And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
If you have read my blog for atleast a week or two you probably know that we are sick all the time. So in keeping with our monthly tradition, last week 3 of the 4 kids here in the LSG house were sick.
It started with Computer Girl, then the Lil' Chef and last but not least Alpha Boy. Alpha Boy seemed to have it the worst. He had a fever for a few days and slept thru the day for two days in a row. My little alpha Boy was really sick!
With Alpha boy laid out on the couch I felt really bad for him. Then it hit me, a Sick Basket!! I took an empty container and filled it with things that I thought he would enjoy having on the couch with him and hopefully cheer him up. I put a bunch of books in there along with his Leapster & cartridges, his water bottle, a puzzle, a Rescue Hero, a small Superman, pen and paper and a BELL!
I think my little basket turned out great, except for the BELL. Good night, what was I thinking! I mean really, what mother in her right mind gives a bored little boy, that is laid out on the couch, with nothing better to do a BELL?!!
I do believe the little Sick Basket cheered him up : )
I even put new batteries in the Leapster for my boy.
See what I'm saying. You can't hear it, but trust me, that bell was a ringin!
Do you have anything special that you do for a child with the sickies?
This year we have been doing My Father's World - Creation to Greeks. I have loved using MFW the last few years, but this year I have definitely tweaked things more than in the past.
For quite awhile now I have been eyeballing Konos. For those of you that haven't heard of Konos, they are the granddaddy of unit studies (according to their site). It is a unit study curriculum that uses character traits as their topic and as their site states, they cover....
I had the chance to buy all 3 original volumes, the timeline characters, timeline wallchart, the Compass Book (this is like the How to use Konos Book) and the Index used, so I did. Don't you just love getting new curriculum, it feels like the Holiday!
My only hang up so far, is that Konos is not done chronologically for Bible and History. I have read that the timeline really helps solve this problem but I just haven't settled it in my mind, Know what I'm sayin'.
After opening up our new curriculum for NEXT year, I decided to do the unthinkable. If you are thinking, No she didn't, I have to tell ya, yes she did! We started Konos. Yes sir ree, with about a month left of school I am starting something totally new, pretty crazy right. : )
Part of me just wanted to try Konos, as is, to see what I thought. I have been wondering if I still want to follow the MFW's Rome to Reformation timeline next year and just pull in from Konos or do just Konos alone. Not really sure yet, still mulling all the over.
Here is what I do know, we had a great week. We started a new chore system this week, called Children's Miracle Music (I will be reviewing this shortly and have a coupon code for ya'll). My house has been CLEAN, all week and it has been WONDERFUL! Usually our living areas are kept up pretty well, but the girl's room generally looks like a tornado has gone thru it, twice! I always tell the girls that for my health I do not like to even look in their room, looking in there makes my blood pressure rise 50 points. Really!
As far as school goes, we started Konos. For the next few weeks we plan to study Attentiveness. Here are some of the highlights of our week and the Attentiveness Study :
For Bible we studied Elijah and Elisha (per MFW) and read in the Victor's Journey Through the Bible (love this books BTW)
The kids and I studied the ear. We read about the ear and then the kids made model of the ear out of my kitchen table, they had a great time!
We read about Helen Keller and Louis Braille.
We read the biblical account of Samuel and saw how he was attentive to God's voice.
We learned the meaning of Attentiveness.
We talked about 15 different jobs that require people to be attentive, like a babysitter, a surgeon, firefighter, etc...
We listened to some classical music, included Mr. Beethoven Lives Upstairs.
We talked about ways that we can be Attentive to the Lord and how Christ was attentive to the Father.
The girls both finished their spelling books for the year and started memorizing poems.
We finished up our memory work on Psalm 1.
For PE they rode bikes, and jumped and jumped and jumped on the trampoline
For independent reading one of the girls is reading about Corrie Ten Boom and the other is reading a Boxcar Children Book, I have them tell me about (narrate).
As a fun book we also read The Cat in the Hat's book about money - 1 Cent, 2 Cent, Old Cent, New Cent which was a very cute yet informative little book that the kids and I enjoyed.
We also read about instruments and an orchestra.
To finish out the week, tomorrow we are going to play Simon Says , watch The Miracle Worker which is about Helen Keller's life and hang up our new timeline wall chart. I think that we are even going to put up all the Bible people that we have studied this year and review them as we hang them.
Like I said, we had a really good week. Next week we are going to continue with our attentiveness study and focus more on musicians and sight.
Here are the books that we read from this week...
Did anyone else decide to switch up their curriculum at the end of the school year, just wondering ?
First let me tell you a little bit about the Hey, Andrew!Teach Me Some Greek! Program, by Greek 'n' Stuff. It is a Greek Language curriculum series that teaches your children koine Greek. This program has 8 workbooks and offers:
A Reader - A Primer for Preschoolers and up. This reader teaches the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet as well as a short Bible Verse. Pictures and catchy rhymes are used to keep the children interested.
Workbooks, answer keys and flashcards for each of the 8 levels
3 Pronunciation CD's to help the children pronounce the letters and words correctly. VERY HELPFUL!
Bible copybook which focuses on The Gospel of John.
We only reviewed Level 1 in the Hey Andrew Series but from reading through all the other levels I can say that it does look like a great program!
For some reason my girls were not thrilled with this program. They did work through some of the book but really did not have a huge interest in it. This year we have been learning Greek root words and they really enjoy that, so it really surprised me that they didn't take to this program really well. I have read about other bloggers who really love the Hey Andrew program. My plan is to hold onto the workbook and try it again later because I can see the true value in learning Greek when it comes to studying the bible.
If you'd like to see what others on the TOS Crew have to say about Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! you can read their reviews HERE. We received the Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek Level 1 Workbook, Answer Key and Pronunciation CD at now cost to us, for review purposes. The opinions stated here are my own and I was not in way sway by the free product.
I heard about this giveaway that I had to share with you all! If you are anything like me, you probably LOVE to have a clean house, yet struggle to do so (sigh). When I heard about the Free eBook, 31 Days to Clean - Having a Martha House the Mary Way, I was thinking, that sounds like a plan to me!
I am excited to read this book, Sarah Mae, the books author, addresses the heart and helps with the why to keep our homes clean, verses the how. Along with each days reading, she even gives a Martha and a Mary Challenge, which sounds very interesting!
The eBook is FREE ONLY for TODAY, so ya might wanna scoot on over and check it out. After today the eBook will cost ya $4.95.
Stanza 1:
I serve a risen Saviour; He's in the world today.
I know that He is living, whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He's always near.
Chorus:
He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.
He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.
Stanza 2:
In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And though my heart grows weary I never will despair.
I know that He is leading, thro' all the stormy blast;
The day of His appearing will come at last.
Chorus:
Stanza 3:
Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian! Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King!
The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.
Nutrition and Nutritional Healing are two major interests of mine. In an effort to educate my children in truth, I have looked around for a nutrition curriculum that taught the truth about nutrition, but I didn't really think one existed. So, I was over SUPER excited to be able to review Nutrition 101: Choose Life by Growing Healthy Homes!
Finally a nutrition book that is broken down for kids to understand. I gotta tell ya, I fell in love with this book. I love everything about it!! Really!
Nutrition 101: Choose Life was written by homeschool moms! More specifically, is was co-authored by homeschool mother Debra Raybern, N.D., M.H., C.N.C., I.C.A.; homeschool mother and researcher Sera Johnson, B.MU; mother and writer/editor Laura Hopkins, B.S.; and mother, grandmother and former Home Economics teacher Karen Hopkins, B.S.
Nutrition 101: Choose Life is not just a nutrition curriculum, it is a wonderful family reference book that you will keep forever and use again and again. This book will teach your family about the major body systems, how they function and the diseases and ailments that can affect them. You will also learn about foods that are support these systems and the foods that are bad for them. The book is broken into 6 Units:
The Brain and Nervous System
Digestion and Elimination
Respiration and Olfactory
Muscular and Skeletal Systems
Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
Endocrine System and Emotions.
Let me tell ya'll about some of the great things that I like about Nutrition 101: Choose Life -
Like I said, I am THRILLED that this book teaches truth about nutrition. When I say it teaches truth, I mean that Nutrition 101 talks about herbs that boost your immune system, that boosting immunity through nutrition is better for your body than vaccines, that coffee and caffeine lower your immune system, and my personal favorite - that fluoride is really POISON!!
My kids love to cook and experiment with foods, so we really like that each chapter has a recipe that goes along with it. Like for instance when learning about the Brain, you can make a recipe like Guacamole because avocados are excellent brain food.
It is super duper helpful that this book is full of colorful pictures, highlighted vocabulary words and discussion questions in each chapter.
I also like the that each chapter has activities for the kids to do, which are broken into elementary and secondary sections. For instance after learning about amino acids in chapter 4, the elementary kids are told to check their refrigerator to see if they have any plant sources of amino acids in there. The secondary kids are asked to help organize a family outdoor fun time that features games that utilize the nervous system. FUN!! These optional activities are a great addition to the book.
Did tell you there are 448 pages chock full of knowledge!
The charts in the appendix are fabulous! I am a chart girl. I guess because I am a visual learner, charts are my thing. There are several in this book like the healthy food pyramid, a acid/ alkaline chart, a chart on how to choose good produce and when it is in season. Not sure that this qualifies as a chart but they have an awesome shopping list too!
In saving the best for last, Nutrition 101 uses scripture through the whole book!! LOVE IT!!
You can view the the table of contents and an excerpt HERE.
There is much to like about Nutrition 101: Choose Life. You can purchase it 3 ways:
I was given a downloadable version of the book to review, so I had to print out the pages myself. I think if you are going to purchase this curriculum, I would spend the extra $20 and get the book. The Hubs totally covets his printer ink (to do invoices for our carpet business) so there is N O !!! way that I could print out 448 pages in one sitting. BUT we have on off those spiral binding machines, so I would just print out 1 unit at a time and bind them together by unit. This is a totally workable idea but I would probably prefer to just have the whole book. Either way, which ever you choose, Choose Life and get the book ; )
This week we are taking our spring break, I think. We were off today but if the weather doesn't get any better we may just school and do break next week.
I am taking it easy with the cooking this week. My sister's crew is coming for Resurrection Day dinner and we vowed to keep it super simple this year. I will include that menu as well.
Friday
Pizza!! - We did not end up doing Pizza last week, so I didn''t get to make my own dough like I said I would. This week I am doin' it, for real this time ; )
Sunday
Ham w/ Raisin Gravy, Potato Salad, Angel Eggs, Green Beans,and Baked Beans. Also, I am not sure which one of these corn dishes I am making Corn Pudding or the Slow Cooker Creamed Corn. I have made them both and they are both oh so yum-mmee! (Hey Sis, if you are reading this, I did add the Corn Pudding and Eggs : )
If you have never had Raisin Gravy, let me just say... YOU MUST!! My Grandma used to make it every Resurrection Day. It is a little family tradition that is definitely worth the effort.
For dessert my sister is making Oreo Truffle Balls, which are sooo very yummy! I have been promising The Hubs that I would make him a Peanut Butter Pie, so I am finally coming through on that one this weekend.
Do you guys have any special dishes that you make for Resurrection Day?
Worthy is the,
Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to Him who sits on
Heaven's Mercy Seat
[Repeat 2x]
(Chorus)
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You…!
Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and
Glory and power be
To You the Only Wise King,
(Chorus)
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!
Filled with wonder,
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus, Your Name is Power
Breath, and Living Water
Such a marvelous mystery
(Chorus)
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come,
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore YOU…
This such a beautiful song about Jesus, taken from the book of Revelations.
The kids and I are currently working through How God Used a Thunderstorm and the stories are FANTABULOUS!! Some of the stories are short (only a page long) and others are several pages long (being 3-5 pages). I like how the stories are catergoriezed as long or short, this way I know which stories to pick from depending on the time I have available to read.
So far, we have been reading at about 2 stories at a time, inaddition to our read a loud book, they are quite addicting to be honest! The stories have really been a blessing to us, real life stories of how the Lord is working.
One of my favorites, which is actually the first story in the book, was about a Christian slave that was sold to a new master. This man was very mean, especially to the slave. One afternoon the master insisted that Cuff, the slave, stop praying. When the master had found out that Cuff continued in prayer, he beat him. Instead of cursing the master, you know what he did? He got on his knees and prayed for him, I am not sure that I could have done this. That very night the master couldn't sleep because of the awful thing that he had done.
He asked if anyone on the plantation could pray for him, Guess who was brought to the master's bedside? You guessed it, Cuff, the slave that he had beaten just hours before. Through all of this, the Lord saved the master. The master and Cuff spent much time studying the Word together and then traveled through out the South preaching the gospel.
That story and all the others in the Building on the Rock Series are based on true stories. This is a wonderful collection to add to your family library.
If you would like to own your own set of The Building on the Rock Series you can purchase them directly from STL Distribution for $8.99 each.
Chrstian Focus Publications & STL Distribution, the publishers for the Building on the Rock Series, have offered to giveaway a set to one of YOU! The GIVEAWAY will run until April 20th. Please leave a SEPARATE COMMENT for each way that you enter and YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS! Here are the ways that you can enter:
You must be a Follower or Subscriber of LSG to Win! Please leave me a comment and let me know how you follow.
If you have just become a new Follower or Subscriber please tell me how you heard about this giveaway.
Spread the Word! If you have a blog and post about this contest please come back and leave me a link to your post.
Facebook or Twitter about this giveaway and leave me a comment to let me know about it.
Please note that The Building on the Rock Series was given to us free of charge for review purposes, by Chrisitan Focus Publications. The opinions expressed here are my own and I was not swayed by the free product.
I try to get my menu posted on Monday's but, I am late as usual : ) I came across my Weekly Menus Folder that I had misplaced back in November. You see each week I write out a list of the foods taht we will be eating that week. I keep the breakfast and lunch foods the same for the most part and just change up the dinners. I then save these menu plans in a handy dandy folder.
When I am planning my meals for the week I like to go back to the foods that we have tried before and love. While I do love to try new recipes, I do not like to feel like I have to totally recreate the wheel each and every week. So, I am very thankful that I fold my folder.
PIZZA - I know that I have talked about it, but this week I am really gonna do it! I am going to make my own pizza crust. I am going to try this dough recipe.
Saturday
Burgers, Dogs, Fries and a Veggies Pasta Salad
Sunday
Spaghetti - I was making a cake the other day and when I opened up a package of Philly Cream Cheese I found an interesting recipe, Spaghetti ala Philly. Anyone ever tried this one??
Does anyone have any new family favorites to share?
We were given the chance to review the Kinderbach Preschool Online Piano video lessons recently for the TOS Crew. Kinderbach is a fun and easy way for children ages 3-8 to learn to play piano at home, either online or by DVD. Don't Worry Mom, No Musical Background Required, I Promise!
Kinderbach is different than most piano programs, because it teaches music through stories and games. Each music note becomes a fun character that kids are sure to remember. Here are the things that we liked best about Kinderbach:
Kinderbach has 240 Lessons. With so many lessons available, there is lots for kids to learn and keep them from getting bored.
The Characters and Stories through out Kinderbach help kids to remember the different notes and keys that they are learning in fun way.
The lessons have Games and Printouts for reinforcement.
The videos are upbeat, fun and entertaining, so much so that the kids look forward to watching them! And ask to watch them over and over and over again.
Kinderbach includes activities for Multiple Learning Styles, which is great since different kids learn in different ways.
The Kindebach program is Very Affordable!!
It can be used over and over again with all your children!!!
The kids really enjoyed the Kinderbach program, especially Computer Girl (7 yrs old). She really loved the characters, specifically Dotti the Donkey. She thought he was really cute : ) Computer Girl actually made a donkey craft in Sunday School last Sunday and when she was getting into our van she said "Look Mom, it's Dotti." So the program it stilling with her. She is not playing Beethoven or Bach yet, but we're hopeful. ; )
There are 2 ways that your family can enjoy Kinderbach. You can order the DVD's, which would be my preference or you can have a monthly membership. The Activity Packages (DVD & Activities Pages) are currently $40.45 but there are also Value Packages that are available for $55.95 and up. Online memberships are also available for $19.99 a month or for $95.88 for the year.
May I suggest that you try before you buy, Kinderbach offered a Free Online Trial.
Did I tell you guys that I am trying to do my major shopping every 2 weeks. I still need to get fresh fruits, veggies and some dairy on a weekly basis though. Grocery shopping is not exactly my favorite chore, ya know what I am sayin'.
There was a season that I had my groceries delivered, oh how I miss those days. I am pretty excited that I can usually get in and out of trader Joe's in 30 minutes flat, when I am by myself of course.
Anyone else do biweekly or monthly shopping?
Here is my eattin' plan for the week:
Monday
Meatloaf, Mashed Taters and Green Beans - Not sure if I will make this one or this one here. Has anyone tried either?
Tuesday
Breakfast Night - Thinking about making some Omelets with Chicken Sausage, Veggies and Cheese
Wednesday
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup with Steamed Broccoli
Thursday Slow Cooker Loose Meat Sandwiches with Fries and Steamed Carrots - The Hub's says these sandwiches are the Biggity Bomb and that's a quote!
Friday
Pizza, of course!
Saturday Easy Chicken Enchiladas with Corn - I got this recipe from my auntyears ago and it has been a family favorite ever since. This is great to make when company's comin'.
More like Jesus would I be, let my Savior dwell with me;
Fill my soul with peace and love—make me gentle as a dove;
More like Jesus, while I go, pilgrim in this world below;
Poor in spirit would I be; let my Savior dwell in me.
If He hears the raven’s cry, if His ever watchful eye
Marks the sparrows when they fall, surely He will hear my call:
He will teach me how to live, all my sinful thoughts forgive;
Pure in heart I still would be—let my Savior dwell in me.
More like Jesus when I pray, more like Jesus day by day,
May I rest me by His side, where the tranquil waters glide.
Born of Him through grace renewed, by His love my will subdued,
Rich in faith I still would be—let my Savior dwell in me.
I read this hymn the other day in a book I am reading and I knew it was my hymn for the week ; ) I so long to be More Like Jesus!
When you have more than a child or two, shoes can over run ones home. When my kids come in the house I like them to put there shoes away instead of them ending up all over the house. I have 3 dogs and a 2 year old that I trip over, I do not want to add shoes to the list. Just sayin' : )
I have come to two conclusions about kids shoes. 1) They need to have a home and 2) I do not like running up and down the stairs for shoes every time we are leaving the house or the kids are going outside.
My solution, The Shoe Basket. Several years back I started placing a basket by the entryway to corral all the kid's shoes. As the kids kept a comin' so did the shoes. Our one basket has grown to be 4 stackable Sterilite containers.
Each child has a basket of their very own and puts their shoes away when they come in, of course sometimes I have to remind them. Even Little Bits (2) knows that his shoes go in his basket.
I like these containers for several reasons:
They are VERY sturdy!
They are STACKABLE. This allows me to have 4 with out taking up too much real estate in the house.
The are ROOMY! Because the containers are such a nice size the kids can fit their sneakers, flip flops, church shoes, etc.
They are affordable. At around $9 each (from Amazon) they won't break the bank.
We also have a wicker basket in our laundry room for their back yard shoes, snow/rain boots and all the mud that comes with them : )
I partied with these ladies last year and I am going to do it again this year! Wanna party too! Come and link up at the Ultimate Blog Party over at 5 Minute Mom's!
