Welcome, Family and Friends! I love educating my two precious children at home. They bring me such joy. I truly enjoy spending all day, every day with my little blessings from God. I hope you enjoy your visit to my blog to learn about our journey of home schooling, home life, and living by faith to please Jesus! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:36:00 -0500 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:36:00 -0500 If you read my previous post you'll know I'm using some unit studies from NaturExplorers for my nature studies, Delightful Deciduous Trees and Hard as a Rock. Now Shining Dawn Books is having a giveaway of their 3 newest NaturExplorers units: Butterflies Flutter By, Constant Conifers, and Fruits and Nuts. They are beautifully done and expanded compared to their first unit studies, which they'll also be upgrading. Click here to learn more about their giveaway. Cindy and Melissa have improved their work to be truly wonderful unit studies. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/716447/ Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:36:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/716447/ Every time I read those words, I can't help but sing, at least in my mind, "This is my Father's world....." I really like that hymn. But that's not why I chose to use that curriculum this year. I finished my 4 year cycle using Story of the World while using History Odyssey in year 4 as my activity guide which uses more living literature than SOTW. I discovered my children really loved the living literature HO used to flesh out history. I also found myself wanting more church history incorporated into world history. Who were the people throughout the ages who moved the world according to God's plan? I didn't find enough of them in the SOTW curriculum. So, my search led me to My Father's World, a curriculum that follows the classical model of chronological history while adding living literature, a la Charlotte Mason, with a Biblical worldview. It is designed to be used to teach multi-age groups together, perfect for my 3rd and 5th graders. My Father's World is a 5 year cycle because they start with one year of world geography, called Exploring Countries and Cultures. I am so excited for my children to learn about the people all over the world that God has created and cherishes. Our church is missions-minded and we have many friends serving Christ all over the world. I'm praying this will be a very enriching year for all of us to see the world Jesus loves and wants us to love. So, here's what our curriculum looks like for this coming school year: (Note: the links aren't necessarily where I'd buy; they just had the best info on the books. In fact all italicized titles can be purchased from MFW as a set for the best discounted price. I bought mine as a used set.) Geography: Illustrated World Atlas, Intermediate World Atlas, Maps and Globes, Geography From A to Z, World Geography, A Trip Around the World, Another Trip Around the World. Science: Properties of Ecosystems, Usborne Living World Encyclopedia, Usborne Wild Places. Also, nature walks and journaling. I plan on using the two journals we already have, My Nature Journal and My Nature Book, and NaturExplorers by my friends Cindy and Melissa (thanks ladies!). Art and Music: Global Art and Wee Sing Around the World. Reading: Christian Heroes - Cameron Townsend, Nate Saint, David Livingstone, Amy Carmichael, George Müller, Gladys Aylward. Bible: Hero Tales, Window on theWorld. They'll also be in BSF and will be doing Rod and Staff Bible, God Leads His People 3 and  God Chooses a Family 5. My Father's World doesn't include Math, English, or Foreign language. So for those we'll be using: Math: Math-U-See, levels Gamma and Delta with extra lessons from Math Mammoth. For practical math, we'll be cooking recipes from around the world to go with our geography study and using Grocery Cart Math. English: Rod and Staff, Beginning Wisely 3 and Following the Plan 5. Foreign Language: Spanish and Latin. I'm not especially thrilled with the books we've been using, but until I find something better (and affordable) we'll just keep plugging along. Health: I've pulled together a unit study on the major systems of the human body using various sources. I got tired of my children "learning" a bit here and there every year and not remembering anything about health. So I'll see if an intensive year on one topic helps their memory skills. Whew! It looks like a lot but the great thing about MFW is the Teacher Manual has the lessons planned out for the entire year! Quite do-able. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/715352/ Fri, 7 Aug 2009 21:27:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/715352/ I came across this very insightful and helpful critique on HomeschoolScienceAcademy.com/critique.htm. Thought I'd pass it on.... This article may be published on web sites and in publications as long as it's reproduced in its entirety, including the resource box at the end of the article. Thanks! College Professor Critiques Homeschoolers copyright 2009 by Greg Landry, M.S. I teach sophomore through senior level college students - most of them are "pre-professional" students. They are preparing to go to medical school, dental school, physical therapy school, etc. As a generalization, I've noticed certain characteristics common in my students who were homeschooled. Some of these are desirable, some not. Desirable characteristics: 1. They are independent learners and do a great job of taking initiative and being responsible for learning. They don't have to be "spoon fed" as many students do. This gives them an advantage at two specific points in their education; early in college and in graduate education. 2. They handle classroom social situations (interactions with their peers and professors) very well. In general, my homeschooled students are a pleasure to have in class. They greet me when the enter the class, initiate conversations when appropriate, and they don't hesitate to ask good questions. Most of my students do none of these. 3. They are serious about their education and that's very obvious in their attitude, preparedness, and grades. Areas where homeschooled students can improve: 1. They come to college less prepared in the sciences than their schooled counterparts - sometimes far less prepared. This can be especially troublesome for pre-professional students who need to maintain a high grade point average from the very beginning. 2. They come to college without sufficient test-taking experience, particularly with timed tests. Many homeschooled students have a high level of anxiety when it comes to taking timed tests. 3. Many homeschooled students have problems meeting deadlines and have to adjust to that in college. That adjustment time in their freshman year can be costly in terms of the way it affects their grades. My advice to homeschooling parents: 1. If your child is even possibly college bound and interested in the sciences, make sure that they have a solid foundation of science in the high school years. 2. Begin giving timed tests by 7th or 8th grade. I'm referring to all tests that students take, not just national, standardized tests. I think it is a disservice to not give students timed tests. They tend to focus better and score higher on timed tests, and, they are far better prepared for college and graduate education if they've taken timed tests throughout the high school years. In the earlier years the timed tests should allow ample time to complete the test as long as the student is working steadily. The objective is for them to know it's timed yet not to feel a time pressure. This helps students to be comfortable taking timed tests and develops confidence in their test-taking abilities. 3. Give your students real deadlines to meet in the high school years. If it's difficult for students to meet these deadlines because they're coming from mom or dad, have them take "outside" classes; online, co-op, or community college. _______________________________ Greg Landry is a 14 year veteran homeschool dad and college professor. He also teaches one and two semester online science classes, and offers free 45 minute online seminars.. http://www.HomeschoolScienceAcademy.com   © 2009 Greg Landry, M.S. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/714660/ Wed, 5 Aug 2009 16:36:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/714660/ Oh my. I didn't mean to be absent so long. Of course, right after I told myself I'd try to blog at least once a week, I was promptly distracted. Oh well. I'm here now. Hope you haven't given up on me yet! I actually have time today, because we have taken the day off from school to celebrate Good Friday, which my son says wasn't so good because our dear Jesus was hurt and killed. One day he'll understand the fullness of "God's ways are not our ways". We have been reading a wonderful devotional that I didn't have the forethought to post here in time for any of you to buy at a deep discount. Anyway, here it is: Holy Week Devotions. Perhaps you  can purchase it for next year. It's still on sale at Currclick for about half price. Today, we're going to make Hot Cross Buns. After looking through several recipes I'm using one from allrecipes.com that uses my bread maker. Hope it turns out well. I pray you have a truly wonderful weekend celebrating the truth that our Lord Jesus is risen and coming back. He is indeed ALIVE! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/677793/ Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:56:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/677793/ At least that's what it seemed like as I drove around today for the first time since Monday. I sure wish I could post photos of the amazing landscape God has created through our devastating, but undeniably gorgeous ice storm here in Kentucky. Alas, I have taken tons of pics but can't get them loaded into my computer. Ugh, this photo problem I continue to have on my blog irks me. I'm a visual learner and love to show what I'm talking about. Oh well, perhaps someone else in blogland that lives in KY will post their pics. Before the storm hit, I had borrowed from our library a book entitled Just In Case: How to be self-sufficient when the unexpected happens by Kathy Harrison. How timely. Of course, we should've been better prepared to deal with our power outage that lasted for 22 1/2 hrs. but we were able to stay home and stay warm and well-fed. If it were longer, probably not. So, I'm starting to prepare for the next time... Some of you homesteaders are a step ahead of us city folk who rely on our very fragile network systems that we so take for granted. There truly is too much info for me to begin to share here (it fills a book, after all), but I did learn that we really only have to basic needs, as the Bible says - shelter and food. With that done, you can survive and should be content (children however also "need" entertainment - teach them now how to play good old fashioned board games). So, can you stay warm without electricity? If not, look into your options. Can you provide hot meals for your family or at least some type of nourishment (although a hot cup of coffee or cocoa or a bowl of soup does tons to improve one's outlook, speaking from experience)? Gotta go prepare dinner for my brood now. Just thought I'd give you something to think about.... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/652954/ Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:16:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/652954/ My pastor encouraged us to ask God to show us as individuals His "word" for us in 2009. Simplify. That word came clearly to me one day quite unexpectedly. I wasn't even praying at the time. Some of you know I try to follow Flylady routines. I repeatedly "fall off the wagon" and my home ends up cluttered again. Well, I'm currently "on the wagon". A few weeks ago I read a book by home decorator Ty Pennington. (Funny, the things God uses.) Anyway, unlike Flylady, he suggests setting your bedroom straight first. Why? Because it's the first thing you see in the morning. Do you wake up, as I did, looking at a mound of mess? Do you already feel defeated for your day ahead before your head even lifts off your pillow? My new year gift to my hubby and myself was a clean bedroom. We are loving it! I wake up energized to clean, declutter, organize and relax more. How can I relax if I'm thinking of more work? Because I know that a good, honest, hard day's work on my home will result in a relaxing evening without guilt for wasted time. "Redeem the time for the days are evil"(Ephesians 5:16) is a verse that has often convicted me. I know I waste time. So I plan on doing one room at a time while maintaining the previously cleaned rooms. Right now the living room is my focus as I de-decorate from Christmas. It's the hardest room to maintain because we live there! But that's where training my family comes in. I won't be slave to their messes or I'll be a grumpy mama. Yes, it means several times a day I'm asking someone to pick up their particular mess before moving on to another project. However, it truly is worth the effort. What kind of lesson is there to be had in this for my soul? Mary (Martha's sister) is my inspiration. She knew when to take time for the truly important matter of sitting at Jesus' feet. Oh, I so want to be like her. Truth is, I can't focus when I'm sitting in a mess. I'm not talking about a perfectly clean museum-like house. I'm talking about less stuff to dust and put away. It feels really good to throw away trash and give away something useful for someone else. Then I can rest in a peaceful place and meditate on God's word, have time to help others, spend precious moments with my family without saying "I have housework to do." So my goal this year, to be accomplished one day at a time, is to simplify my life by doing away with excess objects and commitments so I can really be a good steward of the time God gives me. I only get to use each minute once.  "So teach us to consider our mortality, so that we might live wisely." Psalm 90:12 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/639267/ Fri, 2 Jan 2009 14:39:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/639267/ I started a series last school year of our curriculum and didn't finish so I figured I'd start at the beginning of this school year and see if I make it all the way through. Just to get started (and be done on the computer before my hubby and kiddos return) I'll just list what I'm using, then in future posts expand on the ones I didn't do last year. For both of my children (2nd & 4th grade) this is what I use: History: Story of the World, vol.4 with History Odyssey, Modern Times, level 1 Art: Rod & Staff ArtPac 2, Child-size Masterpieces, Nature Crafts for Kids, and some Usborne art books Science: A Beka Enjoying God's World 2,Usborne Internet-Linked First Encyclopedia of Science , and Real-Science-4-Kids Physics 1 Music: Rod & Staff Beginning in Music 3, Hymns for a Kids Heart Bible: Bible Study Fellowship My son (2nd gr.) is using: Bible: Rod & Staff Bible Nurture and Reader 2 Phonics: Saxon Phonics 2 Penmanship: A Reason for Handwriting A & T English Grammar: First Language Lessons Math: Math-U-See Beta Health:  A Beka Health, Safety & Manners 2 Foreign Language: Let's Learn Spanish 2 and Uh! Oh! Amigo! Spanish for Kids My daughter (4th gr.) is using: Bible: Memoria Press Christian Studies 1 Spelling: A Reason for Spelling D Penmanship: School Zone Cursive Writing 3-4 , Rod & Staff Penmanship 4, and A Reason For Handwriting T English Grammar: Rod & Staff Building with Diligence 4 Math: Math-U-See Gamma Health: A Beka Health, Safety & Manners 3 and Developing Good Health 4 Foreign Language: Memoria Press Prima Latina Well, my family's back from their whereabouts so my computer time is over. Hope your school year is enjoyable and fruitful so far! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/603724/ Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:19:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/603724/ We have been sooo busy with wonderful scouting stuff! My daughter and I are in American Heritage Girls. I'm her unit leader for the Explorer level which is 4-6 grade. We love it! It is a Christ-centered scouting organization. She'll be earning badges for learning American history, home making, outdoor skills, among others. She's building existing friendships and will be making new friends. As I've been praying for God to show me what ministry He had for me, I never imagined it would be as a scout leader. I love how AHG brings the Lord into what we do and that I can disciple these precious girls in Christ's ways to touch their world through practical acts of helpfulness and love.   Getting to know each other game Learning the history of AHG My little big guy is in his first year of Cub Scouts. Oh, he looks so handsome in his uniform! He spent an hour or so today out with his dear Dad pounding the pavement for popcorn fund raising for his troop. We have our first big Cub Scout family camp out this weekend! We are all excited to learn new things together as a family. I'll let you know how excited we stayed after a weekend "roughing it". Proudly wearing his Immediate Recognition Award Ready to sell popcorn (If anyone can help me figure out how to fix the blur in my photos, I'd appreciate it. I inserted the top two through photobucket. They're only clear if I put them in postage stamp size. I tried to change the photo in my heading but it keeps coming out very blurry. The bottom two I downloaded through the photo album on HSB, but it has very limited capacity. Can that be changed?). http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/596775/ Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:04:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/596775/ Hey all, I have just a minute (well, not even that really, but...) and wanted to share a fun, encouraging video I found on the Math-U-See web site. Now don't think this entry is just for those who use that curriculum or that it's about math. It isn't at all. It's about surviving and enjoying this school year. Please take a few minutes to watch and be encouraged. When you get to the page, scroll down to the entry entitled "You Will Survive". God's blessings to you all! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/591389/ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/591389/ Oh my! I didn't intend to take a blog vacation but life happens! And when it does, who has time to sit at a computer? This is going to be brief. I haven't given up blogging. I have so many posts I'd like to share, but I simply don't have time to do them justice. Suffice to say for now, life has been full of ups and downs, learning experiences - every one of them. Just so this entry isn't completely boring I will quickly say the big thing taking up my time right now (besides school) is my children's new scouting experiences. My little big guy just started in Cub Scouts. He is so excited and proud to wear that uniform! And my precious princess is a new American Heritage Girl.  I am her unit leader so I don't drop her off - we're doing this together and loving it! I'll post photos when I share more later. I just wanted to check in, say please don't forget me - I so enjoy your visits here, and I'm sorry I haven't been here to welcome you. Hopefully that will soon change. For now I have to go make the morning coffee. Have a great day serving Jesus! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/585464/ Fri, 5 Sep 2008 07:11:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingByFaith/585464/