Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Out With the Old... Books for Sale...
Posted in Book Bin and More
It's that time of year...
Out with the old, in with the new.
As mentioned on my other blog, I took some time
to go through our bookshelves,
and have listed a few of them Here on ebay
to make room for this upcoming year.
The anticipation of new books (and new-to-me books)
is always exciting!
The love of learning, the sequestered nooks,
And all the sweet serenity of books.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Answer to a Question: Book Info - Parenting in the Pew
Posted in Book Bin and More
asking what book I was reading regarding keeping children in church.
I just wanted to share, briefly, the title of the book.
But first, I must throw in a disclaimer…
I do not support/agree with all of this author’s views, etc...
With all things, read with prayer, discernment,
and line it up with Scripture.
Saying that, I have found ‘chunks’ of ideas and encouragement, too.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
William Shakespeare: The Complete Works...
Posted in Book Bin and More
In my previous Tuesday's Tidbits post
I mentioned that Ally and I started reading
Shakespeare's "King John".
Back in June, I posted about how my husband and I
attended the FPEA homeschool convention,
I was still debating which works of Shakespeare
that I wanted to purchase for this year.
Many of Shakespeare's 'history' plays
would greatly compliment our history this year,
so I was trying to decide which ones to purchase
since I couldn't purchase them all.
After walking down the many aisles at the convention,
I 'stumbled' (the Lord led me to) this...
The book is filled with all of Shakespeare's writings
that I was looking for .... and more!
Ally was more than thrilled when I showed up with this book
and is very excited about reading through it.
What a blessing it was to have 'found' this 'all-in-one' book.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Woodworking with Will...
Posted in Book Bin and More
In a previous post, Kristi inquired about our woodworking kit
that Will and I were working on.
I signed him up with one of those 'cheesy' clubs
where you receive a new kit every 6 weeks.
It's called the Young Woodworkers Kit Club.
I searched online for a little bit this afternoon
but wasn't able to find a website for them.
So if anyone is interested in having the mailing address,
here it is below:
Young Woodworkers Kit Club
P.O. Box 8000
Big Sandy, Texas 75755
Here is a picture of our first kit...
It came with the wood and the other pieces needed, a hammer,
a pilot hole drill, nails, sandpaper and instructions.
It was something that we temporarily signed up for to see how it works.
We will be cancelling though, due to our move
and will likely resume a temporary membership
when we get settled in to see how we like the kits.
I think the kits were anywhere between $12.00 to $16.00...
but please don't quote me on that. 
We decided to do this temporarily until Daddy is able to do
some regular woodworking projects with him.
Daddy is still learning, too...
but we still think he did a great job on our deck!
That first project really broke him in!
I also wanted to mention that Lowe's and Home Depot
offer woodworking projects for children each month.
And a friend of mine said that she has seen
some woodworking kits at a Michael's craft store.
Woodworking is a great handicraft... especially for boys.
Ideally, it would be great for father and son to do together,
but to help my beloved, we will stick with the kits for now. 
Hope that helps some.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Constitution Day/Week Resources...
Posted in Book Bin and More
September 17th has been declared Constitution Day/Citizenship Day.
And September 17 - September 23 has been declared Constitution Week.
I came across these resources and thought I would share...
(Note: These are not links to Christian sites. Always surf with discernment.)
Resources for celebrating Constitution Day
The National Center for Constitutional Studies has printed a special edition copy of The Constitution of the United States that has been proofed word for word against the original Constitution housed in the Archives in Washington, D.C. It is identical in spelling, capitalization and punctuation. This Pocket Constitution also includes the Bill of Rights, Amendments 11-27, The Declaration of Independence, and a complete index of the Constitution. On the front cover of this pocket Constitution there is a four-color picture of George Washington holding a quill in his hand, inviting each of us to pledge our support for and commitment to The Constitution of the United States by maintaining and promoting its standard of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. (click on the picture to the above right to see more info... this is not free, but pretty interesting.)
Some FREE resources and activities (in pdf format) for celebrating Constitution Week:
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Answering a Question... What Hymnal Do We Use?...
Posted in Book Bin and More
Ecvp left a comment on a previous post and asked,
"... i saw the photo in which Ally was playing the hymns while the rest of the children sang. May i ask which hymnal you're using?"
Sure you can! 
The hymnal we use is called Majesty Hymns by Majesty Music.
This is the one our church uses. We liked it so we purchased one.
There is another one that we would like to purchase in the future,
but haven't yet.
It is called Soul Stirring Songs & Hymns from Sword of the Lord.
Hope that helps.
By the way, ecvp, next time you visit,
I'd love for you to leave me your blog address, if you have one.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
A Good Mail Week... "The Home Educator's Tutor"...
Posted in Book Bin and More
I love those weeks when 'good' stuff comes in the mail.
One of the other things I got this week was my copy of
"The Home Educator's Tutor"
It is a 'magazine' that is "based on classical and Charlotte Mason ideals".
Their mission, on their website, is
"to provide a resource for the studies that go beyond a basic education
to fulfill a liberal (generous) education that is affordable."
Contents include:
Outdoor games; Nature stories; Character focus; Bible reading schedule;
memory verses; hymns; poetry; composer & artist study; handicrafts;
folk songs; literature; a music cd; and more!
I was looking through it with Ally and we are excited to use it.
Here are some photos of what the inside looks like:
On the left is the character focus, the definition of the character trait,
quotes regarding the character trait (and the hymns, memory work,
and Psalm readings center around the character trait).
On the right, is the 'schedule' for the Bible readings
and Psalm readings for the term.
Also included are copies of the artist's paintings that is being studied.
Another thing included is a cd with the hymns, folk songs,
composer's music for the term.
As I said, we are excited in using this and just wanted to share.
More information is at their website.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
A Compliment and Blessing to Our 'Curriculum'...
Posted in Book Bin and More
I was excited today because I was finally able to order Ally's foreign language for this year!
One of her great passions is Greece (ancient & modern).
As a matter of fact, she feels the Lord calling her to be a missionary's wife
and maybe even in Greece someday.
So we were thrilled when we were able to order the long-awaited course.
Rosetta Stone is having a little bit of a promotional for homeschoolers.
We were able to save a bit of money, get free shipping, and get a free headphone set.
Their promotional link is found here: Rosetta Stone Homeschool Offer
We've been praying about purchasing this because it's pretty pricy
and we were deeply thankful the Lord provided this offer at the right time
(when we had some left over in our budget to purchase it *Ü*).
She took Biblical Greek last year using the Bluedorn's "A Greek Alphabetarion"
and is very much looking forward to learning the modern-day spoken language.
Praising the Lord for His goodness!
"But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more." ~ Psalm 71:14
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Learning Through History...
Posted in Book Bin and More
Our new issue of Learning Through History Magazine came in the mail the other day!
We always enjoy getting this and the children always enjoy reading it.
Their new issue is on 'ancient near east'.
It touches on things like:
Mesopotamia; The Fertile Crescent; Hammurabi; Babylonian astronomy;
the Hittites; the Phoenician alphabet; Carthage; Petra; Gilgamesh; and more.
It's a fun way to encourage the children to learn more about history.
Inside are trivias, fun facts and articles, arts & crafts, hands-on activities,
resource lists, study guides, units for early learners, and more.
We enjoy reading over our back issues, too...
Does any body else get these?
Note: This is not from a Christian publisher.
As with anything, I would suggest reading them first
before allowing the children to, so they can be edited if necessary.
Thursday, August 3, 2006
Our New States Geography Game...
Posted in Book Bin and More
Yesterday the children and I visited the new, local teacher supply store
and I was able to find a new board game that interested all of us.
It's called Great States Junior.
The children were eager to play it and were thrilled after supper
when Daddy was ready to play.
While Ally and Will waited for Daddy to sit at the table with them
they became a little familiar with the new game...
And then Daddy was ready.
They had a great time playing the new game and were able to learn some things.
Those are always the best games!
Here a few photos of the game...
In the game, you roll the colored dice and move to the corresponding space.
Then you draw a card of that color (red, white, or blue).
Here are some examples of the cards...
The red cards are the Find the Name cards
The white cards are the Find the Picture cards
And the blue cards are the Find the Shape cards
They had lots of fun learning to recognize the shapes of the states,
recalling the names of the names, and learning interesting facts about them.
I love when my children find learning to be so fun!
"Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks,
and to look well to thy herds."
~ Proverbs 27:23
Tending to our sheep...
