Mystery of History (Vol. 1) is on sale this weekend only as one of the "Fabulous Friday" deals.

Mystery of History

 

Also check out the "WOW" deals, several of the items offered are homeschool resources:

 

Limited Time "WOW" Bargains

 

I know there was a coupon code published in a homeschooling magazine recently so you may be able to find it if you surf around. With the code you could get 10% off a $35 purchase.

 

 

Here's an Alibris coupon if you are doing some book shopping online:

 Use coupon code 4THJULY on checkout at Alibris to save $2 on $20 or more of books, music, & movies at www.alibris.com. Hurry, this coupon expires July 20, 2008.

Did you get your email about the 1776 special? For one day only - July 4th - you pay $17.76 and you get a one-year subscription to the print magazine, 5 issues of the digital magazine, an e-book of the Star-Spangled State Book, The Citizens Rules e-book, and an e-book of The Independence Day Lapbook!

New Subscribers Here
Renewals Here

I got mine already! What a deal!

I'd love to say I'll take the time to write more later, but I since I seem to be keeping busy (sometimes busy doing nothing) lately, I can't.  So here's a quick recommendation anyway.

 

I am reading The Practice of Godliness and really enjoying it.  The book has served as a reminder of where I am headed and provided useful tips on how to get there more effectively.  I have really enjoyed reading the Scriptural selections mentioned in the book and have found them to be very inspiring.  My only "complaint" is that in the second portion of the book where the development of specific godly traits is discussed, the author sometimes fails to actually provide the Scriptural citation for his references.  For instance, the author makes a reference to Paul indicating that he can do something because God strengthens him but doesn't provide the book, chapter and verse citation for me to read the referenced passage.  This is a small issue and most of the non-cited references are ones that I recognized well enough to know that they really did exist (somewhere).  This is a very small issue with what is otherwise a very useful book. 

 

The author did an excellent job of explaining and supporting his explanation for what our true motivations should be and how we should behave toward our God.  I am taking notes as I read through the book and plan to re-read the text and accompanying Scripture to my DH and my children as well.  Some books I read and get a little from and I'm OK with that, as there's always some wisdom to be gleaned if only from reading the reference Scriptures alone.  But I often find myself counting how many pages I have left until I can put a particular book aside and move on to something more inspiring.  I recommend this book because it's one that actually made my heart "sing." 

 

I hope that you each find something this week that can inspire you and make your heart sing.  God has given us lots to sing about. 

 

 

Use code: STARSANDSTRIPES

 

 

By the way, I have tried out a new game called PictoWords that you might want to give a try.  Remember, you can download the game for a free 1 hour trial.  If you have a visual learner who is just starting to get into reading compound words, this game might be a good tool for you.  In the game you are given three image tiles plus 3 letters and you must use these in combination to create words and reach your goal.  For instance, you might receive an image representing "thin" plus the letter "K" in your set and you would combine them to create the word "Think." 

The game can become complicated because often changing the letter combinations changes the sound of the initial word.  Also some of the words used are unfamiliar and some are actually abbreviations or slang such as "reb" or "EKG."   To help the player, a list of "blank" options is provided.  So the game board will indicate what specific sets of combinations  particular set of images and letters will produce.  HInts are also available.    The game also provides a dictionary that the player can click on to read the definition of a word.    

 

I am planning to purchase it myself at some point.  Right now, my son can watch me play a see how the individual words combine to make new words, later I think it's something he'll be able to do on his own.  I think I've mentioned before that we have a Game Club membership so we aren't paying "full price" for the games we select (though we do buy a lot over a year's time), but simply for the value of being able to show my son how words go together this on is worth the purchase to me.  I could almost see those little cogs in his brain turning. LOL!  Again, the trial is free so take a look if you think it would be a good complement to your child's reading program.  And, take advantage of that 40% so you don't have to pay full price either. 

 

 

 

You Are An INTJ

The Scientist You have a head for ideas - and you are good at improving systems. Logical and strategic, you prefer for everything in your life to be organized. You tend to be a bit skeptical. You're both critical of yourself and of others. Independent and stubborn, you tend to only befriend those who are a lot like you. In love, you are always striving to improve your relationship. You have strong ideas of what love should be like. At work, you excel in figuring out difficult tasks. People think of you as "the brain." You would make an excellent scientist, engineer, or programmer. How you see yourself: Reasonable, knowledgeable, and competent When other people don't get you, they see you as: Aloof, controlling, and insensitive

Apparently, I can't stand to have one school year be exactly like the next.  The only time I have ever done anything even remotely similar from one year to the next was when John was in seminary and I was working at Geneva.  That was the first time I had ever taught any course more than once and William was in the same school two years in a row...although Micah was added in to the school business for the second year.  Anyway, we're changin' it up once again. 

For this coming academic year, I will be team teaching with Mrs. Smith in her combined 4/5 classroom - William's classroom.  I will do two hours in the afternoon, teaching literature, grammar and writing.  It will be new for me to teach 4th and 5th grades, although I have done it in homeschool co-ops before and survived, but I am excited, literature, grammar and writing being right up my alley.  For literature, we're doing good stuff, like Caddie Woodlawn, The Phantom Tollbooth, The Family Under the Bridge, Across Five Aprils, Number the Stars, and one other yet to be determined.  In history, they'll cover 1750 to the present, so the literature books were chosen to roughly coincide with that. 

I'm trying to decide on the that last literature selection, and thought about something having to do with the Revolutionary War.  There's Johnny Tremain, of course, although I'm concerned that it might be a little too much for the fourth graders.  I've heard Carry On, Mr. Bowditch highly recommended and it might do fine, although it's not technically about the war.  I really enjoyed April Morning by Howard Fast when I was in middle school, but it's been so long since I read it, I can't be certain that it was as good as my muddled middle school brain thought it was.  Then there's Little Women, anything by Lloyd Alexander, The Hobbit, on and on I could go.  Help!  Do you have any recommendations?  They can relate to the American Revolution or not.  There is so much good literature to choose from that it's hard to narrow down to THE best one for our purposes.  What do you think?

I will still homeschool Micah and Johanna in the mornings, and then leave John to crack the whip over them until they finish whatever they dawdled over in the morning.  This will be something new for all of us and I have moments of trepidation, wondering how we'll all do with mom working out of the home again, but we've adapted before, and God is always faithful. 

Last week ... AJ was in Florida.

I cleaned. Out of necessity of heart and home. The XBox room was the first because it seemed the most managable ... i was sort of wrong.

But ... I found a most precious picture of mom and son ... a few letters and cards that were fun to go through again ... clothes that were old and outdated made their way to the garbage or Goodwill.

But in the bottom of the closet, under the boxes of science experiments was a small bag. Inside were two treasures that in December of '99 I thought might be important someday. You see, even when my Granddaddy was sick, had oxygen tank and tubes everywhere ... my son loved him. He loves him still. AJ called him GG Pa ... the Pa part stuck in his mind most because when he was five he was proud that we were related to one of Jesus' apostles ... the Apostle Pa ... true story.

So, when GG Pa died when AJ was four, I wondered what he'd like to have of his ... watches were claimed ... wedding rings claimed ... there was every little of value ... AJ chose one bottle of Gray Flannel which I occassionally sneak in and smell. For him, I chose a pair of overalls and a flannel shirt which were the treasures in the bag ... tonight, I showed him the clothes ... knowing that overalls aren't his thing, I wondered what the reaction would be ... he was thrilled, which thrilled me. I even got an unsolicited hug, kiss and thank you for thinking of him all those years ago. I nearly cried watching his long legs fill the legs of my Granddaddy's overalls ... knowing how pleased he would be to see that boy that sat on his lap proudly wearing his Big Smith's ... I'll spend some time working on the cowboy boots and one other treasure for his 13th birhtday. Somehow, that just seems like the right thing to do.

My heart is full tonight.

     May this video and wonderful song by Steven Curtis Chapman greatly encourage you today! 

This is only going to be available for  a few more days so hurry over to get the download while you can. :-)

 

http://homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com/

I have not updated this blog for a long time so I am dropping by to just post a quick note to say I am going to try to start blogging on this again.

Until next time Have a Blessed Day!!!!