Homeschooling for His Glory

For the second week of my planning series Leanne Seel from  frenglishlearning.com shares about how she plans her Eclectic Homeschool Year. Off the top confession: I am totally type A. I plan my entire year all at once. I leave room for rabbit trails and the flu, but I like to know where we’re headed. I find that once all the extra-curricular activities are in full swing, I lack the energy and time to figure out what’s next for academics. I also run a business on the side, and when I take on assignments at the last minute, it’s a huge relief to have the planning done ahead of time. Before my children were fluent readers, I did not plan at all. We took it day by day, with tomorrow’s activities being based on how much they absorbed today. I would look at these moms who planned their whole year and think they were crazy. Of course, I also used to think that homeschooling was crazy, but I digress.   Math & English In spite of my totally type A person

Summer is here and kids usually have more time for reading. My boys do not mind reading but like a lot of kids, Wii, TV, computer games compete for their time. We have instituted a rule to the effect that their technology time will be allotted to a ratio of 1.5 to 1 of  reading time to technology. But, what will they read? The middle grades ( Anywhere between 9 and 11 to 14) are transitional grades. It can be hard to figure out what to choose. A lot depends on the child's reading level, which can be above or below their age range.  Both my boys read above grade level, the issue then becomes content and maturity. We are classical homeschoolers, so classics have a big place in our reading list, but some more modern books make it to the list too. Here is a list of top 10 books they have enjoyed, and that I am putting on their current reading list (in no particular order): 1 . Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn 2. Kingdom series books (more upper elementary but good for stru

Summer is finally here. Warm weather, shorts, tank tops and sandals. I am not one who likes the heat but I like not having to wear sweaters and coats. So, what are the plans for the summer. I figure I should sort of come up with something, so I'll post it here so that I can remember what I would like for us to do: Definitely happening: VBS Church Camp Vacation road trip to Florida Soccer league (with a ministry opportunity attached to it - so excited!) Hiking Drive in: X-Men ( Done ), Spiderman 2 ( Done ),  Hobbit Watch the World Cup ( Happening right now ) Yearly Track and Field ( Done ) Crew review items Planned list: Science experiments and science readings with: Building Block of Science Series Nibbling on Einstein's Brain Supercharged Science Park playdates Make Triple Strawberry No-Drip Pops Summer Reading list: Go Through Mysteries of History The Phantom Booth The Indian in the Cupboard Water Buffalo Days Falling Asleep  Shiloh More Ha

It's Friday and time for a random 5 post:  1.    I received my Hey Mama planner a couple weeks back. It's already being put to good use. Along with that, I have started buying our next year curriculum, and am in full swing planning for next school year. 2.  The boys and I have been enjoying watching the World cup. 3.    I have one excited boy today: we just got the Lego DVD and as if that was not enough it came with a free child admission to Legoland. That's one ticket down for during our trip to Florida this summer. 4.   We had a great church picnic at a close by park right after the service last Sunday in honor of Father's day. 5.   Monday was our Homeschool Track and Field. Johann won a gold medal for his age group one more time, and Zach just enjoyed the day. Have a great week-end!

For the first week of my series on planning I have Alecia from Learning to Walk sharing about how and why she plans Preschool: Hi. My name is Alecia. I am a mommy to 2 darlings And yes, I PLAN PRESCHOOL. Now before you rake me over the coals, let me explain. When I say that I plan preschool (or J School as we call it), I don't bust out a ton of curriculum and I don't strap my 2-year-old to a desk and chair. J school for us is simply 30 minutes a day to focus on learning. BUT WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO A 2 YEAR OLD? What's my reason for planning J School?  Two reasons. First, having this scheduled time brings order and some semblance of sanity to my life and theirs. Structure is important for kids and this is just part of our daily structure. And my 2-year-old loves it. She doesn't even realize that it's school. Second, if I don't plan J School ahead of time it won't get done. I am a mommy of 2 under the age of 3. What does this mean? It mea

It is June, and many are wrapping up their school year, if they have not already done so. June and July are the planning months, not only for homeschool curricula, but for schedules, and anything that need planning in the home, in order to get ready for the new school year.. In light of that, starting next Thursday, I am going to be hosting a series on planning, featuring 11 bloggers. The series will run from June 18 to August 28th. Every week, I will be sharing a post from a different blogger on the topic of planning. Here is a sample of some of the post titles: Who Plans Preschool Homeschooling and Housekeeping Planning for Multiple Ages Planning with an Irregular Schedule So, as you plan for your upcoming school year, or seek to revamp your home and/or school schedules, follow me in this series, starting next week Thursday.  

 Chocolate cakes are favorites at our house. here is the newest successful try. Cheese Swirled Chocolate Cake     Ingredients   Cheese Filling  1 cup (8 ounce) cream cheese at room temperature 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 large egg 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips For the Cake : 2 large eggs 2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup canola oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus 1 teaspoon 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup buttermilk or yogurt 3/4 cup (3 ounces) coarsely chopped walnuts (optional) 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar (optional) Directions: Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter and flour a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan. Make cheese filling : In a medium bowl, cream the cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla until fluffy and beat in the egg. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside. Cake batter: In a large bowl, beat the 2 eggs, gran

Homeschool and family can become idols . I need to pay very careful attention that I do not treasure my homeschool, my kids, my husband, and how well I do in those things more than I treasure Christ and God in my life. How do I know? When I start to sacrifice my relationship with God and my God-given values and standard for the sake of something else. My value and identity is found in Christ, and so is my fellow brothers' and sisters' . I need to learn to see others (and remember the same about me) as Christ sees them, that is, clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Often times we fake our relationship with others because we want to hide our failures and weaknesses, or we are quick to judge others, all because we fail to recognized that we are all sinners redeemed by Christ. As redeemed, we are covered by the blood of Christ. God sees us in and through Christ and that is how we should see ourselves and our fellow Christians. Why, oh why corporate prayer times are so mini

This week's Saturday links sharing: How to Choose the Right Curriculum for Your Homeschool The Sin of Silent Reading : "Today I teach college, physical sciences, mostly physics. I would say that the literary deficit of the students I encounter is profoundly disturbing. WHAT? you may protest, You teach physics. How would you know about their lack of literature?" Homeschooling 101 - Choosing a Curriculum (for beginner) Homeschooling Advice from Graduates who have Been There  Wonderful Living Books list resources to fill a reading basket with. This week-end Educents is offering free shipping on any orders. Check out their current deals:

Please, tell me I am not the only homeschool mom that  has to deal with this? My son's excuse: he wants a soft floor . . .

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake Ingredients : 2/3 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 tbsp vanilla Grated rind of 2 lemons 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 cup milk 1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream 1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degree. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in vanilla and lemon ring. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir milk with yogurt, and stir into eggs mixture alternately with flour mixture, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of wet. Spoon half the batter into a greased buntd pan or a 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle with blueberries.  Spoon the remaining batter over top, smoothing gently. Bake for about 60 min for bundt pan, and 45min for the 9x13 pan. Let cool 10 min. before removing from pan. The picture shows the recipe baked in a bu