Racism

Racism is a huge topic in the world right now. People are constantly bickering about this and that, and quite frankly I see more words typed and name calling then I do people actually doing something about the issue. Talking about the issue only goes so far. Raising awareness only goes so far. I mean if people really don’t understand that there is racism going on they are purposefully putting on the blinders. As a white lady in the south I can tell you that white privilege is real. But, it’s not just here in the south, and it’s not just white privilege that’s the issue. Look around and you will see that there is racism on all fronts. This is a battle that will first be fought in the comforts of our own homes. What we teach our children will have the greatest impact on our future IMO. Of course I can go to rallies and write papers, I can post stuff on Facebook, and even write great blog posts about the subject, and I may at some point do some of those things, but I still firmly believe as a parent I can help from home first.

There’s the obvious things that I can do as a parent like, talk to the kids about how we shouldn’t view anyone in a negative light based on their skin color or ethnicity, or tell them about times in history when tragedies happened because of racism, and those things are good things to do. But I believe it goes deeper than that. When we purchase Barbie dolls or other dolls we can make sure that they aren’t all whatever ethnicity we are. In our case as a white family I have always had dolls of many colors and nationalities. We have friends of many colors and nationalities. At times I have sought out families who are different than ours. As a homeschooling family I have been intentional about studying different countries. Yes, I have taught my kids about things like, African slavery, Holocaust etc. But I have also taught about good times, times when people who are different have worked together and changed the word. I believe we should be intentional about the children’s books we read to our kids, and even the shows that we watch. Are they multi-cultural? When teaching about inventions are we teaching only one ethnicity invented everything? Or are we teaching about all sorts of people who invented things? These may seem like small things, but these are things that I feel will help the child understand that while yes, we all have differences those differences do not make one person better than the other person.

So, that’s my little thought from my little corner of the world.

Blogging Again

My poor neglected blog. Somewhere in between being a mom and homeschooling I lost my love for blogging. But I was sitting here tonight thinking that it's actually something I miss doing. So, I am going to start blogging again. I think.

Book Review- The Pirate and the Firefly

What a cute book! The Pirate and the Firefly is a children's book written by Tara McClary Reeves & Amanda Jenkins. This book is about a little boy who gets in with the wrong crowd. He knows that what they are doing is wrong, but isn't sure what to do about it. He gets a visit from a little firefly who helps him out. I wasn't sure if my kids would like this book, but as I read it they became more and more interested in the story, and they now ask me to read the book. I like the book because they like it, it teaches them great character straights and has great hands on applications for the family to do to further our character lessons past the book.

One Less, One More

 

 

One Less, One More by crisis expert Robbie Vorhaus is a simple guide to living a happy life. In this book he outlines seven steps for lifelong change, leading you to a life of happiness.

1. Start Now
2. Come Present
3. Consciously choose to follow your heart, be happy, and change slowly
4. Choose one less negative thought or action and let in go
5. Choose one more positive thought or action and embrace it
6. Celebrate your progress
7. Repeat tomorrow

The Pro’s:

The premise of this book is to get you to look past your current crisis, whatever that is, and choose to move forward instead of staying there and wallowing in sorrow. I can fully respect that, and agree. We could all stand to move on and let things go. I felt like the author gave practical real life examples of despair and joy, failure and success, staying put and moving on. I agreed with the basic thoughts the author was trying to portray. Throughout this book I thought of things in my own life that are holding me back and keeping me from moving on. I was able to apply more positive thinking to several areas of my life.

 

The Con’s:

The thought of following your heart in al areas of your life is a wonderful thought, but the heart can be deceitful and lead you astray. It can also push aside practical things. So while I agree that we should move forward, think positive, forgive and seek joy, I don’t believe our hearts will always lead us there. The author to me seemed to not take into account mental illness and things that make moving forward more difficult. The first few chapters make it seem like all it takes is choosing. That is a wonderful thought and is true in many cases, but sometimes it’s harder than that. I also felt like the most important piece of experiencing joy was left out of the book, a relationship with God. Lastly I felt the writing was very choppy, and repeated A LOT!

Over all I did enjoy this book. I received two copies of this book, one to review, and one to give away. I chose to give this book to someone I know who is personally living in crisis right now. I am hopeful that this book will give them some practical steps to move forward. 

 

*I received this book for free to review. The thoughts and opinions stated here are my own. I was not paid for this review.

The Hope Quotient – Book Review

 

 

The Hope Quotient by Ray Johnston is set up to help you measure and recharge your level of hope. The author explores seven factors to help you with this task. These factors are;

1. Recharge Your Batteries

2. Raise Your Expectations

3. Refocus on the Future

4. Play to your Strengths

5. Refuse to go it Alone

6. Replace Burnout with Balance

7. Play Great Defense

At first I really had a difficult time getting into this book. The writing was a little choppy for me, and I read this at an extremely stressful time. Because it was a stressful time I think that may have contributed to my difficulty getting through it. This book really hit home in some areas. I ended up really liking the book and I am glad I read it. I will need to go back and read it again soon, because there were many things I took note of (in a good way) that I need to go back over and study.

One are I really gleaned a lot from was the area of recharging your batteries. Within this section it talks about taking note of what drains you. As I mentioned, when I read this is was a stressful time, so it was good for me to take note of what was draining me, and assess how I could change that constant drain. A few of the things it had me look at was;

• Unhealthy people
• Unkind Critics
• Unbalanced Schedule
• Unnecessary Guilt
• Underestimating the impact of exposure

It was helpful to examine these area’s in my life. Some of the things that are a drain on me are unavoidable. So then it is time for me to find a way to make those things more enjoyable. I can’t get rid of them, so what ways can God use me in those things? Some things like an unbalanced schedule are easier fixes, but need to be acknowledged in order to fix them. There are many other examples I could give of things I gleaned from this book, but I will let you pick up a copy and glean for yourself.

You can pick up a copy at your local Christian book stores and from http://www.thomasnelson.com/the-hope-quotient

 

*I was given this book in exchange for my honest review. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

The Diva Diaries – Book Review

 

The (Desperate) Diva Diaries by Angie Spady is a book very similar to Dork Diaries. If your a believer and your daughter likes Dork Diaries you will be thrilled to have this as a replacement book. It is written in diary format which the kids love. It has the same over emotional tween girl flair, with a positive spin. Books like this typically encourage braty thoughts towards parents and siblings, but in this book you hear her thoughts as she is led by the Lord to be patient with her younger brother and respectful to her parents. As a mom of a tween girl I am thrilled to have this as a replacement for other books of it’s kind.

 

What did my tween girl think? Let’s find out.

Hailey age 11 says, “I give this book a five star rating. It was so amazing I couldn’t put it down. I loved that it talked all about fashion designing and that the main character had confidence in her designs even though  there were mean girls who made fun of her. She helped the mean girls change and they became best friends. I liked that since there are some mean girls out there. I like that she never gave up her dream. I like that she started being nice to her little brother, some of the scriptures will help me be nicer to my little brothers. She had a best friend who was cool and stood up for her. It’s good to have a friend to help you through problems and who will tell you the truth even when it hurts. If you are a girl my age I think you would love this book. I really hope my mom buys me the entire series.”

So there you have it. This book is worth having for young girls. You can purchase this book at  http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/a/angie-spady/

 

* I was given this book in exchange for my review. The views posted here are my own.

Wine and the Word – Book Review

 

Wine and the Word is a book written by Kurt Senske. Through this book Senske makes a connection between the vineyard and Christian living. The grapevine is mentioned in the Bible 205 times. References to wine or the vine are somewhere in the number of 521 times. Because the vineyard seems to hold great significance in the scriptures Senske set out to help us understand how to apply it to our lives.

Wine in the Word covers many topics such as family life, generosity, spiritual healing, and much more. Because the book covers such a wide variety of topics this book could easily be used as a daily devotional. The chapters are short and easy to read. Although the chapters are short they are full of valuable thoughts and scripture.

If you have an interest in wine you will really enjoy this book, if you don’t you will learn a lot about wine and the process of making wine that you likely didn’t know. I don’t have a particular interest in wine and really wasn’t sure that I would care to read all about it. However, I found the practical connection between the process of wine making and our day to day walk with the Lord easy to understand, enjoyable, and relevant. I could see this book being used in a small group setting.

Overall I did like this book.

You can find out more about the author and this book at www.kurtsenske.com

 

I was given a copy of this book  for free to review. I was not given money in exchange for this book. All of the thoughts expressed in this review are my own. 

HOD Little Hands to Heaven Week In Review – Unit 1

 

This year I am using Heart of Dakota’s Little hands to heaven for Liam and Sammy. Sammy is in Kindergarten this year so I will be adding a few things for him to ramp it up a little. I tried to use this curriculum last year, but neither of them seemed ready, so I have picked it up again this year. We had a really great week.

We love the masking tape A. For this activity the boys were to take animals and have them walk the lines of the A. Sammy said, “No”, but Liam did it and he also used these Jenga pieces to outline the A.  He also got the tape and made an A on his own.

The counting activities are counting 1-10. Both boys can already do that and they recognize those numbers, so I pulled out our Team Umi Zoomi Math Cards and Sammy chose a card. The Card had us counting objects found in the house. After doing that I decided to take out the counting bears and do some basic addition and subtraction. Both boys did great, and they really enjoyed free play with the bears.

Both boys enjoyed the Hid and Seek ‘A’ activity.

This was build an ‘A’ activity we did.

Our bible stories this week went quickly through creation and focused on Adam and Eve. The boys took well to The New Bible in Pictures For Little Eyes. I felt like this little book was great for Liam age 3, but a little young for Sammy age 5. That said Sammy seemed to like the stories and participated in discussion. I may read to him the same stories from our family bible just to add a little content. I had them watch this video and they really enjoyed it.

We talked about temptation and they played a little game where they walked over a snake that was lying still (a belt), and then had to jump over it while it was moving and try not to get bit by the snake (temptation). They had a blast and played this all day.

Sammy worked on Handwriting. In the coming weeks will will add more pages, but this week we kept it simple and did only a few things so that we didn’t overwhelm him. He did great.

They did this art project where I drew pictures like fish, trees, people, etc. in white crayon and then when they painted over it with black water color paint and the pictures were to be revealed. This was to illustrate how in the beginning there was nothing, but when God spoke things appeared.

This is just an overview of this sweet curriculum. We had a great week. I was able to asses where I needed to add for Sammy, and will add accordingly. In addition to these things they played games on www.starfall.com and www.abcya.com . We also watched a Magic School Bus episode about Molecules and discussed it. 

Third Grade Curriculum Choices 2014/2015

 

I am excited about our third grade year this year. We are continuing Heart of Dakota. This year for Christopher we will be using Bigger Hearts for his glory.

Every subject will be guided by the HOD teachers manual. I have one big binder that holds all of his handwriting, notebooking, copy work etc. I will take out six weeks worth of work and place it in his student binder which is separated into sections with tabs. This make it easier for him to get out exactly what he need. For instance I can say, Go get your red binder. Now open to the tab that says poetry. Now take out the paper that says Unit 1 on it. And he can get exactly what he needs. I am hopeful that this will help him gain some independence with his schooling.

History / Geography

I love the history in HOD. It uses a living book approach. The HOD teachers manual gives us a great history project every unit to help history really come alive. Geography is woven into the history, and there is usually a hands on geography experience for the kids each week. I added Drive Thru History for him to watch while I do some things with his little brothers.

• Heart of Dakota Teachers Manual
• First Atlas
• A First Book in American History
• Stories of Great Americans
• Journeys in Time
• The Wright Brothers
• Drive Thru History America DVD’s

Science

I absolutely love this hands on living book approach to science. Especially in these younger years. Every week there are experiments and great stories and notebooking laid out in the manual. All of the books are so rich with information.

•   One Small Square Sea Shore
• One Small Square Woods
• A Pioneer Sampler
• Science in Colonial America
• So You Want To Be An Inventor
• Thomas A. Edison
• John Audubon

Math

I’m of the mind set that if it’s not broke don’t fix it so once we complete book 2 we will move into book 3 of Abeka Math. It works well for Christopher.

Language Arts (Writing, English, Vocabulary, Spelling Copy Work)

We will be using the teachers manual for the majority of this work. The spelling lists are in the manual and go by a phonics rule or two. Copy work will be done through copying proverbs and poetry. Vocabulary is also laid out in the TM. We are going to be using Rod and staff for English we will do this mostly verbally. There is supposed to be dictation used in this level, but I’m going to SLOWLY see if we can make that work. I haven’t pushed dictation due to his working memory delay and it causing frustration. So I will not push it.

Art/Music

There are art projects each week in the teachers manual that are fun a teach basic art concepts. We will also do some picture study. I am excited about the Hymn study we are doing for music, I will also be adding Tin Whistle instruction. The tin whistle hasn’t arrived so I do not have a photo of that.

Cursive Handwriting

Read Aloud

It’s not always easy to fit in. But I love having reading time with each child. We sit on the couch snuggle, and then discuss what we read. It’s just a great bonding experience, plus it is great for the children to hear me read out loud.

• The Whipping Boy
• Rascal
• By the Great Horn Spoon
• Balto and the Great Race
• Concord Cunningham the Scripture Sleuth
• The Indian in the Cupboard
• Justin Morgan Had a Horse
• George Rogers Clark
• Snow Treasure

Literature

We will be working through Drawn Into the Heart of Reading level 2 this year. I will be working with him to complete the activities. He will read the books independently.

• Drawn Into the Heart of Reading TM and Student Pages Level 2
• Dolphin Adventure
• Hannah
• Pioneer Cat
• The Littles
• The Lighthouse Family: The Storm
• The Secret School
• McBroom’s Wonderful One-Acre Farm
• Amelia Earhart
• The Treasure of Pelican Cove
• Stone Fox
• Capyboppy
• Who’s That Stepping on Plymouth Rock?
• Sammy and His Shepherd
• One Small Square – Backyard

He will continue with his Torah School classes, and will be running a race a month, and I imagine he will spend lots of time building and spending time in nature.

Bible

We will attempt scripture memory. I am excited about the character study in the curriculum.

Sixth Grade Curriculum Choices 2014/2015

 

I can hardly believe we are ready to start sixth grade surreal how fast they grow. We have a very full year planned. I plan for the entire year to make it easier on me in the long run. Though you will see many “plans” know that we are also relaxed schoolers and will slow down if the need should arise. Last year was our first year using the Heart of Dakota curriculum. We really feel that the Lord led us to this curriculum. It has been a perfect fit for us. I love that it’s all planned out, yet flexible enough for me to not feel boxed in. I can change things and add things, but I know that I can pick up the manual and use it as is and we won’t miss a thing.

This year Hailey will be working her way through Heart of Dakota’s Resurrection to Reformation guide. With each category we will use the plans in this teaching manual.  I have all of her notebooking pages and math pages organized in a large binder, and I pull out six weeks at a time and place it in her smaller student binder. All subjects are separated by tabs (shown below). She will reference the teachers manual for daily instruction. 

  

Math

This year we will be working our way through Saxon Math 6/5. We will also utilize many online resources to help teach concepts.

 

• Saxon Math 6/5

History / Geography

We were very excited about history. Both Hailey and myself really love history so we have loved using a history based curriculum. Geography is woven beautifully in with history in this guide. We will use the following resources to learn about this time period.

 

• Heart of Dakota Teacher Manual
• Heart of Dakota History Notebook Pages
• Monks and Mystics
• Peril and Peace
• Story of the Middle Ages
• Draw and Write Through History – Middle Ages
• Famous Men of the Middle Ages
• Mystery of History Vol. 3
• What in the World? Vol. 2
• Map Trek
• World History Atlas

Reading About History

These book are living history books that add so much to our curriculum. I read these over the summer and am excited for Hailey to read them.

• The Legend of Squanto Audio Book
• Mystery of the Silver Coins
• The Tinkers Daughter
• Forbidden Gates
• Ink on His Fingers
• Mr. Pipes and Psalms and Hymns of the Reformation
• Morning Star of the Reformation
• The Story of Walter Raleigh
• A Piece of the Mountain
• Good Queen Bess
• Leonardo Da Vinci
• The Illustrated Book of Knights

Language Arts (Writing, English, Latin/Greek Roots, Spelling)

Language Arts is one of the areas I have done some tweaking to fit our needs. HOD chose a different writing program. I didn’t feel like it was a good choice for us. I chose Essentials in Writing because it was a more step by step program and because of the DVD instruction. If it works out we will stick with this writing program for the duration of her schooling. HOD uses it in 9th grade anyways so it will be a smooth transition to high school writing. At least that’s my hope. We added spelling for additional advanced phonics instruction. I am not sold on the addition of English from the Roots up, and I was going to sell it because we already have such a full schedule I didn’t want to overload her. Well, she has been doing it on her own. So this is not something I will enforce, but as long as she’s interested I won’t stop her.

• Spelling Workout F
• Essentials in Writing
• English from the Roots Up
• Rod and Staff English 5 second half

Bible

I’m excited about the studies and devotions this year.

• Heart of Dakota TM
• The Hidden Treasures in Philippians
• What is God’s Design for My Body?
• Beautiful Girlhood
• The Companion Guide to Beautiful Girlhood
• From Girl to Woman
• Scripture Memory
• Classes at Torah School

Science

• Heart of Dakota TM
• Apologia Exploring Creation with Astronomy
• Our Weather & Water
• A Child’s Geography Vol 1

Literature

Along with her reading material Hailey will be doing a Shakespeare study. We are both really excited about that.

• Heart of Dakota TM
• HOD Shakespeare Notebooking pages
• Netflex Documentaries and movies
• Bard of Avon
• The Giver
• Heidi
• The Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey
• The Prisoner in the Third Cell
• Eight Cousins
• Mystery Lights of Navajo Mesa
• The Secret of the Old Mill
• The Battle of the Labyrinth
• The Magicians Nephew
• The Horse and His Boy

We are very excited about our year. Extra Curricular will be taken as it comes. I am getting into a therapy swimming class so that will take up a lot of her time. We will continue with Torah School classes and American Heritage Girls. Art is woven into the teachers manual, and she will be learning to use a sewing machine. We will be busy bee’s.

Book Review - Raising a Princess

John Croyle was a former Alabama defensive back, and is the owner of Alabama child safe haven Big Oak Ranch . Mr. Croyle used his experience parenting children and teens in crisis, as well as his own biological children to write his book Raising a Princess. His book focuses on the importance of raising Godly women through a biblical foundation. This book is organized around eight essential virtues a parent can build in his or her princess: - Praiseworthiness - Righteousness - Initiative - Nurture - Character - Empowerment - Servant-Heartedness - Stability I enjoyed reading this book. I felt like it was very well written from a man's point of view. Raising my own daughter I took note of some of the tips and things that he used. This is a book that is beneficial to both a mom and a dad. Girls need to know that their parents are there fighting for them, and standing behind them, but that is not always easy to navigate as a parent. I felt like this book was great about giving practical advice to parents from a biblical stand point. You can purchase this book straight from the Big Oak Ranch web site, http://www.bigoak.org/raisingaprincess The Big Oak Ranch is an amaizing ministry that has reached many children throughout the state of Alabama. I have had the privalige of attending a service at the girls ranch as well as participating in a few ministry projects associated with The Big Oak Ranch. If you are not familure with the ministry please visit this link to find out about what they do. http://www.bigoak.org/our-ministry/ http://youtu.be/NejPXxghkgc http://youtu.be/7vRtsIQ-oeI

RESTLESS Bible study review

A little while back I was given the opportunity to review RESTLESS a DVD based bible study by author Jennie Allen. This bible study is geared towards women. Here is a small snippet of the description. "What would happen if God got bigger than your fear and insecurity, and you spent the rest of your life following after his purpose for you?" I really feel that statement is the very heart of this bible study. I'll get down to the nitty gritty real quick before I tell more of my thoughts. *RESTLESS is an 8 week DVD bible study *It cost $59.99 for the kit, but you can purchase indevidual peices seperatly *It comes with A DVD containing 8 video presentatios pertaining to the study, a leaders guide book which gives tips for leaders and discussion prompts etc.,A week by week study guide and a set of conversation starter cards designed to specifically fit with the lessons. My Thoughts: The DVDs are put together really well, and of good quality. I was able to go through all eight weeks of the study, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. At the time I received this study, I was really struggling with some things that the Lord had placed on my heart. Some dreams, visions, goals. I was struggling with fear, and becoming restless. This bible study really helped me dig into the word of the Lord. It helped me lay some things down that I didn't know I was holding on to, and pick some things up that needed to be picked up. I am so thankful to Sara Prince at www.sheltoninteractive.com and to Jeannie Allen for giving me the opportunity to view this bible study. If you are running a small group, or a woman's bible study, or looking for something for personal use, RESTLESS is a great choice. Restless can be purchased at you Christian bookstores and wherever you purchase your bible studies. Thomas Nelson Publishing is a good place to pick up this set.

K5 Learning–Review

I cannot say enough good things about www.k5learning.com . I was very excited when I was asked to review this program. I needed something to add to our current schooling that was computer based. This program fit the bill.

What is K5 Learning?

K5 Learning is an online learning program which helps kids Pk-5th grade with Reading, Math, Math Facts, and Spelling through interactive games.

 

What I like?

• I can assign lessons
• The placement tests allow for adjusting levels where needed, so if one child is in second grade math but third grade reading your can set it up that way.
• Games are simple yet fun.
• Each student has their own log in
• The parent dashboard is great. I can view how they are doing, how long they are spending on certain subjects, and easily adjust levels.
• The kids love it.
• The lessons are quality lessons.

What do I not like?

• While I can load my own spelling words and they are used in the lessons, it also goes through their spelling words.
• I do not care for the Pk section. It is lacking in comparison to Starfall.

That’s it. As you can see we love www.k5learning.com . Sign up for you 14 free trial today and see how your family likes it.