Did you hear? Vision Forum is having their spring sale! Now is the time to stock up for birthdays and Christmas gifts, oh and some things from your wish list also.
Some of our favorites are:
Ten P's in a Pod - This book has inspired us to be more faithful at Bible reading and memorization. It also is an amazing story of a families ultimate trust in God for all of their daily needs.
Jonathan Park - Did you love your free download? Collect the rest of the series. Mark is listening to these and working through the study guides with the older children in the evening. It is a great science and creation resource. The complete set is discounted 32% and individual titles are 30% off.
Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary - Need I say anything more? If you don't already own this, grab it while it's on sale.
We have too many favorites to even list. Our girls were listening to the Cd "Victory for Daughters" this afternoon and our children older children have listened to "What to Expect From a Twelve-Year Old" over and over again.
So head over to Vision Forum and take a look, but hurry the Spring Sale ends March 18.
, I decided to rethink the whole homemade laundry soap idea.
"Helping families with an adverse prenatal diagnosis. Today, 80% ofThis post has moved to our new blog. Read Spread the Word about CHASK or visit our new homepage.
unborn babies with medical concerns are aborted. We want parents to
hear about life choices. CHASK provides family to family support helping
families raise their child with special needs. Loving homes are waiting to
adopt
these children if the birth moms and dads are not able to parent.
"
When I was getting our two youngest boys ready for bed, I did not discover that my task was made lighter by half because one of them was still in his pj's. What kind of mother would let one of her children stay in his pajamas all day?
I have not been staying up late AND getting up early. If I did that I would be grumpy and difficult to get along with and I have not been grumpy or difficult to get along with.
I did not go to the library book sale three times last week. We already have loads of books and I am running out of shelf space.
If I had gone to the book sale multiple times and purchased more books than we have room for, one of those books would not have been a book about de-cluttering. Wouldn't that have been counterproductive?
Go visit MckMamma's blog to see what others have not been doing this week, or check out my other "Not Me!" Monday posts!
Wonder how a family of 12 functions? Checkout my home management or homeschooling posts.
Make your own buttermilk, make your own yogurt, and how to use powdered milk in your cooking.
These recipes have moved to our new blog. Visit Homemade Buttermilk and Yogurt or go to our homepage for more recipes, money saving tips and information on raising a large family.
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Another evening, after I had been in bed for a few hours I heard a voice calling, "Mommy." Unwilling to get out of bed, I called, "What honey?" A moment later there was a knock at our door. Still hoping to remain in bed I replied, "Come in." Nothing. I knew the gig was up. I got out of bed and opened the door. Without so much as a sidelong glance at me, Colby, blanket in tow, marched across the room and over to my side of the bed. Then he turned and requested, "Sleep in Mommy Daddy's bed?" "Don't you want to sleep on this nice soft rug?", I suggested. "No, Mommy Daddy's bed." I think that he enjoyed his sick privileges a little too much.
Making amazing memories by spending time with my family that Works For Me!
WARNING: Sleeping on the floor with no additional padding is not recommended for children over 25!
Check out everyone else's Works For Me Wednesday posts here or view my other WFMW posts.
. They allow our children to add detail and color and are easy for the little ones to manipulate. We have given our children more options as their art skills have progressed. These
Caran D'ache water color crayons are my new favorites. I will suggest that if you expect quality results give them some quality tools. (Trust me on this one, I don't recommend spending money very often but nice art supplies are worth the investment IMO.)The first assignment that we give each child is for them to go out into the yard and look around very carefully. They are looking for something that they have not noticed before. It can be the veins in a leaf, the spots on a fuzzy caterpillar, a blue rock or the fact that our dog has her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. When they notice something that is new to them, they get to draw it. They must look at it while they draw and we encourage them to try to notice even more details while they are working. If our child notices a bird or something else which would not stay put long enough to draw, they may look it up and draw from a picture in a book or online.
If your children are like mine, their first drawings will not be impressive. It is okay if the drawing is immature and even unrecognizable. Their art skills will improve over time. At this point just encourage them to notice details and to try to include them in the drawing. So if your child noticed the veins in a leaf, and has drawn an uneven circle with lines going who-knows-where, that is wonderful. They have learned to look more closely at nature and to communicate what they discovered through art.
Next we have the children write something about their drawing. For the example of the drawing of veins in a leaf, we would ask what she just drew. If she says, "I drew lines in the leaf," then we would direct her to a source where she could discover what those lines are called. If she already knows that they are called veins then we would ask her to find out why a leaf has veins. The idea is to require them to find out something new and write that beside their picture. As soon as she understands how and where to find information, she no longer needs help with what to write unless she is having difficulties.
We require one nature entry a week. When I look at their assignment for the week they are usually full of information that they want to share with me. After we have discussed their page, I will usually tell them what I want them to do for the next week. Often the assignment will be exactly the same as the one I outlined above. However, if I notice that a particular child is struggling to do meaningful research or is stuck in a rut, I will give them a more specific assignment to help them progress in their ability. For example, if they are failing to convey new and meaningful information on their nature page, I would give them a specific question to answer or a process to explain for their next assignment.
If you don't have time to do anything more than this, your children will still benefit greatly by taking some time out each week to observe, wonder, draw, and study God's creation. However, I highly recommend the Handbook of Nature Study
Allow your children to enjoy journaling. As something interests your child, let them explore it further. We have studied rocks, leaves, squirrel habits, butterfly life cycles, live bearing fish, and the reproductive process of our pet guinea pigs. Hmm, I should probably get my children to produce some nature pages about ants.
If your children tend to focus on different aspects of nature, set aside time for them to show each other their books and talk about what each one is learning. This expands everyone's horizons.
They don't have to learn it all in a week. They don't have to produce a work of art every time. It is the process that teaches. Relax and enjoy.
Here are other posts on homeschooling, including why we homeschool and our most important assignment.
I did not allow the ant farm on the table during dinner, nope not me. Who wants to eat while watching a bunch of ants scurrying and digging, well, except for my husband and 9 children?
When I discovered that the children were digging their hole to China at the base of our slide, I was not less-than-thrilled. I mean who wouldn't want to slide all the way to China? I am not going to make them fill in their giant hole and start all over again, back in the woods, not me.
I did not dress my 10 month old in a Christmas outfit in March. I always dress my children in season appropriate clothing and their outfits always match.
I do not encourage allow our 2 year old to run around in his underwear just because I think he looks way too cute in his boxer briefs.
When I brought the rug in from the deck rail, I did not discover bird poop on it. I am a devoted mother, so did not balk at the idea of cleaning up after a BIRD.
When packing for our trip I did not forget to pack my hose and shoes for church. After all I only had one outfit to pack.
When I took my camera outside to play a game with the children, one of the children did not ask if we were doing it for the blog.
If you are curious about homeschooling or how we manage our large family, you can click any of the category words in the sidebar to see more. Some of our most popular posts are The Schedule and Daily Chores.
For more "Not Me! Monday" fun, visit MckMama on her blog.
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