I have been reviewing Time4Learning.com's site for a few weeks now. Let me tell you a little about it, and then I'll tell you my comments.

Time4Learning is "a convenient, online home education program that combines learning with fun educational teaching games." It offers language arts, math, science and social studies for most grades beginning in preschool and continuing through eighth grade. The students progress at their own pace. They can also be at different grade levels for different subjects.

It has a monthly fee of $19.95 for the first child and $14.95 for the second child, but it also provides a money-back guarantee. You can see a demo here.

Now, for my comments. First of all, the kids LOVED playing on this. However, after coming across a story that I felt was encouraging the children to be disrespectful to their parents plus some crude humor, I was concerned. I have also found evolutionary topics and the earth being millions of years old to be the norm. I am a Christian and I believe the Earth to be about 6K years old, not millions of years, plus God created all things, and I teach my children accordlingly.  However, I'm sure you could use that information to teach what others believe and use it as a springboard for learning.

The monthly cost is definitely a factor for us since we have 4 kids in the grades that this covers.

So, for the reasons mentioned above, this is a program we would not normally consider. However, as stated before, the children LOVED the program and it just might be worth it for you to consider, especially if you don't mind teaching about evolution.

 

 

 

My camera still is not working, but for anyone in need of a Sam fix, I'll include this:

This outfit was made by our friend, Jody Benefiel, for William when he was this age.  She also made a matching outfit for Micah and I have a picture of Sam in that somewhere around here.  Anyway, it is such a cute outfit and I'm sad to see all of my kids grow out of it!

Saturday evening, we went and picked out a Christmas tree.  I seemed to be the only one with much true concern for choosing the best possible tree.  The kids just wanted to get back to the building so they could have hot chocolate and John just didn't want to spend an arm and a leg.  And trees do cost a lot, y'know?  Well, we finally agreed on a short, fat Frasier fir, and went back for hot chocolate. 

By the time we got it home and set up, we decided that that was enough for one day!  So, we decorated yesterday while Sam was napping. 

Now, we face the daunting task of keeping Sam from pulling all of the ornaments off the tree and/or pulling the entire tree over.  I have the other kids on patrol, but even that is not enough.  So far there's no permanent damage, but the thing has been up for less than 24 hours, so there's plenty of time. 

Well, I've got kids in need of an education and at least one in need of a diaper changeso I'd better go. 

Oh, and please pray for my Grandpa Copeland.  He fell a couple of days ago and broke his shoulder.  He's a tough old guy, but he sure could use our prayers. 

 

 

Here's the link:

 

Free MP3 Downloads at Amazon

 

There are about 500 songs to choose from in various genres including some Christian and classical titles.  Enjoy!

We had a good Thanksgiving, but came home to our three dogs being outside of our fence and the biggest one, missing completely. So, we are downsizing. We are only going to keep the smallest one and keep her inside. Unfortunately, the church can't afford to fix our fence and we can't afford it either, and with one dog gone, we just have to find a home for the medium sized one. We have a friend that is considering taking her. If she doesn't take her, I'm not sure what we'll do. She is a good dog, and so sweet. Anyway....my blog will be filled up this week with reviews. I have a lot to get posted as my deadlines are fast approaching, so check back often and see what new things I've been blessed to review!!! You might find some goodies that you can't live without!!!

Think about how much it costs to get your children a pizza at Pizza Hut or Papa John's.

Think about how much it costs to run into the store real quick to buy a gallon of milk and a bottle of detergent.

Think about how much it costs to pay your library fines? (Ugh, my last round of fines were $8.50)

So, now are you thinking more than about $8.00 for each of these FLEETING purchases. I mean, how long is that pizza gonna last? A gallon of milk in our house lasts 3 days, maybe.

Well, for $7.95 you're going to get something that lasts all year. Something that will encourage you. Provide teaching ideas and advice..

During the Black Friday sale event in the Schoolhouse Store, you can subscribe for ONE FULL YEAR to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for AN ENTIRE YEAR FOR ONLY $7.95!!!


It's absolutely the BEST DEAL EVER!

I emailed my homeschool co-op and our support group e-mail list about this price. Our support group meets at a public recreation center where there is an air hockey table. One of my friends commented to me that she spends $8 every two weeks on air hockey for her children and "just think, for the same money, I can get advice and ideas".

A homeschool friend teaches my daughter art, wouldn't a magazine sub

What a treat!  This year, as far as Thanksgiving preparation goes, all I really had to prepare was the turkey!  Elizabeth and Rebecca took care of the rest.  Elizabeth made Sweet Potato Souffle and helped Rebecca with the Dressing.  Here is a picture of the girls cubing bread:

 

 

Elizabeth has a piece of white bread in her mouth because the only time I buy the stuff is when I make stuffing or dressing, so they only get that glue-like substance a few times a year!  Rebecca started a puzzle a few days ago on the dining room table.  We didn't quite get it done, however, before we had to put it back in the box.

 

Rebecca made most of the rest of the sides for us including: Broccoli Casserole, Basil Carrots, Biscuits, and  Zesty Peas.

 

Dan made the Mashed Potatoes becuase he's the best potato smasher in the house!

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I remember waking up at 9 or 10 on Thanksgiving morning to the smell of turkey cooking in the oven.  I remember going downstairs and seeing my mom, sitting down with a cup of coffee, relaxing.  It was some time in high school, though, that I finally figured out what had been going on all morning.  Mom had actually been up since before the grey dawn, wrestling with a 20+ pound raw turkey, making stuffing, cooking giblets, getting the staggeringly heavy roaster pan into the oven.  "Wow," I thought to myself.  "If that's what it takes to make a turkey for Thanksgiving, when I grow up, we're having ham." 

But, here I am, having risen in the pre-dawn grey, wrestled with a 20+ pound raw turkey, made stuffing, cooked giblets, and put the staggeringly heavy roaster pan into the oven.  The only thing missing is the coffee.  I have replaced the internet with coffee for relaxation.  

And, do you know, when I do up that turkey, I feel a real sense of continuity and camaraderie with the women in my family.  It reminds me of my mom and my grandmothers and I'm aware of being a part of something important, not important like world hunger and world peace are important, but important like family.  And I'm thankful that I had someone to teach me how to stuff and tie up a turkey because it means that someone loved me and spent enough time with me to pass on even the ordinary things of life.  Thanks, Mom.  Thanks, Grandma E. and Grandma C. 

I also owe my yeast rolls to Grandma E.  I made a batch yesterday, and while mine have never and likely will never turn out like hers, yet I use the same recipe and they smell the same and taste mostly the same...except things never taste just the same when they're not made by Grandma. 

I hope that you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, enjoying friends and family, and being thankful for the blessings the Lord has given you.  I know that's my plan for the day!

 

Here's the rules:
Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
List 6 unspectacular quirks you have.
Tag 6 bloggers by linking to them
Leave a comment on each blog to let them know they were tagged.

1). i watch kiddie shows... I love em

2). I like dressing up and standing out.

3). I love walmart

4). I am not normal... i like weird things....

5). I like pretending still...... it's fun

6). I am a georgia- alabama fan....

Ok, and here's the people I tag:

1). Adonaips13

2). Fableboy101

3). Caring4creatures94

4). Eyesonaslan

5). kimalita

6). McCainPalin08

 

We sang this song in church last Sunday and David and I have been singing it ever since. This is a longer version and the writer of the song, Don Moen, gives a short teaching at the beginning. Happy Thanksgiving dear blogging friends. May you have a wonderful day of celebration and reflection on all of God's blessings.

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I posted once again.  This has been such a busy year for us. 

 

We moved out to our "new" homestead at the end of July.  It was a bittersweet move.  One where we knew we could accomplish a lot of our goals....but one that neither of us were sure we were ready for.  I was scared to leave the simplicity we found in town and rightfully so.  We had been working on the house since May.....and made a lot of major progress...but it still seems that there's lots we could be doing!  Our job is never done! 

 

Part of our plan is to open a car lot here on our property.  We bought a place right on the highway where we'd have lots of traffic to view our things.  When we moved, we moved it all into the building that was to later become the car lot office....and then gradually have moved stuff into the house as we're ready for it.  Well....we're now down to crunch time.  The State inspector will be coming to make sure our building is an acceptible place of business.....and we need to have it look more presentable!  WOW...we sure had stuff stuffed in there!  We spent a lot of last week dragging things around...moving it into our basement onto tables and pallets, hoping to keep it dry.  One day of doing that is enough to bring this pregnant mama down.  I sure do wear out easily these days!  I didn't lift anything too heavy, but just being on my feet all day can really take it's toll.  We have a few cars set out on our newly gravelled lot and have gotten a lot of interest in the first few days that they've been out there.  Nothing has sold yet, but we're feeling really optimistic. 

 

Another thing that is new to us, is that we are heating our house with wood.  We are really enjoying this!  We have a wood furnace that sits outside.  It warms water up to 180 degrees and then pumps it into a radiator in the basement which blows it through the central heat ductwork.  It is all controlled by a normal thermostate just like central heat.  We also have a propane furnace that will use the same vents, but we sure enjoy getting to hear for next to nothing.  My husband has been following the electrical line tree trimmers around picking up whatever they leave.  They said he was welcome to take what he wanted.  He managed to get 3 truck loads of it today!  That should last quite a while! 

 

We've had our share of adventures living out here, too.  First on the list......  MICE!  EWWWW.  We knew that mice would likely be a problem, but now that it's getting colder, we're beginning to see that problem.  We're stuffing any potential mouse holes with steel wool....and setting traps.  We had 3 kittens and a mama cat when we moved out here but they've all disappeared, so we just recently got 2 more kittens to go along with our one house cat that we brought when we moved.  Hopefully they will all help to control the population......and in the mean time, we'll be able to continue to fix any potential place the mice could find their way in.  So far, they seem to be fewer and fewer.  We hope that it continues that way! 

 

Another recent adventure.....I was in the kitchen cooking....and saw out the back window a bunch of smoke in the middle of a patch of grass.  I couldn't imagine why the grass would be smoking, so I asked my husband if there's a reason why because you just never know what he's been up to outside....lol.  As I was telling him, it got thicker and flames started bursting up.  I noticed that his truck wasn't too far away from the fire, so I began to worry a bit.  My husband and son ran out to investigate and sure enough, it was a grass fire that was beginning to spread somewhat quickly thanks to the windy day.  My son had just dumped the ashes from the wood stove and I didn't realize that was their dumping place.  I guess there were still some hot embers that caught it on fire.  Had I not been in the kitchen at that time, things could've really gotten out of control quickly.  The ended up grabbing the waterhose and putting out with that. 

 

We've had a dump truck knock down electric lines, a tractor pull up propane lines by mistake and a tractor run over the water meter causing a large leak.  We're just full of adventure.  No wonder I miss the simplicity of the other house!  LOL  I don't think that things will continue like this....as they seem to be calming down already.  I just really need to get the inside of the house in order so that I can decorate for Christmas and then soon after, bring a baby home without quite as much to do.  You should hear all the plans that we still have!  Every day, my husband wakes up with a mental list of his priorities and it's always very long!  Luckily a lot of our to do list isn't things that have to be done on a regular basis...a lot of them are one time type things....and as we finish a lot of those, we'll be able to get into more of a routine.  Welcome to "farm" living!