I am a proud Momma to 4 little blessings. Mustang (71/2), Quarter Horse (41/2), Thoroughbred (2) and our newest addition, Shetland Pony (6 months). Life is exciting around these parts as we pursue home school, home making, home birthing, home building, and home steading. There is always an adventure happening and one waiting to be had. Hope you enjoy your visit!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Mon, 7 Dec 2009 22:35:00 -0600 Mon, 7 Dec 2009 22:35:00 -0600 Today the 9 yo finished his math book.  Yeah!! Now on to book 5.  We are using the Math - U - See program.  It is so effortless, painless, and easy to use.  We Love it!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/750355/ Mon, 7 Dec 2009 22:35:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/750355/ This was taken from the Duggars Book - 20 and counting - Their web-site is http://www.duggarfamily.com/ When I was eleven years old, my family took a vacation in Florida.  One morning my brother and I went swimming.  The shallow water revealed an oyster bed.  We began digging up oysters.  It was great fun.  During the morning we accumulated quite a collection. Our greatest finds were not the live oysters, but dead oysters which still had both halves of the shell joined together.  Many were closed shut, and we didn't know until we had pried them open whether they were alive or not. The live ones we threw back.  The empty ones usually did not reclose, but remained partly open.  These we set aside as our most prized treasures. Toward the end of the morning, I dug up a very nice, complete oyster shell which was in perfect condition.  It was obviously dead because it was already open about an eighth of an inch and seemed empty.  it was definitely one that I wanted to keep, except for one flaw-it had some kind of object trapped inside that rattled.  I thought it detracted from the quality of my shell. The halves of the shell were still very tight and were hard to budge with just my fingers.  It took all of five minutes to remove this rather large, round, perfectly smooth object.  Having successfully removed it, and being pleased with my now empty and unblemished shell, I threw the object toward the end of the pier. At about the midpoint of its flight, a horrifying light dawned in my mind.  I was old enough to have known, but young enough to overlooked the value of what I had just thrown away.  I had treasured what was secondary and had lost what was real.  My focus had been wrong. I visually marked the location of the splash.  with great care I slowly approached the spot, trying not to disturb the bottom.  For the next half hour I searched diligently. Finally, when it was time to leave, I told my parents what I had done.  Then we all looked for it.  Our efforts were useless and our time up.  Our schedule demanded that we leave. When I was twenty-five years old, I got married.  For some undefined reason, I rejected for seven years the suggestion that we have children.  I thought I had valid reasons, but no counsel or teaching from either family, friends, or church.  No one seemed to consider it to be a critical issue.  In addition, the world had all kinds of new medical methods for preventing pregnancy. As I look back, I don't remember hearing one dissenting voice. Down deep I always knew that I wanted children someday.  So, after seven years of some very difficult decision-making, we had our first child- a girl. To my great amazement, I found that I actually liked having children.  In fact, having a child is one of the greatest things that has happened in our lives. The fears which had prevented conception for so long proved to be mostly imaginary.  This new member of our family changed our lives.  We discovered a multitude of rewards that we had not known we were missing. My wife and I have just been told that it now looks medically impossible for us to have any more children!  Suddenly, all of our newly established family dreams have been erased.  All of the excitement and anticipation of a newly discovered future have vanished.  It seems as tough there is a void in our lives - like four of our five children have just been killed. What makes the burden so heavy is that we had the treasure within our grasp and we threw it away.  We saw the outer shell and mistakenly overlooked the treasure within.  With our hands we plucked it out and cast it away.  We tried to take God's timing into our own hands. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/698388/ Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:51:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/698388/ Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Registration is now open for the fall semester of Constitutional Law Online, taught by Michael Farris, Chairman and General Counsel of Home School Legal Defense Association and Chancellor of Patrick Henry College. The class begins September 14, 2009, and concludes February 22, 2010. If you've always wanted to learn more about the history and background of our legal system, from a biblical perspective, or if you're looking for a good U.S. government class for your homeschooled students, then this class is for you! This 18-week Internet-based course follows Michael Farris' textbook, "Constitutional Law for Enlightened Citizens," and uses a computer-based audio CD-ROM to deliver the "classroom" lectures. The syllabus lists the reading and listening assignments for each week and offers a flexible schedule for homework. Every two weeks, students can participate in a live chat-room discussion--hosted by Michael Farris--to pose their questions and discuss the material. Twice during the class, students will submit essay exams for grading. A certificate of participation will be awarded to all students at the end of the class. Tuition is $250 for HSLDA members and $275 for non-HSLDA members, which includes the required textbook and CD-ROM. For more information, or to register, visit the class website at http://conlaw.hslda.org . Please take a moment to sign up today! Sincerely, Rachel Kozlowski ConLaw Administrator Home School Legal Defense Association Purcellville, VA conlaw@hslda.org Note: this class is a non-credit, high school level online course taught by Michael Farris through HSLDA. It should not be confused with the for-credit, college level distance learning course also taught by Michael Farris through Patrick Henry College. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/688946/ Thu, 14 May 2009 11:30:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/688946/ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/688525/ Wed, 13 May 2009 09:25:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/688525/ There are those who would spurn the vocation of mothers And say of careers, it's inferior to others, I'll have to admit that it's not easy work, It's relentless and from it you cannot shirk. It takes all of your energy being a mother and wife, Requiring daily commitment and a disciplined life, It demands all your resources of patience and love, Long-suffering and wisdom from the Father above. It takes self-control and continual endurance, It needs constant faith and great perseverance, It means total sacrifice, forgetting your self, Sometimes you think that you're left on the shelf! And what about time? It's no longer yours, It belongs to all those who come in your doors. Claim your own rights? No, they're all gone too, Like your right to sleep the whole night through! It's not so easy to crawl into bed with a book Or go off and dream in some quiet little nook. It seems like you're totally losing your life To be a good mother and a submissive wife. But oh, faithful mother, please do not despair, In God's perfect plan you do have a share, To fulfill your destiny planned from creation Which is to nurture children and BUILD A NATION! You're walking in the footsteps of Jesus your Lord Who sacrificed all, His life He out-poured, He didn't cling to His rights with selfish futility He didn't claim any privilege but walked in humility. He gave up His life to save millions of others, This principle works in the lives of all mothers, When you lose your own life you'll find it again, A rewarding life, without guilt or shame. So lift up your head, embrace your calling so high, You're in God's perfect will, there's no reason to sigh! You may often feel worthless - don't listen to this lie, Your influence goes higher than the clouds in the sky! As you nurture and train your God-given seed, As you sharpen these 'arrows' by word and by deed, You shape the nation - you determine its course, Your mothering's not wasted, it's a great mighty force! As your children leave home and go into the world The proof of your training will soon be unfurled You'll influence countries where you've never been, And down the generations its effect will be seen. Your work is so powerful, no wonder it's tough, But God is behind you, He's the GOD WHO IS ENOUGH, His strength and His wisdom He will give to you, He stands by His promises which are totally true. He'll always be with you right through to the end As you follow His leading and deny the world's trend, Each morning you wake, your strength He'll renew. He'll fill your home with His presence and His blessed peace too. ____________ _________ _ Love from Nancy Campbell http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/687468/ Sun, 10 May 2009 09:47:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/687468/ Ten Ways to Simplify Homeschooling       Colette Longo     August 2001 1) Keep everything as simple as you can. Jesus wrote with a stick in the dirt, and He was the greatest teacher that ever lived. He used no curriculum or flannel graphs or lesson plans. Homeschooling can be made far more complicated than it should be. A simpler approach is much more effective.   2) Stick to the 3 R's. They form the foundation of life-long learning in every field because they are the tools of study. There will be no need to formalize any other subject if the children are doing their best in these 3, because people who are well grounded in reading, writing and math will approach other subjects boldly, independently and confidently.   3) Let the children teach themselves as much as they are able to. This teaches them responsibility, intellectual independence, and builds confidence. It's also better for the parent/child relationship because you can focus on parenting instead of playing schoolteacher.   4) Use the most direct method available. For reading, read. For writing, write, for math, do it, and for Bible, read it. Don't fall for catchy curriculum's or methods that are really just something else for you and your child to learn.   5) Don't worry about your child's age or grade. Just let him do the best he can each day. Children grow intellectually like they do physically: in spurts. Although we may have an audience of skeptical relatives, homeschooling is not a circus, and we refuse to train our children to do tricks for people.   6) Minimize distractions in the home. Watch for excessiveness in entertainments, snacking, outings, phone conversations and the like. These sorts of things can easily get out of hand and compete with the effectiveness of a homeschool and sap the family of time and energy.   7) Seek quality over quantity. A few tapes of great music, a small case of carefully chosen books, a few special play mates, and an occasional outing is better than a large, but poor quality collection.   8) If you must document your school activities, do it after the fact. This way you will not make promises you cannot keep. If you are required to make lesson plans, be as vague as permissible. Don't let transcripts, diplomas, records and tests determine your academic plans. Focus on learning and the rest will follow.   9) Put the needs of your youngest, most vulnerable children first. If an older child gets a little behind in school, I'm sure you can forgive yourself. But if something happened to the toddler while you were busy homeschooling, I don't think you would be able to say the same.   10) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul and don't neglect to seek him early...giving him the first fruits of your day and teach your children to do the same. I know that you are tired and that there aren't enough hours in your day, but we serve a God who can make the sun stand still. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/685988/ Tue, 5 May 2009 15:49:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/685988/ Concerned about swine flu - take a look at this article Critical Alert: The Swine Flu Pandemic – Fact or Fiction? SWINE FLU IN MEXICO: THE "NEW" BIRD FLU This is nothing more than a hoax. More food for thought.  Vaccines are now being made out of aborted babies -Stem Cell Research - If you don't support abortion - you better not be supporting vaccinations either. This is a hoax to get the agriculture bill passed. Do not fall for it.  Let's not be stupid human beings who have to be led around by the government and their imps and told when we can pee and when we can't. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/684184/ Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:25:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/684184/ She who illegally hid Jews in her attic? He who legally came to arrest Jews? He who grows herbs for a sick friend? He who legally thrusts grower and friend into prison? The old man who protects a neighbor with a gun? The police officer who seizes the gun and handcuffs the man? He who lies on a government form to protect privacy? She who earns her living maintaining the privacy-consuming database? She who covertly destroys firearm registration records? He who "legally" uses the database to confiscate weapons? He who shoots men who invade his home at midnight? They who break down doors, screaming obscenities in the name of the law? He who refuses a government license? They who turn the right to travel, work, or practice self-defense into a privilege? He who evades the draft? He who sends others' children to die for money or power? She who helped slaves escape to Canada? He who sought to re-enslave them? The colonists who rose against a tyrant? They who fought to preserve rule without recourse? http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/684054/ Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:03:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/684054/ An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism. All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F. The scores never increased as bickering, blame, and name calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one will try or want to succeed. Could not be any simpler than that.   Join The Patriotic Resistance  today!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/680034/ Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:59:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/680034/ <object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jeYscnFpEyA&hl=en&fs=1"></ param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jeYscnFpEyA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object> http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/675106/ Wed, 1 Apr 2009 22:55:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proudmommaof3/675106/