Little Women's Gazette
• December 3, 2009 - Chilli Corn Salad
When we went on our HUGE 2008 Vacation, we got to stay with our good friend, Sprittibee and she made us a wonderful dinner that included an amazing Corn Salad. It has become a family favorite now... its almost addicting... :P
Ingredients
1 bag of frozen corn – thawed
1/2 red chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 of a 1 lb. bag of sharp cheddar grated cheese
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
3 tbsp Mayo or Miracle Whip
1 bag of frito corn chips
salt to season
Directions
Mix corn, pepper, onion, cheese, and chili powder well. Add in Mayo, but only enough to lightly cover everything, not drown. Crunch up the Fritos, and add right before serving or to each individual servings since the chips will soften.
A simple tasty salad that will compliment any dinner... we had BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans with our corn salad last night. We had it with mexican when we went to Sprittibee's house. It's awesome with anything really! ;)
©AmandaDixon2009
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• Dec. 3, 2009 - Book Review: Mom NEEDS Chocolate by Debora M. Coty
At the time that the FIRST WIldcard blog tour for Debora Coty's book posted, I hadn't received a copy. I posted the first chapter, book summary, and author's biography in my blog tour post, but not a review. (You can click on that link to read the first chapter of the book.)
They sent me another copy of the book, since the first one was lost in the mail. I hadn't expected them to do so, but I am grateful they did. This little hardcover book is refreshing. To be honest, I hadn't known what to expect ... other than that it wasn't fiction.
Mom NEEDS Chocolate contains 60 short chapters with humorous anecdotes from the author's life which she uses to make a spiritual point. Each chapter begins with a Scripture verse and a quote. It ends with a prayer, and 3 Faith In Action questions to help you apply the spiritual lesson of the chapter. The short chapters both make me smile, and encourage me spiritually. Debora has been very real in writing this book, and I can relate to her stories like being the sugar-holic in the airport surrounded by healthy eaters.
The title of this book caught my attention when it was offered for review. What chocolate lover could resist that title? But this book is more encouraging and comforting than even dark chocolate could be. Debora has taken sixty different spiritual lessons and dipped them in the chocolate of humor to encourage us. The short chapters uplift better than a chocolate treat savored quickly in the laundry room while hiding from the kids. Although, you could probably enjoy your chocolate and a quick chapter before the kids need you to tie their shoes, wipe their noses, or answer a math question.
I was blessed by Mom NEEDS Chocolate.
Trusting In Him,
April |
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• Dec. 3, 2009 - Creative Christmas Letter Ideas
Wow! The Homeschool Minute readers totally rock!
Here are some of the FABULOUS creative Christmas letter ideas that our readers submitted via email:
- Last year we thought of television show titles that seemed appropriate to events from our year. Here are a few of the entries:
Merry Christmas from the M family! What would your year look like if you described it according to TV show titles? (I’m sure this is a burning question for all of you.) Ours would look something like this:
Lost – While we’ve never actually seen this show, it could aptly describe K and C’s teeth. K lost 4 over a period of three months. C, not to be outdone, lost her first shortly thereafter.
The Office – OK, another one we’ve not actually seen. But it doesn’t really matter, because Dh no longer goes to the office. 2008 saw a dramatic increase in his consulting business, so we’ve returned to the land of the self-employed. We’re thankful that God has blessed his business so much more than we deserve.
Extreme Home Makeover – We had our own version of this show, just without the lights, cameras and one-week deadline. We spent most of the year working on the remodel, changing our small, awkwardly laid out two bedroom home into a larger, open three bedroom with room for D to work and the kids to do school work or head off to their own rooms. With the remodel, R has learned more about the Albuquerque area dumps than you’d ever want to know. And while the country is struggling financially, D and R have attempted to single-handedly keep the area Home Depot and Lowe’s in business.
(I'm leaving out a huge section of her Christmas letter, but I love how she ended it... -Nancy)
It’s a Wonderful Life – Finally, no holiday season would be complete without this timeless classic. Ours is a wonderful life, thanks entirely to Christ’s love and His ultimate sacrifice. Praying that His love changes your holiday and your lives!
Submitted by Robin
- For the past 12 years I have continued my mother's tradition (started when I was in kindergarten!) of writing a poem at Christmas. All of the year's highlighs (and some low-lights) are chronicled using a 4-line stanza format (first two and last two lines rhyming), with about 8 stanzas total. Usually the first stanza is standard Christmas-greeting fare, and the last sums up with a view of the True Meaning of Christmas. Usually each family member gets a stanza, and then a couple more for general family events. Folks look forward to them every year -- I think my parents' friends would cause a ruckus if she ever stopped this tradition!
Submitted by Ellen
- I'm a big fan of trying to be funny which usually involves poking fun at ourselves. Here are ideas I have used over the years:
-Last year was an impromptu description of our family by the 8 year old. He was making a newspaper (his own idea) and I wrote down as he dictated. How he summed up our family was HILARIOUS! "Daddy likes to snuggle, likes Joel love, and likes to go to church." I also included 16 random things in the pattern of a facebook note that was going around last year.
-A comic that illustrated each member of the family followed by a paragraph summary.
-A 'Most wanted' including AKA, wanted for, description and last seen. Ex. the baby was charged with disturbing the peace. "Since his appearance Joel has repeatedly and without remorse violated noise ordinances. Victims drop charges after he smiles at them."
-Our year's story in the pattern of "Twas the night before Christmas" or to the Gilligan's island theme song.
-The year the boys were in Fiddler on the Roof, the letter was paragraphs themed according to song titles. ex "Wonder of Wonder, miracle of miracles"
-Top ten lessons learned, then paragraph explanation. Ex "Free library is a contradiction in terms. (fines b/c we ck out 30 bks at a time) "If you take the cheapest flight, be prepared to find out why."
-Thank yous from our family devotions. With little ones this is hilarious. "Thank you for a good trip. Thank you that we won the revolutionary war."
-On a heavy travel year we copied a map with stars where we had been and short paragraphs telling about our travels.
-Best and worst of the year, and aspects of the year. ex best and worst of working at home ;-) best field trips, best verses
-Once upon a time - a fairy tale about the King Queen and 5 children. Story about disturbances in kingdom - too much water used for bathing, mysterious odors etc... A sage is consulted and concludes castle is infected with adolescence. Solution? Time and 3 potions- Compassion Growth formula, Backbone Strenghthener, Sense of Humor.
-ABC's of Christmas. A word beginning with each letter and a one sentence explanation.
-"Our Space" done like a Myspace with a profile pic and description of each family member.
-This year is questions heard around our house, with answers mom says or just thinks and keeps to herself. ;-)
What a fun walk down memory lane!!! My favorites are the comics, Most Wanted and the fairy tale. Some years are better than others ;-)
Submitted by Betsy
- This is the third year we have written letters - and it is a blessing to us -and hopefully to those we send the letters. We create 2 letters - one for our personal friends & family and another for our church family, since my husband is a pastor. Our church family sees us so regularly - we don't feel the need to update them on what is happening with each of us.
We try to pick one of the Christmas Hymns - and put one verse of the hymn at the top, and then we use our introduction paragraph - to encourage thoughts of the true meaning of Christmas - based on the hymn we used. For example - this year we used the hymn, O Come all Ye Faithful - so we encouraged those reading our letter - to come and adore , and behold the Lord of lords. We then pick out a verse of scripture related to the hymn, and have it at the bottom our letter.
Our second paragraph is a personal note to personal friends & family about our family or to our church family we put a summary of the encouraging work of God in our church. My husband then writes a handwritten note to each church member - and I take care of writing a personal note to our friends/family outside of church.
We too enjoy receiving notes and even cards- when they have a personal note in them. Just thought I would send this . I am fairly new to Old Schoolhouse, but what a blessing it has been to me. Thank You.
Submitted by R&K
- Our annual Christmas letter wraps up the year's events in the form of a Dr. Seuss-inspired rhyme. It's always really fun to put together, and now that our children are learning to rhyme words, it's really become a family tradition!
We’re recounting ’09, a year chockfull of blessings
As we eat our fill of turkey and dressings.
So how do we wrap up this year, grand and merry?
Guess we’ll just start with the stuff back in January.
Submitted by Brandy
(This was a fabulous full page poem. I absolutely LOVED it, but didn't want to give away her whole letter. ~Nancy)
And here are some comments from The Old Schoolhouse Facebook page:
When I was 6 months pregnant--for our first child-- our letter came from his point of view. We didn't know if we were having a boy or girl, so we just said "Baby D". The next 2 years it also came from him. Friends and family loved it! It was a fresh take. Not just a letter from mom: "so and so did this, so and so did that". It's become that in the past few years as my boys have grown. I'm determined this year to make it unique in some way again! Thanks for the inspiration! - Joie
We really had fun one year and sent out a Mad Lib as our Christmas letter! I included our e-mail address for people to send us their version of our Christmas letter with their words filled in, then I would send them the actual letter with the correct words. It was kind of a fun way to write about our family that year. I was thinking it might be fun to do it again! :o) - Yvonne
I don't have the time or energy at Christmas, so I picked another holiday. We happened to choose Valentines Day. I figure people get lots of Christmas cards they don't have time to read, so if I'... See Morem going to take the time to write it, I want somebody to have the time to read it. People are surprised and seem happy to get a Valentine's card (We try to keep it short and sweet, but include a picture, greeting, some kind of thing we've learned to appreciate through the year, and keep it low on the boring details.) - Jennifer
I have to say my favorites are those that are 'real' and funny. I don't like those that seem like mini resumes of accomplishments (bragging). I rather hear how the Lord has blessed a family/person than how advanced a reader a child is, but that is just my preference. With that said, my Christmas letter is not really a... See More letter at all but more of a newsletter. I call it The Santiago Fun-Times, and people always tell me they love getting it because it's funny. I format it like a newspaper (one sheet, front & back) and have sections like The Sports Section (My husband is a coach) and 'Arts and Leisure' where I write real things about our family but in short articles. It's fun to write & read & I need to get started on it. ;-) -Jasmine
We've done the newspaper format (with a variety of articles from different "reporters") as well as a "menu" outlining a smorgasbord of appetizers, entreés, and desserts from which our readers could "taste" a year's worth of our family's activities. - Paula
We started doing Christmas letters the year after my oldest was born. That first letter was a simple summary of our year as a new family. We change it up every year. One year the highlights were summarized in a seasons theme (winter, spring, summer, fall). Another year, we did a top ten list. We did an acrostic of CHRISTMAS. Last year we did a multiple choice quiz and that was the one that got the most compliments so far. This year the theme was TWO because events in our lives were doubled. - Anna
I really appreciate you all taking the time to write in and share these awesome ideas. Readers on the FB page are already saying how much these suggestions have helped them!
Anyone else have a creative idea to share? Just leave it in the comments section!
Merry Christmas,
~Nancy
P.S. - You can still read The Homeschool Minute issue on Christmas Letters if you haven't gotten a chance to read it yet. The Familyman has some great things to remember when you're writing your family's Christmas letter.
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• Dec. 2, 2009 - Our relaxed homeschool group meeting
Yesterday, we attended our homeschool group's co-op meeting. Attendance was lower than usual, and in a small group like ours that is especially noticeable. But it enabled us to do everything in one group and forgo the rotations we have been using.
We had decided to set aside our usual studies in order to focus on Christmas. I confess that was a last minute change, but it all came together. One of our moms has been working on a Bible timeline presentation she's using with children in a church's after-school program. She started with that, taking the children from Creation to the birth of Christ. Then we used the Family Life Christmas In A Box set to talk about the individuals involved in Christmas, and the prophecies of the Old Testament that were fulfilled in Jesus.
After that, we talked about the different names for Jesus, partially using the Family Life Adorenaments set. I had intended to go more in-depth with that study, and with the prophecy study, but when it came to the actual time ... it seemed better to keep moving more quickly.
We practiced our Christmas carols, since we're supposed to sing for the Senior Center during their holiday decorating on Friday. The kids did a good job, and I enjoyed watching them all sing heartily. Yeah, some of the kids don't carry a tune very well, but that's normal for the elementary ages.
My 3 year old and 5 year old got up there, too. 5 yo M didn't sing since he isn't reading yet and wasn't sure of the words. But he stood there very well, looking handsome and shy. LOL! 3 yo L didn't care if she knew the words ... she sang along with the tune in her ahhh-aaahhh style. She loves to sing and can follow a tune, even if she doesn't know the words. I'm looking forward to the caroling on Friday. We served a Thanksgiving meal at the Senior Center last week, and the children enjoyed it. I'm sure we'll enjoy caroling and decorating, too.
After our lunch break, which allowed the kids to spend some time visiting with their friends while they ate, we moved into crafts. Two of our Moms had prepared 4 separate crafts for the kids. The pre-teens and teens decorated dough ornaments for the whole group to take home. The preschool and kindergarten age made snow pictures with chalk, cotton balls, glue, and glitter glue. The young elementary students made coupon booklets they can give as gifts to their parents. Then they all were able to decorate 3 cookies one of the Moms had made with frosting and sprinkles.
A couple of us had printed out some Christmas word games the kids could do, thinking if we were having rotations there might be some time to fill. But the children didn't want to do those after their crafts. They just spent some more time playing together until it was time to leave. I think some of the Moms grabbed the worksheets to take home with them, though.
It was a nice relaxed co-op meeting ... an enjoyable time with friends. Our group moved to only having one meeting a month, instead of two this year. I know we needed to do that, due to gas costs for those who live more rurally. But I do miss having two chances to get together each month. The moms have added an evening together each month, though, and that is an encouraging time of fellowship.
Our homeschool group is a blessing to our family.
Trusting In Him,
April |
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• Dec. 2, 2009 - Thanksgiving Memories
Family gathered around the table ~ 16 this year
Our version of the kids' table
Cousins
Cuteness to the 10th power
Thankful to be together!
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• December 1, 2009 - Wordless Wednesday: On 3...
• Dec. 1, 2009 - Treasured and God Gave Us blog tour
This is a review of three separate books from Waterbrook Multnomah that would make wonderful Christmas gifts: Treasured by Leigh McLeroy, and Lisa Tawn Bergren's God Gave Us Love and God Gave Us Christmas.
Treasured: Knowing God By The Things He Keeps by Leigh McLeroy
Cigar boxes. Refrigerator doors. Scrapbooks and sock drawers and top shelves. These are the places we store our treasures–the keepsakes that tell the story of whom and what we’ve loved, how we’ve lived, and what matters most to us. God is a collector, too, whose treasures are tucked securely into the pages of his book: a golden bell here, an olive leaf there, a scarlet thread, a blood-stained cloth, a few grains of barley. Each of these saved artifacts reveals a facet of his heart and tells the story of a Father whose most precious possession is…us. In Treasured, Leigh McLeroy considers tangible reminders of God’s active presence and guides us in discovering evidence in our own lives of his attentive love.
Leigh McLeroy is the author of The Beautiful Ache and The Sacred Ordinary. An avid collector and recorder of everyday moments, words, and wonders, Leigh’s keen eye for God’s presence in ordinary life infuses her writing and living with a deep, insistent joy. A frequent conference and event speaker, the author makes her home in Houston, Texas, and posts often on www.leighmcleroy.com and www.wednesdaywords.com.
MY REVIEW: Leigh McLeroy has written an encouraging book that helps us know God better as we also gain a more personal understanding of His great love for us. Leigh helps us look into our own life stories and recognize the pivotal moments in our faith walk with Christ. Just this past month, my own pastor asked us to share with him any pivotal moments in our walk with God. My husband and I each retold our stories to our pastor as we discussed our personal testimony and our relationship with Jesus. Leigh helps others do the same, and to see the meaning within those moments.
Treasured would be an excellent book to give to young Christians, or those who are seeking God. It could be a blessing to someone who just needs to see the beauty in their difficult journey. Sometimes our lives are messy or sometimes just mundane. Yet, God treasures each of us and there are moments in our relationship with Him that we treasure as well. That is what Treasured celebrates.
 
God Gave Us Love by Lisa Tawn Bergren
As Little Cub and Grampa Bear’s fishing adventure is interrupted by mischievous otters, the young polar bear begins to question why we must love others… even the seemingly unlovable. In answering her questions, Grampa Bear gives tender explanations that teach Little Cub about the different kinds of love that is shared between families, friends, and mamas and papas. Grampa explains that all these kinds of love come from God and that it is important to love others because… “Any time we show love, Little Cub, we’re sharing a bit of his love.” This sweet tale will warm the hearts of young children as they learn about all the different sorts of love, while the gentle explanations of each provide a valuable opportunity to encourage children to share with others a “God-sized love.”
God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren
As Little Cub and her family prepare to celebrate the most special day of the year, the curious young polar bear begins to wonder… “Who invented Christmas?” Mama’s answer only leads to more questions like “Is God more important than Santa?” So she and Little Cub head off on a polar expedition to find God and to see how he gave them Christmas. Along the way, they find signs that God is at work all around them. Through Mama’s gentle guidance, Little Cub learns about the very first Christmas and discovers that… Jesus is the best present of all. This enchanting tale provides the perfect opportunity to help young children celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and to discover how very much God loves them.
Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than 1.5 million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Love follows in Lisa’s classic tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She lives in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack. Her website can be found at http://www.lisatawnbergren.com/.
MY REVIEW: I had not previously read any of the God Gave Us books by Lisa Tawn Bergren. I was missing out on beautiful children's books. Now that I've read God Gave Us Love and God Gave Us Christmas, I'll be purchasing the remaining God Gave Us books for my children. Lisa's God Gave Us books are each tender, sweet, and charming. The artwork is beautiful and warm, and each story helps children understand how special they are in God's eyes.
God Gave Us Love teaches children about loving others, even when they're difficult to love. God Gave Us Christmas teaches children about the true meaning of Christmas -- not Santa, decorations, or presents. These are delightful books I will enjoy reading to my children for years to come.
These books were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.
Would you like to blog for books, posting reviews for Waterbrook Multnomah? Find out more at this link: http://www.randomhouse.com/waterbrook/bloggingforbooks/.
Trusting In Him,
April |
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• Dec. 1, 2009 - A, B, C, D, & F Too Hard for Parents?
Posted By Gena Suarez, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
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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• November 30, 2009 - Spinach Pasta Salad
We try to make our lunches quick and easy. I was looking through some old menus and found our Spinach Pasta Salad recipe! :D We used to make this quite a bit, but haven't had it for awhile, so I made it for lunch. It is so good!
Ingredients
16oz box of pasta (Rotini is the best)
6 cups raw spinach
8oz. shredded cheese
Dressing:
6 tbsp Olive Oil
4 tbsp vinegar (we use apple cider)
3 cloves of crushed garlic
3/4cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
DirectionsCook noodles, strain and cool. tear up spinach a bit. Mix dressing and pour all over noodles and spinach. Add shredded cheese, mix and serve.
You can add more dressing as needed.
Simple and easy and doesn't take very long either. Perfect for a last minute filling side or light, yet filling lunch.
©AmandaDixon2009
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• Nov. 30, 2009 - Professor In A Box Financial Accounting Course for High School
It seems like students often ask, "How am I going to use this math in the real world?" In other words, "Why do I have to learn this stuff I don't think I'm ever going to use?" For the reluctant math student, it can help to take math courses from the abstract to the more practical courses like personal finance, or business accounting.
Michael P. Licata, Ph.D. is a college professor who has designed an accounting course for homeschool high school students: Professor In A Box's Financial Accounting. Although the material is college-level, it is designed to serve as a math elective for high school students. Once the course is completed, a student could choose to take the Financial Accounting CLEP test to receive college credit for the course, as well. Any student planning to pursue a business degree, or hoping to own their own business, would benefit from the Financial Accounting course.
The Professor In A Box Financial Accounting course comes with an instructor disc, three student lesson discs, a syllabus/objectives pamphlet, a pencil, and a calculator. Tests and answer keys are included on the computer discs. All you'll need is a computer -- with Microsoft Excel or the free Open Office software installed on it.
The course is divided into 12 chapters with 28 lessons. This course can be taken as a semester course, or extended for a full year, taking it at a slower pace. First the student views the slide-show lecture, then they complete the assigned problems, check the answers, and take the test. This course can be accomplished by high school students who have already covered basic algebra. You can view the course syllabus HERE or download a sample chapter HERE.
The current special price for this Financial Accounting course is $134.99 (instead of $144.99) with free shipping. Professor In A Box offers a 30 day money back guarantee, if you aren't completely satisfied.
What did our family think?
My 14 year old is a bit young for this course, but we gave it a try. She found the lectures to be rather dry and uninspiring, but she's not fond of math ... period. It would take a lot of theatrics to make math exciting for her, I'm afraid.
The only other issue we had with this program are the problems inherent with computer-based curriculum: taking turns on the computer, and staying focused on the curriculum rather than other things on the computer. But, those relate more to our family dynamics and student personalities than the curriculum itself. When a curriculum is computer based it is somewhat less portable than a textbook would be, and you can't do your math during a power outage ... but it does eliminate the heavy textbooks and long chapters to read.
This curriculum is re-usable and non-consumable ... which is ALWAYS a big plus in my book. $140 seems high for a one-year high school math course, until I remember it can be used for future students as well. Unlike computer download courses, there does not seem to be any prohibition against selling the course when you're done with it, either.
Professor Licata does a good job of explaining the accounting concepts, and this is an excellent option for homeschool families looking for either a more practical math course, or a college-level course.
This item was provided free for our review as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. We received no other compensation, and this review is our honest opinion. Click the TOS Homeschool Crew banner at the top to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.
Trusting In Him,
April |
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