Nov. 17, 2009
Vote For Best Homeschool Blogs
Well, we homeschool and we blog so I think we probably read homeschool blogs too, right?
It's time to vote for the best ones!
Go to The Homeschool Post . Click on the VOTE button on the right sidebar. Scroll down to see the 25 categories of nominees and VOTE!
Here are some of MY personal favorites:
Raising Arrows
A Pondering Heart
Walking Therein
Feelin' Feminine
A City on a Hill
Gleaning the Harvest
The Mango Times
A Dusty Frame
On the Road to Manhood
Penny Raine
Heart of Wisdom
Nov. 5, 2009
Lyn's Baked Oatmeal
I got this recipe from my friend Lyn, but I put my own spin on it. We have it every Wed. for breakfast and often have the leftovers for a snack. We make it up the night before and store it in the fridge to make our morning as easy (and as TASTY) as can be!
Baked Oatmeal
3 C. Oatmeal
1 C. Sugar (we use less than 1 C... more like 3/4 C. of organic, unbleached sugar... I tried honey, but it didn't turn out as soft as we liked)
1 t. salt. (I use kosher sea salt)
2 t. baking powder (I use aluminum free from Costco)
6 scoops of organic whey protein powder (we use the kind sweetened with stevia and xylitol and either chocolate OR vanilla tastes great)
1 C. milk (actually we use 1 C. of kefir and sometimes add just a little more than a cup since the kefir can be quite thick. Rice milk also works well!)
2 eggs (organic, if possible)
1/2 C. oil (we use unsweetened organic applesauce instead)
I also sprinkle in a large amount (I never measure... maybe a scant 1/4 C.???) of organic cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into greased 8x11 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm topped with applesauce, warm milk, raisins, craisins, nuts, whatever you like.
We have also made this with eggnog instead of milk and it was yummy!
Oh, once I made it with choc. protein powder and added a couple heaping TBS. of raw almond butter and it was nice like that too!
Oct. 29, 2009
Daddy Teaches Life Skills
My husband is a GREAT husband and a wonderful father and while he is happy that I homeschool our children he leaves most of that up to me. That's okay with me, but I sure am thrilled when he helps with one or more part!
He has tried doing "bookwork" with the children, but he (and the children) don't enjoy that very much! ;) He is happy to leave that up to me and the children prefer it that way too!
What he is GREAT at is the hands-on stuff. I am amazed at what my children are capable of... stuff I don't even know how to do! Let me list a few of the things I had NO HAND in teaching our children:
How to change a tire or repair it with fix-a-flat!
How to program electronic devices
How to hitch up an utility trailer to a vehicle
How to load all of our gear on the trailer and tarp it when we go camping
How to install and use a sprinkler system
How to replace a sprinkler head
How to put siding on a house
How to paint a deck railing or stain deck floorboards
How to install exterior lampposts/lighting
How to use power tools
How to repair quads
How to repair bicycles
How to repair anything woodent that breaks in the house
How to patch holes in sheetrock
How to read and understand owner's manuals to anything in our home or car
How to build a cement birm with bender board, quikrete and river rock
How to mow lawns and trim hedges
How to find small jobs in the neighborhood
How to clean out garages and organize camping/fishing gear
How to catch salmon
How to clean fish
How to roller blade and rock climb
How to use maps and GPS devices
How to use simple html and computer programming codes
How to use our DVD player and program our TV
How to use Consumer Reports, Kelly Bluebook, Carfax and other info
How to do a VIN search
How to find a great deal online
How to buy a used car
How to place a business phone call
How to bake the world's best cookies
And...
The names of all of the STAR WARS characters!
Have I mentioned lately how much I love my husband? I DO! <3
Oct. 21, 2009
Good-Bye 30's!
I am FORTY today!
I think it is funny how so many people whine about turning 30, 40, 50, etc. I think it's great. I was excited about turning 10 and 20. Why not 30 and 40?
On the one hand it bothers me that I have not accomplished as much as I had hoped and that my health is not as good as it should be, but actually aging in and of itself is a blessing. The Bible says it is an honor. Our society belittles it, but then again our society has a lot of confused views on life, doesn't it?
I feel older. Some birthdays don't really make me feel different, but 40 already does.
I think it's going to be GREAT!
Oct. 12, 2009
Jenny's Bosch Bread
My friend, Jenny, gave me this recipe. I don't think she made it up, but I always think of her when I make it! (And she is a GREAT friend to think about! ) I made it before I had a Bosch, but it is super easy now that I DO have a Bosch.
This bread is a great one for making sandwhich bread... it's soft and flavorful.
5 c. hot water in Bosch with dough hook
Add: 1/2 c. oil (I use applesauce).
1/2 c. honey
1 T. salt
2 T. yeast
1 heaping T. Dough Enhancer
14 c. ground wheat flour (since I use a combination of kamut and spelt I add an extra 3 cups)
Knead 5 min. on Speed 1. (3-4 min. for spelt or kamut). Don't over knead.
Dough will pull 1/2 way up side of bowl.
Separate into 4 loaf pans (I use Norpro Waffle pans and love them). Let rise (I cover with a damp, clean dish towel) for about 30 min. Bake at 350 for 30-35 min.
I either do half spelt and half kamut for my flour or 2 parts spelt, 2 parts kamut and 1 part hard white winter wheat. I use as many organic ingredients as I can.
Oh, I also part way fill an extra bread pan with boiling hot water and put it in the oven on the rack below my baking bread. It keeps it moist!
I've tried a lot of breads and this one is my favorite. We make four loaves a week. When they cool we slice them up with an electric knife (gives nice even slices) and freeze in bread bags and use up during the week. I cube up the heels of the bread for croutons, bread crumbs, etc.
If you try this recipe, please let me know what you think of it.
Oct. 8, 2009
Celebrating Special Needs: Education on the Autism Spectrum
Each child is a miracle and every individual life is worth celebrating!
Every angle is unique. Each perspective beholds a different set of wonders, a unique way of looking at the world. Responding to what is observed is a blessing, not a sorrow, and yet may require a little thoughtful adjustment. Special needs give us an even richer, more creative way at looking at our world. Whether you are the parent or sibling of a child who learns in a special way, or whether you, the reader, have differences and challenges yourself or if you know and love others who need a little extra understanding, this article is dedicated to you!
“He’s 10 years old, and he STILL can’t write!”
I exclaimed this to the evaluator who was testing my son. She carefully went through the paces and had him perform many tasks such as balancing on one foot, but that wasn’t going to happen. Writing his ABC’s on lined paper wasn’t either. He turned the paper sideways and wrote down instead of from left to right almost like Chinese letters/characters. She had him attempt to do simple puzzles with only 4 pieces to create common objects like horses, houses and the like, but nope, he could not do that either. Then, she just sat down and talked to him.
He was comfortable, confident and competent in language. He could tell you the names of almost every country on any given continent. He had memorized computer catalogs and a myriad of owner’s manuals and had a mastery of technological information. He also had a huge amount of unexpected information such as the license plate number of every friend we had had in the past 5 years, the exact date of purchases we had made that were of interest to him such gaming devices, and a vocabulary above and beyond any fifth grader I had ever known.
The result of that testing was inconclusive and frustrating. The Occupational Therapist admitted that there were serious issues that needed to be addressed, but she could not help us because our son was home schooled and not a part of the district programs. We asked if we could bring him in at regular intervals, but were declined. We then enrolled him in public school after him having been exclusively home schooled since we had moved to Washington when he was 4 ½ years old, at which time he taught himself to read by listening to me teach his big sister!!!
To School and Home Again
During those four or five months that he attended the local elementary school, his confidence levels plummeted. He could not keep up with certain aspects of the classroom. He could not write in cursive and was given poor grades in subjects that come easily for him such as spelling and math because he could not form the basic shapes that would be recognizable to the teacher. His teacher was a very creative teacher, but somewhat inflexible in some areas and definitely was at a sorrowful loss as to how to teach this boy. She felt terrible about it and tried to learn all she could to better teach him. Even years later she apologized for being unable to specialize the curriculum for just him. To top it all off, the children in the class, for the most part, were hateful and unable to relate to my son who can talk to adults with ease, but did not have the patience for the nonsensical conversations of these pre-adolescents.
The more I thought and prayed about it, the more I realized that my son was flourishing at home and now was being squashed. He was unhappy. His former bouncy joy was all but gone. He was angry and unable to accomplish much. He was learning all right – he was learning to be skeptical, frustrated and disappointed. He was learning how to be sarcastic, unkind and overwhelmed. He was not sleeping well, and he was not feeling well. While at home, he had been full of life and energy, kind, loving and enthusiastically curious about everything and everyone.
After Christmas break that year he did not go back. He came home to reading and watching educational programs. He came home to cooking meals together, swinging in the back yard, taking swimming lessons without rushing there hungry and tired after school. He came back to long discussions about the Word of God on a daily basis and even later participating in an award winning Bible Quiz team and walking away with large portions of scripture flawlessly memorized and applied to his life. He blossomed again. His joy slowly returned. He was somewhat permanently damaged by the exposure to the meanness of his peer group, but is overcoming that still, four years later.
Finally, An Answer
The following spring, after we were told by a school psychologist that our son’s IQ had the biggest discrepancy he had ever seen, and that he would have to be on meds and could not be successfully home schooled because “that NEVER works for THIS kind of child”, we took him to a children’s developmental specialist. She read all of the test results. She talked extensively to him and to me. She performed some evaluations of her own and looked me in the eye and said the dreaded words: “He has a high-functioning form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome (AS).” Was I devastated? No! I was relieved. It was not all in my head. It was not something I had done wrong in my teaching-parenting style, and there were things that could be done.
My son was a bit confused by the diagnosis. We explained gently that he was not “broken” or “damaged”, but that his brain has a unique way of processing information. We took what he knew about computers and analogized the scenario about how it was as if you had stored a file on your hard drive, but did not know how to access it again later. It is there, but you have to create new pathways to get to it! We showed him that The Bible says that he is fearfully and wonderfully made and proceeded to learn about Asperger’s Syndrome, so that we could be of the biggest blessing and help to 
him with this extraordinary learning style.
Psalm 139:14, 15
“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.”
We also learned during that time that he has Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, which means that he is great at anything verbal, but the non-verbal tasks were extremely difficult for him. Typically, AS children also have sensory issues and some obsessive-compulsive traits. This was true of Jordan too.
One of the greatest blessings to us at that time and now is home schooling him. We can tailor our day to him. We can spend all the time we want on unit studies that interest him and also life experiences that grab his heart and mind and teach him about new things. This gives him a way to connect all of his experiences together meaningfully and usefully. He can take time off from book work to learn how to repair cars and other vehicles with his dad. He can do yard work for our neighbors with his brother. He can read and read and read to his heart content. He can take time to do exercises designed to connect neurological pathways in his brain, as well as to strengthen and relax his whole body. He can be trained with the consistency that we know is Biblical without mixed messages being thrown at him from every angle. He can be given only wholesome foods and avoid toxic cleaners that inhibit his ability to grow and learn. He can talk to other children and adults without being made to feel like he is a big mistake. Just this summer he completed a full year of curriculum because he wanted to and was able to jump ahead to 9th grade this fall!
From Jordan to Noah
The more we learned about our son and how best to bless him, the more we rea
lized that our youngest son also was on the autism spectrum. Since Jordan’s challenges were so pressing at the time and Noah’s presented in a very different way, and because Jordan was at that time louder and more attention-getting we had not noticed that our quiet, introspective, intelligent little guy was struggling too. Eventually, we took him to the same doctor who had helped us with Jordan, and she confirmed what we had learned. Noah also has Asperger’s Syndrome. Yet, even within this portion of the autism spectrum there is a wide variety of ways it can manifest and we had not noticed a lot of similarities in actual behaviors. We had now come to realize there were intense commonalities in frustrating thought patterns, problem-solving issues, more sensory issues and obsessive-compulsive traits and a bunch of “triggers” that set off or worsened the problematic parts of AS behaviors for both boys.
Living With AS as A Family
We prayed and began to learn together as a family. We removed as many of the offending foods and household cleaners as we could and began supplementing. This has been helpful in our case. Not every special needs family will feel that they see a difference doing these things, but it has worked for us. Both boys recognize a difference in themselves and are great at reading labels, remembering to take their vitamins and are able to discuss strategies at times when we run into a scenario where things are not going well. For us, medication has not been necessary at this time and we have been able to see a big improvement in the boys’ health and impulse control! We are continuing to learn and adjust. It is an on-going process!
We are not looking for a cure. We actually LOVE the beautiful way our boys see life. They notice things we never would. They think of things that no one does. They create amazing ideas. They are amazing conversationalists. Other children have also begun to enjoy the boys. While this is not the goal, it is an encouraging side-effect! Both Jordan and Noah are also prolific readers and can learn just about anything. Noah, who is now 10, has even taken an interest in his dad’s college Thermodynamics textbook and understands a great deal of it!
Most of all, they both love God deeply.
They take sermon notes that bring tears to my eyes. They have learned to be sensitive and caring for others as they have deepened their personal relationships with Christ and they are mindful of striving to be the young men that God has created them to be.
Thoughtful Considerations
When Jordan was almost 11, I blogged about a conversation I had with him that sums up a lot of what I would like the readers of this article to walk away understanding:
Jul. 29, 2006 What Size Box Do YOU Prefer?
This morning I overheard my boys talking… reflecting on their experiences in public school this past year.
Jordan said, “Public school is like being put in a box, one that is even smaller than you are. Home school is like being in a box too, but it’s bigger than you are and you can have room to grow.”
I know he was just being a child and trying to identify his feelings, but I really felt that there was some considerable insight to his statements.
In public school the box size is often not only smaller than the child, but misshapen. They are squeezing square pegs into round holes on a daily basis. They are stating theories as facts. They are taking away the simple joys of childhood and individuality. They are slowing down the maturity process in some areas and speeding it up (inappropriately) in others. They cannot give each child the one on one attention they need academically much less spiritually. They cannot, even in the best of circumstances, give a long-term investment to the child’s character and development.
Home school is so much more flexible. A box can be useful to establish appropriate boundaries, but it needs to be big enough to embrace unique preferences, strengths and weaknesses. It needs to have room for true, dedicated love from a family structure, not just a pseudo-family group of people who have a one or at best two year investment in your child. Instead of bright fluorescent lights, this box is full of fresh air, warm hugs and home-cooked smells. This box can be adjusted and decorated accordingly as the child changes instead of being a one-size doesn’t quite fit all pre-approved scope and sequence that fits some of the people some of the time.
I want to give my children the box that protects them from harsh winds and harsh words, but can have the flaps flung wide open when it is time for them to spread their wings and fly. I want to give them the box that has enough room to invite friendships in, but small enough to keep negative influences out.
What size box fits your child? What will it be made of? What will it be filled with? What color will it be painted?
Sep. 29, 2009
Just a Typical Day Here
I hardly can figure out what to write because everything is pretty ordinary. Well, ordinary for US anyway. It's about 11AM on Tuesday. Most of the children have Math done and that is a huge hurdle b/c it seems to be everyone's hardest subject to complete!
We already did Brain Gym, Devotions, Classical Music, Bible Art and... oops, I just realized we forgot to do History today. Well, we can get to that later! We, thankfully, do not have to GO anywhere today, but we will have to be creative with the food we have in the house for another day or two until payday so that will be fun.
Russ will pick up the raw milk for this week's kefir on his way home from work tonight and that will give me more time to work on housework. That's a plus!
We have to be out of the house more than I prefer with going to the chiropractor three days a week, but thankfully it's only 12 minutes from home and gives Kaitlyn driving practice on a regular basis. She needs 50 hours to test for her license and she has about 32 hours in so far. (She needs 8 1/2 more of night time hours which was hard for us to give her in the Summer months as it gets dark around 10PM and neither Russ nor I wanted to go driving with her that "late"!)
Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of Sarah Hope's "birth". She was born at 17 weeks gestation and had died a few weeks earlier. This year her birthday did not bother me as much as the memory of the day the doctor could not find a heartbeat (Sept. 22). That day was kind of emotional for me last week. Thankfully we had a fun event at church that night and that was much more joyful than wallowing in past pain. I forgot my camera though. I wish I had remembered it because my friend Diana and I decorated a table and I was happy with how it turned out!
Upcoming this week:
Wednesday: Chiropractor in the afternoon and Church in the evening.
Friday: Chiropractor in the afternoon again.
Sat.: Attending a baby shower. I have an afghan to finish to give as a gift.
Five years ago we visited Epcot in Orlando, FL. I decided to do something out of character and go on Mission Space. I am not a roller-coaster enthusiast, but I also hate to have regrets... especially when it's probably a once in a lifetime opportunity. However, I wish I had played it safe that day because I was miserable and panicked the whole time and afterwards I was so dizzy that I was nauseous and sick the rest of the day.
I continued to feel sick afterwards. When we flew home my ears wouldn't clear for days and even weeks afterwards and ever since then I have struggled with vertigo.
I can't watch high action movies. I can't iron for too long (back and forth motion, you know!) I can't rock back and forth on the porch swing for very long.
Lately it has become worse. I could not even consider going on the boat when my children learned to water ski this summer and I even got to feeling sick watching the children swing one day!
This is crazy. This weekend I had a funny headache in the back of my head on that sticky-out bone on the back of my skull. I think it is called occipital? Not sure. (Too lazy to google it right now! LOL) Finally, it went away after several applications of peppermint and lavendar oil and a lot of good old-fashioned hydration.
Then, today it came back.... and brought it's little "friends" migraine level pain and vertigo. Ack. It was truly dibillitating and had me nauseated and in tears.
After protein, more essential oils and finally two Excedrin... (I HATE taking meds, but I could NOT stand it anymore) I finally feel almost "normal" again.
I got to thinking of a spiritual application here. I think it has something to do with being raised as a PK (Preacher's Kid). I tend to find "insights" in odd places! I don't quite how to put it into words. I just know that spinning round and round on this merry-go-round called LIFE the World has a way of disorienting us. We get confused and fuzzy. We focus improperly and are functioning at a diminished capacity. What can we do to keep tapped into the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) and HIS direction? What can we do to walk with Jesus (Yeshua) within us as well as alongside us? What can we do to acknowledge and glorify G-D in all that we say and do without getting side-lined by the distractions that come from this "rat race?"
I don't have all the answers to these questions, but I wanted to share three things that really help me:
1. Be in the Word. Without the living, G-D breathed Words of truth I am unarmed and powerless. I eat physical food and take vitamin supplements daily and while the health of my physical body is important it is only temporal. I must consistently feed my spiritual body as well. G-D's Word is LIFE!
2. Be in Prayer. How can I say I love Adonai and not communicate with Him? How can I know Him and How can I know His will for this day if I do not talk to Him? I would be hurt if my husband set me on the shelf for as long as some dusty Bibles are placed there. Wouldn't you? And I have so LITTLE to offer! There is more that conversations with the Almighty can offer than I could ever detail out. Suffice it to say that the loss would be grievous.
3. Be in Action. Take it to the next level. Be real. Put it into practice. Sound the alarm. Head into Battle (fully armed) and Stand, Move, Speak, Breath and Do! Encourage others with hymns, psalms and spiritual songs. Exhort one another unto love and good deeds. As we have the opportunity let us do good to all people. Live out loud. LOVE one another.
Grab ahold of the hem of His garment and let the whirling world whiz on past as you rest ACTIVELY in full surrender to His glory.
Corban is the two year old I babysit. It all started in February. Corban's little counsin, Morgan, was born earlier than expected. Corban's grandma usually babysits him and she was going to fly to visit baby Morgan so they asked me if I would watch him for 9 mornings while his mom was at work. No problem. Well, one "problem"... I fell in love with having a baby around the house again!
So, at the end of that time I told the mom and grandma that if they ever wanted to bring him over, we would love it! The grandma owns a consignment store and said it would be great if she had Thursdays to work on stuff in the store without Corban with her so I jumped at the chance in exchange for some store credit!
For the past 6 months I have had Corban almost every Thursday morning and we all adore him. However, the arrangements came to an end when his grandma decided to sell the store. So, I told his parents that I would still love to babysit if they ever needed help on occasion.
Today is that occasion! I have Corban in the house and it is so much fun! The only problem is that my children like playing with him better than they like to do their school work. Go figure!
I also babysit a 5 year old girl named Abigail a few afternoons a week. She is a morning kindergartener and she gets off the bus at my house right around lunch time on the days that both her parents have to work in the afternoon. She is so cute and smart and we really enjoy her.
I have noticed that I have a lot more happy energy when I have little ones around. I am praying that Adonai will give me a passion for older children the way I have for littles. I love my children, don't get me wrong. But there is just so much LIFE and JOY in watching little ones learn and explore! They just make my heart smile!
Sep. 15, 2009
The New School Year Is In Full Swing
We homeschool year 'round, but in the Fall we definitely add a bunch of stuff back in that goes by the wayside in the Summer. Little by little we are getting back into the swing of things, but I sure don't feel like we are accomplishing all I would like.
In addition to the regular interruptions of life (phone calls, spills, sickness) we have had to go to the chiropractor several times a week for the past few weeks. Ian had a bad skateboarding accident that led to us having him examined by the chiropractor and to our whole family starting to be treated on a regular basis.
We also had company last week... my dear friends, Ryan and Tanya and their five little ones... my godchildren! It was so much fun! I miss them like crazy and have been feeling a little down since they left. I really miss having smaller children in the house.
It's been almost 3 years now since hubby's reversal and we have not had a successful pregnancy. I know that G-D is in control and I am constantly reminding myself that there is as much (if not more) to learn through the journey as there is in the destination.
I have had so many interruptions just in the time it has taken to write these few scattered paragraphs so I hope it makes some kind of sense!
May. 21, 2009
Win A LapTop!!!!
I would really love to win this contest just because I know a young lady who could really use a new laptop! If I were to win it I would give it to her!!!
There are about 7 different ways to enter for more chances to win this contest! (Including blogging about it! ) I realize that my chances of winning are not great, but SOMEONE has to win!!!
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