What is going on? What are you reading?

We have been enjoying a much over due visit with my mother. She has been enjoying some time spent with friends that she has made here, attending a widow's group and visiting with her grandson and granddog. Here she is crocheting with the dog. LOL.....caught the dog yawning, she was ready to hunker down for a nap next to Grandma. The Snoopy t-shirt is from granddaughter Kimberley.

I am in the middle of reading a book for a blog review, (the author sent me a copy of the book to read and review) I'm on chapter 4 and getting a lot out of the book. It's Children In Church by Curt Lovelace and Sandra Lovelace. Our 11 year old has been reading it also and it's opening up some discussion. A few words he had to look up in the dictionary, but he is talking about how this will affect how he raises his own children. It's NEVER to early to discuss how to put things in perspective in regards to our children's future. Even now be praying for your future son-in-law or daughter-in-law that his/her parents will be raising him/her up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. More to come on this book in future days. For more info or to purchase the book Children In Church contact WWW.ChildrenInChurch.org. The book is published by Great Waters Press.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!!
Moe

Changes for next school year?

We finished school back in April, so we are looking forward to next year. What things worked for you this year and what things would you change for next year?

We school year round and really enjoy it. We get nice breaks in October, December, February, April and May. We do the easy subjects in the summer like history and science, when we can lay under the shade trees and read. And get messy outside with science experiments!

We are working on Latin and think we might try a different program, we are using Prima Latina. Also looking at some items from the Critical Thinking Company, but not sure how to add those things in just yet. Still in the planning stages. For Bible we have switched from BJU to RBP (Regular Baptist Press)and are using the adult Sunday School materials, have been very impressed with the quality of their materials. We are also working through the book of Proverbs with several different materials (all seem to compliment each other) from www.thelearningparent.com/products.asp?pagecontrol=1&cat=29&product=21 , http://generationswithvision.com/Store/2011/06/proverbs-collection-12/ and Picture Proverbs Deluxe DVD Set from SolveFamilyProblems.com. The Picture Proverbs is a bit expensive, we got a discount on it since we saw S.M. Davis speak at a conference, but it's well worth the $$ spent and I would pay full price for it. There is nothing like hearing father/son say lets go watch a DVD and they are watching Picture Proverbs for an hour! As a family we have gotten so much out of these 3 resources.

We went through the Focus On The Family series called The Truth Project and got so much out of that, we may attend it again if it's offered, there was so much to glean from in that. Our son was only 11 when we went through the series and he was interacting with the adults during discussion time, so please don't think that our kids don't have a clue about what it going on. Treat your children knowing that they will rise to the occasion, instead of dumbing them down with little Bible stories, many kids no longer need the milk and honey, they are ready for solid Biblical food.

Do you have any curriculum items that you are interested in sharing about?

Moe

Getting It All Done........"I'm behind in our homeschool!"

I know many have contacted me to say that they are struggling with getting the school year finished up and worrying that they will never make it to the next grade level because they are behind. Remember you are NEVER behind in the homeschool, in most states we do not have to follow the public school calendar, which is a blessing since we homeschool year round. I do remember our 2nd year of homeschooling (we had homeschooled preschool and then again in the 4th grade). I would dream that our son was a big tall boy STILL in the 4th grade......lol. I could never get him out of the 4th grade in my dreams, we did tons of school and he was still a 4th grader! It was now October of the following school year and he was still a 4th grader in my dreams. lol. We did end up finishing the 4th grade right on target, but those dreams haunted me day and night.

If you think you are behind, sit down with a calendar and your student books. Look through and see exactly where you are, you've had to make some progress unless you have been laying in bed with a pillow over your head for 9 months!  LOL.  Glance through what is left, most of it could be review, look and see if there are any review items that your child really needs, if they did well on all the areas move forward, skip the review. If they struggled with factoring trees or roman numerals or multiplications tables, (or whatever math you are working on that year) take those review pages and work on them. Work on any new materials and then move on. Don't get bogged down with what the curriculum tells you needs to be done, work with your child on what he needs. I know a lot of material has tons of review days before a test, if your child has that materials down pat, move forward with the test. I usually ask if he is ready for the test and he will either say "YES" or he might say, can we work on a few more problems in the area of XYZ."  Or "Would you go over this section with me again?" So in some areas you can move through several lessons in a day. Also who says school must be M-F from 8:20am-3:00pm? Sometimes we will work on stuff in the evenings, a few math problems or some reading. Some of our best school times have been snuggled on the couch on a Sat or Sun afternoon doing spelling words or working on sentence structure. Learning is what you make of it, if you make it out to be drudgery, then the kids will see it has a hardship.

Enjoy your time with your kids, you only get 12 school years with them and that goes by pretty fast!

Gluten FREE & Corn FREE recipe

Carla's Gluten Free Recipe Box had a wonderful recipe this week that you just have to try! gluten free vegetable soup. This can be corn free if you make your own broth or use a corn free broth and check the beans for corn in the ingredients. This sounds so good for those rainy days we have been having here.  Easy lunches for those last few days of school too.

Enjoy!
Moe

Happy Mother's Day!!

I like to enjoy a nice long nap on Mother's Day! But I am spending the day cooking some of my favorites to have on hand so that I can enjoy every day and not have to freak out trying to find some gluten free and corn free food when I am hungry. So this is a fine Mother's Day to me. Our son got me a wonderful card that says "Thank you Mom......listening, loving, caring, laughing, teaching, sharing, answering, asking........for all the ways you help me GROW. Happy Mother's Day."  How sweet of him to pick a card with all those sentiments even though he spends 24/7 with me and I know I fail each and every day as a sinful mother. I am so thankful for a Heavenly Father who sent His son Jesus to this earth to take away my sins and to teach me through His Word, the Holy Bible, to be more of a godly wife and mother each day.

Moe

Gluten Free & Corn Free Hamburger HelpMom YUM

This was really good! Very easy too! I even froze some and reheated it this week and it was good. The noodles held up very well even in the freezer. This is very low in fat too.

Gluten Free & Corn Free Hamburger HelpMom

1 lb hamburger (or ground turkey as long as it's GF) I used ground round

1 med onion (I just dumped in some dried onion)

1 tsp dried parsley

1 1/2 Tbls chili powder (due to reflux I used 1 tsp and it was good but add the rest if you can tolerate it)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

6 oz gluten free pasta (I used Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Brown Rice Elbows w Golden Milled Flax Seed-8oz). My favorite GF pasta!

3 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbls water

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (I omitted these)

1 tsp cornstarch or potato starch (I used potato starch)

2 Tbls water

Cook ground beef in a large skillet, add chopped onion to the pan, cook until done. Drain off any fat add remaining ingredients EXCEPT for the corn/potato starch and 2 Tbls of water. Stir well until blended, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until noodles are done. Once noodles are done, mix corn/potato starch with 2 Tbls of water and pour into pan, stir to thicken liquid.

Serves 4 and freezes well. After thawing this out, I did sprinkle with a bit of water before reheating in the microwave. It's now a family favorite. One day with lunch I sprinkled a bit of Dayia cheese on top YUM!!

Enjoy,

Moe

Christian Women Blogging About Proverbs 31 & Titus 2 Virtues

This week we are doing a Christian Women Blogging About Proverbs 31 & Titus 2 Virtues post on several blogs. We are going to share how we struggle with the Proverbs 31 & Titus 2 calling in our lives.

My area of struggle is Proverbs 31:26  ^"She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness."  Often times I open my big old trap and the wrong thing comes out. With working on the air in radio for 20+ years and many of those years I was not a Christian. I made my living by being sarcastic and goofy, and made a very nice living at it too I might add.......lol.  

I've been reading the book Lord Change My Attitude by James MacDonald, the chapter on having a critical attitude has really been of help to me. I challenge you to read the book, there are Bible study questions in the back of the book. I've been very impressed with the book and have learned a lot from it. Though it is a daily struggle, it's getting easier the more I rely on my Lord.

Where is your struggle when it comes to Proverbs 31 and Titus 2?
Moe

How to miss a childhood.

I came across this article from a friend that use to attend our church, she has since moved and is a pastors wife. How To Miss A Childhood This was very convicting since I find myself chatting on the phone when I am driving.

Some won't understand the article or the importance of spending time with kids. I know in our homeschool there are certain times that I do not answer the phones. And I will have people tell me that they called while driving by and saw my car was at the house, they just don't get that my child is more important than chatting on the phone, they are more than welcome to leave a message and I will call back after school. It's really sad that people can't see that educating my child is of greater necessity than chatting about the weather.

I've not read anything on that blog besides the "How To Miss A Childhood" article, so I don't know where the author comes from regarding her biblical views, but for me and my house this Bible verse comes to mind.

Matthew 12:36-37 " But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

How did that blog post touch you?
Moe