Homeschool Art

 This week at The Homeschool Village we are discussing art.  There are several posts that I have done over the past two years on what we have done for art. Click here to see them.  We have been blessed in that my kids were able to take art from another homeschool mom for two years.  She did some awesome stuff with the boys...things that I would have never done because they were too complicated or too messy.  Here are a few photos of some of our art over the years...  

Our Family in Clay

Art and math:  A Multiplication Clock

Snowflakes

Noah's drawing of Titan, our mini Schnauzer

This year my boys will be taking art again from my friend.  She is doing Science-based art.  They will be learning from some of the Apologia books and doing art projects based on what they have learned.

Bible Timelines

I am attempting to read through the Bible in 90 days.  I will start Job today.  As I have been reading I realized that I needed some timelines to keep everything straight. Here are two that I found to be helpful.

The Prophets connected with the Kings of Israel and Judah- This timeline is helpful while reading I and II Kings and I and II Chronicles.  It will also be helpful when I get to the major and minor prophets.

The Persian Kings-This summary is helpful for figuring out the Persian kings that were in power during the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel.  Here is another one.

A Hectic Life

Life has been so crazy these past few weeks! Normally every week I am ahead on blog posts have them written and I just schedule them to publish.  Not so this week!  Here is a PARTIAL list of what has been going on...

*Said good-bye to grandma and grandpa
*We are currently dog sitting a retriever/lab mix.  She is such a doll!
*We have had our friends' children over here for about 6 days while they went down to a memorial service in California. So we are a family of six!
*We have been out blueberry picking about four times and have about 35 cups of blueberries!  This is the most we have ever picked.
*We picked four lbs of raspberries last night.
*Noah has been in swim lessons almost every day this summer.  His strokes are really improving! If I had to be honest he is a better swimmer than I!
*Noah's swim lessons has allowed me about an hour of reading time each day.  I have been using the time to try to read the Bible in 90 Days.  So far I am ahead of schedule.  I just started Nehemiah.
*I am working on getting the boys school schedules set for the year.
*I am trying to set up my Spanish lesson schedule also. (I teach private and small group lessons in the afternoons after I homeschool the boys.)
*I need to start making jam...going to start that process this week.  I think I am going to make...
  triple berry (strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry), blueberry, cranberry and banana, and raspberry jams this year.

Giving Thanks for the Craziness!

Visit Ann's blog, Holy Experience, to learn more about Multitude Mondays.

736. One extra dog, two extra kids, and a lot of craziness in the house!

737. The opportunity to teach the youth girls at my church how to do altered clipboards.

738. Nachos!

739. Receiving all the boys' curriculum for the year.
740. A friend helping me out in a jam last week.
741. Rain...even when I don't want it.
742. Fruit...we have been eating tons of it lately!
743. Laughter from the kids.
744. God giving me the ability to be faithful in my reading the Bible in 90 Days.
745. Finding homeschool curriculum at a discount.
746. Flowers on my front step.
747. That one of my Jr. High Sunday school students gave his life to the Lord this weekend!!!!!!!!!!  I am praying that he will follow God with his whole heart!
748. A plethora of blueberries...the most I have ever picked.

Bible in 90 Days....The Kings of Israel and Judah

I am attempting to read the Bible in 90 days.  I started on July 1st so I am a bit ahead of the online group.

I am currently in the Chronicles and ahead of schedule by about a week.  I am so thankful for this because once September hits I am going to have a hard time reading with working part time and homeschooling.

I have been reading through all the stories of the Kings of Israel and Judah.  It is amazing how sin begets sin.  All the Kings of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord.  However, with the Kings of Judah there were a few that decided to do what was right.  What impressed me about reading the history of Judah is that God blessed them even when there was a bad king on the throne.  He blessed them for the sake of King David.  This fact encourages me to have a heart that follows God...because David did, his descendants were blessed.  I want my children and grandchildren to follow God with their whole heart and to be blessed.  I pray that I will be able to give my whole heart to God so that future generations will be blessed.

Weekly Wrap-up: Our Curriculum Choices

For the Weekly Wrap-up this week we are supposed to talk about what we will be using for the coming school year.

I have two sons: one will be in 8th grade and the other in 4th. You will notice that there are lots of subjects, but I tend to only have the boys work on certain subjects each day...only math, reading, writing are done five days a week.  Here is a breakdown of what we will be doing together and what they will be doing separately...

Subjects Done Together

*Bible and Life Skills with Plants Grown Up

*History with Biblioplan 2: Medieval and Renaissance

(To read more about Biblioplan, see this.)

*Geography withTrail Guide To World Geography (Geography Matters)

The 8th Grader's Curriculum

*Bible reading using this plan called SPECK

*Math with Math-U-See (Algebra I) and the Life of Fred books for review

*Writing with Institute for Excellence in Writing: Medieval History

*Grammar with Fix-It also from the Institute for Excellence in Writing

*Vocabulary building with WORD ROOTS SOFTWARE LEVEL A2

*Spelling Power

*Readers: Suggestions come from Biblioplan

*Apologia: General Science

*And finally, Spanish with Rosetta Stone

The 4th Grader's Curriculum

*Bible Reading with Day by Day Kid's Bible: The Bible for Young Readers (Tyndale Kids)

*Math-U-See (Finish Delta and begin Epsilon)

*Institute for Excellence in Writing: Fables

*Fix-it

*Getty and Duby Italics

*Spelling Power

*Readers: Suggestions from Biblioplan

*Apologia: We are halfway through Botany and then will start on Human Anatomy

*Spanish:Rosetta Stone

P.E. in Homeschooling

This week at The Homeschool Village we are sharing photos of our kids doing fitness activities...here are a few of ours...

Check out The Homeschool Village blog by clicking on the button above!

The Jesus You Can't Ignore by John MacArthur

Was Jesus always meek and mild?  Did He try to please those around him? In MacArthur's book, The Jesus You Can't Ignore, the relationship between Jesus and the religious leaders is expounded upon.  While Jesus was compassionate to those in need (the sick, the poor, etc.), he constantly confronted the Sadducees and Pharisees for their hypocritical approach to religion. This book explores all Jesus' encounters with the religious rulers of the day...from His public chastisement of them to His conversation with Nicodemus.

The Jesus You Can't Ignore gave me a new view on how Jesus operated with the "religious".  I came to an understanding that if we are to be like Jesus  sometimes we have to stand up for what is right.  We have to "turn over a few tables" so to speak.  Which means that we won't always be welcomed or loved by those around us.  I also came to the realization that Jesus was offensive to some...He didn't cater to them and therefore, they hated Him.  If you want to see the side of Jesus that stands up for what is right I would recommend The Jesus You Can't Ignore.

Thomas Nelson has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it. I am not required to give a positive review. All my opinions are my own.

Beautiful Blogger Award

Last week Heidi over at Chatter, Clatter and Things that Matter gave me a Beautiful Blogger Award!  Thanks, Heidi!

As a recipient of the Beautiful Blogger award, one must:

1) Add a link and note of thanks to the person giving the award
2) Pass the award on to the bloggers whose blogs you love (15 tops)
3) Share 7 things about yourself

Seven Things about Myself
1. I live in Alaska.
2. I am originally from New Underwood, South Dakota....find that on the map!
3. I love gardening, reading, scrapbooking and stamping.
4. I am a former high school Spanish teacher who now gives private lessons in her home.
5. I love dark chocolate and hate red meat!
6. I love being the mom of two boys that are complete opposites.
7. I am tall and shrinking!  I used to be close to 5'10", but I am now 5'9"...the wonders of getting older! (I will be forty this year!)

Blogs I Love

Candace at His Mercy is New  I would have to say that even though Candace is younger than me she has been a mentor and guide for me over the years.  She was my TOS Crew leader and now is my mentor for the Bible in 90 Days.  She has helped me with my blog more times than I can count.  Like me, she has struggled with depression.  She has such a heart for God!  I love visiting her blog for inspiration!

Michele at My Blessings from Above  I love Michele's blog!  She loves to cook and is on a mission to be frugal.  I am the same way and love to find out tips from reading what she has to say.  She is the one that encouraged me to get into Swagbucks...I am so thankful that she did!  Now I can order from Amazon with less guilt!

Cheryl at Adventures of a Somewhat Crunchy Mama  I recently found Cheryl's blog...I love her wit and humor and tips! I loved her series...Somewhat Crunchy You.

Kendra at The Pumpkin Patch  Kendra has awesome ideas...for homeschooling and cooking.  Her home looks so fun!  Look at these great posts....Independence Day and Zebra Cake!

Book Giveaway

 Sheri over at The Shades of Pink is having a book giveaway!  Check it out!

A Moose Multitude Monday

Gratitude has changed my life...focusing on the positive has helped me avoid those negative thought patterns.  Here are more things that I am thankful for...

725. Getting to watch a momma moose and her son at a pond...

726.  Camping

727.  Keeping up with reading the Bible in 90 Days.

728.  Raspberries!

729.  Dog sitting...which allows Titan to have a playmate for awhile.

730.  This picture...Titan pondering at the pond....such a peaceful picture.

731. New deck furniture.

732. Great visit with my in-laws.

733. Finding out that Noah isn't allergic to bees.

734. Being able to teach the youth at our church.

735. Pumpkins in our garden!

Bible in 90 Days Check-in

So how is rapidly reading through the Bible going for me?  Can I just say that I love it! I am finding that it is actually easier than trying to read the Bible through in a year.  I know that in some ways that makes no sense whatsoever.  But I am really getting into the stories and concepts better because I am reading more each day.  I am making connections that I never did before like how Caleb's brother (you know...Joshua and Caleb that thought the promise land was a good idea.) was one of the first judges of Israel.  I have made the connection that redemption is a bloody business after reading about all the sacrifices that the Israelites needed to perform.

I actually started a bit earlier than the online group (July 1st was my start date).  I am currently in  I Kings . I can't believe that I have gotten this far so fast!!!

Weekly Wrap-up...Camping

This digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox So my wrap-up for this week is in the form of a slideshow.  This past week we went camping with friends for a few days and then with family (Grandma and Grandpa).  We had an awesome time!  We even got to watch some moose eat at the pond we were camping at! Check out more Weekly Wrap-ups at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Self-Evaluation in Homeschooling

This week at the Homeschool Village we are discussing self-evaluation in homeschooling.

Here are some of the  questions that we could answer...


* What have you learned about yourself because of homeschooling? Did you realize you have a special gift, talent, or passion you hadn't realized before? For me, I realized that I have such a love of books and reading.  I have always enjoyed reading, but by becoming a homeschool mom I have had the opportunity to read more since I am reading to my kids a lot.  One area that I have loved is history...it has become more alive to me since becoming a homeschool teacher. I have enjoyed the read alouds that I have done with the kids over the years...the straight history and the historical fiction.


* What area(s) do you feel you need the most improvement for the upcoming school year? What steps will you take to make those improvements? For me the area of improvement for the upcoming school year is the same one that I struggle with year after year: patience!  Patience enough to slow down and enjoy the lessons.  Patience to watch my boys struggle through their work. Patience to deal with my oldest who is on a different time schedule than I am.  I am going to try to focus on stepping back and giving it to God more. I have learned over the past 7 months that prayer can help in this area tremendously.  Now I know that they say never to pray for patience because then you will get circumstances where you will have to exercise it, but I am focusing more on giving my anxieties to God through prayer.  When I do that I notice that my patience with the boys and our schedule for the day increases.

If you want to see what other homeschool moms are saying about self-evaluation...check out the Homeschool Village.

Tub Trugs: A New Gardening Tool

I recently bought a Tub Trug through Azure Standard.  I am loving it.  Tub Trugs are flexible tubs that you can use for a whole lot of household jobs!  I am using mine in my garden.  Currently, I take it with me through my garden to collect all the weeds.  Later in the summer and fall I plan to use it to gather whatever I harvest.  Check out their website...they have tons of sizes and colors!

Quick Lunch Idea

I recently came across a substitute for those little pizza pockets that my kids sometimes get for lunch.  These are super easy to make!  You can make them in bulk and then freeze them to pull out later for a quick lunch.  There are other possibilities too...such as ham and cheese instead of the pepperoni and mozzarella.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
4 ounces pepperoni, cut into small cubes (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil



Preheat oven to 375o. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through, then stir in 1 Tablespoon basil. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 Tablespoon basil. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Here is where the original recipe came from.

More Thankfulness...

714. Great swim lesson experience for Noah.

715. Blooms on my flowers in the garden!
716. Being able to have time to read...I am currently reading the Bible through in 90 days.
717. Getting some deep cleaning done around the house.
718. Setting up my Spanish lesson schedule for the year.
719. Playing math games with the boys.
720. Birds singing in the morning.
721. Cool breezes.
722. Building relationships with godly women.
723. The ability to rise above circumstances.

724. That God makes all things beautiful in their time.