BFS #104 - Never Leave Home Without It!

October 6th, 2008 at 10:00 am

Don’t Leave Home Without It! (Marketing Credit: American Express)

Memory Verse: Matthew 28: 20 - Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:  and lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world. Amen.

Intro: Never Leave Home Without It (Marketing Credit:  American Express) Diapers, bottles, wipes, bibs, pacifiers, extra clothing, cell phone, PDA, ipod, iphone, credit or debit cards … what would you never leave home without?

Assignment: In the memory verse Jesus tells us that He will never leave us, not even at the end of the world.  He assures us in this verse that He will be with us and that means through everything we go through in life.  I thought it would be interesting to write about the things we would never leave home without.  For some it might be baby needs, others it might be a gym bag and bottle of water, and for some  it might be your Bible and a notepad or small journal, maybe even your son or daughters favorite blankie!  I’d like for you to write about something that you would never leave home without.

I would never leave home without my keys, cell phone & purse. The keys for obvious reasons…they are for my van & my house. J Can’t get far without them. The cell phone is for security – I feel much safer if I know I can call my husband or the police or someone if I should happen to have an emergency. J The purse, well, I have a “puppy dog” purse that looks just like (okay, so the purse has more blenhem coloring to it..LOL) our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that was given to me for Christmas last year. It is sooo adorable! Plus it holds my drivers license etc. J I prefer not to leave home without my husband because we try to do everything together, though this is not always possible. My children, too… I don’t like to go anywhere without them, but there are the occasions when I NEED that break. LOL – Ultimately though, these are all material possessions and I strive to hold onto Jesus with all I have. I do struggle with this because for me, to see something in my hand is much easier to have faith in than in something I can’t see or touch. The Lord is gracious and is always here for me and unlike a faulty cell phone or a van that won’t go – the Lord is there for me to call on whenever I need Him…He is there when I don’t “think” I need Him, too. J So I guess in the end, I don’t like to leave home with my Jesus!!! J

Picture Ideas: planner, books you read, address book, purse, keys, gym bag, water bottles, baby or children things, notepad/Journal, Bible.

Share your favorite scripture and don’t forget the Memory Verse above.

JAD's Mama"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13

So many things going through my mind lately. Us switching to a textbook curriculum, getting a schedule down and what textbook to go with.

This year I went ahead and ordered from Rod & Staff because I didn't have a whole lot of money left after deciding to go the textbook route and everything I hear about R&S is great! We are happy with our choice for this year.

As I look into some of the other textbook curriculum (mainly Abeka & Bob Jones) I think I will venture out next year. The other textbook curriculum's are a lot more expensive so we'll see.  

I like that Bob Jones Heritage Studies starts with U.S. History, so I might go that route for my students 5th grade and under. From 6th grade -7th grade I like Rod & Staff. I like it's more biblical focus of the ancients.

Science I have looked around and I think we will stick with R&S. I do like how Bob Jones in year 7 & 8  focuses on one topic. One year they are learning all about plants for the whole year and the other year they are learning about space. But after looking at both Rod & Staff and Bob Jones Science, something still draws me toward R&S. I think I like what R&S covers each yr. I have looked at both rigorously. Comparing the topics for 5th-8th grades. I'll continue to look at both of them and decide next year.

English I have looked at Bob Jones, Rod & Staff and Abeka. Abeka is just too expensive. I like what I see but it's price is high. Especially after tax & shipping. I love Rod & Staff, the price, the content, everything but it is pretty teacher intensive and there is no workbook. Because I am trying to school 6 kids I really want my students to be able to work in a workbook and not have to write all their answers on notebook paper. My oldest son takes forever with this using R&S.

I have decided to leave my beloved R&S and use Bob Jones. It's a lot more pricey than R&S. Christianbooks.com gives you free shipping when you purchase a whole subject of Bob Jones and I thought that was a good saving. Looks like we might use Bob Jones English for 5th grade and up. I haven't researched High School level but I like what I see from 5th-8th grade.

As for spelling we are using All About Spelling and I will continue to use it from 1st-5th grade. I plan to switch our spelling over to a more textbook curriculum next year. I am leaning toward Bob Jones. I like R&S but it didn't work for Joshua last year. Annette did fine with it.

Bob Jones has the child play with the words more than R&S and that is what Joshua needs.

Phonics & Reading I plan to continue with R&S. I love their reading program. Annette, prefers more storybooks type program, but I love the Biblical focus that R&S has and she learns so much with it. I will add in some books from Sonlight or Hear of Dakota reading list for her and Josh.

What brings such change in the way we school here at Soaring Heights Academy??? I have really enjoyed our literature rich curriculum's that we have used in the past. Sonlight, WinterPromise & My Father's World. They are all wonderful and my kids and I have really enjoyed them.

As more kids are entering 'school' I am having a hard time staying on schedule and keeping up with this type of schooling. I don't really feel like we are 'done' at the end of the day. I wonder 'what am I missing' or 'did we fit everything in'. With using the textbooks I feel like we have accomplished 'school' for that day. I can't  be with each child all the time. With using textbooks I can give Joshua his Science, Reading & History and he is not waiting for me to rally up all the kids so we can sit down and read History all together or Science. By the end of the day we didn't get History or Science done because I never found a time for us all to be together. Sounds crazy I know but it happens here a lot.

I would really like English to be more independent too and I have changed my philosophy on this. I am going to start all my kids doing grammar in 2nd grade. Not Charlotte Mason or Ruth Beechick grammar but a textbook grammar. I think if Josh, would have started with a textbook he would know more grammar by now and be more independent with it.

I am starting Caleb with Climbing to Good English 1. Annette is using First Language Lesson 3 and Climbing to Good English 4. Why two?  Climbing to Good English Annette can do on her own when I am busy and First Language Lessons requires me to sit with her. If my day is full she can easily continue with grammar using her CTGE, if we have time we can do FLL 3. She really enjoys both. She is my textbook child.

Next year I will have her continue on with CTGE 5 and FLL 4 if she still is enjoying both. Still trying to figure which route to go with Caleb. FLL 3 or continue with Climbing to Good English. I have the next two grades for CTGE so we'll see.

Writing I'm still not sure what to do. I hear Bob Jones English alternates their chapters. One week it's grammar and the next it's writing. I also like Abeka for writing too. I'm looking into both. This is concerning Joshua. The younger kids will use Writing With Ease from the Well Trained Mind. It has just been released this year so Josh won't be able to use it. This is why I'm looking into either BJ or Abeka.

I feel comfortable with moving away from our literature approach and moving toward textbooks. I have actually been wanting to do this for a few years but kept thinking that textbooks are not the way to go if your homeschooling. There aren't too many textbook homeschoolers it seems. I love the CM, Ruth Beechick & Classical education, but they have always left me feeling exhausted. Switching to textbooks has taken me so long because of all the negative things said about it. How boring it is, how it's all about memorizing and filling in the blanks has left me wondering if it's the right choice for us. The more I have looked and research I see that it is.  Our day feels finished, the kids are learning and are enjoying their textbooks.
I think Josh really likes knowing that he is in charge and he knows what to do. With what we were doing before he didn't have that.

It does take some getting use to, I'll admit. I'm use to studying history from the Ancients to modern day. Now Annette is studying about communities, Caleb is studying the continents and Joshua is studying about the people of North America. Different but good

This is getting long and I need to put dinner away.

Blessings,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

A few people have asked about my recipe that I used for Noah's birthday(pictures in the next post down)...  oh and while I am thinking about it someone asked how I tile pictures.  So I will answer both questions!

The pictures: I upload my pics to my photobucket account and instead of using the codes provided, I cut and paste the actual photos with their frames.  When it appears in my New Entry box it has a little info at the bottom like a number and something like aug2008.jpg or something like that.  I carefully delete that.  If you delete too far you will accidentally delete the frame on the picture.  I like to leave that so you can click on the small pic and see the larger one. After I get a row of pictures I delete spaces to where two of them are side by side and end up with the tiling that I usually post.  That's it!

Now for the recipes. It is actually two different recipes:

First the meatballs recipe.  It is a variation of the recipe in the Eating for Life cookbook (that I use a LOT!).  We avoid MSG and high fructose corn syrup so I will note what items I use to do that too.

Meatballs

2 lbs. of ground turkey

4 egg whites (or 2 whole eggs)

1/2-3/4 c. dry breadcrumbs (I really like the texture of panko, which is a Japanese breadcrumb and I have found some with no MSG added...  a lot of pre-made breadcrumbs DO have MSG added as well as very high sodium content and sometimes corn syrup too!)

1/4 c. water (sometimes I have to add just a bit more to make the meatballs wet enough)

1/2 onion, very finely chopped.  We use red onions...  more antioxidants than white!

3-4 cloves of fresh garlic.  You can use less, but we love garlic!

1/4 c. fresh parsley (fresh has a bolder flavor in herbs.  If you use dried add a little more)

2 tsp. fresh organic basil

1 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. salt or sea salt

Sometimes I mix in pureed veggies...  whatever kind we want: mushrooms, carrots, zucchini.  We often add some organic pureed tomato and a bit of Parmesan cheese.

We mix it all together.  It is easiest to do this with your hands. Make meatballs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  Place them side by side on a baking sheet with a bit of space between them and broil for 10-12 minutes.  I usually turn them once during this process. They are sooooo yummy!

EASY Calzone or Pizza Crust

2 1/4 tsp. yeast dissolved in 1 C. warm water

2 TBS. sugar (we use organic unbleached sugar or honey)

1 tsp. salt

2 TBS. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 1/2 C. whole grain flour

(sometimes a bit more to get the right consistency...  smooth and elastic, but not sticky)

Add the yeast water to the dough and mix well to form a ball.  We like to add Italian seasonings (basil, oregano, thyme, etc. and fresh garlic directly to the dough)

Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Roll out on floured surface.  Do NOT allow to rise too much or it will be dry and tough.  This does not do well made ahead.  It is best if baked up immediately. Top pizza or calzone and bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes (a bit longer for calzones.)

The only major difference is that if it is a calzone we place a second crust on top.  For pizza our family does turkey pepperoni or just veggies and cheese with pureed organic canned tomatoes.  For calzones we still use the cheese and sauce, but we do meatballs instead.  Sometimes we make a ricotta mixture for calzones too...  similar to lasagna, ricotta, parmesan, parsley, eggs and we just dot it on and around the meatballs.  That is really good too.

When we serve the calzones we top with extra sauce and  serve with a side salad! YUM!

If you try this I would love to hear how your family liked it!