Dec. 2, 2009 - Wordless Wednesday
Dec. 2, 2009 - "It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas..."
=) Happy December! December just makes me in such a good mood! My blog can tell it's December, because it's snowing. Do ya'll like the template? theReadingMaid made it. I just love it, thanks so much Grace!
I also added a Christmas playlist, I hope ya'll enjoy the songs. (especially the Josh Groban songs! *diez*)
My Christmas piano recital is Friday. =/ I think I'm ready, at least I hope I am. Here is a video of the song I am going to play.
Just cause, here's a link to a really neat blog that I visit for girls...
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ibeauty/
That's all for now.
God Bless You,
Taylor
Edit: Here's a neat thing I did that tells which words I use the most on my blog, it's pretty cool! Click it to see a bigger picture of it.
Dec. 2, 2009 - Christmas Trees and Raindrops
Copyright 2009 Defective Compositions
Dec. 2, 2009 - Homeschooling Through High School ~ The Teaching Behind Holiday Planning To Our Students!
One of the greatest things about homeschooling is the way we can emphasize life skills and worldview in addition to academics. We are not raising our children for the glory of the University...we are raising them for the glory of God, and to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ, the soon-coming King, before whom every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess His Lordship!
As we enter the season of Advent and then Christmas, I desire to be mindful of the worldview I espouse, and the messages I send via my actions, my traditions, and my decisions. All of life is a classroom for our young adults, and they are learning from everything we do, even when we don't think we're teaching.
I do not wish to lay a "guilt trip" on anyone regarding holiday traditions, or the cleanliness/guest-readiness of their home, the "beauty" of their home decor. Quite the opposite! Many homeschooling families, as a matter of fact, are choosing not to celebrate Christmas because of the overwhelming commercialism the holiday has come to represent to the world, among other things. A dear friend of mine has come to this conclusion, and her family simply doesn't "do" Christmas. Although I won't personally be following that practice, I do understand the reasoning behind their decision. And, as a result, I have thought long and hard about the Christmas "practices" in my own home. The following is a brief glimpse into what I've been contemplating, and you are invited...if you'd like...to join me in answering these questions:
1. What am I teaching my children as I go about my holiday planning? There should be an intentionality about my work, about our traditions, which is not focused on the world but rather on Christ's incarnation and the reason for His coming to Earth. If I am putting decorations up inside and outside of my home, why am I doing it? Sometimes traditions are just that--they're traditions, handed down through generations. My sons know that I do the things I do, decorate the tree the way I do (actually, they do it now!), bake the cookies that I bake, because it is how my parents did, decorated, and baked.
My personal thoughts: Traditions aren't bad. Christmas trees aren't bad. Cookies aren't bad...in moderation! But do they show or reflect the miracle of God Incarnate? Can they? So where should my priorities be, given a choice of decorating and baking vs. spending time on a missions or outreach activity?
2. What is the overall "focus" of Christmas in our home? When my sons speak to their children someday (Lord willing) about what Christmas was like when they were growing up, what will they say? What will stand out in their minds? Going to Wisconsin to cut down a tree (we live in Illinois), a 7 t 8 hour event, big yellow dog included, will be a highlight! But will they remember the outreach activities? Hospitality? Missions? Hymns? Or will they talk about presents, food, vacation from schoolwork?
My thoughts: I didn't grow up in a Christian home. We were faithful church-goers, but the church of my younger years was a spiritually-dead church. So Christmas was focused on Santa, the cookies, the tree, the presents. There was church, there were Christmas carols and candlelight, and I loved all of it, but I didn't comprehend the intensity of what God was doing when He came to us as a babe in that manger. All I knew was that "Jesus was born on Christmas," according to the Christmas carols. I praise God that He found me, and that He drew me to Himself, and that I have been able to share so much more with my sons about that babe in the manger! But again, where has the main focus appeared to be? I know my heart is thinking about Christ, but what are my actions showing my sons? More is "caught" than taught.
Within the practice of holiday decorating, a key for our family is to get that decorating done in one fell swoop, even though it's a three-day-long-fell-swoop! Our tree was cut and brought home from Wisconsin on Saturday. It was decorated on Sunday after church, and today (Monday as I write this) I will pull out and put up the last of the special things we use only once a year in December. From tomorrow on, then, our focus can truly be on remembering and reflecting upon Christ, and His first-coming...with our eyes and and our hearts FIRMLY fixed on His second-coming. Our "holiday busyness" can be because of missions and outreach activities, not "decorating." We can be praying, worshipping, and fellowshipping with the saints, rather than racing around at WalMart. We can enjoy relaxed fellowship with one another, as a family, in the baking of traditional German cookies to share with loved ones, rather than in haste and impatience. Should the latter become the atmosphere of our home at Christmas, then the activity should cease.
I pray that some of these thoughts might be a blessing to you as you go about your holiday activities with your high school-age children! May we all seek to honor Christ Jesus throughout this Advent Season! And may God bless you and your homeschool this week!Lori
PS: Since last thursday was Thanksgiving, you may have missed my message about a brand new meme over at Plans4You...join me on Thursdays for
Lori Havens has been married to Kevin for 24 years. They live in Illinois with their two sons, Bryan (17) and Nathan (16), and dog Sunny (9). Lori enjoys writing, gardening, reading, and the outdoors. She hosts the "Thursday Talkin' About Teenagers" meme at her HSB blog, "Plans4You," and is the author of "Should I Be A Nurse? A Journey of Self-Exploration for Those Considering a Career in Nursing" and "7 Essential Questions Every Future Nurse Must Ask." You can find her blogging at both Homeschool Blogger and Homestead Blogger .
Dec. 2, 2009 - Home Where They Belong ~ A, B, C, D, & F Too Hard for Parents?
Apparently the Spokane School system thinks letter grades are the cause of ongoing problems with communicating how a child is doing in their subjects. Numbers on the other hand make everything clear. Read the article to find out how.
I have nothing against numbers, and I have nothing in favor of letters--as grades, but the problem the Spokane schools are hoping to solve won't be cured because of their preference for numbers over letters. They could do the exact same report card using the letter system. Nor will telling parents how their children are doing after the term help. Parents need to know how their children are doing during the term. Unfortunately many teachers never communicate that at all and leave it to the report card to do their "dirty" work for them.
Just a few weeks ago I spoke with a mom whose son had been placed in a new school. She thought her son was doing well. She had signed up to be a substitute teacher's aide and one day she was called in to help in the remedial math class. She was shocked to find her son in it. At first she thought he'd lost his way or something, but he soon let her know that this was his math class. It was a rough day for her as she waited for the day to end to find out the answers as to why her son was in this special class and why hadn't she or her husband ever been told?
While the parent should always be the one to keep tabs on their children and not leave it up to the teachers to relay how a student is doing, parents have been conditioned to believe that they have put their children in safe hands and that until they are notified, by report card, everything is fine and dandy.
Communication among parents and teachers is bound to get worse, not better, no matter what grading system is used as long as parents continue to blindly follow the blind.
Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB
- Home Where They Belong
Dec. 2, 2009 - Home Spun Vignette #8
Marina is in a knitting frenzy right now. She started some of her Christmas projects a few months ago. She could probably go faster if the cats didn't think she had the coziest lap when she knits!
Dec. 1, 2009 - Year of the Pie - Pie # 19 Shoo Fly Pie
Shoo Fly Pie
I picked up this little cook book when I lived in Montezuma, Georgia. I chose the recipe for Shoo Fly Pie from it.
It goes like this:
One 9-inch unbaked pie crust
Bottom Part Ingredients:
1 C. dark molasses
3/4 C. boiling water
½ t. baking soda
Top Part Ingredients:
1½ C. flour
1/4 C. shortening
½ C.brown sugar
Dissolve soda in hot water and add molasses.
Combine sugar and flour and cut in the shortening to make crumbs.
Pour 1/3 of the molasses mixture into an unbaked crust.
Add 1/3 of the crumb mixture.
Alternate layers ending in the crumb mixture.
Bake at 375° for approximately 35 minutes.
We three gave this pie
Until Next Time
Dec. 1, 2009 - ~*News From A Land Far Far Away*~
Hello,
So guess it's time I wrote a new entry but I don't really have time.
So I'm just gonna throw a couple pictures up here for a contest and that's it. Sorry.
I'll try and write more soon, k? :)
God Bless,
Sheilla Kiwi
Dec. 1, 2009 - Blog Update!
Hey all!
I'll be updating my blog with a "real" post later this week... probably!!
In the meantime, for any young ladies interested, I've just posted a new outfit on my other blog:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justlovelyfashion/
Hope you'll drop by and leave a comment!
God bless!
WarriorMaiden
Dec. 1, 2009 - A, B, C, D, & F Too Hard for Parents?
Apparently the Spokane School system thinks letter grades are the cause of ongoing problems with communicating how a child is doing in their subjects. Numbers on the other hand make everything clear. Read the article to find out how.
I have nothing against numbers, and I have nothing in favor of letters--as grades, but the problem the Spokane schools are hoping to solve won't be cured because of their preference for numbers over letters. They could do the exact same report card using the letter system. Nor will telling parents how their children are doing after the term help. Parents need to know how their children are doing during the term. Unfortunately many teachers never communicate that at all and leave it to the report card to do their "dirty" work for them.
Just a few weeks ago I spoke with a mom whose son had been placed in a new school. She thought her son was doing well. She had signed up to be a substitute teacher's aide and one day she was called in to help in the remedial math class. She was shocked to find her son in it. At first she thought he'd lost his way or something, but he soon let her know that this was his math class. It was a rough day for her as she waited for the day to end to find out the answers as to why her son was in this special class and why hadn't she or her husband ever been told?
While the parent should always be the one to keep tabs on their children and not leave it up to the teachers to relay how a student is doing, parents have been conditioned to believe that they have put their children in safe hands and that until they are notified, by report card, everything is fine and dandy.
Communication among parents and teachers is bound to get worse, not better, no matter what grading system is used as long as parents continue to blindly follow the blind.
Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB
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