I Choose Joy - Homeschool Blogger

A Journey Through Learning

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:01:00 -0600

Here is another great lapbooking company! There are lapbooks on a variety of subjects such as science, history, math, holiday, preschool, etc. They also offer notebooking pages, unit studies, copywork books, and lapbooking classes.

If you sign up for their newsletter, you can get a free one called an Overview of the 17th Century. We'll be using this next! (Right now we're studying the Renaissance, 1500s.) Check out their website at ajourneythroughlearning.net

Free Writing/ Publishing Seminar

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:31:00 -0600

For Better For Worse For Keeps Writing and Publishing School

When: Monday, November 30, For Better For Worse For Keeps Writing and Publishing School, Arlington Heights, IL 9:30 - 4:00 Pm (registration begins at 9:15 Am)

Who: You are all cordially invited to the Second For Better For Worse For Keeps Writing and Publishing School, Small enough to know your name, taught by Published Writing Professionals, Bob and Cheryl Moeller. Space is limited to first 90 participants.

Homeschool students, high school sophomore level and above are welcome to attend, with or without a parent.

What: For Better For Worse For Keeps Writing and Publishing School, with topics such as How to get Started, How to Get Published, How to Get an Agent, with lots of question and answer sessions

Where: Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 N Dunton Ave, Arlington Heights, Illinois
60004-5966 (Please do not contact the library) Contact for information or R.S.V.P. office@bobandcherylmoeller.com

Cost: Free (A freewill offering will be taken for the For Better For Worse For Keeps Ministries)

Lunch and etc.: On your own at area restaurants in downtown Arlington Heights or bring a sack lunch. Snacks and conference notes are provided. No childcare.

Each participant can submit 1500 words before the conference, to be reviewed by Bob and Cheryl. This can be 1500 words for one article or book, 750 words for two different projects OR 500 words each for three different projects. You can sign up for 60 minute time slot for a personal phone conference, same week as conference with Cheryl.

Teachers are Bob and Cheryl Moeller, married for 30 years, Orchard homeschool parents of six children (one son-in-law), and three lively dogs:

Bob Moeller, D.Min.: Co-founder of For Better For Worse For Keeps Ministries, TV host, radio personality, For Better For Worse For Keeps National Conference Speaker, The Road to “I Do” Single’s Conference Speaker, published author of 8 books, ghost writer for 6 books, wrote over 100 articles for magazines and newspapers such as Focus on the Family, Leadership Journal, Moody Magazine, Christianity Today, Christian Reader, Light and Life, Evangelical Beacon, Standard, Wesleyan Advocate, Marriage Partnership, Christian Courier, David C. Cook Publishing, Wesleyan Publishing House, Standard Publishing, Lifeway Publishing, and many more.
Nationally Published books: For Better For Worse For Keeps (Multnomah 1992), To Have and To Hold (Multnomah), The Stirring (a novel with Thomas Nelson 1995), Love in Action: Healing Conflict in Your Church (Multnomah 1995), AWANA: God’s Miracle (AWANA Press 1998), Marriage Minutes (Moody 1998), For Better For Worse For Keeps (Marriagevine 2006), Marriage Miracle (Harvest 2010)

Cheryl Moeller, M.A.R.: Co-founder of For Better For Worse For Keeps Ministries, literary agent for 11 years,.published author of 3 books with national publishers, self-published five books sold through websites and at conferences, author of articles for various publications including Marriage Partnership and MOPS.org, syndicated humor columnist for 7 online parent websites and magazines, stand up comic, speaker for retreats and conferences, and mom blogger at www.momlaughs.blogspot.com.
Nationally Published books: Marriage Minutes (Moody 1998), For Better For Worse For Keeps (Marriagevine 2006), and Marriage Miracle: (Harvest 2010). Self-Published books: 2 Novels with Curriculum - Baby Saves Christmas and Lexi’s Homeschool Diary, 2 Gift Books - Keep Courting: 100 Ways to Keep Courting After Marriage and Aunt Sarah’s Alaskan Cookbook, Preschool Curriculum – Homeschool Your Preschooler on $1 a Day

www.bobandcherylmoeller.com

This writing school is our attempt to answers many questions we get from people each week on the topic of writing, agents, publishing and branding.

(Please do not contact the library) Contact for information or R.S.V.P. cherylmoeller@comcast.net

Keep Courting: 100 Ways to Keep Courting After Marriage

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:46:00 -0600

Below is a description of a book written by a friend of mine!

This Christmas Make Your Marriage Sparkle!

Buy - Keep Courting: 100 Ways to Keep Courting After Marriage

This Christmas - Ways to Keep Courting After Marriage for Her:

- Keep his favorite snacks on a special shelf in the refrigerator.
- Bring home three perfume samples and ask him which one he likes best.

- Order in pizza, sit next to him on the couch, and watch the game.

- Have a private barbeque outside with his favorite grilled foods.
- Attend an outdoor sporting exhibition show and look through the
brochures with him.

This Christmas - Ways to Keep Courting After Marriage for Him:

- Write "I love you" on her calender on the first day of every month.
- Read a book on how to give a great massage and try some of it out on her.
- Send her a text message telling her you need her to pray for you.
- Tell her about what you wanted to be when you grew up.
Let her tell you about her dreams.

- Pledge to give each of your kids one hour of time with you, the
same time each week.

1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

Remember this Christmas, marriage is for better for worse for keeps.

This is the link to buy the book - http://www.bobandcherylmoeller.com/photos_6.html

www.momlaughs.blogspot.com

www.bobandcherylmoeller.com

States I've visited

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:38:00 -0600

I've been backing-up my blog (slowly copying and pasting each entry into Word, up to 399 pages so far!) and came across this entry from a few years ago. We've traveled to quite a few more states since then. Here is the new map:

visited 38 states (76%) Only 12 more to go!
Create your own visited map of The United States

Thanksgiving Traditions

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:44:00 -0600

I love traditions! It's fun to see how they are formed sometimes when you weren't even thinking about it! Here are a couple we have now:

Listening to "Stories of the Pilgrims" by Pumphrey (read by Jim Hodges)
Listening to "A Thanksgiving to Remember" by Rainey (on CD from Family Life)
Reading "An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving" by Alcott
Reading "Cranberry Thanksgiving" by Devlin and making Grandmother's cranberry bread!

Today we cut out pictures from magazines to make collages of things we're thankful for. Maybe that will become a new tradition!

Homeschooling Preschool- updated

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:56:00 -0600

Here is an updated version of a previous post. I saw a friend at the library today who asked how I decide what books to get at the library. Below are some ways to find good books and some of my favorites!

I had a friend ask about homeschooling preschool and thought I'd share a few ideas. Basically, all I do is read a lot of books (mostly picture books for the ages of 4 and under) starting when they turn 1 year old. (When I stop nursing, I replace it with reading books before each nap and bedtime.) I find that it's very natural for me to find things in books to use to teach areas rather than just reading. For example, in the book "Goodnight Moon", we look for the mouse on each page. Maybe I'll ask them to count how many stars are in the sky or what shape or color something is. We use books like Dr. Seuss's ABC and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to learn the alphabet. I try to steer clear of "twaddle" books, and there are a lot of them! For example, many of the "character" books such as Disney, Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, Barbie, etc. and just not even worth my time. They are so poorly written. I love to read books above their level as soon as they can handle it. My oldest son listened all the Chronicles of Narnia when he was 4 and loved them! I just finished reading the full 9-book series of Little House by Laura Ingalls Wilder to my preschool girls (started when they were 3 and 5, now they are 4 and 6).

The other thing I do for preschool is make sure we have quality toys to develop their imaginations: puzzles, dress-up clothes, dolls and accessories, play kitchen, trains, Tinker Toys, dollhouses, etc.

The two previous things are basic. I know there are some people who have the desire, the time and the energy to do more with their preschoolers. It's fine to do so, but not necessary. I've never bought any curriculum or special guides for teaching my preschoolers. Below are some great ideas of "curriculae" which have been helpful to some people.

Before Five in a Row
Picture Book Preschool
Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready
Letter of the Week.com

To get a good list of books to read to preschoolers, check out the following websites and their booklists:
Five in a Row
Sonlight
Ambleside
Letter of the Week
The book Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt

I, of course, do other things, too, which I feel are valuable such as reading the Bible, memorizing Scripture (age 3), narration (age 4), music and movement, field trips, art, chores, nature exploration/ outdoor play. I start "handwriting" with the Handwriting Without Tears preschool books. There are also some fun lapbooks to do with preschoolers which may be found at Hands of a Child, Knowledge Box Central and Live N Learn Press. (You can try a free lapbook called "All About Me" here.) You'll find only free lapbooks at HomeschoolShare and HomeschoolHelperOnline. I also love the free Tot Books found here. Homeschooling preschool is fun and easy--and you won't get the negative peer pressure and bad attitudes (and loss of money) that come when sending them to a preschool!

Here are some children's picture books that I have enjoyed:

A is For Adam and D is For Dinosaur by Ken and Mally Ham (great for creation science).

The Creation Bible by Ken Ham

Where Does God Sleep, Momma by Nancy Bestmann

The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau (one of my favorites!)

M is For Melody by Kathy-jo Wargin

Quilting Now and Then by Karen Bates Willing and Julie Bates Dock

Robert McCloskey books (like Make Way for Ducklings, Blueberries for Sal and Lentil)

The Lord Builds the House: the 127th Psalm illustrated by Johannah Bluedorn

Baby's First Book of Blessings and Baby's First Book of Psalms by Stephen Elkins

Sheep in a Jeep (and others) by Nancy Shaw

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

Sandra Boynton books (like Blue Hat, Green Hat; Moo, Baa, Lalala; Birthday Monsters; Oh Me, Oh My, Oh Dinosaurs; Hippos Go Berserk).

Eric Carle Books (like Very Hungry Caterpillar, Very Quiet Cricket, Click Beetle The Very Busy Spider, Mixed-up Chameleon, and Animals, Animals,a collection of poems).

Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert.

Curious George by H.A. Rey.

Kathleen Long Bostrom books (like What is God Like?, Who is Jesus?, What About Heaven?, Are Angels Real?).

Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (and others) by Jaura Joffe Numeroff

The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza (Philemon Sturges)

Welcome to the Ice House by Jane Yolen

Best Mother Goose Ever by Richard Scarry

The Vert First Christmas and The Very First Easter by Paul L. Maier

Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire

The Princess and the Kiss by Jennie Bishop

The Remarkable Farkle McBride by John Lithgow.

Dr. Suess books (like ABC book; One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish).

Jan Brett books (like Berlioz the Bear, The Mitten, and The Owl and the Pussycat. She has beautiful illustrations.).

Sebastian: A Book About Bach by Jeanette Winter

Good Night Sweet Butterflies by Dawn Bentley.

The Veggiecational Book by Phil Vischer.

Stan and Jan Berenstain books (like Bears on Wheels and The Berenstains' B Book).

Good Night Moon and Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Burton

The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills

Bedtime for Frances and Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

Petunia by Roger Duvoisin

Laura Ingalls Wilder picture books.

Beatrix Potter books.

Winnie the Pooh stories by A.A. Milne.

Raggedy Ann stories.

Mercer Mayer books

And here are a few suggestions by REInvestor:
I love children's picture books too. Many of those you have listed are ones we love too. We also like Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse by Lindsey Barrett George, books by Patricia Polacco, and my kids all loved The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Longfellow. Also my son loved St. George and The Dragon adapted by Margaret Hodges.

Please share your favorite picture books!

Freezing Meals

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:05:00 -0600

A couple of years ago I got a bit smarter and started freezing meals! I don't know why I had never thought of it before. Now, I often make a larger batch and plan to freeze some for a future meal. Today I'm making Chili; yesterday I made Chicken Enchilada Casserole.

Here are the recipes:

Chili
About 2 pounds ground beef
2 onions, chopped
5 celery stalks, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. chili powder
1 1/2 T. dried parsley flakes
salt and pepper
2 large cans kidney beans
1 large can chili beans
12 oz. can tomato paste
29 oz. can tomato sauce
1 large can diced tomatoes (I used my last ones that were frozen from my garden!)

Brown beef with onions and garlic; drain. Add all ingredients to a large crock-pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. My mother-in-law discovered that the celery won't cook as fast after the tomatoes are added, so you may want to wait until they're done before added the 3 cans of tomato.

After it cools, I'll fill up several large freezer baggies and lay them flat in the freezer for future meals!

Mexican Chicken Casserole
4 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
2 T. fresh cilantro, snipped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 8 oz. package Mexican-style cheese blend
1 cup sour cream
1 small can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies, undrained
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
12 corn tortillas (6-inch), each cut into about 6 pieces

Mix together all ingredients, but only 1 cup of the cheese. Put into a square baking dish. Pour the rest of the cheese on top. Bake uncovered 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I doubled the recipe and was able to divide this into 3 square baking dishes. I used disposable foil ones for the freezer, uncooked, and covered with foil.

A review of Katy's Big Snow Day lapbook

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0600

Below is a review of the Hands of a Child project pack "Katy's Big Snow Day." It is a literature lapbook unit based on the book "Katy and the Big Snow" by Virginia Lee Burton. It can be purchased at Hands of a Child or Currclick.

I did the Katy’s Big Snow Day lapbook with 3 of my kids, ages 3, 4, and 6. We had a lot of fun with it. I definitely recommend it for the preschool set. The book is old and sweet. It had some interesting words in it, so my kids learned some new things. The lapbook activities were enjoyable for them, too. The project pack says it was written for up to 3rd grade; I’m sure there are some kids older than 6 years who would like it, but not my older boys (2nd and 3rd grade). The book was too childish for them.

Included in the project guide were lots of questions to ask the kids while we were reading. There were 20 lapbook activities. It took me about an hour to cut it all out, but my 6 year-old daughter was able to help a little. We were able to adapt many activities for my younger set by cutting and pasting the answers, drawing them, or dictating while I wrote, instead of having the kids write so much. Much of this was included by the authors. My 4 year-old was able to trace the answers for some of the minit-books; it was nice that they were included in the project pack, too.

I loved how the book was a jumping off point for studying directions (north, south, east, west) and compasses. We also studied about blizzards. Both compasses and blizzards had quite a few lapbook activities included. I found a few more things to explore which weren’t included in the project guide: measurement (they talk about how deep the snow fell), big construction trucks (by 3 year-old boy loved this), street signs, and counting by 5 (the first page counts by 5s up to 55 to show that Katy is 55 horsepower). We also added in another activity of drawing a map of our own town, and compared it to the map of Geoppolis. A verse I thought fitted in well was Proverbs 31:17 which says “She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.” That was a good description of Katy!

Now, here is the cutest thing. These 3 kids were running about chasing each other yesterday and kept saying, “I’ll be Katy now. You’re Katy. It’s my turn to be Katy. Etc.” Finally, I asked them what they were doing. I could tell that “Katy” was the leader , so I said, “Why don’t you just say you’ll be the leader?” Then, I realized they were acting out the book! When someone asks for help, Katy always says, “Follow me.” And then she plows out the street while they all follow her! It just confirms for me again how kids learn so much on their own if you gently guide them and then give them the freedom (and time) to explore!

So, try out this lapbook with your preschooler(s). It’s great for the winter-time!

Here are some pictures. I still can't figure out how to turn these. Sorry!

New dresses for the girls

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 13:56:00 -0600

It is so hard to sew with the little ones around, but when my mom was here, I was able to get a couple made!

I made fabric flowers for the decorations on the front. See here for a tutorial (and lots of other great ideas!)

What's going on around here?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:28:00 -0500

My husband was away on a business trip for 1 1/2 weeks and my mom came to visit. We had a lot of fun doing some sewing projects, cooking, and going to Legoland! I'm almost done with my daughters' dresses and will post pictures soon.

Legoland

Right now my house is in quite a disarray as we are about to put in hardwood floors on our first level. I'm having to watch my 13 month-old like a hawk so she doesn't step on splinters or step on a spike where the floors have been ripped up. I'm thankful that the dishwasher and refrigerator are staying in the kitchen (at least for the moment!). The kids are having a ball playing on the kitchen island in the family room!

Daddy and daughters:

Haircuts:

My husband and older boys are away this weekend at a Father/Son Camp. Their activities got rained out yesterday so they swam at the pool; hopefully today was better. I'm looking forward to having them back home, though!