Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, 

the people he chose for his inheritance.

Psalms 33:12

With almost half a school year behind us, it’s not too early for me to begin assessing where we are, and where we might go next year.   I’ll have another year with a high schooler, a middle schooler, and an elementary school student, so I don’t see much changing in terms of my own time commitments.   We’ve had perhaps one of our best years since we began homeschooling seven years ago, and I know this has everything to do with me being humbled enough by last year’s dreadful results to submit myself to much prayer time with the Father.    He’s answered almost all of our plans with a resounding YES!—history/literature, as we teach it here, is seemingly leaping off the page (in spite of the fact that Mom’s ready to check the Iliad off our reading list—only 300 more pages to go!!  LOL), everybody is using the math resources effectively, and we’re in that sweet spot where everyone is learning from everyone else and everything.   As one example, our son has hit a point in his land animal studies that he’s supposedly focusing on spiders.   I say “supposedly” because spiders repulse him.   So I struggle getting him to look at the pages and grasp the concepts.   Almost as if God-sent, his little sister is reading Charlotte’s Web, so guess where he’s learning about the strength of drag lines, the process of egg sac production, etc.?   The coordination of these units was not my planning at all, but everyone is benefiting from keeping their ears glued to what’s happening around them.   Even the oldest is a step ahead in biology as she covers reptiles after interacting—from a safe distance—with Spot, our leopard gecko.

I’ve not been one to try and fix what’s not broken, so we’ll continue the same path on next year, for the most part.   I’ll add grammar via English for the Thoughtful Child, to the youngest’s plate.  I wanted to begin this year, but didn’t feel that she was ready for a larger amount of lessons than I remember requiring her to write.   I may place our son on a local homeschool debate group to help him use his propensity to argue effectively.     Because my understanding is that debate requires a lot of research and writing, it would probably replace studying history.   I’m still thinking about reading lists for both he and the oldest, which is, in part, food for thought regarding my current dilemma.

I am convinced that as homeschooling parents, we teach according to who we are.   Our passions become the areas that we teach best, and the place where we bring the most to the classroom experience.   The corollary is that there are other areas that we either don’t like or don’t understand (like poetry for me) that become hits and misses—perhaps less hits and more misses—in our school.  Incidentally, I think that traditional school teachers do the same thing, but at older ages, they don’t cover the full gamut of subjects the way that many of us do, so the results might not be as recognizable.   Because of this factor, we have to stay before the Lord regarding agenda.   What do I mean by agenda?    I mean those plans that have more to do with you, or other factors not germane to academic wisdom.    One example might be when you’re determined to prove to the in-laws that homeschooling is a valid alternative to a traditional school, and so you overwhelm a small one to create a “genius” who can parrot information, but has limited knowledge and understanding.     It might not be where you are, but I have had two years—this year and last year—of revelations.   This is after a whole-hearted desire to subjugate academic wisdom to spiritual wisdom.   How humble do I need to be, Lord?    I could detail all the places where my own borderline obsession with producing intellectuals got in the way, as well as all the consequential moments that I could have spent gingerly teaching and encouraging instead of panicking and frowning.   But I won’t.   I’ll speak instead about where we are now.   In the midst of a great year, as I mentioned before, is a high school science class that I don’t think is working.    I mentioned that she didn’t perform well on the first test.    The second was better, and her score was actually above the class average.   Her third test is this week, and she claims to be ready for it. But for a number of reasons that aren’t entirely her fault, this class has become her life.   The pursuit of a good grade means that she is having to study every day for several hours a day and doesn’t get to do hardly anything else.    That was not the plan.    I placed her in a virtual class in part to nurture a budding interest in a science career, and the amount of material thrown at her each week has all but squelched any affection for this subject area.   As I contemplated options over this past week, I had to come face-to-face, yet again, with agenda.    In the midst of our horrendous year last year, I bought into this class in order to give the oldest a peek into how a teacher would treat her that didn’t love her enough to put up with all the crap I did.   I thought it’d be one less thing on my plate.    Instead, I’m having to spend as much time with her on this, if not more, than I did before, and now we’re both dancing to the beat of someone else’s drum.   Spanking received, Lord.   I’ve considered just cutting our losses and going back to our Apologia studies, and I’ve still not shut the door totally on that option.   Yet, my husband, yin to my yang, verbalized the same concern regarding wasting money, which, with the year we’ve had, is almost unthinkable.    I’m more concerned at this point about what messages we’d teach regarding quitting every time something isn’t as we desire.   I’m also sorting through whether there’s another issue with me and agenda:  Do I struggle with releasing some control?   The high school years, at least if your kid plans to leave home, require that you begin to let go.   Am I ready for that?   I talked ad nauseum to her on last year about the calendar spinning on how many days she’d be “safe at home with Mommy” (inclusive of being able to push Mommy’s buttons, knowing just how much or how little to accomplish for Mommy not to fuss).   Maybe she’s not the only one who’s struggling with someone else in the driver’s seat?     Anyway, as I said, the reason this class has had mixed results as far as I’m concerned are multi-faceted.    So as I wait on answers that are beyond yes or no—answers that reveal God’s greater truths and more perfect plans for all of us—I am meditating on these words:

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;

be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, “Seek [4] my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.” [5]
9 Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path…

13 I believe [6] that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!

 FOR YOUR TOMORROW WE GAVE OUR TODAY

 "In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields."

It's time to change the video at the top of my blog, so my darling  daughter asks me to post the "Beanie Weenie" video from the Skit Guys. How could I resist?

So, I said, "Okay."

And she said, "Okay."

And I said, "Okay."

And she said, "Okay."

And I said, "Okay."

And she said, "Okay."

And...just watch the video. You'll understand.

• The Books Are Always Better
  
• Central Oregon 101 ~ A brief introduction to my hometown.
  
• None Other Than My Mother ~ A poem I wrote for Mother's Day
  
• Humans and Habits ~ Have a habit that you need to break?  Read this!
  
• Avoiding Foolish and Ignorant Disputes ~ with a Lord of the Rings flavor.
  
• Another Poem ~ I wrote a lot more poetry several years ago than I do now!
  

• A Thoughtful Journey ~ Yes, another poem.       
  
• Analogies and The Great Critical Thinker
• I've Got a Plan! ~ What do you plan on doing after you graduate?
• The Better Blogging Movement #1
• The Better Blogging Movement #2
• How Important is the Pencil ~ Do you take the pencil for granted?  Read this and gain a new perspective on one of the most little thought of writing instruments.

• Protecting Little Knees ~ Older siblings, we have a responsibility towards our little sisters and brothers.
• My Graduation Speech

• No Fishing Allowed!
• Lament of the Stars ~ Are there no, truly good actors out there?
• Hardships of Friendships ~ Another lament, of a more serious sort. 
  
• Only Jesus...
  
• Don't Waste Your Time! ~ Do you waste time of things that only have worldly value?
• Sweetness is...
• Living on Charity ~ Did you know that we are all living on charity?

• The Church in the Wildwood ~ How I long to hear those old hymns sung in a church setting!
• Whose Leaves Were Fair
  

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has done it again!

This time, they are offering to anyone a digital supplement to their popular magazine. The theme of this digital supplement are holidays more specifically Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This little gem is packed with a story about the Pilgrims, a thanksgiving activity for the family based on Psalm 136 tons of activities for the children, articles for the mom, recipes, Christmas carols, decorations, handmade gifts suggestions, and many more goodies. I'm quite excited about this supplement and look forward to read the articles in it.

My only sad point would be that it wasn't release sooner so that Canadians can use the Thanksgiving part of it. I guess there is always next year! This wonderful supplement is completely FREE. Click on the image below to get your copy!

Triviathon

By the creators of the #1 SuperBowl Commercial of 2009 “Free Doritos!” Website: http://www.triviathon.com/

About the Game The trivia game where you can compete and win without ever knowing the answer to a question! Triviathon will have players singing, dancing, arm wrestling, cheering, cheating, and more as they compete in a game that puts each player's unique cognitive, physical, and social skills to the test, all while trying to win a race moving at speeds of 0, 1, 2, or 3 spaces based on trivia questions they don't even have to know the answers to - Just answer A,B,C, or D!

Who are the creators of the #1 SuperBowl Commercial of 2009 “Free Doritos!”? Joe and Dave Herbert - The Herbert Brothers made headlines in 2009 when their Super Bowl commercial for Doritos took the #1 spot on the USA Today Ad Meter - just two weeks before the public launch of Triviathon at the Toy Fair in New York City. It was the first time Budweiser did not take the top spot in 10 years, and the feat earned the Herbert Brothers $1,000,0000. Watch the FREE DORITOS! Super Bowl Ad

Our Thoughts Usually, this section is called My Thoughts but since I’ve played the game with my husband I decided to renamed this Our Thoughts for my Triviathon review. First, let me tell you that I have never heard of Triviathon until I joined the group about Cranium on Facebook. Someone has posted that even though they loved Cranium they thought that Triviathon was the best game ever. My curiosity was picked.

What was Triviathon? I had never heard of it and mind you never saw the box anywhere. Honestly, I don’t hang out in stores often and this specific game had not come in any advertisement in my city so far. Could it be because I live in Canada? Maybe. So I decided to contact VP of Sales at Jeezle Pete’s to see if I could review the game. They agreed to do so and also tell me that the game was not specific to Canada at this point. They are so popular that they have been approached by a manufacturer for distribution in my country. L

ast night, I was able to convince my husband to play a game with me. He is not into trivia much because he finds it hard to remember tons of information about specific things. He is definitively NOT a trivia game kind of person (except for the Disney ones…). So Trivia Pursuit is not played often in this household… So when I asked him to play with me so I can review Triviathon, there was a tiny bit of hesitation then he said sure . So we set up the game, made some popcorn, choose our characters and started the game. We had fun. We laughed. I even had to go outside to well “Triviathon is the best game ever!” – yes I did, laughing and all… Fortunately it’s November and not a lot of people are outside in their backyard! ROTFL I wish that one of us would have had to call a friend for help but we didn’t end up on that spot. Maybe next time.

We had a blast and my husband REALLY enjoyed it. He comments are “For once I enjoy a trivia game because I really don’t need to know the answer. The best part is that I am learning at the same time when I learned the results of my choice.” *grin* I’m so glad that he love this game. I give the two-thumbs up to Triviathon just because of that!

To play it is quite easy. Once you have set up the board and choose your special character, you have to start the game. Even the instructions coming with the game are hilarious. The creators are very creative. Your job as a player is to answer the questions (or pick the options that will permit you to advance fast on the board) so that you can win. You can either pick the number of spaces to advance or pick the color on which you want to go. Then you have a series of options A-B-C-D and there is questions on them, you pick one of the options and you will learn how many spaces to advance or which color to go to.

Here’s an example.

To what colored space do you want to move?
A. The color of the dress Peebles Flintstone usually wore.
B. The color celebrated by Protestants in Northern Ireland on July 12th.
C. The color of the lowest valued balls in a game of snooker.
D. The color of the star that appears on the Vietnam flag.

When you have picked your choice, you learn to which color you go. It’s that easy. And it is fun… To add to the pleasure of playing this game, your character has a special task to do during the game. My husband had taken the blue character which was the bully and anytime during the game he could challenge the other players to an arm wrestling match. Did you think I had a chance? None whatsoever, so I lost my turn and he add an extra space to his next move.

Oh and another bonus for you – you can create new characters definition on their website. You can even try to game yourself on the website before buying it. Try it out! You will be amazed by how easy it is to play this game. The game has already multiple awards under its belt since the release in February 2009 - Game of the Year! From Creative Child Magazine, PTPA Winner, iParenting Winner, TNPC Seal of Approval, Nappa Honors from National Parenting Publications, 100 Best Children’s Products! By Dr. Toy, Top 100 Games! by Games Magazine. And I have the feeling that it’s not over - more awards will be coming for this game.

My only concern would be the fact that there is no cover on the box of questions to protect the cards if you bring the game somewhere else. It would be something to consider. My suggestions to the creators are these:

1) Created more questions and offer them as add-on boxes
2) Develop a Canadian version of the game in a near future. *grin*

Bible Trading Cards By Creation By Design Website: http://www.mybiblecards.com/

About the cards Creation By Design's mission is to create Biblical products that enable children to connect with God's word in an exciting and fun way. In a time where Creationism is debated in the United States as an option to be taught in public schools and the secular culture in inundating our children with the latest in video games, television and trading card fashions, we must find new ways for the next generation to bond with Scripture. Taking the latest in computer digital graphics and a fresh narrative voice, My Bible Cards stands as an alternative to Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh. Creation By Design has devised a Bible Card trading series that can be used as a teaching tool to help children understand the Biblical narratives without forgoing their sense of the latest gaming trends.

• 100% original 3D digital computer-designed Art
• 100% original textual story content
• Fun facts and Timeline sections to tie the information all together
• Kids will want to collect them all!

My thoughts I had the opportunity to evaluate this product through PTPA Media, Parent Tested Parent Approved and since they have just release their Holiday Campaign Winners, I can now present you this wonderful card games.

I think this is the best solution for parents who don’t want their kids to be exposed to other card games on the market like Pokemon for example. My oldest was introduced somehow to Pokemon cards when he was going to senior kindergarten. I thought it was a bit too young for this show (not the cards) and since we are not hockey fans per say (we love Olympics hockey though) – I just couldn’t figure out what kind of cards he could “collect”.

Enter My Bible Cards from Creation By Design. When I learned about them, I had just signed up for PTPA Media which allows parents to test and approve products. You receive the product, you test it (use it) and then you answer a questionnaire about it. So I received and e-mail from PTPA Media asking for families who have children aged 7-12 and who ideally are Christians and homeschooling. Which is exactly our situation… So I communicated with them and I received a box of the Old Testament.

Geared for boys and girls whose age is within 5 and 12 years old, these cards will permit them to visualize the stories of hte Old Testament. Each cards has a 3D artwork on the front and 3 sections on the back. The Narrative section which describe the card itself. The Fun Facts which gives more information about the subject of the card in art, literature, history, science and animals. The Timeline which places the event of the card in relation to other trading cards and world history.

I used the cards as a reward when my 5 and 8 year old would behave properly during the school time. I went to the dollar store close to my house and bought them sleeves so that can store the cards and refer to them. We then got a binder to store the sleeves in it. My oldest got in his mind to place the cards by numerical order. So now the cards are in order in the binder and it's easier to refer to them when we look into the Old Testament events. For example, the kids are going through the days of creation at AWANA and we can take the binder and look at the cards related to the Creation days. Pretty neat!

Right now only Series A is available on the market. A packet contains 5 randomly selected cards out of a series of 100. Price of a packet is 3.99$. In a box of 24 packets you would have a total of 120 cards. There is a full set of 100 series A guaranteed in every box. Price of a box is 85$.

Also, you will find in the fun section of their website free wallpapers as well as coloring pages.

I strongly recommended the Bible Trading Cards for whoever who wants to make it more realistic for their kids.