Homeschooling for His Glory

I recently requested for my birthday the book called: Think Christianly . You would not believe how excited my bookish hubby was at the thought that his wife of ten years finally asks for a book as a birthday gift. Anyway, I am tremendously enjoying this book and want to share what I am learning from it. The book is divided into three sections: Understanding our Intersection : Defining terms and taking a look at where our world is at. Preparing to Engage: a look at how we can prepare ourselves to take up the challenge we are faced with. Areas we Must Engage : a look at specific areas where we need to apply and impact our world with our christian thinking. From chapter 1, 2 and 3, a few highlights: 1.  A clear distinction between culture and world is vital to thinking christianly and acting the way we ought to in this present day and age. Culture is "what we make of our world; advancements in the way we use our resources".  World is a "rea...

I am always looking for a new recipe to try. Breakfast at our house is really not just cereals, although we have these on occasion. We love frittatas, crepes, taquitos, eggs, bacon, casserole etc.... Last week I wanted something diferent and I did not have much in the fridge. So I did a quick Pinterest search and got some inspiration for creating something. Here is what I came up with: Breakfast on a Tortilla 2- 3 tortillas Cooked (leftover) rice 3- 4 eggs 1 or 2 sausages cut up 1/2 cup of grated cheese Salt and pepper and seasoning of choice Cook the sausage on a hot skillet Add the cooked rice and fry it together. Then add the eggs in, and stir until cooked through. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and seasonings if you want. Spread the filling on top of the tortillas, sprinkle with cheese and bake in a toaster oven, or a regular oven until cheese is melted. Et voila, an easy breakfast,  that my boys really loved (I hardly had a...

With my hubby gone, I do not always feel like cooking but I like having new foods everyday. So yesterday I compromised. I had leftover risotto in the freezer and decided to make some sort of casserole with it and combine it with ground beef, since that is the easiest meat to cook. Here is what I came up with, with inspiration from this recipe that I found on Pinterest: Beef and Rice Casserole Ingredients: 1 ld of ground beef leftover rice 1 onion chopped 2 garlic clove minced 1 can of mushroom soup, or your own 1/4 cup of milk or half and half 1 tomato chopped 1 green pepper chopped oregano parsley cayenne pepper 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese 1/4-1/2 cup of grated mozzarella cheese salt and pepper to taste Preparation: Heat the over to 350. Grease a baking dish. Brown the beef, add the onion, garlic and green pepper. Season to taste. In a bowl, mix together the beef, the spices, the rice, the soup, the tomato and the cheese. Put whole mixture in baking dish and...

Week 3 of the Curriculum Fair is here already. This week the theme is : Exploring Our World: Social Studies and more Science This theme can include history, geography, world cultures, worldview, biology, botany, geology, etc., etc., etc. Last week I already touched on the subject of science while talking about logic and Math, so this week I will focus on History, Geography and Civics. History is my oldest son's favourite subject. He is literaly a history buff who loves learning about battles, wants to know the dates of everything, and loves studying maps (we have at least 4 big maps in the house). I did not really create that in him, I just started History when he was in grade 2 using Tapestry of Grace because I believed in the importance of teaching the humanities to our kids. We are people who live in History and in time; we need to know what has happened before us and learn from it. When we first started he got hooked right awa,y and his love for the...

For this second week back to school I am still happy to report that we had a good week. In my life this week… I hate to admit it but I have been enjoying not having my hubby around. I do miss him and all the things we do together, but being the independent kind of girl I am, I have been enjoying the somewhat freedom is absence is giving me. I do speak to him twice a day, that kind of helps with the void. In our homeschool this week… We had a productive week in all subjects: Handwriting, Math, History, Science, Grammar, Writing and Spelling. I started Joho on our first review product and so far I love it: A+Tutorsoft (watch out for the coming up review) Other than that, the boys are still ploying away in the Hobbit and can't get enough of the Civilization game I got Zach on his birthday, back in November. Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share… I love to teach the boys together even though they are 2 years and normally 2 grades apart, however I discover...

Week 2 - Discovering Patterns: Mathematics, Logic, and Science. The topic for this week is not necessarily one that I like talking about but it's part of what we need to do in our homeschool. When I say that it is not that I dislike it, its more that Math, Logic and Science are not my strongest points, and my boys are not the type of kids that jump for joy when it is time to do Math or logic problems. They do not like the rigor and attention to details required in these type of activities. Zach is more of a Humanities kind of guy, Joho likes things that demand moving and jumping (though he really loves chess). The boys have good logic and do not particularly struggle in Math - I attribute it  to their dad's genes, because I am not the conceptual kind of girl (growing up my family used to say I had a Joellienne logic (given that my name is Joelle).  But, back to the boys, though they do fine, they do not like to practice it. Math is the least favoured of their subject. ...

All I Have is Christ by Jordan Kauflin  I once was lost in darkest night Yet thought I knew the way. The sin that promised joy and life Had led me to the grave. I had no hope that You would own A rebel to Your will. And if You had not loved me first I would refuse You still. But as I ran my hell-bound race Indifferent to the cost You looked upon my helpless state And led me to the cross. And I beheld God’s love displayed You suffered in my place You bore the wrath reserved for me Now all I know is grace. Hallelujah! All I have is Christ Hallelujah! Jesus is my life Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone And live so all might see The strength to follow Your commands Could never come from me. Oh Father, use my ransomed life In any way You choose. And let my song forever be My only boast is You. Sovereign Grace Music

The first full week of the year is almost finished. We made it through our first week back to school after the Christmas break. I am glad to report that it went quite well. 1.  We covered most our school subjects: Math: Decimals and Fractions Handwriting  History: Victorian Era Spelling: review and new phonograms (er, or, ea) and new spelling rule (a e o u make their long sound at the end of syllables). Science: Planet Mars specifications Grammar : Zach finished up Grammar Town and started Practice Town Writing: Zach started Paragraph Town. It is a hit so far. Bible: I have started the boys on a Bible reading plan, basically read a chapter a day starting from the beginning, Genesis. 2. What they read and are still reading this week:       3. Of course lots of lego and games activities, given all the games they got over Christmas. 4. Since we had a friend staying over, during the Christmas vacation, we took a little trip ov...

Last year, around this time, I participated in a Virtual Curriculum Fair hosted by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts and Minds . I found it very profitable in assessing what we were using in our homeschooling, and to read about what others where using. So, I am quite happy to participate again this year in the second run of this fair. It is going to run the whole month of January, as last year, focussing on a different topic every week. Week 1 focusses on The Language Arts - Playing with Words When you hear language Arts you should think phonics, spelling, writing, reading, grammar, literature and handwriting. These are the main tenets of what we usually put under the umbrella of Language Arts. How is this subject taught in our homeschool? Well when it comes to Language Arts I am more of a classical homeschooler - at least would like to be. What does that mean? Language Arts is important, and Language Arts must be taught well. To that end Reading and Grammar have ...

Today is the 4th day into 2013 and have I done anything different from last year at the same time? Well sort of. I have decided to follow the McCheyne's Reading Bible plan and to join in the 100 verses in 2013 challenge which goal is to memorize 100 verses (2 per week) this year. These are good and well but if not followed through, what have I done? Some people have a custom of choosing a motto word for their year. Last year my word was faithful or  faithfulness . During 2012, I have seen God's faithfulness in my life and my family's life, close and extended, but can I say I have been faithful? not really. So for this year I am switching gear, I need to be more faithful and in order to be more faithful I realized I need endurance. We start well, but the problem is continuing, pressing on, enduring the time. So, here is what I am going to keep reminding myself this year: I NEED TO ENDURE and REMAIN STEADFAST ! What is endurance? There are 5 several definitions ...

I sort of took a break from my blog during the Christmas / New Year weeks, as this time tends to get rather busy with church activities and gatherings, and because of that I was not able to link up with the TOS crew blog cruise focusing on reviewing our year 2012. That said, as I was thinking about it I figured it is still rather early in 2013, and so a post like this is still quite relevant, and most of all, allows for me to record and go over this past year's main events. There it goes: Joho started piano in January and has progressed so well that as of next week he will be starting grade 2. Thanks to my accident around Christmas last year, we inherited a new car last January and we love it! Same model as the previous one, just newer. My hubby who got really sick (near death) back in 2008 and has been on medication since then (steroids and immune system suppressants), was told in December that he can start reducing his last med standing. The goal: to be off completely...

So, 2013 has started. A new full year is ahead of us, hooray! A year when we can start things anew,  or continue on our path to growth and maturity, of experiencing new adventures and God's greatness and faithfulness. One thing I certainly would like to start again is sharing Scripture on Wednesdays. So here for a new beginning in sharing God's Word weekly on my blog:   HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!