Have you ever asked, "Why me?  I don't deserve this."  God is molding you into the person He wants you to be.  It is painful. His ways are not our ways.  When you proclaim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you do not all of a sudden become perfect.  Yes, when you ask God to forgive you, He will. That is guaranteed.  And no we don't deserve that. 

But many people view Christians as "holier than thou" as though we are supposed to be perfect.  We are not.  We struggle with all the same things the rest of the world struggles with.  And it is painful.  When we ask God to take away our imperfections, it often hurts to let go of those things.  The difference is, that we have God to lean on while He does the work.  We can call on Him to help us through the hard times and He will be there because He loves each and every one of us. 

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28 

Yes, He loves YOU too.  Wherever you are right now, you too can receive His forgiveness and become born again.  Jesus said in John 3:3  ..."I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. "  It is really quite simple, but it is a matter of the heart.  Accept Jesus Christ, as your Lord and savior.  And believe it.  He came to this earth and gave his life in a bloody, painful death so that you could do this.  He loves you.  Confess your sins to God and know that He will forgive you. 

If you don't know what to do next, I humbly suggest you pick up a Bible.  Don't know where to start?  I didn't either.  Try Romans or John.  They are both good books (among many) for a new Christian or an unbeliever to start.

The following video was played for us in church today.  Our study was on Ephesians 4:17-24  It was an awesome video and I wanted to share it with you today.  Humorous and so true.  May you be blessed. 

Welcome to the 14th edition of The Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival. 

This month we had several submissions relating to preschool and young child activities.  We can learn so much from seasoned homeschoolers and the many young families starting out in their homeschool journey.  Sometimes when I'm surfing along and I see these wonderful posts for activities to do with the young children I glance by and keep going because I think the preschool activities are just for new homeschoolers.  But I can't forget the little ones in our multi-child families.  I have a five year old at home and I often have to remind myself to not only include her in our lessons for the older kids, but to also include lessons that are just for her at her level.  Just because I have done something before doesn't mean she has! 

I'm going to start this edition with our preschool submissions so we don't forget these young ones and how fun their school time can be!  If you have only older children at home, don't worry!  We have lots of hands on ideas for you too!

~ For Our Littles~

Amida presents Journey Into Unschooling: Bead People posted at Journey Into Unschooling.

You'll get to see an adorable video of A Picture of "One" posted at Baby Steps.  

Rachel says this is a "great way to incorporate masterpiece artworks into a learning activity, that doubles as emergency entertainment when out-and-about. I love this, DIY I Spy Board!"  Mini-Whiteboard becomes Animal ?I Spy? posted at quirkymomma.com.

Martha presents The Chef-a-nator Working on Fractions posted at Sunrise to Sunset.

~ Moving on to those "older" kids... ~

This month I wanted to share something in the math department.  This is Hands On Geometry with my 7yo posted at Talking to Myself.

Five in a Row is generally for younger ones but I gotta say my older daughter enjoyed many of our lessons when we did FIAR a few years ago.  So don't let this next post fool you, it is a field trip for kids of all ages especially those boys at heart...

Dawn presents FIAR Field Trip posted at my4sweetums - Homeschool Blogger.

Kris and friends held a Mesopotamia Party and she shared some pics at her blog Science of Relations. 

Brenda presents Rocks in My Dryer posted at The Tie That Binds Us.

There seems to be a rock thing going on this fall. Kris is studying geology too and submits her Saturday Science Challenge #12 on At Home Science.  And if you like science, you'll love the new At Home Science Yahoo group.

Rachel presents Try a Shoe Box Journal posted at Minds in Bloom.

Barb and her kids do a fabulous artist study and she shares her son's artwork here on her post Jean-Francois Millet Project-Oil Pastels found at Harmony Art Mom.

Writing...How do you make writing hands on?  Well you could argue that writing is in fact hands on just because of the nature of holding a pencil in your hand.  But I'm looking for something more than that.  Something that make writing more tangible, something that brings writing out of the mundane and into the extraordinary.  This next entry just might get us started in that direction.  There's nothing like a contest with funny rules to make writing interesting.

Pamela presents It's Almost NaNo Time! posted at Blah, Blah, Blog.

Another family with preschoolers running about, this final post doesn't really meet all of the guidelines for our carnival but it was such a great post that I hope will inspire us all in a way of life that will help us to meet our goal of doing more hands on projects with our kids. 

Adam presents Still No TV? posted at The Faughn Family of Four.

Thank you all for sharing your hands on projects here with us at The Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival.  I look forward to seeing you next month.  If you are reading this and you have never submitted an article of your own, I encourage you to blog about your next educational, hands-on project and share with us here. 

Submit your blog article to the next edition of hands on homeschool blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

If you are interested in hosting an upcoming edition of The Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival or you'd like to be on our monthly reminder email list, please send me an email.

My 5yo told me she wanted to paint fall pictures.  She wanted to paint colorful leaves and trees and scenes from nature.  After a bit it seemed best that I draw a few simple pencil sketches for her to paint because she was having a hard time getting the paint to do what she wanted and was getting quickly frustrated.  So we started with some leaves.

Next I drew a tree for her and showed her how she could make the tree have many leaves by just using dots and dabs of paint.  First I did up an example and while she painted I pulled out print cards I have of van Gogh's self portrait and a variety of impressionist paintings that use many small strokes like those of Monet and Sisley.  We were able to talk a bit about the different types of painting and what started as an innocent child asking to paint turned into a brief introduction to impressionism and pointillism.  I love it when lessons come out of nowhere!  Here is her finished tree.

It was a medical day today.

The Shots

I gave in and got the H1N1 vaccine for two of my daughters (my oldest and youngest) and for me, complete with Thermisol (mercury) for my older daughter and me. I have very well-managed asthma that has occasionally gone totally South on me in the past. Real misery.  30-40% reading on my peak flow meter kind of stuff. And my eight year old has CVS, which she has gotten sick before from a cold and it causes her to not be able to keep things down at all, once for almost a week. So, despite my misgivings, and outrage at them STILL putting things like Thermisol in our vaccines, I got the vaccine. My littlest daughter got the one without thermisol, but it was "unavailable" to us who are older. We even had a flu like thing come through our house, but not everyone got it and it wasn't that strong or long-lasting, so I'm figuring it wasn't H1N1.

In the end I just figured I was going to worry about which was the right decision and I'd just get the vaccine and then put the worry behind me.

Abigail was cute as can be. Kids were there screaming before they even got the shot, just in anticipation. She, at first didn't know what was going on. Then I got a shot and Natalie (8) got a shot and then I picked up Abigail (2) to hold her. What a smarty she is. I pulled her sleeve down to bare it and she immediately grabbed her upper arm muscle to cover it. So smart. We all feel alright so far.

Dentist

Jon went to the dentist. We belong to an HMO. He called for a dental cleaning and they told him it was three months or today. So, he took today. In customary fashion, nothing wrong with his teeth. I tell you, he brushes his teeth so fast and only once a day and isn't consistent about flossing. But, never any cavities or any other problems. He tells them about the difference between him and I. I don't know why Jon tells me these things, but he tells me he says they say it's just how you take care of your teeth. He tells them about how many cavities I have gotten when pregnant. They tell him that extra cavities associated with pregnancy have only to do with being distracted. You have got to be kidding??? These people just frost me! (Am I not supposed to say that on a blog?) I brush my teeth like a maniac when I'm pregnant. They tell Jon there is no nutritional basis for cavities and that teeth cannot have minerals leached from them. What are they smoking??? (Am I not supposed to say that either?) I suppose weak teeth have no possible connection with weak bones either...as in how badly I broke my wrist... Oh...my, I do need to brush my teeth like crazy. That's true. But, it is my belief that I have some genetic thing going on with both my teeth and my bones and my moods that I best do something about. The medical community can be so narrow minded sometimes. Medicine + a thoughtful (rather than bureaucratic) look at nutrition = powerful. Medicine the way it is = unhelpful.

From the Heart:

We had a great week.  School went very well.  We are all past our sicknesses.  No drama.  I'm so grateful.

The Lord is speaking to me about being a better friend, about really listening and being there for people.  I need to hear this, and so much want to do this.  I am convicted of keeping my friends at armslength.  I know it stems from being insecure in childhood and feeling like I didn't have any friends, so I stopped trying.  There have been times when the Lord has brought me friends, and still I did not work hard at keeping them.  I want to go beyond that in my life, and work harder at being there for my friends.  If you want to be included in those who want my deeper friendship, just leave a comment, or email me.  I'm going to try.

This is Snow Crystal working on a Christmas present. 

On the Homefront:

We worked on keeping the house cleaner throughout the week, and found that to work well.  I do laundry twice a week (Sundays or Mondays and Thursdays or Fridays).  If the laundry isn't finished, I finish it the next day without adding more from the new day.  This way I know all the laundry gets done twice a week and it isn't as much of a burden.  The older girls are helping me a lot more too.  For example, Snow Crystal is downstairs making cookies right now as I type.  The weather was nice, and got nicer all week.  Feels like summer except for all the snow still on the ground.

This is Snow Crystal following her "directions" of how to make her favorite cookies that she had to do for language arts yesteday.

In the School Room:

Bible:  We continue to read Egermeier's Bible Story Book with Bubbies and the older girls listening in.  We didn't do anything with our Biblical Holidays book.  We also read a few stories from "I Heard Good News", which is a book full of short stories about how different countries and peoples received the gospel.  I am thinking that for the older girls we might try to do some of the articles and activities that go with The Voice of the Martyrs magazine.  You can find it at http://www.kidsofcourage.com.  It looks like it would be a good thing for them to do.

History:  We are now in the post-civil war era.  In Landmark's History of America we learned how Montgomery Ward changed the way business was done for the rural American, and about Richard Sears' imput to this.   

Science:  We moved on to start learning about Alexander Graham Bell and his inventions.

Read-Aloud:  We are ahead with the older girls, so took a break from read-alouds.  I read The Light on Tern Rock with Bubbies.

Reader:  Mountain Princess and Snow Crystal are reading Shades of Gray, by Carolyn Reeder.  It is a good book about a boy who was orphaned during the civil war, and having to live with his mother's sister and family after the war.

Language Arts:  The older girls worked on similies, topic sentences, writing a formal letter, and grammar.  Bubbies reviewed the letter "S" and made a "P" and an "S" letter sheet (I get these from homeschoolshare.com).  She read her first "reader" that comes with her curriculum.  It is a cute little book called "Pam"). It was a proud moment for her to read it to her daddy one evening this week too.

Math:  We had a great week again this week, and the girls continue to make progress in becoming independent.

Spanish:  MP is using Rosetta Stone and seems to be learning and retaining a lot.  SC is using The Complete Book of Spanish (workbook from Wal Mart).  She'll get back to Rosetta next year.

On the Mission Field:

The school had Chris Stanton here.  He suffered from acute mountain sickness for the first day, but finally recovered.  I think they've been having a great time. 

In the Literary Scene:

I am reading Brock and Bodie Thoene's second book in the Galway Series Of Men and of Angels, and I finished the first book too.  Very good reading!

Feeding on His Faithfulness,

Carol

If you would like to join me in this theme, just write up your own weekly summary, using mine or your own categories.  Then sign the Mr. Linky below.  I'd love to read your weekly summaries too!    I hope to post mine on each Friday or Saturday.  At the latest it will be on Sunday.  If you get yours done before I do, just leave your link in my cbox or comments from the week before.  Be sure and check last week's Mr. Linky for any new ones who posted before I did!  It is a great way to meet new people.

Quote of the Day; "It is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics when women of high thoughs and accomplishments love to sew; especially as they are never more at home with their own hearts while so occupied." -Nathaniel Hawthorne (Amen to that!)

I found this picture in an email from my sister in law today:

Great picture, isn't it?

Things are going on in the usual manner for us, which is nice. For the most part things are great, with a few minor issues: we are missing one hen from our flock, who just vanished into thin air one day last week. Also, we have a new mailman who can't get the correct mail in the mailbox! He's a nice enough guy, (I spoke to him while he was buy delivering us someone else's packages) so I feel kind of bad about complaining, but... well, I'd like to get my own mail. Although we received a neighbor's racy Fredericks of Hollywood catalog yesterday, and my husband and I had a good laugh while we looked through it. (Give me a flannel nightgown anyday: those poor women look so UNCOMFORTABLE!) I feel bad for our neighbor, though, if she knew we were reading her catalog and laughing, she'd probably be mortified...

On a more serious note, my uncle is scheduled to have open heart surgery today. It sounds like a horrible ordeal, and our family's prayers are with him!

Your kids have had the flu for what seems like months now.  Your routines lay shattered around you.  Your heart is sinking with the mess all around you.  Anyone relate?  If you are not there, you will be at one point this winter.  So what are we to do when those dulldroms come? 

The greatest gift we posses as homeschoolers is our opportunity to change.  We can change things up when school starts to get us down.  Change the location where you do school.  Change the books you are reading for awhile.  Change your attitude! 

Remember that quote from Charles Swindoll I posted the other day?  Attitude is in our power to control.  Are you going to see the negatives only?  Or are you going to see what treasures you have laying all around you?  It's up to us, Moms.  We set the tone of our homes. 

I delared this week to be "Serve Others Week" at our home.  We made dinner for friends with a new baby.  We babysat for friends.  We visited our elderly grandparents in a nursing home.  We wrote thank you notes to others who have been kind to us. 

I tell you these things not to brag or make you feel bad about yourself.  I tell them to you because I want you to be encouraged.  The antedote to feeling blah is to serve others and to be thankful for all you have.  It is really that simple.  How that looks in your world will be different from how it looks in mine. 

"You live more fully once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted." 

~Ruth E. Renki

"Happiness is contagious.  Be a carrier. "

~Robert Orben

"What the mind dwells on, expands."

~Norman Vincent Peale

I challenge you to find ways to shake things up next week in your studies if you are feeling blah, take a walk in the fall sunshine, rake leaves together, write letters to others, visit a shut-in, whatever that is for you,  just do it! 

~Jenn