Loving Learning at Home! - Homeschool Blogger

Maple Leaf Cut-Out Cookies....Yummmm!

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:01:00 -0500

We have a new family favorite at our home....Maple Leaf Cut-Out Cookies!

These made such a moist, faintly sweet cookie that was so delicious, and the cookies seemed to improve with age, instead of becoming dry and stale after a day or two like most homemade cookies. You will need to use real Grade B maple syrup for these cookies, though, because if you choose to use maple flavoring (1 tsp. or so), the maple flavor will hardly be evident. I recommend sticking with the real maple syrup!

We tried this recipe again recently with regular maple syrup from the store, and they had very little maple syrup flavor. Huh? What's with that? Well, I went back and looked at the new bottle of maple syrup, and it was Grade A. Normally, with the way that foods are graded, you'd think this would be better than Grade B, but this isn't the case. For true, richer maple syrup flavor in these cookies, please make certain that your maple syrup is Grade B!

If the thought of cutting out cookies with a cookie cutter seems too time consuming for you, you may also roll out the dough and cut it into squares or rectangles and then bake the cookies without using cookie cutters.

Here's the recipe:

Maple Leaf Cut-Out Cookies
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt

Measure all ingredients into a large bowl. If using large stand mixer, beat ingredients on low speed until well combined, or beat by hand. Shape dough into ball; wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Set oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 large cookie pans, or lightly spray pans with cooking spray and then place parchment paper onto pans.

On a lightly floured surface, roll small portions of the dough out at a time to about 1/4" thickness. With a cookie cutter (if desired), cut dough out and place cookies one inch apart on greased or parchment-lined cookie pans. Or, cut dough into squares or rectangles and place onto pan to bake.

Bake cookies for 5 minutes; switch and rotate pans and bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden. Carefully remove cookies to wire racks to cool. Repeat until all dough is used, greasing cookie sheet each time (if not using parchment paper).

Store cookies in a tightly covered container.

Julieanne

College Success Begins at Home: Seasoned Homeschoolers Share Their Experiences

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:36:00 -0500

College success does begin at home, whether your children are homeschooled or attend public or private school. A parent's involvement in homework, being interested in the education of his children, getting to know the classroom teachers and helping out occasionally, or homeschooling your children at home all tell your child that you value education and you believe it is important.

Our oldest begins junior high this fall. We are so excited! Even though a lot of what we will be doing for school will be similar curriculum as last year's, we are bumping it up a bit in skill level and challenge so that she can continue to advance academically.

When my husband and I first felt led to begin homeschooling our children, we decided that we'd take one year at a time and evaluate our options for our children's education.

However, after I had been teaching the girls at home for several years, I began to think, "If the girls end up going to high school away from home, it will be like taking the fruits of our labor and throwing it to the wind, where we won't get to see the daily academic successes of our teens. Instead, other teachers would be viewing what was going on, and we'd be 'out of the picture.'"

Some day, this will happen, after they have graduated from high school. And I'm okay with that. Our goal is to raise godly women who will go out into the world and have a biblical impact wherever the Lord may take them. Sure, it won't be easy for me. But that is our goal, and I'm okay with it.

I had hinted to my husband a couple of times in years past about maybe homeschooling the girls through high school. He hadn't said much but didn't seem very favorable toward it. Instead of bringing it up anymore, I decided to let the Lord take care of it: either change the desire of my heart to homeschool them through high school, or change my husband's heart so that he strongly wanted them home for their high school years.

In August 2006, Elmer and I were attending our annual statewide Christian homeschooling conference. During one of the keynote speaker's presentations, Elmer leaned over and whispered into my ear, "We ARE going to be homeschooling them through high school, aren't we?" I think I have shared this before on my blog here; I nodded my head "yes" and tried to stifle a huge grin. "Oh, thank you, Lord!" I thought inside as I did pray silently and praise the Lord for changing the desire of my husband's heart. It was so rewarding to turn this over to the Lord several years before, not say anything to my husband about it, and be at peace with whatever the Lord would bring our way.

The Old Schoolhouse magazine has just released a new e-book designed to show families that they CAN have success in homeschooling their children through the high school years.

College Success Begins at Home: Seasoned Homeschoolers Share Their Experiences ($12.45) was sent to me as an e-book to read and review for TOS. I was hoping that it would outline important steps to take before and during high school to prepare our children for either attending college, or being involved in ministry or another job after high school.

However, this particular e-book is different than what I thought it would be. Instead, numerous stories from a wide variety of homeschooling families told about basic elements of how they homeschooled their teens and prepared them for the world, and working with their talents and skills.

At first, I was disappointed. I wanted a step-by-step plan! But then, I realized that this e-book will provide great encouragement to the many homeschooling families who are so stressed out about the future of homeschooling high schoolers, that it will give them confidence and hope.

I know that I can teach the girls through high school. What I personally don't know myself, we'll learn together. It's worked in the past, and it will work again. I have confidence that what the Lord has begun in our family, He will finish. He is a God of finishers, not giver-uppers!

But for those of you who see the high school years coming and are very afraid, College Success Begins at Home: Seasoned Homeschoolers Share Their Experiences will provide you with the peace and confidence that you need. It will also, most importantly, show you that your child's high school years at home can be made to fit your child's needs, desires, and future plans in a way that public and private schooling will never be able to accomplish.

Then, you can buy the book that I want to buy, by Lee Binz, about how to homeschool well through the high school years, and feel confident in what you are doing!

I know that you will be blessed by College Success Begins at Home: Seasoned Homeschoolers Share Their Experiences, especially if you are finding the thought of homeschooling high school to be daunting.

Keep on trusting in the Lord, and you will not be disappointed!

© Copyright August 2009 by Julieanne Miller

Book Review: The Knight, by Steven James

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:34:00 -0500

When I was asked by Revell/Baker Publishing if I wanted to read The Knight, by Steven James (Baker Publishing), in order to do a book review, I said, "Sure!" Unfortunately, I too quickly read the email I received about this book. NEVER DO THAT! If I had slowed down a bit more and read it with more care, which I will definitely do the next time, I wouldn't have been in the predicament I found myself in: having to read a crime investigation book that was well written...but too scary for me.

The Knight is the third book in the "Patrick Bowers Thriller" series by Steven James. Mr. James is an excellent writer, who weaves his story with great skill and craft. One of Mr. James' recent books, The Rook, just received the Christy Award for the Best Suspense Novel of 2008. Obviously, this man is a gifted writer.

Unfortunately, it was too graphic for me, even from the first page.

Here's what I should have read closely in my email, before accepting this book to read:

"A word of caution: this book is considered 'gritty, chilling, and intense'. It contains graphic descriptions of disturbing crime scenes. While not for the faint of heart, the series has been described as 'suspense thriller writing at its highest level' and is likely to keep you up all night."

Well, the Publicity Assistant was exactly correct! This book will keep you up all night, either from fear from what you have just read in the book...and/or that you feel compelled to finish the book immediately because you have just GOT to know what happens at the end of it!

I really enjoyed reading Mr. James' style of writing, but it was also too graphic and scary for me. Okay, I'm a wimp. But I do have to say that Mr. James has definitely done his homework before writing this book. You will believe that you are with the main character, working as an investigative officer, out on numerous crime scenes. His writing is very realistic.

I have enjoyed watching CSI and those kinds of crime scene shows in the past, although I don't anymore. But there is something about reading through these scenes that is far more intense than watching it on television ever was for me.

If I had known how I would react to what I was going to read, I would have skipped on this book.

So, if you really enjoy the crime scene/CSI types of television shows, and you love scary, gruesome, descriptive, gripping mysteries, you will probably really love this book.

For the rest of us, we'll stick with books that are a bit more mild!

Sigh.

© August 2009 by Julieanne Miller

Help, Lord, I'm Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling My High Schooler!

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:15:00 -0500

Homeschooling moms especially need a lot of encouragement and support in their ministry to their children that sometimes seems daunting.

Even if all of your relatives, friends, neighbors, and church family support your decision to homeschool your own children, the daily work of patiently guiding your children to adulthood is difficult.

Of course, I realize that many of you don't have the support of relatives, friends, neighbors, and church family in your homeschooling efforts. That makes things even tougher.

The Old Schoolhouse magazine has recently published a new e-book with homeschooling moms and dads in mind.

Help, Lord, I'm Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling My High Schooler! is written for the heart and mind of those homeschooling parents who want to continue their children's education at home through the high school years, but are doubting their abilities to do so.

Many families have contributed to this 120+ page e-book. Over and over again, I was impressed with the stories of each family who has come to rely fully on the grace of God and His strength in order to press on with the ministry of teaching children at home.

Lest you think that this e-book is only for those who are currently teaching high school curricula to their children, I should mention that many of the families' stories show God's direction in their lives clear back when their children were first graders!

Some of the challenges mentioned in this particular e-book include learning disabilities, unmotivated students, rebellion, lack of ability to focus on much of anything, physical and medical conditions, children who were extremely talented academically or creatively, and more.

With each family, you will read about the method God used to help them survive and thrive through the high school years (and elem./junior high years, too), and how they have now graduated successful adults who are doing well academically, socially, and occupationally.

I enjoyed reading this ebook, receiving encouragement and advice on homeschooling through the high school years. I don't want to give up and quit before the girls graduate; I've put so much of myself into this thing we call homeschooling that I don't want to lose what we have started! And, the Lord still continues to convict my husband and I that this is what we should be doing. God is rewarding us for our decision, and that is encouraging, too.

If you are in the mood for some encouragement and support in your homeschooling choices, please consider taking a look at this e-book for $12.45 at The Old Schoolhouse Store:

Help, Lord, I'm Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling My High Schooler!!

How expensive is homeschooling after all?

Sun, 9 Aug 2009 23:32:00 -0500

Tonight, I've been mulling over some of the costs of homeschooling our children. Sure, we don't have a second income, so if I include that, it costs well over $45,000 each year to homeschool our kiddos.

But leaving the "second income" portion behind, I'm starting to think that it is far less expensive to teach my children at home than I originally thought.

Every year, we do what most homeschooling families do: we purchase curriculum. Since I don't choose to buy kits or sets of workbooks and packaged curriculum, I spend a lot of time researching what we are going to use...and the least expensive place to purchase it. Amazingly, there are some curriculum items we use in our family that are cheaper at smaller "mom and pop" homeschooling sites vs. big name sites like Amazon and ChristianBook.com . It is nice to have many months to figure out what we are going to use and where we are going to purchase it.

But tonight, something curious happened. I was entering a contest on a frugal blog, and we were supposed to answer the question, "What do you hate most about back-to-school shopping?" When I first read the question, I couldn't think of anything I hated about preparing for a new school year. I love the curriculum I choose...if I didn't love it, I wouldn't have chosen it, right? I decided to email the owner of the blog and ask her if I could instead share in my comment what I LOVE about back-to-school shopping, because I truly couldn't think of anything I hated about it. She replied to say that this would be great...that she doesn't want to exclude anyone from entering the contest.

So, tonight, I went back to her frugal living-type of website, and posted my comment. I shared about how I loved shopping for school supplies with the girls in tow, because we only needed a few things each year since our school supplies don't typically get lost, broken, or stolen by other children in the classroom.

I shared about the excitement the girls and I have each August as we go shopping for one special outfit that they will wear for their first day of the school year. (Most of their other clothes are hand-me-downs, super clearance rack deals, or homemade clothes, etc.) It's a special time together, and a fun "girls time" day as we do this together, because we rarely buy them nice, new clothes at a nice store.

I talked about how I love planning their lessons ahead of time and prepping for the new school year. I've always been a teacher at heart, and this to me is like a fun hobby! Yes, I do get tired during the school year, but during the summer, this is fun! So, you may ask me if I've had a busy summer, and I will answer wholeheartedly, "YES!" but it is a fun kind of busy, because I am doing something I love to do.

After I placed my comments on her blog posting, I was curious about what some of the other 722 entries said. These moms were writing about what they hated about back-to-school shopping, so I wanted to know what they had to say.

This is when things became interesting.

The #1 complaint amongst these parents was obviously that it is SO expensive to prepare children for going back to school. Well, I think to myself, if they carefully watch the sales, they can purchase the back-to-school items very inexpensively, right? Like for around $10, right? You know, the 5 cent glue and the 79 cent Crayola markers, and the 9 cent package of ruled paper, right? That's what I would do, if I was preparing my children to go back to public school in the fall, right?

Well...

Gone are the days where the school supply list provided by the school merely calls for #2 pencils, a pencil box, ruled paper, crayons, and a box of Kleenex.

Now, many (if not all) of the schools are very explicit about what they will accept for school supplies, especially at the jr. high and high school levels:

*Crayola crayons in specific colors only
*soft pencil pouch, no bright colors (prefer navy), 8 x 10
*3" three-ring binder in "almond" color (note that it is very difficult to find 3" binders in some towns), or exact color binders for each of the different school subjects you have in high school
*blue folders (you'd best NOT buy red, or you'll be in trouble!)
*24 glue sticks
*3 school uniforms that cost upwards of $200
*baby wipes
*clear or mesh backpacks that will fall apart after three months they must be purchased three times per school year
*special kind of calculator
*folders with brads and pockets

...and on and on goes the list.

Some moms said that to purchase all of the supplies for two elementary-aged children was costing them almost $200! Yikes. What is going on?

When I was a teacher, every year the office staff would ask me what I'd like placed on the school supply list for the 4th graders. I'd just keep it the same as it has been for the last 50 years...crayons, #2 pencils, eraser, ruled paper, binder, glue, scissors, box of Kleenex. And, I NEVER made the children pull all of their school supplies together into a big box or drawers or something, to make it a community "socialist" school supply free-for-all. Because the Kleenex wouldn't fit in the students' desks, I placed those in a cupboard, and we all used them during the school year. I knew from human experience that if the school supplies were in a "free for all" situation, they would be abused and not taken care of, because no one "owned' any of them. But, if they each had their own supplies purchased by their parents, they would take a bit more care to be responsible with their supplies. (At least, that was my hope...and the parents'!)

Instead, all of the other school supplies stayed in the students' own desks, for their own personal use. I made sure that they all had their names on their own supplies, so no one could argue that so-and-so stole their school supplies.

I knew that I'd have students each year who couldn't afford school supplies, so I purchased a few extras from the really cheap back-to-school sales the week after the 4th of July, and I kept those in my desk and privately handed them out to the students who needed them.

This way, if a parent wanted to purchase really nice, expensive colored pencils for her child, she could do that, and her child would have those in her own desk for her own use.

If a parent needed to purchase Dollar Tree colored pencils or crayons, she could do that as well. Everyone had the freedom to purchase what they could afford to purchase.

My attitude about the specific brands for products, navy pencil pouches, red or blue folders, 3" binders, etc. is not very positive. Red folders are not going to improve a child's education, are they? Almond colored binders are not going to enhance a child's academics.

Who is making up all of these lists, anyway?

And, lots of moms commented that even after following the school's supply list, their children would still come home after the first day of school with a new list of items that the teacher supposedly required them to have.

My first experience with this was a few years ago when I happened to be in our local Staples store on the evening of the first day of school. I don't remember what I was purchasing that day, but I clearly remember the horrified looks on parents' faces as they came into the store accompanied by their teenage sons and daughters. For some of the upper math classes at the high school, they were required to have a specific graphing calculator that cost around $125 to $200. I couldn't believe that! I took upper level math courses in high school, and we did all of our graphing by hand. It was really cheap that way! The parents were frantic, because of course, the store ran out quickly and their children didn't have the calculators they would need the next day at school.

I realize that some of the cheaper school supplies these days are not that great. I really don't like using El Cheapo glue or colored pencils that have been manufactured in China. I prefer better products. But, if my children's school supplies were required to go into a "community pot" where everyone would just take and use what they wanted, then I would be buying the cheaper brands, even if the teacher's supply list called for Prismacolor colored pencils. I'm sorry, but I would be sending Crayola or worse. I'm not going to support that kind of socialism.

Many other parents commented about hating the expense of buying clothing for their children. One mom commented, "When I was a child and in school, we would continue using clothing from the previous school year, if it still fit. Nowadays, that isn't an option. The kids insist on having everything brand new, that no one at their school has ever seen before."

Over and over again, moms were mentioning how expensive it is to clothe their children for school.

While I think that my girls have too many clothes in their closets, it isn't because we spend a ton of money on clothing. I've already mentioned above where most of their clothes come from. This concept that everything has to be brand new for the new school year is teaching our children a big, fat lie. We're teaching them the opposite of frugal living. We're teaching them that we deserve to have everything brand new, even if we have to put it on charge cards and we really can't afford to pay cash for it right now.

My girls would be horrified if we went shopping and bought them 20 outfits or something like that. One of them would actually refuse to come home with more than 1-2 outfits.

Many parents mentioned the awful peer pressure and the whining of their children to have this outfit, and that outfit, and of course, the outfits don't color coordinate with other outfits to make better use of their clothing dollars.

Sigh.

Is it just me, or are we giving in to our children's selfish demands to live like millionaires? Come on, most of us cannot afford to be raising our children with an endless supply of money coming out of our pockets! Some of these issues should have been dealt with when their children were ages 3 and 4.

No whining.

No complaining.

No grumbling.

Be thankful for what you have.

I will give you $100 for back-to-school clothes; if you choose to spend it entirely on one single outfit or one pair of shoes, that is your problem.

Get a job if you don't like the clothing and school supply options I can afford for you.

Truly, I'm not trying to be unkind here, but these are selfish demands that most families cannot afford.

And I haven't even begun to mention the school fees these days. I learned last week from a store employee that the high schools (and maybe the junior high schools, I don't know) here in our town require students to pay a textbook deposit for their texts each year. This way, if a textbook isn't returned or is returned damaged, the school isn't going to have to pay for the books to be replaced. While this makes sense to me, it does continue to add to the costs of attending public school.

Then, you have the yearbook fees, parking fees, registration fees, school physical fees, club and activity fees, sports fees, $3,000 for being a cheerleader, and on and on and on.

It's actually quite mind-boggling to me, how expensive it is to send children to many public schools.

No thanks. I think I'd rather spend $300or so in purchasing my own school curriculum, and not having to deal with spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on school clothes, accessories, supplies, fees, and whims of the school district. That's $150 per child that is very well spent!

Homeschooling seems like the cheaper option, now.

Never thought I'd say that!

What do you find most expensive about the school option you've chosen for your own children?

How do you work around your education expenses to make things less costly for your own family?

Please share! I'd enjoy reading what you have to say.

© Copyright 2009 by Julieanne Miller

What He Must Be...if He Wants to Marry My Daughter

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 09:57:00 -0500

Is that a catchy title, or what? My interest was piqued as I received a free copy of this book in the mail to review for Crossway Books. After all, I have two daughters, and as they are now pre-teens, I'm becoming more and more interested in this subject!

What He Must Be...If He Wants to Marry My Daughter is written by Voddie Baucham, Jr., a pastor of Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, Texas. For those who homeschool, he is also a popular nationally-known speaker who often speaks at homeschooling conferences around the United States. My husband and I were thrilled to be able to hear him speak in June 2008 at our state's annual homeschooling conference.

(For those of you who are not interested in homeschooling, this book does not address or mention homeschooling at all, nor does it address arranged marriages or keeping your adult children in your household until they are either married or elderly!)

Baucham describes the purpose of his book (besides what is so clearly stated in his title) in his introduction:

1. I want to lay out a clear, balanced, realistic, biblical picture of what moms and dads should be looking for on behalf of their daughters and seeking to produce in their sons (p. 9).

2. In addition, I want to provide a road map for men who have a desire to lead their families biblically but simply do not know how.

For those of you who are wondering, Baucham does NOT encourage parents to pick out a future spouse for their children and then just have their adult children merely "sign on the dotted line."

But, he is definitely NOT advocating the current dating philosophy that is being used constantly by single people these days, both in and out of the church.

He advocates courtship, instead of dating.

I love Baucham's philosophy of courtship because it brings it all to a much higher purpose, which is marriage. If you're not familiar with what courtship is, I highly recommend you read his book, whether you are a follower of Jesus Christ or not.

This quote from page 110 is great:

"My eighteen-year-old daughter has never been on a date with a boy (unless you count going places with her father). She has never had a boyfriend. She has never held hands with or been kissed by a young man. That means she has also never stayed up all night crying her eyes out because some boy broke up with her. She has never had to ask, "How far is too far?" She has never been on suicide watch because the man she loved was out with another girl. She has saved her heart - her whole heart - for the man whom she intends to marry. She is not looking for a young man who has been in the equivalent of two, three, or twelve mini-marriages. Any young man who is interested in her must understand the importance of guarding his heart and hers."

Personally, I have always loved the concept of saving your whole heart for the person you will marry some day. Unfortunately, I wasn't taught this when I was a teen. While I only had two short-term boyfriends right after graduating from high school and didn't give myself away to them, and I chose to break up with them after about three months of dating, I wish that I hadn't even chosen to date them. After all, I knew right from the start that these were not men whom I would want to marry. So why invest time in a relationship if I knew it wasn't going to go anywhere (or shouldn't)?

After ending my college freshman year boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, I spent the next 7 years not dating a single person. Although I longed to be married, I was determined to not just go out with guys because everyone else was. I didn't want to invest time in dating someone I wasn't planning or hoping to marry. So, I remained "dateless" but was so busy teaching full time in an elementary school that I barely had time to notice. (I have to add that at the church I attended, there were only a few single young men, and they either didn't appeal to me because of character issues, or they were interested in other gals...so the playing field from which to choose was pretty slim!)

That ended up being a blessing in disguise, although at the time I did wonder if I would remain single forever.

Then, I met Elmer through an older, mutual friend. Our first few dates were chaperoned by an older friend of ours. Not that we needed that, but the three of us were very close friends, and we just decided to take off the uncomfortable edge of newly dating by asking her to come along with us. I'm very thankful that we did!

Then, right away, I took him to meet my parents. They watched him carefully, asked him lots of questions over a long dinner, and later told me that they approved of me dating him. While you may think this is terribly old fashioned, I would not have continued this relationship with Elmer had they not had an overall good impression of him. My parents know me better than anyone, and they knew the type of man I was looking for in a husband. I was 25 years old, and while this isn't considered "old maid" in most locations, it was definitely getting "up there" in years in the community where I lived.

If they had red flags go up in their minds, I wanted to know. I didn't want to end up being a statistic.

In What He Must Be...if He Wants to Marry My Daughter, Baucham doesn't provide a "checklist" of characteristics for men in a checklist-type of way. He spends most of the book looking at what the Holy Scriptures say about marriage, courtship, and dating. He does cover five major characteristics of what a man should be like, though, and these are very good.

He discusses MULTI-GENERATIONAL VISION, which is having a very long-term perspective on the goals a person has for marriage, in choosing a mate, and in staying married even when the times get tough.

Baucham places marriage in the "ministry" category instead of just another relationship we have during our days here on life. I wholeheartedly agree with this: marriage is the most challenging relationship we will have in our adults years, with parenting being the second most challenging set of relationships in our lives. If we view our marriage as a ministry to our spouse, it removes the selfish goals and ambitions that so often conflict with our spouse.

"A Father's Role", chapter 3 in this book, reaches to the heart of dads and encourages them to step up to the plate and become involved in their children's lives, especially when it comes to dating, courtship, and marriage.

(from page 49): "Unfortunately, most of us treat the search for a spouse...[as a person treats his search for a house to buy.] We prefer to just ride around for a while until something catches our fancy. Similarly, we raise our children with vague expectations and expect them to somehow muddle through and find an acceptable suitor. However, without clear parameters, they are destined to make choices based on the popular adage, 'Just follow your heart.' The only problem with that is, 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?' (Jeremiah 17:9). We must find a better way. We must commit ourselves to preparing our children to find suitable mates without relying on the pagan, relativistic mythology that dominates our day. Divorce courts are filled with people who 'followed their hearts' and married Mr. or Mrs. Right. There has to be a better way."

Next, Baucham spends a lot of time covering the five major characteristics he wants to see in any suitor coming his daughter's way:

1. He must be a follower of Christ (and not just wishy-washy, but instead a full follower of the Lord)

2. He must be prepared to lead.

3. He must lead like Christ (Ephesians 5).

4. He must be committed to children.

5. He must practice the 4 P's: Protector, Provider, Prophet, Priest.

If that list scares you to death, Baucham is providing a list of ideals, goals for young men - and older men as well.

He realizes that in today's world, most young men are not going to match up in all of these categories.

He admits that the playing field is going to be limited.

And, importantly, he addresses what fathers and men in the church should do about this, and how to increase the "marriage-ability" of young men today.

This is really, really great stuff.

Most of this book is spent convincing parents about the need for courtship instead of dating, and explaining the goals we should have for young men. Elmer and I began talking about courtship vs. dating with our girls a few years ago, because we knew that if we waited until they were in their teens, they may not buy in to this philosophy.

If you already strongly believe in courtship, you will still find some very practical explanations of how courtship works and what it looks like.

Baucham also echoes the fear that many God-loving parents Elmer and I know share:

"I was again struck with fear. I thought about the thousands of young men in our society who have been raised amidst a culture of weak, godless, unsure, lazy, feminized men. I thought about the epidemic of fatherlessness and the resulting dearth of truly mature, godly, manly young men. Not macho men who beat their chests and howl at the moon. I'm talking about real men. I'm talking about men who understand their role in the home, in the church, and in the world. I'm talking about men who haven't been desensitized by violence or emasculated by overprotective mothers. To whom will I give my daughter if young men no longer know what the word man means?"

The last part of this book addresses something that I've been uncomfortable with for years: don't send a woman to do a man's job:

"Our children are becoming serial monogamists who give themselves away over and over again to unworthy candidates who break their hearts, scar their psyches, and often cause them to sin against God. Something simply has to give." (pg. 161)

The divorce rate both in the church and out of the church is shocking these days. Why do fathers only have a say when the young couple - who may have been dating for over a year already while away at college - comes to ask his approval for marriage? Why are fathers and mothers not more deeply involved in this process from the beginning?

I am so thankful that I had the insight to introduce Elmer to my parents very early on in our courtship. I just wish I had introduced them to each other before we even went out together one time. Then, it would have been "true" courtship!

In the last chapter of What He Must Be...if He Wants to Marry My Daughter, Baucham spends quite a bit of time explaining some excellent options of how to work with young men who may "come a' courtin'" but aren't really ready for marriage. He shows fathers how to mentor young men and bring them up to the standard. In my opinion, any young man who is willing to be mentored by a possible future father-in-law is placing himself high up the ladder to marry that man's daughter!

I'll finish this review with one other quote that I especially liked in this book. However, it isn't a quote from Voddie Baucham. You'll recognize the author!

"I have brought up a daughter with great expense and effort, care and peril, diligence and labor, and for many years I have ventured my entire life, my person and possessions, in the undertaking...And now she is not to be better protected for me than my cow, lost in the woods, which any wolf may devour? Who would approve of this? Likewise, is my child to stand there free for all, so that any knave, unknown to me, or perhaps even a former enemy of mine, has the power and the unlimited opportunity secretly to steal her from me and take her away without my knowledge and will? There certainly is no one who would want to let his money and goods stand open to the public in this way, so that they may be taken by the first comer. But now the knave takes not only my money and goods, but my child whom I have brought up with painful care; and with my daughter he gets my goods and money besides. And so I must reward him for the grief and harm he has caused me and must let him be the heir of the possessions I have acquired with pains and labor. Surely, this is rewarding wickedness with honor; this is inviting grief and injury." ~ Martin Luther

The process of courtship should be a partnership, not arranged by parents, but a partnership between the parents and their children, and Voddie Baucham teaches this well in his new book.

Recently, some friends of ours had their 18-year-old daughter go through the process of courtship like Baucham encourages. The young man came to the family from the beginning, and asked permission from the father to court the daughter. The parents were involved right from the beginning, and the purpose of the courtship was to lead to marriage. It wasn't to have a short-term fling or to "hook up", which is a scary concept to me. Blessings to those who follow the biblical plan for courtship in their lives!

I highly recommend What He Must Be...if He Wants to Marry My Daughter. It is a very useful book for sons and daughters to read or go through with their parents, and for parents to read whether they only have sons or daughters, or both.

© 2009 by Julieanne Miller

Summer Bouquet 2009 from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine!

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:17:00 -0500

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is currently running their Summer Bouquet subscription promotion, in which they give away more than $400 in gifts to each of the first 5,000 people who purchase a two-year TOS magazine subscription or renewal (U.S. subscriptions only).

Each of those first 5,000 subscribers will receive 19 great gifts, including:

$20 gift card for DVDs offered by Franklin Springs Family Media

A Cooking with Children CD from SueGreggCookbooks

An online filmmaking course given by Advent Film Group (approximately $49 value)

Gourmet Crepe Mix and Raspberry Cheesecake Blend from Wildtree-YUMMY!!

A 10 x 13 portrait photo free from Sears to YOU (with no sitting fee!)

And much, much more!

For a look at all 19 gifts, take a look here: http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/TOSSummer19Gifts/index.html

Each of these 19 gifts has a value of up to $10 to $49! And none of them requires additional shipping charges; for the most part, your only expense will be the cost of the stamp on the envelope or postcard that you mail in to redeem a gift. This amazing promotion gives homeschoolers a taste of some exceptional FREE products from a variety of sources.

If you would like to participate in this wonderful offer, click on the link above...and for an additional $5 off your two-year subscription order, use the code:

JMSGL5OFF

If you are already a subscriber, I'd enjoy hearing your comments about the magazine - what you like about it, what are your favorite features, etc. I've enjoyed TOS Mag. for about five years now!

E-Book Review: Dreams and Designs�Homemade Supplies to Complement Your Homeschool

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:51:00 -0500

When my children were very young, we had very little extra money in our budget. We stayed home a lot, kept things simple, enjoyed friendships with other families and our church members, rarely traveled, and just enjoyed bonding as a family.

We began homeschooling when our oldest was four. Technically, we began homeschooling the day she was born, but that just shows our view of what homeschooling really is...a lifelong love of learning and discipleship with your children!

I wanted to do preschool types of things with my children, but didn't have much money. My mom suggested some ideas we could do at home together, and I also gleaned ideas from my friends. I bought a couple of books that had a lot of ideas, and we did some things from that. Several times, I asked my girls' Sunday School teachers how the girls were doing. They were surprised to learn that our girls weren't attending a local preschool, because they were social, obedient (for the most part!), had preschool skills, etc.

I firmly believe that if a parent is able to stay at home with their children, attending preschool is not a necessary part of childhood. Learning a lot of preschool-types of skills IS necessary, but they are so easily taught by Mom or Dad. I only knew one other gal who had children my daughter's age - when they were babies - so she and I began meeting together once a week for a playdate. Not only did I enjoy the time to visit with another mom who shared similar beliefs and values as me, our daughters grew up together and learned so much from each other. As time went on, we made friends with other families who had young children, and our circle of friendships grew.

Because I have always loved learning, I wanted my children to love learning, too. I made it a big priority in our family to have plenty of story times, arts and crafts, practice with letters and numbers, colors, days of the week, and so many fun little skills like that in our daily life. But it was still very casual and lots of fun and games - plus, I spent very little during the day doing this with the girls. No need for 2-4 hours per day, that's for sure!

What happened because of all of this? Well, when our oldest had reached the age to attend kindergarten in our state (she was 5-3/4 by the day school started), we realized that even with working casually with her over the last couple of years, she was advanced in her skills, and would have been bored to tears in kindergarten. This led to our journey in homeschooling, and it has been such a blessed adventure.

While many families think to themselves, "Wow - my child is far advanced beyond her peers - she is going to be at the top of her class!" when their children start kindergarten, I think this attitude is actually harmful to our children. Why be prideful about our children, and then use that pride to actually harm our children by not allowing them to flourish and grow academically at their own pace and in so many other ways?

Our attitude instead was, "Wow - my child is advanced beyond her peers - what can we do to teach and nurture her at her level now, so she won't be held back academically and emotionally?" After years of teaching in the public school system and working with children voluntarily, I can't imagine placing an advanced child into a kindergarten program where 95% of the classmates don't know their seasons, days of the week, letters, numbers, colors, etc. And lest you think that things improve all that much in the first grade, you would probably be dismayed to learn that almost all first grades spend 26 weeks of the school year (out of 36) learning the letters of the alphabet and all of the other things I've already mentioned. (The reading/spelling curriculum we use taught all 26 letters in 5-7 days, easy. Why drag this out over six months, unless a child has learning disabilities? I just don't get it.)

Now, I know that the masses need to be educated, but why should we hold children back who are reading and understanding at a higher level? And for the average boy? Why, quite a few of them would often be better off not even starting school until they are around 7, unless they are the type who really loves to sit still and learn! Public school organization is so feminized, anyway - why should boys be spending most of their young lives sitting squarely in a desk, doing pencil and paper work, and cutting with scissors? Let them be boys and learn in a mode that meets their needs, without all the sitting time when they are younger...

Okay, I'll get off of my soapbox.

Today, I just finished reading a new e-book called, Dreams and Designs—Homemade Supplies to Complement Your Homeschool that will be offered in the future by The Schoolhouse Store, part of The Old Schoolhouse magazine.

Even though I haven't used preschool activities for a lot of years now, it was so much fun to read through this 54-page ebook!

I would have really enjoyed using Dreams and Designs—Homemade Supplies to Complement Your Homeschool in our preschool and early elementary years.

Donna Campos, the author of this e-book, offers so many creative ideas of activity centers, learning stations, preschool activities, and skill development. What impressed me the most is that she provides very cheap and inexpensive methods and ways of doing this in your own home.

I used to receive those colorful, flashy catalogs in the mail when the girls were younger. After all, I was still on a lot of "teacher" mailing lists, right? I would see so many things that looked so wonderful to have in our home, but the price tag kept me from ordering much at all. If I had a copy of Dreams and Designs—Homemade Supplies to Complement Your Homeschool, I would have thrown out the catalogs and just enjoyed using the ideas in this e-book instead!

Donna teaches us how to make and use calendars that are large and hands-on, how to design puppet theaters and scrolling stories, and how to design personal partitions that give children their own little space to work on school projects or activities. She also provides many ideas of how to design activity stations and centers, something that started to become very popular in the public schools in the 1990s, but hardly anyone had the extra time or money to use them in their classrooms.

Donna also provides us with photos and directions on how to design different types of storage containers and rolling carts, plus a lot more, with household items. For those who like having everything "in place" in their homes, this would be a dream come true!

Just when you think this e-book couldn't provide any more for your family and learning, she also discusses many ways to use file folders to enhance learning. I was impressed with the detailed directions to make file folder timelines for history studies.

She also includes a section on some great ways to use cheap and inexpensive index cards for lots of learning activities, including for those children who have learning challenges or are on the autism spectrum.

I really appreciate Donna Campos' heart for the family and how to educate children frugally as well as having a lot of fun with them.

The next time you are tempted to plop your children into public school, or keep them at home with a boring stack of workbooks, consider bringing this e-book into your home for $12.45:

Dreams and Designs—Homemade Supplies to Complement Your Homeschool

I don't think you'll be disappointed!

When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a...Doctor! (e-book review)

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 16:52:00 -0500

When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a...Doctor!

     This summer, I’ve been privileged to read and write a review for one of the first “When I Grow Up, I Want to Be...” e-books that “The Old Schoolhouse” began to offer in June 2009. When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a Chef was an excellent study of many aspects of being a chef. I was surprised at all of the work that went into making this e-book a full unit study for families.

     I wasn’t surprised to see that TOS’ newest career studies e-book, When I Grow Up, I Want to Be A Doctor was even better!

     A husband and wife who met in medical school, married, and started their families before becoming physicians take the time to introduce us to a little about their lives and how they became doctors. They candidly discuss the joys and strains of being physicians; Dr. Celina Atwi describes how much she loved being a doctor and treating her patients until God showed her how much her own children needed her at home. She eventually put her medical career on hold and began homeschooling her children as well as some relatives’ children. Mr. Jibran Atwi describes many of his tasks during a typical day at his extremely busy practice, including overseeing eight other physicians who work for him.

     Suggestions and tips for homeschooled students who are wanting to gain entry to medical school are discussed. How wonderful to see information like this written specifically to homeschooled graduates! It is rare to see that focus these days in career studies materials.

     This e-book includes numerous pages and activities that are well-designed for a unit study in the home. Reading comprehension, graphing and following charts, creative writing and storytelling, and science activities and experiments that focus on the biology of the human eye enhance this unit.   Math word problems revolving around the theme of doctors and eyesight are included, as well as vocabulary activities, puzzles, and numerous copywork pages in both print and cursive handwriting.

     Two coloring pages are added to this unit, although I found the style of art to be more appropriate for the younger aged children. My 9- and 11-year old children prefer fine line drawings to color, similar to the Dover coloring books, instead of thick black line simple drawings.

     A book and video list is included to extend your family’s studies of the human eye and eyesight.

     ASL sign language is included for a few medical-themed words. Bible memory verses, and pages of activities and projects to have fun as a family are helpful. A “Teacher’s Guide” of answers are added in the back of the study to help parents as needed.

     Finally, a list of resources and websites, as well as links to related occupations, concludes this fun unit study!

     I appreciate the heart of this study as I read through it.   Dr. Celina Atwi clearly states that while she knew she was led to becoming a physician as a woman, she also knows that for Christian women who want to go into medicine as a career, it is far better suited to those women who are called to singleness or are married and are unable to have children.

     While many women will cry “foul” at this statement, it is practical and based on the considerations of attempting to raise a family while being on-call 24 hours a day. Raising children with a godly, biblical plan and passing our faith on to our children is a 24-hour-per-day ministry in itself, one that would be extremely difficult to accomplish through the Holy Spirit if we are working outside of the home many hours each week, away from our precious gifts.

$8.95 here at the TOS Store!

E-Homeschooling: Embracing the E-Book Revolution

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:42:00 -0500

E-Homeschooling: Embracing the E-Book Revolution

The Old Schoolhouse magazine (www.theoldschoolhousestore.com) has recently developed an informative, new e-book designed to answer your questions about the use of e-books, why they exist, how to store them in your home, tips on how to publish your own e-books, and more.

The director of this project, Angelina Stanford McBride, is a noted "hard copy" book lover. However, over time, she has learned to appreciate and even enjoy e-books for what they offer. She, and numerous other e-book users, spend some time in E-Homeschooling: Embracing the E-Book Revolution describing why e-books can be so useful for families, why they are economical, and how they are easy to store and use in your homes and on the road.

Several lists of a variety of sources in which to obtain free or economically priced e-books can be found in E-Homeschooling: Embracing the E-Book Revolution.

In a helpful "Q & A" format, the questions that are frequently asked about e-books are answered here for both the novice and the expert e-book user.

Multiple authors contributed to this e-book to provide a variety of methods of storing and organizing e-books on a person’s computer, or in their physical home library or file cabinets. I know that you will appreciate finding a method that suits your style!

Finally,
E-Homeschooling: Embracing the E-Book Revolution ends with excellent pointers on how to begin publishing your own e-books for sale to the general public. Heidi Strawser ("The Old Schoolhouse" E-Book Reviews Specialist) candidly lists some of the most common errors would-be e-book publishers make in their attempts to produce e-books. The advice here is solid and beneficial reading for any individual who is interested in writing and selling their own e-books.

This is an informative, useful e-book that is a free download from "The Old Schoolhouse’s" website here. Enjoy!

Embracing the E-Book Revolution