My Homeschool Treasure Trove - Homeschool Blogger

Yea!! Someone Gave Me Blog Award!!

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:46:00 -0500

My very first Blog Award!! Yippee!!! Not that I was looking for any, but it is kind of fun to get one. It's a blessing to know your are a blessing...if you followed that.

Tajuana from Cross Rhodes Academy gave me the Gorgeous Blogger Award. Not that I really think I'm very gorgeous...but if I did, I'd be pretty vain, right? She has a great blog about schooling her son (Autistic/Asperger's/Special Needs)...and she's shared some good recipes too. (Yum!)

By accepting this award I am require to tell you six things about myself that you don't know and then award it to six other gorgeous bloggers. Here goes...

1. Hmmm.... I have a weakness for Cherry Coke...although I haven't had any in over 2 weeks (and have already lost some weight just from drinking water).

2. When I got married, I was actually scared of getting online because I thought I would do something to mess up our computer. That was years ago. ...but I'm still scared I'll do something to mess up the computer. ...It's kind of like my SEVENTH child.

3. Even though I love to write and consistently correct everyone's grammar while they're speaking, I hate to teach Language Arts/English.

4. I wish I'd majored in music in college. I love music.

5. I grew up watching old movies and musicals rather than the current popular movies. (I saw Top Gun 4 YEARS after it came out...I still have never seen Risky Business, Pretty in Pink, & the Breakfast Club...And to be honest I really have no desire to see them either.) I really loved the Betty Grable movies...and Rogers & Hammerstein musicals. (And yes, the movies then were VERY patriotic. I miss that.)

6. Referring to #5, I frequently quote from old movies & songs when someone says something that triggers that memory. The sad part is that very few people recognize the lines. Except when I go to the store and I do that little get-out-of-the-way shuffle with an older person...and they're trying to do it too...then "Shall we dance" just comes pouring out...And we both laugh...and if you have no idea why, you need to see "The King and I" (the older REAL PEOPLE version with Deborah Kerr & Yul Brynner) ...phenomenal movie.

Now to pass this on to 6 of my Blogger friends...

1. Melissa at Lilliput Station

2. Nikki at Simcox Homeschool

3. Kristen at A Day in the Life

4. Jennifer at Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh...GIRL!

5. ....Hmmm...Ugh!! It's been so long since I've been on here, I can't think of anyone. If you're visiting, and you have a blog that you've posted something on recently, you can have it too...just leave a link to your blog. I do like reading other's blogs when I get a chance.

6. Refer to candidate # 5 directions.

"Ahoy, Matey!" Lapbook

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:28:00 -0500

My ds just got done with his Ahoy, Matey! Lapbook (from In the Hands of a Child). This is quite an accomplishment because with everything we've had going on...it's taken us almost a YEAR to get it done. (Yes, you read that right.) But I think this is the lapbook he's loved the most. He has had it open at least 3 times a day since he finished it. He even showed it to his dad the minute he walked in the door the day we glued all the booklets in. Here are some pictures...

I found the image for the front cover of the lapbook here...but you can also find a .png here. I inserted it into a Word .doc and resized it to fit the page, then added "Ahoy, Matey!" in a "Pirates-of-the-Caribbean"-looking font. I printed it out on off white paper to make it look "aged."

(And I'll admit, this is where I got to enjoy part of making the lapbook...) I burned the edges of the cover page (accidentally dripped wax on a part...which turned out to be very cool...) and took a cotton ball that I sponged on a dark brown stamp pad and rubbed it on the edges (heavy) and lightly on rest of the page (trying to miss the picture and letters b/c I wasn't sure if the moisture from the ink would make the pictures "run"). This made it look "old" and worn. OK..so sue me for having a little fun with my son's lapbook. He didn't mind...he actually likes it and I got some of my creative juices going...AND it is the next best thing to scrapbooking when I haven't had time to pull out all my supplies in well over a year.

I also found some gold buttons which look like gold nuggets in my sewing stash (that I bought well over 15 years ago and never used)...and you KNOW that every pirate needs a little bit of treasure...so with a little cotton yarn/string they became our closures.

Here are a few additional images that we used in addition to the HOAC lapbook...

Pirate Coloring Pages This is where I found the big pirate inside (next to the treasure chest mini-book).

More fun pages that we used but didn't add to our lapbook..

Patch the Pirate Coloring Pages

Pirate ABC Coloring Page

Squidoo Lens w/ Links to Pirate Coloring and Activities

Pirate Activity and Coloring Pages

Pirate Flags Coloring Pages

Pirate Coloring Pages

Pirate Maze

Pirate Crafts & Links to Coloring Pages

We had a great time with this lapbook...and I think my ds is ready to do another one...as soon as I can get him to put this one down.

Genesis: Finding Our Roots Notebooking Pages

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:49:00 -0500

I am so excited to announce that I am finished with the notebooking pages for the book Genesis: Finding Our Roots by Ruth Beechick. You can find them at HomeSchool Treasure Trove (click treasure map in the right sidebar to go there). There are about 34 of them (at present count). They cover the entire book (all 6 units). They turned out really well (although some are a bit plain, but it's really hard to dress up a page on the lineage of Adam through Cain. )

I did find a great map at BcResources.net showing what the pre-Flood world might have looked like (click on Map 13...should be the first map on the page...I wish I'd found this when we were in Unit 2).

I'm also working on mini-books for a lapbook, but I'm only through Unit 1 at the moment. I'll post later when I'm finished with those.

It was a very interesting study and I (as a Creation "buff") learned so much more along with my kids. I really liked this book much better than Adam and His Kin because I have a real aversion to "adding" to the Word of God (even if it is to give you a 'better understanding" of what the world was like). I find it difficult for my younger children to discern what is in the Bible and what is not. Genesis: Finding Our Roots was totally based on the Bible and brought in historical evidences which backed up and enhanced the Genesis story without "adding" speculation to the Bible. Just my mini-review/contrast of these two books.

Covered Bridges Mini- Lapbook

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 12:43:00 -0500

I just uploaded my new Covered Bridges Mini-Lapbook to HomeSchool Treasure Trove (link in the Right sidebar). It is just a fun little project for your kids. Most information to complete the lapbook can be found online (Wikipedia, etc.)

"Baby Cakes"

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:30:00 -0500

I made this cake for a baby shower a few years go, but wanted to post pics on here. It was for a couple who were from Texas and loved "all things Texas." The cake really was 3 cakes and a pan of brownies, but they were "magically" transformed into a Barn, 2 haystacks, and a hoedown dance floor...all at the "Baby C" Ranch. The barn, a 5.5 layer cake, was "decorated" with sunflowers and bluebonnets...the mom's favorite flowers. I used the same color frosting as the haystacks spread all over the tablecloth to make the barnyard, and graham cracker crumbs to make a path/dirt road. It was my first attempt at a project this "big," and it wasn't perfect, but I thought it looked pretty amazing when it was done. 7 boxes of cake mix, 1 box of brownie mix, 28 eggs, 4 cups of oil, 3 lbs of powdered sugar, 13 cans of ready-made icing, 10 graham crackers, 5 cake boards and 5 dowel rods later...It became the "Baby C Ranch." Makes me hungry. Enjoy the pics...

Oh..I Am Sooo Excited!!

Thu, 4 Jun 2009 20:12:00 -0500

I don't usually get too excited over many things...well..maybe a few things... OK. I admit, little things excite me just as much as big things, but this one is really big for me. I was reading Voddie Baucham's Blog a little while ago and found that he has uploaded a number of messages (18 to be exact) to Sermon Audio . I was so excited that I went straight there and downloaded all the messages that I didn't already have.

Now, just to let you know...I am not in any way putting this man on a pedestal. I truly believe that everyone has the potential to be fallible. However, to date, I have been very encouraged, blessed and challenged by the messages he presents. They are unwavering on the biblical truths that many pastors today either ignore or gloss over so they can be "popular," "palatable," or just to not "rock the boat" so they can "love people into the kingdom." <can you hear the sound of me puking along with God here?> While I believe that we need to love the lost and reach out to them, I do not think we need to water down the gospel or ignore the commands of Christ to disciple/train the church. I've been to churches that think it's their job to give the gospel message every single service (for the entire message, NOT interlaced into a "discipleship" message). Unfortunately, they're usually "preaching to the choir." The one church I attended that had the highest conversion rate...was one that didn't focus primarily on salvation messages, but preached the whole counsel of the Word...expositionally. I could go on..but I won't ...because it would take up way too much time and way too much room...and sound like more of a rant than this already does.

There are also more messages available at Monergism.org . The BEST ones to listen to first...Why Do You Choose to Believe the Bible, Authentic Worship, and Losing the Culture War. There are others that are great, but these are my top choices.

Voddie Baucham is a homeschool dad of 4 (2 adopted), and a SBC pastor in Houston, Texas. His main focus is cultural apologetics and strengthening families. Here's a little taste of what you might hear... (the "message" starts around the 2:00 mark, so you can forward it...)

Be Blessed!!

"Biblical" Does Not Always Mean "Godly"

Wed, 20 May 2009 13:52:00 -0500

I was just looking over some things on my blog the other day and was shocked and horrified when I scrolled down my left sidebar. Right underneath my "Moms for Modesty" button was my "Bible Art of the Day" gadget. Normally, I would think good Biblical art from the masters of the Renaissance would be fine...what could be better? Well, needless to say, if you've looked at many works of art from this period, the masters were particularly fascinated with the human body...the NAKED human body. Under my sweet little girl in a modest ballet costume...was Adam & Eve naked as jaybirds about to bite into the forbidden fruit!! I saw it then immediately went into my template and deleted what I originally thought would be good uplifting artwork...forever. I only wish I had been checking on this daily. I have no idea how many times something inappropriate popped up and made me and my blog look hypocritical. If any of you have been on and saw that at any point in time, I want to apologize now for not more closely monitoring that...but it leads me to an analogy of the Christian life...

How many times do we think that something is a great idea because it's dressed in "biblical clothes"...just to find out later that we wished we hadn't participated in/were associated with it? If I had been thinking, I would have immediately realized that many of the "biblical paintings" from the Renaissance were not very modest...or worse. But sometimes it's not so obvious. Sometimes we try to put ourselves into places where we think we will grow spiritually just to realize that it is actually undermining the tasks God has given us to do. I think about this as I desperately would love to be involved in Bible studies, but they are at times of the day that conflict with either our school day or our family time in the evening. So I have given that up for this season realizing that God will grow me through this time of "isolation" as He also grew me through the times of "fellowship"...and one day I will be able to do that again...which I look forward to. But as good as it is, if it undermines the purpose in our lives God has given us, God will not bless it...no matter how "spiritual" it appears. One Bible study in particular was a great disappointment, and I continued about 8 weeks hoping God would use it to speak to me, just to realize that He really hadn't wanted me there to begin with...I didn't learn much, and it didn't grow me any closer to God...In actuality, I found that there were many passages ripped completely out of context to make a non-biblical point...AND the author quoted a few atheistic philosophers...as if what they said was so profound to the Christian walk...but hadn't mentioned that they were atheists. (Friedrich Nietzsche was one of them...the man who said "God is dead.") I learned my lesson the hard way..after wasting 8 weeks on this because I "thought" I needed the "fellowship" of Bible study. (...which is not a bad thing, as long as the CONTENT of the Bible study also honors God).

We do the same things with our kids. How many times have we made sure that they have as many opportunities as possible to learn and grow...just to find out that they are burned out along with ourselves. Afterward, we are just as frustrated as they are. I think of the musicals which we've done (many of which I directed). They had parts or solos, I've been swamped with costumes, sets & all the "coaching"...just to put on a play about the "love of Jesus"..which no one really pays attention to because they just want to see "how good their baby was in their part"...Don't deny it! You know it's true. They have a good message, but really the end result is our children had public speaking/drama & performance opportunity, and we were able to have a part in the production, but the real growth or "outreach" wasn't there. AND after it's all done, we are behind in school and frustrated trying to catch up when we should be having a break like the rest of the world.

Now, I'm not saying that drama and plays are useless. One of them, had a song that taught my kids the Ten Commandments. There are good things that we take away from them, but you have to ask yourself is it WORTH the time you'll spend on it. Are you going to be frustrated when it's over...will the frustration outweigh the time spent on it? Will the things we take away from it build us up or just distract us from God's plan for our life. Satan is the great "distractor" of the church. But he is so coniving that he uses the "spiritual" and "biblical" things to keep us from what God has asked us to focus on...making us think that they are also "good" and "godly."

With a discerning heart, we can make GOOD decisions not only for ourselves but also for our families and children. When we try to "cram it all" in so we can grow more "spiritual" (but not necassarily closer to God), we will most likely frustrate ourselves, and fall short of the goals that God has set before us...which in turn will cause us more frustration and guilt that we let God down..when He really never asked us to "do it all" in the first place.

All this from a lesson I learned from having "Biblical Art" on my blog. Keeping it "clean" & "simple"...

URGENT! Important Information Re: Swine Flu

Thu, 7 May 2009 11:32:00 -0500

This could save the lives of you and your loved ones. With the increasing international cases of Swine Flu, it has been suggested to take extra precautionary measures, and educate yourself how this potentially deadly disease spreads. Please refer to the photo below for one way to contaminate yourself. If you have a weak stomach, you may want to proceed with caution. This is necessary so you may avoid exposure and potentially infecting those around you.

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Please pass this on to everyone you know to diminish the chances of contracting Swine Flu. Your global community is depending on you.

(BTW... This is just a joke...with a really funny...yet disgusting picture.)

She Liiiiiives!!!! Apparently, a lot of other creatures do too...

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:02:00 -0500

Yes, I am still here. I am still breathing. I am still homeschooling. I have not created anything new lately...although I am putting together a viking lapbook to upload soon. Actually it's already put together, I'm just waiting on permission to use a particular image. I made it for my son before Christmas, but we used a lot of copyrighted images in his, so I couldn't share it "as is." So I have been adding other images to the lapbook as time allows so I can share it with everyone. However, I hope anyone who sees the finished product will be pleased with it. I even added a few booklets that my son didn't do since we were focusing on the vikings of Sweden. I mean you can't have a Viking lapboook that doesn't cover Leif Erikson and Erik the Red, can you?!?!

That said...we're still working on our kitchen. It should have been done by the end of January. Now, at the end of April, we're closer, but we still keep running into roadblocks. First it was the granite...it took 7 WEEKS to finally get that in correctly. (Note: If having granite done, make sure you get a template...never let them "just measure.") Then we were debating over what kind of lighting to use, and it took us 4 weeks and 2 companies for the lights to actually show up in our house, and another 2 weeks for them to be installed. When we finally put the microwave up, it was hanging too low (below the cabinets), and would have been a hazard for our gas stove, so we had to order a new cabinet to go above the stove this past week...It should be here in about 4 weeks. AND I still don't have the tile for our backsplash picked out, which we can't actually install until our microwave is in the right place anyway. It's been "fun." But at least we have a full functional kitchen even if it's not in its "final state."

We've also had some interesting wildlife show up at our house. Just to let you know, we live in a suburb of a small city...so small, it actually doesn't feel like a city, but more like a bunch of small towns smooshed together.) I did get pictures, so here's the "parade" of animals...

First, these two showed up...

We got two puppies!! Please understand that they are NOTHING like our last dog. First of all, they are girls, so that means no MARKING the Christmas tree!! They are also part black lab (could you tell?), so they are rather calm and sweet. Actually, they are mutts, but since everyone else is talking about their designer breeds, I thought we'd com up with one of our own. They are part Jack Russell Terrier, part Black Lab, and part Golden Retriever...Wanna know what they are?....Get ready for this.....

Golden Black Jacks!!! Oh I crack myself up...and no, they're not gambling dogs.

Then we had this little "guy" show up...

It may look like a worm, but it's really a baby snake. It had this tiny little tongue that it kept sticking out. I had a really hard time catching that on video. It even "bit" my son a few times. It was so cool. We know it wasn't poisonous...but we still can't figure out what kind it was. Any ideas?

Then we had something slimy show up in our pool...

My ds was so excited. He "chased" it around the pool with the net until he caught it...then his sister (who were too "afraid" to come outside) wanted to see it, so he showed it to them behind the "safety" of their window. I thought the pattern on the frog was so cool...I'm pretty sure it's a Southern Leopard Frog, but it could be a Florida Leopard Frog...it just doesn't look green enough or the "Florida" variety.

After that, we had a few feathered friends show up in our yard...

The kids loved feeding them (I was wondering why we were going through bread faster than normal...), and they've been back every few days or so. They even stopped by this morning.

After that we had another visitor on our pool deck...

This one I could have done without, but I had to get a few pictures to remember him...Or rather so my ds could remember him...

And lastly, we had another animal show up in an unusual place...

That is actually our cat, but I have no idea why she decided to hide there...especially since she KNOWS she's not supposed to be on the counter. But it was so cute that I couldn't resist the picture ...of my dd's face too. Both were priceless.

What's Up?...The Moon and Venus

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:20:00 -0600

I had to run out to the grocery tonight, and I looked up in the western sky...as usual. I love looking for Venus. But tonight, I saw the moon (it's a waxing crescent), and Venus just to the right (or North) of it. It was so cool, I rushed through the grocery...hopefully, I got everything...and ran home to take a picture. I didn't even unload the car first. Hopefully, that milk will still be good. Anyway, this is a really poor picture of the spectacular sight I saw...(never could get it to focus right)...

What is even cooler is that we just looked at Venus through our telescope a couple of nights ago, and IT is in the crescent phase too. I took a picture of that, but I have no idea where it ended up. If you have a telescope, or know someone who does, it's really cool to see it. To the naked eye, it just appears to be a bright star. I asked my 6yos if he could see Venus. He said, "No all I can see is the moon." (The moon was in the New moon phase and wasn't visible)...I told him that was Venus. He started giggling and said, "That's so cool." Followed by a little more giggling. I love his innocence. He's such a trip sometimes.

We also got up really early on Tuesday morning to see the comet...which was either less than spectacular, or I was looking at the wrong glowing thing... but we did get to see Saturn..with it's rings. I've never seen it before through a telescope. It was so cool..but now I'm wishing I had a little more powerful one so I could see it better. It was so exciting. My kids liked seeing it too...although not nearly as much as me. They were back in bed within 5 minutes. I'm not sure I have any future astronomers in the house. Oh well...I love stargazing anyway.