A few months ago(!) I was asked to review SpellQuizzer software. SpellQuizzer is a nifty piece of programming that helps kids learn their spelling and vocabulary words. We have used it several different ways, and my latest brainstorm is to use SpellQuizzer for drilling math facts. But wait, first things first!
SpellQuizzer has no frills, no loud music, no dancing bunny rabbits (unlike some annoying kids' educational software). Either make up a list of spelling words which complements your own spelling curriculum, or import a pre-made list from the SpellQuizzer website or forum.
Here's what you do: Create a new list by giving it a title.
Emily's Spelling 1
Enter a word: Wednesday
The form asks if the word is case-sensitive. In this case, yes.
At this point you can either give a written clue for the word to be spelled, or you can record the word to be played back when your child is practicing his spelling words. I didn't have a working microphone, so for the word Wednesday I gave the written clue, "the day before Thursday". You can see how this program lends itself nicely to vocabulary words! Later I started a list of spelling words for one of my older children, and easily recorded the words to be spelled.
When your child spells the word right, SpellQuizzer goes on to the next word without fanfare. If he spells the word incorrectly, SpellQuizzer shows both the correct and incorrect spelling, so your student can see his error. After going through the entire list SpellQuizzer gives the missed words again. If the child spells every word in the list correctly he is rewarded with the sound of cheering! You have the option to change the sound at the end of a 100% correct list.
I especially like the option of importing spelling lists. We will be working on the books of the Bible, the fifty states, Dolch sight words, and frequently misspelled words according to grade level.
You can also improvise and use SpellQuizzer to drill math facts or to sharpen your kids' mental math skills. Instead of entering a new spelling word, enter a number. Give an audio clue or a written clue. For example, let the "spelling word" be 39. The clue is 3x13. Or it could be 3x9+12.
Since my kids aren't accustomed to a lot of bells and whistles, they like using SpellQuizzer. It's a lot more fun that drilling words orally or writing them over and over again! Every kids likes to do school on the computer, and this is something even your youngest scholars can do. My own kids would enjoy a small reward for each word spelled correctly, rather than applause at the very end. And I would find it helpful if SpellQuizzer would track my children's progress. The community forum is a good place to make suggestions, borrow lists from other users, and share your own.
OR, leave a comment here to register to win a license to download a free SpellQuizzer program for your own homeschool!
I will conduct a random drawing for the winner at NOON, Arizona time (that's Mountain Standard Time, for now) on Wednesday, February 10th. Be sure to leave me a way to contact you!
Happy spelling!
EDIT: Dan at SpellQuizzer just told me how I can add a "hip hooray!" for each correctly spelled word! He has also notified me that he plans to have reporting capability in the new SpellQuizzer 2.0 this fall! I just love good customer service, don't you?
My six year old begged me to let her take "one" picture. I'm sure glad we have digital "film"!
* * * * *
My HSB window closed on me when I was about half way done with my January month in review post. There was probably a Providential reason for that. What was God trying to tell me? I need to quit blogging? Or, I need to switch to Wordpress?
I am not sure whether slooping around the horn is a good thing or a bad thing. The expression refers to sailing around Cape Horn, one of the most dangerous places in the world to sail. Cape Horn is to sailors what Mount Everest is to climbers. In the context in which I heard that expression, I think it meant the woman was losing her mind. Could be. Or maybe she felt her mind was in danger of being lost. Or maybe she was relieved to know that the danger of losing it was past. Since I seem to always be in one of those three states, that would be a great new name for my blog, don't you think? If I ever do get a new blog I think I will call it that. "Slooping Around the Horn". Yes. That's it.
Now that that's settled, I can go on to say that by God's grace I did successfully sloop around Cape Hospitality to anywhere from one to sixteen guests every day for the past eight days. It was the week (plus) of our annual missions conference, with preaching every night. On about day five or six, feeling mentally exhausted and zombie-like, I was pretty certain I was going to lose it. I was so far gone that I actually considered letting go and being henceforth labeled "feeble-minded." If I could claim even temporary insanity I wouldn't be accountable for anything I said or did. But you know how it is -- if you know enough Bible it wrecks you for that kind of stuff. A word from God providentially came to mind: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. My last vestige of sanity clung desperately to this promise in 2 Timothy 1:7. I repeated it to myself over and over. Little by little the parts of my brain that were ready to be swept overboard were convinced that truly, with God all things, are possible, even this. Even if one is not pre-disposed to a Martha Stewart personality! Victory!
You must understand that I love having company, especially when our visitors are godly people who are serving the Lord with their backs turned on the world. I love for my girls to interact with other children who are being led down the heaven-ward road. My losing my mind has nothing at all to do with having visitors, but with being unorganized and stressed out and being predisposed to a Martha-of-the-Bible personality. All along I kept thinking, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee, knowing that my mind was not stayed on the Lord, but on how much food there would be, and whether or not it what I served would be impressive. Ah, pride, my enemy.
Long story short, it all turned out fine except for the five-star scalloped potato recipe that I lifted from allrecipes.com. That was horrid. The food was 99.5% good, the preaching was great, the fellowship was dear, the kids were well-behaved, my husband was greatly encouraged, and my mind is intact.
**satisfied sigh**
Slooping around the horn. I can confidently say that in this case the sloop is past the danger of being lost at sea, is making a complete recovery, and is blessed to be moored in the haven of rest.
This is a hugely busy week for me, or at least it feels that way, what with our missions conference and feeding guests and etc. I am taking a break from the blog. I know I can do it. I can. If we went someplace on a two-week vacation I would live just fine without you all and pick up when we got back. I've done it before, only not with a computer in the same room. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 1 Corinthians 6:12. Not even the blog. Okay? I'm leaving. Really, I mean it. Many thanks to all of you faithful who have left me comments recently. I can't respond right now. Right now I have to go to bed. And tomorrow I'll be on break. So please keep me on your friends list until I get back. (I can do it. I think I can, I think I can...)
One of Alison's biggest dreams is to play her violin in an orchestra. So far she has not had that opportunity, but we might be getting closer!
Oh, how I wish I could play an orchestra instrument. I felt completely left out last night, as we made music with a new group. You'll have to excuse me for including myself in the pronoun "we" -- if it wasn't for me, the girls wouldn't have been there, so I get to say "we", don't I? Our German flutist friend went to a lot of work coordinating schedules, finding suitable music that has suitable parts (Albinoni, Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Mozart and Pleyel), and making copies for everyone. We had ten musicians of varying skill levels: flutists, violinists, a violist, trombonists and a flugelhornist. (Is that a word? Flugelhornist?) The two men who participated were dads of three of the other musicians. Hey, that gives me an idea... my DH used to play the clarinet... Honey, why don't you take the girls to music on Mondays, and you can play with them, too...?
If you read any music pedagogy blogs (such as here or here), you can't miss their stress on the importance of sight reading. I am certain that sight reading is one of two activities that have really contributed to my mostly untrained girls' musical skills. Each week for the past eight months or so, they have been playing unfamiliar music with some older ladies to whom the music has NOT been unfamiliar. And that is the second contributing activity -- playing with other people. Both Alison and Amy have made incredible improvement in a very short time. Without that experience, last night's group would not have been a delight for either of them.
But in Amy's own words, we had SO MUCH FUN!!! Who knows? Maybe one of these days we'll have a real family orchestra in town. (Keep praying, Alie.)
Praise ye the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary:
praise him in the firmament of his power.
Praise him for his mighty acts:
praise him according to his excellent greatness.
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:
praise him with the psaltery and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance:
praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals:
praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 150
Remember the terrible two's? We never had them, at least not while my kids were two, but for a whole year I dreaded their coming. Much to my surprise, when the girls turned two they were just the same as when they were one -- cute and loveable and pretty much compliant. After we went through the terrible three's people started saying things like, "You have two girls? They sure are cute now, but you JUST WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE TEENAGERS!" And then we had four girls, and we heard that kind of stuff even more. In fact, we still hear it!
Today Yesterday we celebrate the birthday of my second daughter, Booklover. (She's the one on the right. lol. The guy was is her date dad.) Happy birthday (now belated) to my favorite thirteen year old! With all the joking about having another TEENAGER in the house, you'd think this is something dreadful.
Let me go on the record and say that I think having two young(er) women in the family is perfectly wonderful. I always knew it would be, because we determined to raise our children in such a way that we would not have typical teenager problems. With God's help, of course, and by his grace. Not that we don't have hormones, mind you, and it's not like we get along perfectly all the time.
The word "teenager" is a recent addition to our English language. See here for a brief explanation. I don't have a problem with people age 13-19, just with the connotation of "teenager". When we play Apples to Apples, my family has to have a discard pile for all the cards with people's names that our kids (and us old fogies) aren't familiar with. Like Brad Pitt. Who's Brad Pitt?? Maybe that's one of the reasons I still like my kids? I think that means we aren't bowing to the popular culture mentioned in this Way of Life article.
I now have two between 13 and 19. It has been such a joy to see them pursue their interests for God's glory, develop the talents he has given them, and grow in character. Amy washed all the supper dishes last night without being asked (there were a ton of them), and without even sighing within my hearing. On her birthday! I'd say that's a good start into the teen years. I'm so blessed to have my terrific teenagers!
What shall I do, what shall I do? Should this be a year in review post, or my usual month in review? The peanut gallery says, "Month." All right then, month it is.
December is the month in which my husband and my FIL are bearing down on the finish line in their annual bicycling miles competition. FIL is a road rider, and he doesn't mind racking up the miles on his indoor trainer when their eastern seacoast weather doesn't allow outdoor riding. His big advantage is the fact that he is retired. Pete Falcon here, pastor and resident superhero , doesn't have quite as much time to ride. He finds road riding to be quite dull, but he loves riding the dirt. However, we live in a wind tunnel, and that really makes riding hard, especially in the dirt. The contest isn't exactly even, and as a result, the rules are quite complicated. I'm not sure I even know them. I think that in order for my husband to win the 2009 contest, he had to do better than his dad's total outdoor miles minus 100 miles for each year his dad has on him. Translate: Pete Falcon has a 2300 mile handicap, and FIL's trainer miles don't count. Simple, you say. His dad must be near seventy years old! Yep, he is. Last year FIL rode 10,500-some miles total, about 6900 of them outdoors. His goal is to ride 100,000 miles (on his bicycle, not motorcycle) by his 80th birthday, in the next ten and a half years! So Pete Falcon had to ride at least 4600 miles to beat his dad this year. Or something like that. (We can be certain that if I have the facts wrong, Bicycle Truth Man will be here with a comment to correct me. ) And that is why, early in December, I dropped him off on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, to do an exploratory ride. If he got lost he would have to ride more miles, right? He took a camera along this time, so he could show us girls how "beautiful" it is out there. Ahem.
Not too many days after that, we took a family trip to Boulder City. (Amy wrote a nice post on this trip -- see it here.) Pete Falcon had more riding to do, this time approximately 40 miles, and we ladies wanted to visit both the Boulder City Library and the Boulder City Hotel. Whenever I search for a book in our library system, the book I want is at Boulder City. They have all the good old books! We thought a morning spent at the BC Library would be well worth our time, and it was. We left with all our cards up to the limit, some 60+ items checked out. By the way, one of the gems I found there in the biography section is The Cage, by Ruth Minsky Sender, who was a rare young survivor of the Holocaust. Ever since listening to an audio drama of The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom, my girls have been interested in WWII, so this was a good find. I found out our local school district not only does NOT teach about the Holocaust, some teachers here are denying that it ever happened! And furthermore, they are instructing the students to refer to Adolf Hitler as MR. Hitler. Indeed. As I told a friend, that's just reason #148396 to homeschool. Or something like that. I lost count.
This neat quilt hangs in the library foyer. Wouldn't it be neat to make something like this an eighteen year project, and embroider your child's favorite book titles on it before quilting and binding it? What a keepsake that would be!
From there we girls went to the little Hoover Dam museum at the Boulder City Hotel. See Amy's post. It was very interesting and was good stop before seeing the Hoover Dam, which was also on our list of destinations for the day. Alison was worried that she would live here most of her life and never get to see it.
So, we went to pick up Pete Falcon at the trail head. We waited. And waited.
We ate our lunches. And some M&M's. We read our library books. And finally, Pete Falcon showed up! He had had a flat lost his way. *Correction. Guess I had flat on the brain.* We fed him (even saved him a few M&M's) and took off for the Hoover Dam (also called Boulder Dam).
I think the new bridge is just awesome and amazing, and I had more fun looking at that than I did the dam. But I've seen the dam a few times... Daddy waited for us in the van with his good friend, Shirley Surly (that's the bike), while we girls did some people-watching and listening, took some photos, and scared Mom by leaning over the edge of the dam. What an international crowd was there that day! There were people there from all over the world.
December was an exceedingly crafty month. Amy is always traveling the www in search of another sewing project. Last month she created more felt folk,
a patchwork pillowcase,
and Molly Monkey.
A while ago I saw a tutorial for these boxy little lined fabric bags, and had to try my hand at them. I have no idea how to get the size I have in mind -- one of them is perfect for cosmetics, and the other one turned out big enough for a loaf of bread, or maybe three rolls of toilet paper. Ha ha! Etsy price, $15-20.
These drawstring jewelry cases make nice gifts. I had to try one of these, too. Etsy price, $15. No, not my store. I was just looking to see what they are worth to someone who doesn't sew. They are sooo easy to whip together! Anybody can do it. Even me.
In keeping with the winter tradition, we have kept the oven on a lot lately. Elisabeth made a deeelishus lemon cake:
And after making aprons and chef's hats for her little sister and herself, Amy baked brownies with Emily. You never saw a happier six-year-old chef!
We brought in the new year with a late night pizza and some of the best carmel corn ever, an episode of Little House on the Prairie, and a bit of chocolate. Of course.
Oh, and Pete Falcon won the cycling contest for this year. Barely. The goal for the 2010 Johnson and Johnson cycling contest is to ride at least one half of FIL's total miles. Can he do it? Yes, he could... but I think he has already conceded.
And that about wraps it up. I know, our Christmas celebration is conspicuously missing. That is because our family chose many years ago not to observe Christmas. We just know too much about its history and tradition, and we can't take part in it with a clean conscience before the Lord. If you want to know more, you can do the research. Look it up at any public library, in the Catholic Encyclopedia. I can hear you now -- "But, but, but Sally! Don't you believe Luke Chapter 2??!! I thought you were a CHRISTIAN!" Yes, we certainly do believe it, and yes, I am a Christian -- the born again, blood-bought, Bible-believing kind. Every word of God is pure. Proverbs 30:5. The birth of my Saviour was wonderful and amazing and miraculous! Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!
Happy New Year to you all!
The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22
Nevermind me. I'm just sneaking in here to re-post my updated kitchen towel entry.
I first posted this tutorial on making a dressy oven door kitchen towel more than two years ago. Since then I have made many of them, and they just get easier! This is by far my most visited page, so I have updated the photos and added a video to demonstrate sewing the underarm seams. Yesterday I looked at Etsy.com to see what these towels are selling for. Wow! Some crafty ladies are asking $20 for them! I could do ten hours' work for $100... if they'd sell for that. Would you spend $20 for a kitchen towel??
These cute kitchen towels are relatively inexpensive gifts, especially if you have a stash of buttons and a bunch of extra trim lying around. And once you get the hang of it they don't take very long to whip up.
First of all, pick out a kitchen towel that you like, and find a coordinating fabric. You will need a piece about 14" x 28". Wash and dry your fabric. If it is a wrinkled mess, iron it. Fold your fabric in half, right sides together, so that when you cut out your pattern you will be cutting two identical pieces.
Here is the bodice pattern that I made. Sorry you can't read my notes very well. It is 12"x13", with the corners cut out so that the bodice is 8" across the front, and the sleeve side is 6" wide. You don't have to use these exact dimensions. I used a canning jar lid as a pattern for the head hole, and off-set the circle about 1/2" from the center so that the finished "dress" looks like there is a front and a back. (I did not offset the neck hole for the towel/dress in the above photo.)
Cut out your bodice through both layers, and remember to cut out the circle for a neck hole.
Next, cut your towel in half and set it aside. I found several of these nice quality Laura Ashley towels at Big!Lots! for $2.50 each.
Now take your bodice pieces and pin them together around the neck hole, matching all the sides and corners. Sew around the neck hole using a 1/4" seam.
Clip into the seam about every 1/2", or less, so that when you turn it right side out, the circle will be nice and even and not shaped like a multi-faceted polygon. Be careful not to cut into the stitching.
Take one of the layers, either one, and stuff it through the neck hole.
Now lay the two pieces together nice and flat, matching the sides, and press the neck seam.
The next part is easier to show than it is to explain. Watch.
Oops, I meant to say that the seam should be trimmed to 1/4" or 3/8". Be sure to clip into the curve, close to the stitching, just like you did with the neck seam. Lay the bodice flat and press each seam nice and flat.
Turn up a 5/8" hem on the sleeves, turning both the bodice piece and the lining piece to the inside of the fabric, matching the edges at the fold. Press, then top-stitch close to the edge.
Set the bodice aside.
Now for the towel/skirt. Using your longest stitch length (basting), make a row of stitching 5/8" from the cut edge of both towel pieces, leaving several inches of both spool and bobbin thread at both ends. Do this again 1/4" inside the first stitching line.
You are going to gather the towel so that its width will match the width of the bodice. Anchor the bobbin threads down at one end by inserting a pin and then wrapping both threads around the pin in a figure eight. At the other end of the stitching, pull both bobbin threads together with one hand, and with the other hand slide the fabric along the thread so that the towel edge gathers. When the towel width matches the bodice width, anchor this end of the thread the same way you did the other.
Adjust the gathers so that they are even across the top of the "skirt". Now pin the towel to the outside front piece of the bodice, right sides together, keeping the lining clear. Set your stitch length back to normal and sew from one side seam to the other, backstitching at each end. This is easier if you have the gathers on the underside. Repeat these steps with the back pieces.
Lay the "dress" out flat so the the inside is face up. Trim the seam to 3/8" (don't cut the facing) and press it towards the bodice. Your facing should be loose. Turn up the bottom edge of the facing 5/8" so that the pressed fold lies on the stitching line, and hand-sew it down across the bodice on the inside of the seam.
Here is how your "dress" should look now. Sorry, I got tricky and added some eyelet to the bodice/skirt seam, and I didn't tell you how to do that. But you can figure it out. I have confidence in you.
You're almost done! Now you can decorate with trim around the neck edge, sleeves, and/or bottom of bodice. Just stitch the trim on over the fabric, wrapping the trim ends around the back side.
The final step is to cut four pieces of 1/4" or 3/8" cross-grain ribbon to about 8", and tack one piece to each side of the front and back of the bodice. I use a bit of FrayCheck on the raw edges of the ribbon to keep it from raveling. Snaps would be good, too, or Velcro. Use your imagination.
Hang the dress over your oven door handle and tie both sides. Voila!
I was going to make you some of these, but my family does not allow me to share them! The day before yesterday I made four dozen of our all-time, absolute favorite cookies, Chocolate Peppermint Cremes. Yesterday we ate the last one! Four dozen cookies divided by six people equals... eight cookies each, devoured in twenty-four hours. It's such a shame. But my husband and my kids argue that the point of baking cookies is not to hoard them and make them last forever -- it is to enjoy them. Which we surely did. Reprinting again:
Chocolate Peppermint Cremes
Combine these and set aside:
3 C flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
Beat together in separate bowl:
1 1/2 C brown sugar
3/4 C softened butter
2 T water
2 eggs
Stir in
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted.
Stir in the dry ingredients until mixed well. If the dough is stiff enough, roll into 1" balls and flatten each ball slightly. If not, refrigerate the dough until it is. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes, on greased cookie sheets. Do not overbake these. The centers should be soft. Cool completely.
To make the filling, beat until smooth:
3 C powdered sugar
1/3 C butter
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
3 T + 1 tsp milk
dash of salt
1 drop of red food coloring, if you like pink.
Spread liberally on the bottom side of a cookie, and sandwich together with a second cookie. Makes about 48, but they don't last. Better make a double batch!
A couple of years ago I posted a tutorial (here) for making these "dressy" kitchen towels that tie over the handle of your oven door. That page is the most often viewed on my entire blog! There must be lots of crafty ladies the world over who are looking for instructions. That old post really needed updating, and as I am now in the process of making another towel (See, Julie? I am keeping my word!), I am re-photographing each step as I go along. Since the step involving the underarm seam is difficult to explain verbally, I added a video that shows how to do it. So... I guess the point is that in case you're interested, the old tutorial is being fixed. Or if you want to hear what I sound like, you can just go watch the video for fun. Hm... Someone else I know hinted that she would like another purple dressy towel. Might have to go shopping for supplies again soon!
Are you a Sunday-morning-only Christian? What if your pastor were to take the bold approach and ask you personally the reason for your absence on Sunday evenings and at the mid-week service? Would you be offended? See what happened when this pastor did just that with his non-100% church members.
Aren't people funny? We think, "Oh, God understands..." Yes, he sure does.
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering;
(for he is faithful that promised;)
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love
and to good works:
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,
as the manner of some is;
but exhorting one another:
and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Hebrews 10:23-25
This is the inconsistent journal of a pressured lump of coal
being ever soooo slowly conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm a child of God, preacher's wife, blessed mother of girls, frazzled homeschooler.
If you are new here, please read
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:
but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him;
for we shall see him as he is."
1 John 3:2
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12:2,3
You have the option to change the sound at the end of a 100% correct list.
photo from 
, doesn't have quite as much time to ride. He finds road riding to be quite dull, but he loves riding the dirt. However, we live in a wind tunnel, and that really makes riding hard, especially in the dirt. The contest isn't exactly even, and as a result, the rules are quite complicated. I'm not sure I even know them. I think that in order for my husband to win the 2009 contest, he had to do better than his dad's total outdoor miles minus 100 miles for each year his dad has on him. Translate: Pete Falcon has a 2300 mile handicap, and FIL's trainer miles don't count. Simple, you say. His dad must be near seventy years old! Yep, he is. Last year FIL rode 10,500-some miles total, about 6900 of them outdoors. His goal is to ride 100,000 miles (on his bicycle, not motorcycle) by his 80th birthday, in the next ten and a half years! So Pete Falcon had to ride at least 4600 miles to beat his dad this year. Or something like that. (We can be certain that if I have the facts wrong, Bicycle Truth Man will be here with a comment to correct me. ) And that is why, early in December, I dropped him off on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, to do an exploratory ride. If he got lost he would have to ride more miles, right? He took a camera along this time, so he could show us girls how "beautiful" it is out there. Ahem.
