Arts of Language for K-2 and continuing on with their Student Writing Intensives, Level A for grades 3-5, Level B for grades 6-8, and Level C (which is what we reviewed) for grades 9-12.  Each of these 'Intensives' cost $99.00 and come with a binder with dividers, a packet with teacher's notes, student handouts, and checklists, as well as the writing sessions recorded live on four DVDs.  Extra binders can also be purchased for $18.00 if you're working with more than one student on the same level.  However, when that becomes the case for me I plan on simply making multiple copies of the handouts that come with the Intensive and putting them in a binder myself.  One more thing that's important to know is that once your student has completed all the lessons in their Intensive it is possible to continue on through the rest of the writing units with an additional 32 lessons if you so choose, however, this is optional.  By using the Continuation Course you can use this writing curriculum for 1-2 years of writing instruction per Intensive.

Another IEW product I plan on using next year is Fix It! Grmmar and Editing Made Easy With the Classics.  While learning how to write is of upmost importance I also don't want to let my daughter's grammar fall by the way-side while she's learning to write and this looks like just the right fit for us.  Not too much, not too little.  Hopefully it will help her learn to critique her own writing even better!

Oh, and that teacher-training I mentioned above that Mr. Pudewa learned so much from?  Well he has kindly put together our own teacher-training seminar!  Now, I only have experience with the Structure and Style Overview DVD so I can't speak on the other teaching DVD's but I was very impressed with what I watched on the S&SO DVD.  Mr. Pudewa's voice is very enjoyable to listen to and he's very easy to understand as well as being funny.  I felt like I was right there in the room with him.  Here's what the website has to say about this DVD:

"In this 2 hour and 20 minute DVD and accompanying handouts, Andrew Pudewa introduces you to the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style method of teaching writing. Briefly covering the nine units of structure and introducing several stylistic techniques, Andrew gives the audience insight into why this method is so effective in teaching even the most reluctant writer."

Of course, if you'd simply like to purchase the whole kit and kaboodle for a certain level you can do so in one easy click here.

We were also sent a portable wall which is "a single-pocket folder with an extra page, creating a tri-fold wall packed with all the Unit Models, several word lists including prepositions, substitutes for "said," and more."  I really appreciate whoever came up with this idea as we are one family that has absolutely no room to hang posters, at least not anywhere where my daughter could actually see it easily in order to help her.  With the portable wall she can simply keep it in her binder and pull it out any time she needs to.  Two big mom thumbs up for this one! 

As I've said before, writing is one of the most dificult things to evaluate.  You want to teach and encourage the student in their writing yet receiving a paper back full of red marks is not going to help your child want to write very much.  But when they have complete, thorough, easy-to-understand instructions it is so much easier, on the student as well as the mom/teacher!

Overall I am VERY pleased with the products we reviewed and plan on continuing to use them throughout our homeschooling years.  To watch your child go from not understanding that there is a right and a wrong way to write to someone who is developing into a wonderful writer of beautiful papers is such a thrill!  And it's all thanks to IEW and Mr. Pudewa's teaching that our daughter now enjoys writing and actually looks forward to it each day!  All this mom can say is thank you, thank you, thank you.  We are now life-long IEW users!

*As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received this product free of charge in exchange for my review and honest opinion of it. As a believer and follower of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I promise you that all my reviews contain only my own honest opinions...'cause He told me to not lie!

Review: Latin's Not So Tough

As a reviewer for The Old Shoolhouse I was given the opportunity to review Latin's Not So Tough! by Greek 'N' Stuff.  Now, you may be asking yourself, "Latin?  From GREEK 'N' Stuff?"  Well, yes.  LOL.  I couldn't find it anywhere on their website but I'm guessing that their curriculum Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! was written first, before their other 'stuff', hence the name Greek 'N' Stuff.

Ok ok, on to the important stuff.

Latin's Not So Tough!, as a whole, is intended for use with young children.  With six levels currently available it would have been nice to be able to start with Level One (which can be completed in less than one year) with my children when they were much younger than what they are now.  I would be interested to see how going through all six levels would help them in their early study of Latin.

However, while Level One concentrates on the alphabet, diphthongs, and special consonant sounds, older elementary students (and beyond) can start with Level Three, which is the level we received to review. (You can go here and scroll down just a little to find Placement Quizzes to see which level your student needs to start with.  Personally, I found I would need to start somewhere LOWER than Level One!  LOL!)

Level Three covers the following:

*Alphabet and vocabulary review

*Latin grammar:
   ~First declension nouns
   ~Second declension (-us and -ius) nouns
   ~Three special case uses
   ~First conjugation verbs, present active indicative

*Read and write simple Latin sentences

*Matching, fill in the blank, fun activities, puzzles

Also, each level includes flashcard pages at the back of the workbook.  These need to be cut out and I highly recommend using poster board-type paper and/or laminating them so they will last longer.

Level Three is for students who have completed Level Two, or older students.  Regardless of which level you start with, each one has the following available (along with a few other things you can find here):

~Student Workbook (21.95)
~"Answers Only" Answer Key (4.00)
~"Full Text Answer Key" (21.95)
~Quizzes/Exams (5.50)
~Pronounciation CD (for Levels 1-3) (10.00)

Latin's Not So Tough! teaches classical pronunciation and is written to be very student-friendly.  The workbooks are designed in such a way that the student simply progresses through each level on a page-by-page basis, rather than on a weekly lesson structure.  The first three levels are laid out as such:
   ~Level One: 104 student pages; 28 lessons
   ~Level Two: 144 student pages; 30 lessons
   ~Level Three and above: 170 student pages; 36 lessons

The Student Workbook is laid out in such a way that they can pretty much pick it up and work through it at their own pace with little teacher involvement.  Depending on what day it is around here, that can be a very good thing but sometimes it also makes me a little sad.  However, independent learning has always been one of my goals for my children in homeschooling them so it actually works out very well.  Seeing as how I have NO knowledge of Latin, it's probably better this way anyway.  LOL! 

Actually, NONE of us have any prior Latin knowledge and this made it near impossible for us to just pick up and start learning with Latin's Not So Tough.  Right from the very first page it instructed the student to do things that we had no clue about!  They couldn't do it and I couldn't help them.  There is no instruction, just an expectation that you know what you're doing for both the student and the teacher. 

Maybe I just don't understand how to use it the right way, but my frustration eventually won out and I hate to say that we did not use this curriculum.  Maybe starting at a lower level would have helped us?  I just don't know.

However, if this is something you are interested in, let's move on to pricing.  Considering the prices are different depending on what Level you are purchasing I will simply refer you to this page to see all of Level Three's prices.

Along with Latin and Greek curriculums, a few Bible Studies are also offered by this same company.

*As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received this product free of charge in exchange for my review and honest opinion of it. As a believer and follower of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I promise you that all my reviews contain only my own honest opinions...'cause He told me to not lie!


Sample pages.

Review: Zeezok Guide to the Movies

Finally, someone has come up with our family's kind of curriculum!  Watch a movie, learn from it.  How much better could it get?

Zeezok Publishing has created these wonderful little things called "Z-Guides to the Movies" to go along with select movies that are full of wonderful learning opportunities.  When presented with the opportunity to review the guide that corresponds to the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington I jumped at the chance!  Mr. Smith... is one of our 14-year-old daughter's favorite movies so I knew this review would be a perfect fit for us.

We received the e-book, however you may also purchase the guide on CD if you wish.  This CD contains a printable pdf file of the complete study guide.  Regardless of which option you choose, each cost $12.99.  If you don't already own the movie for which you are studying you may also purchase them on DVD from Zeezok, rent them, purchase them from the store, borrow them from the library, or, my very favorite, get them through Netflix.

The study guide starts out with a Topic Overview.  In this particular guide a brief explanation of Congress, Senators, and filibusters as they pertain to the movie.  Next comes a movie synopsis giving a brief description of the movie for those who may not have already seen the movie.

Following this are ten different activities to help study different aspects of the movie more in depth.  For this particular title we started with 25 movie review questions.  Even though we had already seen the movie, a few times in fact, we still chose to watch it again so it would be fresh in our minds.  But before watching the movie for this study my daughter and I read over the review questions first so we would be aware of what to listen and watch for.  I had her answer the questions as she recognized them while watching the movie.  Gotta love that Pause button!

Then we moved on to learning all about the filibuster.  Having never had the opportunity to take a US Governement class in school and having been busy raising kiddo's the past 15 years, this study was as much for me as it was my daughter!  American history is FASCINATING to me and I thoroughly enjoyed working on this and look forward to more of these studies.

Some of the other activities we worked on were learning how a bill becomes a law, comparing our views on our US Senators (are they representatives, trustees, or both?), becoming a reporter as well as an interveiwer covering this story, trying to get inside the mind of the director of the movie, as well as several other fun and thought-provoking activities.

Both my daughter and I learned so much through the guidance of this study and we look forward to using more z-guides to dig further into other movies.  What an awesome and fun way to study history!  Even my younger kids joined in watching the movie (again) as well as some of the activities.  That's what I love so much about homeschooling.  Even though this study is labeled as being for high school students, younger children can learn so much just by joining in on the fun!

There are 28 different Z-Guides to the Movies, all of which look to be just as fun and interesting as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and each costing just $12.99.  Each title focuses on a specific time in history and in my honest opinion is just simply a fun way to help understand what life was like during a specific historical period of time.  History shouldn't be dry and boring, but exciting and interesting and if possible, fun!  With these Z-guides from Zeezok Publishing I really do think we're going to enjoy our history time a whole lot more.

*As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received this product free of charge in exchange for my review and honest opinion of it. As a believer and follower of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I promise you that all my reviews contain only my own honest opinions...'cause He told me to not lie!

Review: Artistic Pursuits

Having an avid artist in the family who loves to draw and would do so all day, every day if he was allowed, I was thrilled to receive Artistic Pursuits to review as a member of the TOS Crew. 

Artistic Pursuits is an award-winning art curriculum for homeschoolers, by homeschoolers.  There are a total of ten books for students ranging in age from as young as 3-5 all the way up to a senior in high school!  If you choose, you may also purchase art supply packs that go along with each book.  These packs include all the art materials needed for each book and range in price from $45 to $92.  If you're interested in saving a little money or if you'd like to buy individual art supplies rather than the whole supply pack, Artistic Pursuits has also linked to on-line discount art supply stores you may also purchase your supplies from (scroll down to the bottom of the page to find these).

There are several things I really like about this art curriculum, one of the biggest being that the books are written conversation-style directly to the student so my son can simply pick up the book and do it on his own.  This makes is easy on mom while also helping my son feel independent in his art.

Another thing I really appreciate about Artistic Pursuits is how the student is encouraged to look at the world around them, taking it all in and seeing it in a different way than they've ever looked at it before and then drawing from that.  They are not kept inside the box, being shown exactly what to draw and how to draw it within a tiny little box.  They are encouraged to draw things as THEY see them, at their own age-appropriate level, and then praised for doing so.

Within each book is a full school year's worth of lessons, done at two lessons per week.  There are four unique projects in each unit that include creative exercises, art history and appreciation, techniques, and exploration of various subject matter. 

The book we reviewed is Book One of the Grade 4-6 level as seen here:

This book is broken down into 16 units, each unit containing four lessons.  Lesson 1 of each new unit is titled, Explore Your World!  A Creative Exercise Using Real-World Experience.  This is exactly as it sounds, a brief reading of what real artists out in the real world do in different situations along with a 'Try It' activity for the student to do.  The objective for each unit is given at the bottom of this page making it easy for the teacher to see.

"Unit 2, Lesson 1: VOCABULARY AND CREATIVE EXERCISE PAGE Each unit explores one or two elements of art or a compositional arrangement. ILLUSTRATED VOCABULARY: A definition is given in both words and pictures at the top of the page. EXPLORE YOUR WORLD! Students get their hands on art materials the first day in a project designed to explore the subject of art and creativity. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the Explore your World! section are listed and color coded to clarify the purpose of the creative assignment and for easy grading using a grading system on page 87."

Lesson 2 of each unit shows a master work and helps them apply what they are learning into their own creation.  One of my favorite parts of Artistic Pursuits that I am so glad the creaters included comes in lesson 2 as well, learning about famous (and sometimes not-so-famous) artists and the times they lived in.

"Unit 2, Lesson 2: ART APPRECIATION PAGE Students see how the topic of the unit is used in a work by a master artist. When they see a concept in artists' works, they are more able to use it in their own work. Illustrations accompany the work, helping students see what is being discussed in the text. Arrows point to the places in the artwork that are discussed in the text so students can't miss seeing it."

"ART HISTORY PAGE: Students gain a larger context to view art in as they learn about the artists and the times in which the art was made. ARTIST BIOGRAPHY: A biography of the master artist familiarizes students with major artists and their works. Students learn about painters of the American Revolution, the first painters of the Native Americans, Wilderness Explorers, Cowboy Painters, Quakers, miniatures, American Impressionists, Realists, and Regionalists. THE TIMES: Students learn about American history. They will see what Americans were doing, thinking, and discovering during the artist's lifetime. MAKE AN OBSERVATION DRAWING: Students gain skill in working from observation, memory, or imagination."

 The third lesson of each unit focuses on learning how to use the different medias, materials and tools of art and having them put that knowledge to use in their own art.

"Unit 2, Lesson 3: TECHNIQUES PAGE HOW TO: Students learn technical information. How to use a medium such as pencil or pen and a variety of ways for using each medium are introduced. Techniques for drawing and exploring certain subject matter are shown. This page introduces some basic ideas about seeing to help the student begin to observe more closely. SOMETHING TO TRY: Students practice with the techniques shown, completing a project."

Finally, in Lesson 4 the student is given a project to do that incorporates the new things they have learned.  They use a variety of references such as still life objects, landscapes, portraiture, photographs, and more.

"Unit 2, Lesson 4: FINAL PROJECT PAGE Instructions are given for a final project in which students assimilate the information from the unit and do a work reflecting their interests or particular interpretations. YOU WILL NEED: A materials list is given in the right column. REFER TO THE FOLLOWING WHEN DRAWING: Suggestions for what to use as a reference is given in the right column. Once students go through the book they will have used all the references available: photographs, direct observation, their imagination, etc. STUDENT GALLERY: Students see how others their own age interpreted and successfully used the element of art. A range of skill levels is shown to encourage different approaches to art. LOOK BACK: Students evaluate the success of the finished work by answering the questions. Parents can use the color-coded stated objective for easy grading."

Each of the ten Artistic Pursuits books sell for $42.95.  In my honest opinion they are worth the price.  However, it can get a bit pricey when you have several children that you would like to purchase books for.  I would like to see perhaps a discount when buying multiple books.  But that aside, I do really like this curriculum and look forward to continuing to use it in our homeschooling adventure.


*As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received this product free of charge in exchange for my review and honest opinion of it. As a believer and follower of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I promise you that all my reviews contain only my own honest opinions...'cause He told me to not lie!