A wonderful friend GAVE me a GoBible this week!    I tend to not be gadgety, but this is an amazing device.  Unpaid commercial follows.  ; )

For years, we've enjoyed Alexander Scourby's KJV readings on cassette and CD, but it was getting complicated switching out CDs for the younger children, and slowly I lost track of who needed which CD next.  At some point I fizzled on it entirely--cheating them out of the hours of rich audio-Bible that their older siblings enjoyed.   (They still get family Bible time, and natural "walk by the way" discussion--just not independent listening.)

This tiny little thing fits in the palm of my hand and has the complete Bible handy and easily navigated.  It comes with tiny little ear buds, but our larger child-friendly ear phones work better for Keegan and 'Anna.  (Both of whom begged for more, and will enjoy having something to listen to at quiet-play time.)

With father's day coming up, I thought I'd mention it.  (Although Ken won't be getting ours.  He'll still take Audio Bible CDs on his commute to work, because it is easier to keep track of CDs for one person than five. )  For a lot of dad's though, it would make a great gift!

Thank you, dear friend, for this wonderful blessing! 

Warning, I'm about to do something daring, and post the Questions and Answers below despite a migraine.  Odd syntax and homonym issues might cause me to regret this reckless move later.  (Why does my brain have homonym issues with migraines?  Admittedly, I am spell-check-dependant even at my best, but I KNOW my homonyms--they are usually the only words I spell correctly!  With a migraine though, I can't sea strait and eye make two many errors.  I hope ewe will excuse me if this makes know cents.)  ;)

 

Posted by MamaMahnken (24.40.145.229)

So, I just realized, and I want to know - when do your kids bathe? I am trying to figure out the most efficient way to get 4 kids clean, besides hosing them off in the backyard... :) Veronica

 

A. You mean we are supposed to BATHE them?  Our dirty little secret is out?

Seriously, we do bathe them, but only about 1x a week in winter and 2x a week in summer.  Typically we snag them in the 5-6 pm slot on the schedule 1 or 2 at a time.  Kaira does her own bath without help.  (I wash her hair separately in the sink.)  Ken bathes the boys together at this age.  Keianna and Kendra were together, but are now bathed individually.   Typically bath night is Saturday, and we just morph the schedule accordingly, and skip recorder practice or whatever. 

Posted by Anonymous (216.129.238.194)

Hello! You have had a busy household! What fun changes in your home! I enjoy visiting your blog....gleaning ideas and being inspired by your fun learning ideas and dedication to home schooling. Thank you for sharing with all of us. :) A question for you.....your coffee table full of books is an awesome idea. I love the idea of having books around relating to the similar subject/time period. My question....how are you able to have all of those books for that same subject all at the same time? We have a small library here in our area, but I have to place a "hold" on many of the books, which means waiting for them to come from another library or from someone else who has checked them out. How do you keep it so organized that all of those books are available right when you need them? Thank you so much for your time! I know you don't know me, but please know that I've really appreciated gleaning ideas from you. I do have an e-mail, and I now have a "nook" (similar to a blog) over in the "Homeschool Lounge" that is now up and running. God bless you and yours, JamieB A Montana home schooler

A. Hi, Jamie!   I typically buy or borrow (from friends) the ones that I feel are "absolute must haves"--even if the library has them.  (Usually only a couple fall into this category.)  Then, because I have a serious book addition, I buy a few more that I just kinda want after making sure the library doesn't have them.   When I go to the library, I'm just looking for icing on the cake!   Especially considering that we aren't in a really big city, our library has fantastic, although often a bit quirky selection. They always have some wonderful surprises!  I usually search around the dewy numbers of the books suggested in my Tapestry of Grace manual, and then also by the names of people or events we are studying. 

Posted by Jeaneen (168.103.141.248)

Hello, I really have enjoyed reading some of your blog and am curious where you got the "rack" to hang the teaplates/cups?How much was it? I have saucers I am collecting and was going to hang them by glueing a paperclip to the back-got the idea from a plate I found at a thrift store:) Also how did you hang the plates with string? I am AMAZED at your clean house! What are some of your hosue rules/ways to help it stay so nice? THankyou for your time

A. Hello, Jeaneen!  The plates are easy, they have a lacy border of holes to string a ribbon through, and are designed for hanging.  The hangers for the tea cups were a Christmas present from my sweet husband.  I had my grandmother's tea cups sitting in boxes because my hutch and curio were filled.  My clever husband found a link to Ritter's Gifts titled "hint for wife for Christmas" or something of the sort saved in his "favorites" bookmark on the computer, and "surprised" me with the cup holders!  

---

I've decided that I need to reply to the comments in the comments because otherwise I forget to do a separate post.  I'm going to try doing it that way for a bit and see if I can be consistent.  :)  Comments are so much fun.  Thank you all for leaving them.

The children are tucked in bed and I'm heading there too.  Goodnight, bloggy friends.

Random ten that come to mind tonight:

Flickering candlelight

My husband’s hand on my shoulder

Spring’s first crocus

A child’s snuggle

Crinkle of turning Bible pages

An unread book in my hand

Whipped cream on my nose

Tag in the dining room

Tea Kettle whistling

Crisp, Clean Sheets

Laughter in the playroom

Oops, went one over... it is hard to stop when counting blessings!

Blog entries will continue here as always, but I've opened a "Virtual Filing Cabinet" on Wordpress for our weekly copywork and a few other odds and ends.  (You'll find my "Learning to Read" templates for the upper and lower case letters over there too.) 

I've no idea whether our copywork will be of help or interest to others.  It is specifically tailored to PrairieFrog Academy, and wouldn't be a great fit unless you are using the same books or studying the same people and events.  Useful or no, I figured it would be fun to share.  Click here to hop over to the Annex.

I rarely post about other blog's contests, and rarely enter the ones where we need to do a blog entry... but, JenIg knows how to do a contest, and this one is especially great! 

Here's the essential data, copied from Jen's great blog about this wonderful generous contest.  I'd love to win, as I've been eyeing Rosetta Stone for years.

Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FREE! 

This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.

This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program.  Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking.  Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included!  For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports. 

 

To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/  and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it.  And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it.  And good luck!  The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg.   And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win.   Yay for free stuff!

Drumroll........

Kermit!

 Chautona wins the prize having been the first to suggest it.  (Several others came up with it too, but her post was first.)  To read all the name suggestions posted under various entries from this past week, click here, and here, and here, and here.)

Honorable mention:

The etymology of Terrance (from terra-"earth") and Kendall (Lord of the Land) brought them near the top of the list.  Jeremiah, Frogger, Polliwoggan, Johnny and Dredge were all contenders too. 

We got such a chuckle over Aaron's answer of, "Mine" that Kendra proposed naming the tractor "Aaron" in his honor.

Kermit made it into each of our top three lists though, and ultimately rose to the top.

Thanks, everyone for making this fun and giving so many great names!

(Click here to read the official/initial contest post.)

So far we have about 80 great names to choose from.  I've figured out my favorite ten, but the children and Ken will want to weigh in tomorrow.   We've got to choose just one! 

Today Kendra was thinking aloud,  "Wow!  Tomorrow will be busy!  Grandma and Grandpa are coming, we'll read, do school, narrations are due, it is the day we name the tractor..."  Yep, pretty busy day ahead!

Name suggestions accepted and encouraged until tomorrow afternoon.  Then, we will christen our newest addition.

Here's the tractor:

For another view of the tractor, click here. 

And the prize:

Child's Book of Art

We like to name our vehicles (and appliances, and everything else).  The cute little guy pictured in the post below needs a name.  Please comment and submit your best suggestions.  If we choose your name, you'll get a prize!

Here's the prize:

Child's Book of Art

I accidently purchased duplicates of this book, so I can give one away!  Submit as many suggestions as you wish.  If we name our tractor the name you suggest, you win!  Just be sure to give me some way to contact you.  (Link to your blog or send an email.)

(Editing to add the contest deadline: Friday afternoon; lets say 4:00 pm MST.)

In tweaking my sidebar, I confirmed my dislike of FireFox. (It must be one of those love it or hate it kind of browsers, because I know people who are ardent fans.)

Apparently FireFox is Gecko based, and won't accept some of the code changes other browsers allow. (I'm trying to imagine a fox/gecko, and failing to merge the two animals satisfactorily in my mind.)

But I digress... Even the Gecko/Fox thing accepted most my template changes obligingly, including a cute little search engine just for my own little PrairieFrog Blog. It wasn't until I tried to color coordinate my scrollbar that the gecko put its suction-cupped foot down. I would have thought that geckos, like chameleons, would be particularly gifted in blending colors to match the background, but nooo... the scrollbar can't blend with its surroundings.

Still, it was fun playing with the code. The first method I tried altered the main scrollbar too.  I didn't like that (It looked lovely, but I wasn't wanting to be too renegade), so I played around until I figured out how to change just the one bar. (For curious FireFoxers: It isn't my main scrollbar, but the little one on the TOG Blogroll widget on the column to the right. If you would, whenever you see it, please imagine it in pale blue.)

Amazing the things I spend time doing when I should be asleep.

And FireFox users, please continue enjoying through your preferred browser.  I'm pretty sure that wanting a scroll bar to color coordinate with my template borders on some kind of neurosis, so don't mind me...

Ken and I had fun doing this meme together:

If I were a shoe, I'd be

A lace up boot:

(granny or paddock style)

If I were a city, I'd be

Kilkenny (fascinating little Irish city)

If I were a season, I'd be

Autumn. (But Ken says I’m springtime.)

If I were a car, I’d be

 I can’t imagine being anything motorized. Ken says a Saturn.

If I were a vegetable, I’d be

 Jicama.

If I were a fruit, I’d be

An apricot.

If I were a color, I’d be

Plum or mauve.

If I were furniture, I’d be

A queen Anne desk.

If I were a country, I’d be

England.

If I were a beverage, I'd be

White Zinfandel.

If I were clothing, I'd be 

An Irish walking cape.

If I were weather, I'd be

a gentle rain/mist

If I were a dessert,  I’d be 

A chocolate raspberry scone.

If I were a plant,  I’d be

I fancied myself an aspen tree, but Ken says African Violet.

• Ken’s a hiking boot
• He’s Estes Park in its off season.
• He's Autumn
• He’s a 4-Runner
• He’s a Golden Potato
• He’s a watermelon
• And he’s purple.
• He’s a computer desk
• He’s Iceland
• And Classic Coke
• He’s a sweatshirt
• He’s overcast and cool
• He’s key lime pie
• And a Blue Spruce

In the comments on the previous post someone asked how I'd gotten widgits and pictures and other things into the sidebar.  I'll share, but I don't promise to be helpful or make sense!  My brain works in odd ways.  Usually it does work (really!  It does!) --just not conventionally.

I had this problem in highschool algebra.  I could figure out how to work a formula, and then apply that formula to all the problems in a lesson flawlessly.  I’d do wonderfully on the homework, and on the quizzes, because I could pop the formula into my short term memory and apply it on everything in that section.  The chapter tests, however were something different all together.  I needed multiple formulae in my weak little brain all at once.  This I couldn’t do as well—at least not with the amount of effort I was willing to expend.  I could get the right answers, if given time, but it would be through convoluted and quirky logic.  Usually, even with the right answer, the teacher marked it wrong because in checking the “work” we were required to show, she could tell I didn’t do it “right”. 

So the year went on, I’d ace the homework and quizzes and fail each chapter test.  A, A, A, A, F, A, A, A, A, F, A, A, A, A, F…

I’ve discovered that programming or coding is similar.  I can look at the code, and copy a formula, but I can never remember what I’ve done afterward.  I can find a similar “equation” and substitute in different values to make it work with the numerators or addends or whatever I desire, but I need to work from a sample bit of code that does something similar.  Usually I copy right out of my blog’s own template code.  If I want a new subject header, I copy code from the other subject headers already in there, substituting the words or links.

To add a picture in the sidebar, just find where in the sidebar you want it by scrolling through the code, then enter:

*center*

* img src=" LINK TO YOUR PHOTO HERE " alt="TEXT YOU WANT TO APPEAR WHEN MOUSE HOVERS OVER PICTURE HERE"*

*/center*

Substitue asterics with < or > 

Widgets (like the Verse of the Day, Word of the Day, and my Random Book thingie) had code provided as features on the websites where they are hosted.   I just copied the code provided and pasted it in.  (There were a few "tweakings" I had to do with the Verse of the Day in order to keep it from word wrapping strangely.  Naturally I don't remember how I did it, I just played around with it until it behaved.)

Other things I couldn't figure out code for, and googled.  Like finding what numbers represent the colors I wanted or how to do a subtle background pattern repition. 

There are some amazing custom blog designs here on homeschool blogger.  Some people do there own, others hire it out—kinda like home décor. 

Mine is just slightly tweaked from a standard template.  I widened a window here, changed the paint color there, etc... but it isn't too far off the cookie-cutter, but that works for me.  I don't like much busyness or clutter. 

 If you want to see some beautifully designed blogs here on homeschool blogger, just look around bit.    Tia's is fun and spunky and loaded with personality.  It was custom designed for her by Christi.  To see a beautiful, elegance, visit Christina, who has a custom design from Amber. 

I know there are other gorgeous custom blogs, and blog designers here on HSB, but they aren't coming to mind at the moment.  (Probably because I usually read blogs through a Bloglines subscription, or here through the "Friends Latest Posts link in my sidebar.)  
 

I hoped this helped.  I'm really only a determined blunderer, and just played around with things a little.  As long as I'd saved the previous code in a word document, I knew that it didn't hurt to play, so I did!    

Thank you to Andijean and to B. Strouse for the "You Make Me Smile" award!  Wow!  What kind words.  Thank you both for making ME smile!  Andrea's homeschool is full of inspiration, and B's sweet children with their big smiles (Wow, does her "Baby bear" smile!) bring a grin every time! 

I could give this award to so many bloggers who encourage me by sharing their joys (and sometimes struggles too.)

And thank you Page!  (Page gave me a "Nice Matters" award!  Page is such a treasure! 

The song is etched on my mind and will always remind me of the aunt who took me on the Disneyland ride so many times.  In some ways we are losing small town atmosphere.  Yet, for all the changes, there are aspects of our modern world that make the world seem smaller.

I was reminded just this week when a new Pluto discussion popped up.  Last year the author of an astronomy curriculum (well, it hadn't been published yet) took the time to post a letter to my Kaira explaining it in simple (yet not over-simplified) terms!  Isn't it great that when a six year old pounds about a scientific reclassification, someone like Jay Ryan can just happen to "overhear" and turn it into a wonderful learning opportunity?

And where but the blogosphere can you comment on a book you've been enjoying and have the author just chance to "overhear" and join the "conversation"!  Hazel Mary Martell, author of one of the Viking books on our coffee table posted in my comments!  Very cool!  Thank you, Mrs Martell for taking the time to visit an comment!  (We have been really enjoying Over 900 Years Ago: With the Vikings)  What fun to see that it is indeed a small world in so many ways. 

And, I'm behind on a lot of things including blog acknowledgements. Lori tagged me (over a month ago) and I've not yet replied.  I'll try to do it soon, really!

And...JenBH gave me the most lovely Blogger Reflection award!  Thank you, Jen!  Wow!  (I'll be passing the award on too, when my head stops spinning from the undeserved compliments.) 

It's a small, blog, world!  :)

My Grandma used to say, "See you in the funny papers!"  Now my own little Kendra has made it into the comics! 

The talented Christina, of Comics, Coffee and Catches, let Kendra guest star in her Home Spun comic strip today! Go see Kendra in the comics!  (And you can read the story that inspired it on a blog entry I wrote some time back.)

(And thanks, Christina, for accommodating with the blue dress!)