Winter Cleaning, Assessing, Purging, Reorganizing

The time between Christmas and New Years is often a time when I reassess where we've been and tweak.  I look at my piles of organized clutter and I assess, purge and find homes for things that have been hurriedly tossed aside in a pile to make room for guests, meals, projects...or have just been snatched from the Girlie who likes to SCRIBBLE ON EVERYTHING.

Hubby had partially awaken from his mid-day sleep (read: he was out of the bedroom but the coffee had not yet been made or taken affect yet) when I said with a giddy teasing tone "How do you like the super clean school room?"

It wasn't until several minutes later when I was complaining about how our 4 year old was being painfully honest in his observations throughout the day that he thought to look around the rest of the kitchen.   I told him 4 year old Abram said "Wow!! Mommy, the table is a disaster.  I think you ought to clean that up RIGHT NOW."

That's when Hubby turned around and said.............. "OH!!"  "Oh!  I see."  

Giggle.  Yep.  Isn't it funny how our lives get so much messier than they started when we start cleaning them up.  But don't they just feel AHHH-MAZING once we are done cleaning, assessing, sorting, putting away and tossing???

I am so thankful Hubby has patience with me and my clutter.  :)

It kind of reminds me of another very important FATHER who also has patience while we realize what a mess we have, while we assess it, while we toss stuff out, fix stuff up and organize what we are keeping.  :)  

Life is so good.

By the way I wanted to tag this onto the bottom.  After poking a little fun at Hubby I wanted to share that he is the love of my life and perhaps I should not tease him right when he has awaken.  I found myself clicking through a strange Waylon Jennings path started from the website of our friend, a local author, Michael Perry.  It led me to this video.  I don't really like the "before you leave" part but the rest is super sweet and so I dedicate this to Hubby. :) 

Happy New Year Sweetheart.  :)

Who are the Mennonites?

The time between Christmas and the new year is a time when I often clean, assess, evaluate and often get rid of clutter.  The goal is to have a decluttered and organized house before we dig into school in earnest again after the holidays.  Sometimes I am successful, sometimes I am only mildly so and always do I still have projects to work on once mid-January has arrived.

Today I was cleaning up my "Hot Spot" as the Fly Lady likes to call it.  (By the Way: I've bailed on the Fly Lady.  Perhaps I can do her Fly Baby Steps soon in the New Year.  We'll see.)

Anyway, I was working at digging out that Hot Spot and ran across an unopened DVD from Third Way Media called "Who are the Mennonites?"  I (in typical fashion) abandoned my target area and popped it into the DVD player.  I was able to watch the 15 minute version which I can not find online anywhere.  You can purchase it for $19.99 but I can't attach a physical DVD here to share with you.  I did find a 4 minute video.  It's a great summary and I have it below just for you.

My husband learned about the Anabaptists when he was in seminary working on his MDiv.  He researched, thought and prayed about it and then shared with me.  I admit I was a bit alarmed.   I didn't know who the anabaptists were, in fact I *heard* ANTI-baptists which was alarming since he was attending a Baptist seminary.  He began to explain the history and beliefs to me and I could not find anything *wrong* with anything I learned.  It all seemed perfectly correct.  We moved to another town shortly after that and needed to church shop.  Hubby talked me into trying the Mennonite church first.  I admit again that I momentarily freaked out:  I have shorter hair, will they care?  I HATE dresses and skirts and like my jeans, will they care?  Do I have to wear one of those net thingys in my hair?  I don't have one, do they have extras in the entrance like Jewish Synagogue provides the little cap thingys?  OH NO!! WE DRIVE A CAR!!


Hubby tried to restrain his giggles and explained to me that we had just moved to a very LARGE Metropolitan area and that likely we would fit in just fine.

We DID fit in just fine AND I was in love with the amazing 4 part harmony with musical instruments.  There was a LOT of it.  The churches we have attended often sing 8-10 songs/hymns and they sing ALL the verses.  Music is where God reaches my soul.  I was in heaven.

I think it was about 9 months later that we decided to go through the exploratory class to learn more, become members and thus become Mennonite.

That was 10 years ago.

I LOVE BEING MENNONITE.  I don't really like explaining what that actually means and most people who see me have the same reactions I initially did.  (Hair, jeans, missing prayer cap, speak normal, look normal, act normal -- well sort of, lol)

I wish I could show this video to everyone who gives me that look.  This video explains it so much better than my jumbled, nervous, babbling response.   I hope any of you that take the time to watch it enjoy it.

You can learn even more at Third Way Cafe.
And if you are REALLY into scouring core beliefs here is a link to the MENNONITE Confession of Faith.

A Pioneer Christmas Eve

We were desiring to keep Christmas low key and at home this year.  We had no relatives coming in for Christmas itself and did not desire to drag three young children out of the house late at night to worship in any of the neighboring churches (of where we have no ties).  Our Mennonite church had decided not to have a Christmas Eve service and so we decided to just continue on with our pattern of doing Pioneer Night on the Friday Hubby has off from work.  This week it just happened to fall on Christmas Eve.

Last pioneer night I stepped up my cooking on the woodstove.  Last time I had left over rice and soaked beans which I heated up and spiced with some kielbasa sausage.  It was *almost* cooking.  (We've only done reheated soups and canned food before this.)

Last Pioneer Night

For Christmas Eve I had purchased a special pork roast.  Around 3:30 I applied a liberal amount of oil to my cast iron dutch oven and smeared it around.  I set it upon the wood stove to heat it up and then plopped in the roast.  I think it might have been the fastest (under 2 minutes) I have ever seared a piece of meat.  That dutch oven was hot!   

 I was a bit worried about the meat charring and was determined to keep an eye on it.  I moved it to the back, higher, slightly cooler surface and closed it up.  Then, like the super attentive cook I ALWAYS AM, I forgot about it until at least 45 minutes had passed.  When I peeked into the dutch oven I was thrilled to see my nice roast sitting in it's own juices looking and smelling delightful.

We typically start Pioneer Night at 4 pm but because I had taken it a bit easy around the house that day (read: lazy and relaxed) we chose to start at 5 pm so I could get a few things done first.  So the boys and I had a "Let's Pick Up as Fast As We Can" Fest, then I swept the kitchen floor, vacuumed the living room and finished up some pots and pans that had been soaking.  It was my last hurrah of electricity before we shut most of it off.

At  5 we began.  My Saint of a Husband played both Yatzee AND Chutes and Ladders with the boys while I relaxed, jotted down some notes and worked on supper.

 

I peeled carrots and cut them into equally sized, but large, pieces.  I then pulled out a bunch of potatoes and cut them into similarly sized pieces.  I tossed them inside and added just a light dusting of salt, returned the lid and let them sit for another hour or so.  By that time it had grown dark enough that I could KIND OF see the food but needed to hold a candle (a very short one) over my pot to read the thermometer.  I also feel a bit bad about needing to scootch the nativity sets over a bit to accommodate my spoon and fork.  My mind justified it as I thought about how I *think* Jesus might approve of our "Back to Basics" night.  I was sure to reposition them once supper was back in the kitchen.  :)

As we waited for the food to cool for the children I read this link about what Christmas' were like in the Old West for pioneers, soldiers and cowboys.  A concern that I've had is that my children will get caught up in the greed of our society.  Children who don't receive a ton at Christmas are told by society that they are poor, unfortunate and that it is rare for a tree to not be overflowing on Christmas.  I REALLY want to contrast that to them with what Christmas USED to be like.  Christmas used to be a celebration of a baby Savior's birth and IF there were gifts they were small and homemade.  Laura Ingalls Wilder tells of receiving a PENNY, a PEPPERMINT, a shiny TIN CUP and a heart shaped cake and she was DELIGHTED!!!   I desire for that delight instead of boxes crammed full of plastic toys that by 3 pm the day they are opened they are abandoned or have become the target of a sibling argument.  

 My children are SO ABUNDANTLY provided for, I just hope that they might be able to absorb SOME of the lessons we are trying to teach them about less being more.

After the story we ate our very yummy pork roast with veggies.  The kids then opened their ONE package (always pajamas) and they got ready for bed.  

We then gathered around the couch, Hubby read the Christmas story and we ended our night singing Christmas hymns and saying our prayers.

It was a glorious night.   Next Pioneer night will be a bit tougher as we resolved to have this be the last night where we "cheat" on shutting off all electricity and next time we will NOT have the beautiful Christmas tree helping to light our way.

Some day soon I'm going to try bread on the wood stove, perhaps during the day when I can watch it more easily.  :)

Passing the Joy - Christmas Eve

Today we did my absolute favorite holiday tradition.

Every year I pester friends and family to send me their Christmas cards instead of tossing them.  Last year I received many.  The boys and I cut the bottoms (where most people write) off and then stamp and write Christmas greetings.    I pack those away with our Christmas decorations.

A year later when we are unpacking the Christmas decorations I pull these out of the box, dress up a cute basket, dress the kids in some nice clothing and we go off to a nursing home to pass out cards. 

Today we went to our nearest nursing home.  We met "My Lois" (an older farm wife who has adopted our family and treats my children as if they are her own grandchildren) at the home as she visited her mother.  We also were able to partake in a Christmas Eve service which was short, sweet and very very nice.

When the service was over we were able to sing for another 15 minutes and then the children and I stood at the doorway and passed out cards and wished the residents a Merry Christmas. 

My children enjoyed watching the older faces light up.  Gracie, my shy girl proved to be braver than ever before and even gave out a couple of hugs.  I think each resident who passed got at least 2 or 3 cards since each kid wanted to hand them their own.

I LOVE this tradition.   I love the looks of joy on the faces.  After all the mobile residents had gone we did rounds amongst the residents who could not wheel themselves.  Many of these people are stroke victims and were unable to grasp the card or unable to talk..... BUT THEY CAN SMILE AND THEIR EYES CAN GLEAM!
 

Lois' husband, Glenn

 I taught my children that we need to approach from the front and not stand beside the residents as turning the head just doesn't happen as much as it used to.  I taught them that it is not scary and that touching hands, shoulders (and occasionally stroking the side of a face) is okay and is appreciated often by these folks who often go forgotten.  

I began to carry Gracie up high so that she could be seen and I'm telling you that I about melted into my own puddle at the looks, the gleams and the smiles of some of those folks.  We might have made their day, if not their month!  :)

Now I need to put out the call to gather more cards so we have enough for next year.  I am so excited that we do this each year.  :)

Tiny Planets - A TOS Review

Recently, as a member of The TOS Homeschool Crew, 

I received access to Tiny Planets.com.

Tiny Planets.com is an interactive website where a child and his parent can explore the Tiny Planets Universe accompanied by Bing and Bong (the cute white aliens at the bottom right of the above picture).

Tiny Planets is designed for children ages 4-12 and has won several awards including: two BAFTA awards and a Silver at the 2002 Hollywood World Animation Celebration for “Best Animation Produced for Educational Purposes.”  It has amazingly beautiful artwork and is very pleasing and intriguing to look at.

The site is based on a popular British preschool television show by the same name.  The Tiny Planets television was co-created by the UK's Pepper's Ghost Productions and Sesame Workshop in the US and is endorsed by Montessori Centre International.

The first step to a Tiny Planet experience is to create a Cadet Account for your child.  During this creation your child will get to choose from preselected and approved Cadet names and then they will choose a password.  These log ins are used to do things such as adopting and caring for their own planet in the "My Tiny Planets" section of the website.

After the Cadet has their account set up the parent will want to create a parent's account and link all of the Cadet (child) accounts to the parental account.  These steps, once found, are pretty easy to do.

Once a Cadet account is created exploration may begin.  Each planet has a few free activities that require no additional purchase.  However, to get the most of this website a parent will want to purchase *Keys* which the parent deposits into the child's Cadet account and allows that child to purchase additional TV episodes, games, gadgets for his own designed planet and more.   Most items purchase for 5-10 keys.

Parents can purchase:  10 keys for $1.95; 25 keys for $3.95; 85 keys for $9.95; 250 for keys $25.95;  and 600 keys for $49.95.   Once you purchase an item with your keys you have unlimited access to that which you purchased.  You will never have to re-purchase it.

Once a Cadet is all set up it is time to go explore the Tiny Planets Universe.  There are 8 sections to this Universe where children can have fun exploring.

• Tiny Planets Home is the home base that describes what to find at each planet and provides a launch point from which to get there.
• Tiny Plants TV is where you can access episodes of the well acclaimed Tiny Planets television show featuring Bing and Bong and their adventures.  These episodes emphasize "social and emotional development, language and literacy, problem solving and reasoning, understanding of our world and creative development."  Each episode is about 5 minutes long. 
• MY Tiny Planets is an online community where you cadet can adopt and care for a planet.  In this universe your cadet will see other ships bearing the names of other cadets.  It is an interactive gaming world yet it is very controlled as the only ability to *chat* from one player to another is to select from a panel of emoticons.  
• Tiny Planets Fun takes Cadets to Bong's Corner where they can read comic strips and access coloring sheets.  They can also choose the arrow taking them to Bing's Corner where they can play games that feature educational concepts.              
• Tiny Planets Books allows Cadets to explore with Bing and Bong as they read through brilliantly colored, slightly animated e-books on the website.
• Tiny Planets Learning provides some introductory alphabet pages as well as math pages such as this one:

From Tiny Planets Learning you can click on the "Lesson Plans" arrow at the top and access a detailed lesson plan for every Tiny Planets episode and story.  Each Plan includes an activity and helpful discussion questions.  Here is a link if you would like to peruse it now.  CLICK HERE.

• Tiny Planets Labs is where to go to access many, many games taking place in the Tiny Planets Universe.  Some require your cadet to log in which enables the scripted dialog (which must be read) to address your cadet directly by his or her name.
• Tiny Planets Blog can be accessed by clicking the "What's New" sign found at the top of each planet.  The blog area is for both parents and cadets and features intriguing science facts and experiments (easy enough for preschoolers).

What did we like? 

The television episodes were our favorite of all the website's activities and are found on the Tiny Planet TV.  These episodes all take place in space with Bing and Bong and their couch shaped space ship.  Each episode explores a larger concept and encourages critical thinking all without the use of words and non-alien dialog which is heard by the viewers as sounds and music.  Sometimes it was hard to determine what the "take home lesson" was from the episode but my 4 year old especially thought Bing and Bong were very cute and funny.

The visual beauty of this site was also a positive.  Lots of time and energy has gone into making this created Universe unique and fascinating.

What we struggled with?

It was very hard to find much on this website that the children (even my 6 year old who is pretty good at manipulating a mouse pad and arrow keys) could do on their own.  The games often required much more sophisticated manipulation skills than even I had.  To navigate a spaceship in diagonals was very hard.  Dragging and dropping with the requirement of moving a star up while continuously engaging the left mouse button was nearly impossible for my 6 year old.  I wish there would have been a "click on", drag, "click off" options for many of the Tiny Planets games.  We were just not able to work the mechanics needed to play these games.

We also saw the announcement of PUZZLES and were very excited. We LOVE puzzles but when we clicked on that arrow we found not-so-challenging alphabet and math worksheets.  Perhaps there is a vocabulary difference between U.S. English and American English but we were really hoping for a couple of preschool skill level space jigsaw puzzles to drag and drop together.  

Would I recommend this product?

Perhaps.   For older children interested in "all things space" I would say this site might provide some fun extra curricular entertainment.  Older children in middle elementary school would be able to manuver the controls to work the games yet I I might guess the content would seem "Baby-ish" to them.

I might recommend the program to a preschool teacher of 2 and 3 year olds and then advise that they avoid trying to play the games, or have only the adult teacher demonstrate them with the class verbally directing the teacher.  The lesson plans (once I finally found them) seem to be a great guidance for a teacher who wants to focus on the Tiny Planets Curriculum.

For my family, we might watch a few more episodes and read a few more of the electronic books but I find the "educational material" that they provide to be much less stringent, much weaker than what we focus on in our family even at the young pre-school ages.  The lessons that are seen in the TV episodes and books are mostly concepts that we cover in daily life and are issues that I don't really feel the need to purchase actual curriculum in order to cover with my boys.  

I was hoping for deeper and more extensive educational meat.  I was hoping for books that talk and just need a young child to click the "Go to Next Page" arrow at the end of the page.  I was hoping for games that were designed with the fine motor skills (or lack thereof) of 3 year olds that require fewer key strokes and a broader range of placement acceptance (Star Fractions).  I was hoping for a longer loop on the music.

YET, at the same time I could gaze into the illustrations for a very long time. 

If you would like to read more reviews of this product please visit the TOS Crew Website.

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Disclaimer:  I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Homeschool Crew and receive free products and services in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  My reviews will always reflect my honest opinions, findings, beliefs and experiences on the products and services that I receive.

Wits & Wagers Family - A TOS Review

A week or so before Thanksgiving I, and others from The Old Schoolhouse's Homeschool CREW, received a box that carried

Wits & Wagers Family by North Star Games.

This is a family game designated for ages 8 and up and for 3-10 players.

I saved the game for my family to try out on Thanksgiving.

On Black Friday (otherwise known as FAMILY DAY here at the Homestead) I pulled it out and gathered my boys (ages 6 and 4). 

I am surprised at how much my young kids like this game.  

Wits & Wagers is a game of guess and wager.  Guessing answers is something I don't allow very often in 1st grade.  I want my children to actually FIGURE the answers out.  This game is NOT conducive to "figuring out", in fact the instructions say "Don't worry, you are not expected to know the answers to these questions, so just take your best guess."

Here's how it works.  Each player gets two cute Meeples 

(a small one and a large one in their chosen color).  

Used with permission of Debbie's Digest

They also get a colored Answer Board to match their Meeples and a dry erase pen (included).  The box of questions is given to the youngest child and he reads the first question.  At the end of the first round the box is passed.  

 Ummm, so this is our first adaptation.  My oldest is barely reading so when we play mom or another adult do all the reading.  

The question is read and everyone takes a guess.  The guess (always a number) is written on the answer board.  Then the boards are gathered and placed in order from smallest to greatest.

I LOVE this aspect of Wits & Wagers.   My 6 year old has been struggling with ordering numbers and this game presents the PERFECT practice exercise for him!  

His skill abilities in this area have SKYROCKETED in a very short period of time. WHOO HOOO, Thank you,  Wits & Wagers.

So the answer boards are ordered and then everyone looks at the answers and Meeples are placed on their board or the boards that they think hold the correct or closest answer.

The answer on the card is then read and points are figured.  If someone guesses the exact answer they receive a point.  If no one guesses the correct answer the next closest is the determining card and all the Meeples placed upon that card receive points. Large Meeples recieve 2 points and small Meeples receive 1 point. 

The score is then marked (dry erase of course) on the Score Board.  :)  I let each kid write his own "X's."  The player who accumulates 15 points first is the winner.

We really enjoy this game.  We've played it so much that even my 2 year old has a role.  I read all the questions and make the guess for my own card.  I write the number my 5 year old says.  Sometimes EVERY answer is 5, sometimes he picks 500 and in all honestly because the answers are SO RANDOM he often is the closest answer.  Then I say "MEEPLE TIME" and my 2 year old Gracie grabs my Meeples and puts them whereever she wants.  It's super funny when she actually has to THINK about it, knowing that she can not read.  :)  

We all LOVE to say the word "Meeple" and love that these little game pieces are wooden and will rest on the cards vertically, sideways and upside down.  

The dry erase aspect is fun and the lack of throw away score cards makes me happy.  The sequential ordering and then the determination of which card is closest to the correct answer helps my son practice some wonderful math skills and shows him that math is used outside of "math class,"  a bonus for this mother.

The part I struggle with is perhaps unique to my family specifically.  We do not have a television and our magazine subscriptions tell us how to create food products (gardening, bee keeping, animal caretaking).  We are homeschoolers who stick close to home.   We pretty much buck against much of popular culture.  These facts put us at a disadvantage with this game and some of the questions just made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

Here are some sample questions from our first game 

(a couple of them I simply skipped):

* How many different colors of Froot Loops are there?

* How tall, in feet, is the world's largest IMAX movie screen? (We've never been to one and my boys had NO IDEA what one was.)
* In what year did the T.V. show Hannah Montana first air?  ("Mom isn't Montana a state?")

* How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?

* How many different Webkinz stuffed animals have there been? 

(I had to do a websearch to find out what a Webkinz was.)

* In feet, how high is the world's tallest roller coaster?
* In what year did the XBox 360 come out?  (I honestly have never seen any XBOX or Wii machine, the last gaming system I played was in the mid 80's and it was an ATari)

* How many feet across is a Major League Baseball pitching mound?

* How many texts does the average teenager send each day? (My kids had no idea what a text was and were in SHOCK that kids of any kind would have their own phone.)

* How many total Disney princesses are there?

* How many movies did Will Smith appear on screen from 2000-2009? 

("Mom, who's Will Smith."  "An actor, his son played in Karate Kid" "OH!  So he's REALLY REALLY OLD!?!)

* How many million people saw the most watched episode of the TV show Wizards of Waverly Place?  (Huh?  What? oh! TV, no clue, guessing it's about wizards.)

*How many Nabisco Animal Crackers shapes are there?

So!  If you are a family who keeps up on the pop culture of our day I think this will be more fun because you actually KNOW the TOPIC you are making guesses about.

I wish there was a trivia facts only ("non-popular culture") version of this game.  

None-the-less this is a very fun game even for my 2, 4 and 6 year olds.  My husband (working in the background) also had a bit of fun guessing many of the questions and trying to persuade my middle child to go with a number different than *5*.

To be honest, even with all the questions that my sons are completely clueless about they BEG me to play this game day after day after day.  

 To purchase Wits & Wagers please click HERE, visit your local Target or your nearby local game shop.   The list price is $19.99 

If you would like to read more reviews about Wits & Wagers Family from my fellow TOS Members, please click HERE.

Homeschool Mandates - A TOS Blog Cruise

The Old Schoolhouse hosts a TOS Blog Cruise.  Each week there is a topic introduced for TOS Crew members to write on.  This will be the last Blog Cruise post until the near year as the TOS Blog Cruise is docking for the holiday season.  :)

This week's topic is: What are the homeschooling requirements in your state and how do you deal with them?

Well after learning a lot more about other state requirements I have to state how thankful I am that the state of Wisconsin is super easy to homeschool in.  What what I hear, it is not the EASIEST state but it is pretty easy.

The meat of our law statutes is this:

specifies that a home-based private educational program must provide "… at least 875 hours of instruction each school year." In addition, the program must provide a "… sequentially progressive curriculum of fundamental instruction in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and health." The statutes contain no express authority for any agency or school district to monitor home-based private educational programs or to verify the hours of instruction provided or the use of a sequential curriculum.

So essentially I fill out the required PL-1206 with the State each year and legally I have to be left alone.  This form is now electronic instead of a triplicate form that used to have to be requested and then mailed back, so I merely log onto the website and type in my answers.

There is a time frame to submit this form.  The form asks for the number of children in each grade level who are 6 years and above.  They merely need a number of children in each age group and my promise that I will teach a minimum of 875 hours in the year.

No names, no curriculum, no attendance required, just a pledge to teach the required time.

In addition to that it is illegal at this time for the state or a school district to ask any questions or request that I show proof of anything I do in our homeschool.  They may not verify my number of hours taught, they may not ask about my curriculum, they may not investigate at all.

I am an overachiever.  I have successfully battled and won (usually) perfectionism but I've not won the battle with overachieving.  In our homeschool life this boils down to me being a paranoid pack rat.  I plan.  I keep records (despite the legal people out there telling me not to).  I ask friends in the schools what their children are using for curriculum and what activities they do.  I OVER plan.  I OVER strategize.  I OVER document.  I feel like my curriculum choices are much more demanding and stringent than the school district in which I live.   Yet because I am able to do 1:1 and 2:1 teaching I feel like my children fly through what I plan for them and so on the days when I feel like we just need a day off......we take it.

Despite my over planning I am one who has goals that read "Work thru XYZ book progressing at a nice pace."  I do not look at a book and divide the number of chapters by the number of weeks we have.  I am SO thankful that I am not required to submit lesson plans or quarterly/annual goals.   We work and we progress and I will NOT tell my family that we are *behind* because I KNOW we are progressing at a comfortable yet challenging pace for each child and in my homeschooling world that is PERFECT.

How does it work for you?  Tell me about your state requirements and how you work them.  Or leave me a link to a post about this topic on your blog.

This Blog Cruise posts on TOS Website on the evening of December 20th.  After that time feel free to read about how other TOS members deal with their state requirements at THIS LINK.  :)

Kids Speak! TOS Blog Cruise

The Old Schoolhouse hosts a TOS Blog Cruise.  Each week there is a topic introduced for TOS Crew members to write on.  So far this Blog Cruise Season I have either not had a chance to write or the topics have just not been something with which I have had experience.  This week however is for the TOS Kids to answer, all I had to do was ask, take notes and type it up.

This week's is:  Kids answer week! Why does your family Homeschool?  What is your favorite part of homeschooling?  What do you want to be when you grow up?

Abram (4), Gracie (2) and Otto (6)

I just want to quickly interject that I typed out what they said.  I did not add answers nor did I push them to say much more than they did.  You are going to see honest, concrete (yet imaginative) thinking with these answers.  :)  Love kids.

Otto's Answers:

Why does your family homeschool? 

Because you decided it was better for us.

What is your favorite part of homeschooling?

Reading, Math, and Group time.... some of the time

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A Veterinarian because they are smart and get to play with animals.

Abram's Answers:

Why does your family homeschool? 
Cause we don't go to the other schools.


What is your favorite part of homeschooling? 
Singing 1,2 Buckle My Shoe and Playing with Star Wars Toys


What do you want to be when you grow up?
Spiderman or Venom

So there ya go!  :)  We are pretty sure that Spiderman will find his alias working with something MECHANICAL!  :)

Worship@Home

Hubby asked me this weekend if he could do a guest post on Clothesline Musings.  I've been busy keeping up the house, sneaking in some school, tending to sick children and continuing to get Christmas decorations up.  I can't imagine saying "No" so without further ado I present to you: Daniel.    :)

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Our congregation follows what is called, colloquially, an "Amish Calender."  Meeting on the first and third Sunday of every month.  Those Sundays that the community does not meet, individuals and families either worship with another community or as a family in their own homes.  After trying a variety of other congregations in the area, we are growing to prefer the intimacy of family worship.  Coating up and delivering the children and ourselves to church often becomes  such a task in and of itself that it often eclipses worship. 

Worshiping at home does not take away the wiggles but it does decrease the amount of Mary-work and allow more time for Martha-listening.  I think it also helps communicate to every one in the family that church is not something that we do, rather it is something that we are.  Family worship is not a substitute for community worship but, whether it is a Sunday morning or any other time, a supplement to it.  Rest assured you do not need an M.Div.


The first thing to realize is that worship at home will not be like worship with a larger community.  Every spiritual gift will probably not be present in your home.  Jesus instructed, "Where two or three are gathered in my name; there am I with them."  Trusting that promise, church, no matter how small is still church.  The second thing to realize is that you should play to the strengths present in your own family and that it is fine to stand on the shoulders of others where there is need.

I typically plan our services on Saturday.  I use Take Our Moments and Our Days, a resource designed for small group worship for the basic infrastructure; making additions and subtractions as needed.  There are two volumes, one for ordinary time and another for Lent and Advent.  Most changes I make are to insure that the service is more child friendly.

I insert six to eight familiar songs from the same song books we use at our congregation, it helps to have a copy for every person old enough to read, but it is not necessary.  Using familiar songs gives the children a chance to better learn the songs and a safe place to try them out.  Again, each family must play to their strengths and accept that church  is not a performance.  My wife has a voice of an angel, my own is, well, functional for the purpose of offering up a joyful noise.  It does not matter, sing loud.  This is church.

In the midst of the service we insert a craft which is designed to re-enforce the theme of the service.  During Advent this craft has centered around our Advent display.

The idea for which was drawn from a publication offered by Mennonite Church Canada every Advent Season: An Unexpected Hour.  In future services we will draw from many other sources.  Ideas can be found across the web, drawn from a homeschooling curriculum, sought out from your denominational publisher or you can make a selection from Amazon.

I do not prepare a full sermon but rather do some basic teaching which is aimed at our children but serves as a good reminder to the adults as well.  I explain the text that we have read.  There is no need to reproduce a sermon.  Write out your own reflections and share them with your children.  You have something to say and it is important for children to know that you are engaged in the text.  We are called to be disciples and disciples are engaged in the text.

Finally, when worshiping, do not be afraid to include as many aspects of worship as are practical.  In our congregation we light a candle at the beginning of the service with the leader saying, "The light shines in the darkness..." and congregational response: "... and the darkness has not overcome it."  We start our own service that way.

We close our time of prayer with the Lord's prayer; which the children are rather proficient.    The guide we use, includes a benediction which brings closure to the service and dismisses the children to whatever wiggles or adventures await.  You could design your own worship space to include whatever is meaningful to you and is within your gifts and means. 

Family worship is great for those days when you are snowed in or someone is ill.  It is becoming a part of the rhythm of our Sunday mornings but you may integrate it in some other way.  However you use it, I think it is valuable to the spiritual growth of all family members: young and old.

"A Year with God" - A Booksneeze Review

I received a free copy of "A Year with God: Daily Readings and Reflections on God's Own Words" by R.P. Nettelhorst by Book Sneeze.com.  I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review of this book and have received no other compensation.

"A Year with God" is a devotional book that walks the reader through various topics:  Hope & Fear, Love & Hate, Perseverance & Quitting, Faith & Doubt, Loyalty & Betrayal, Companionship & Isolation, Mercy & Judgement, Forgiveness & Anger, Joy & Sadness, Peace & Conflict.

Each day is numbered (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, etc.) and takes up one page with approximately the top third containing a passage from the Old Testament and the bottom two thirds of the page containing the author's thoughts and interpretation of this passage with a few tidbits of application.  The book progresses through the topics listed above and each section progresses in Biblical order from Genesis forward.

The writing in this book is not witty, funny or striking but it does a decent enough job at directing the reader's thoughts toward discovering what really matters to God through the Word as written in the Old Testament.  Devotionals in my opinion are about leading the reader to a deeper place of thought as we learn more about our creator.  I believe this book accomplishes this in a non-flashy way.  I personally appreciate the lack of flash.

This book would appeal to both men and women and it is not necessary to read it in chronological or topical order.

If you would like to look further into this book check out THIS Amazon link. 

If you would like to read more reviews on this book please visit THIS BOOKSNEEZE link.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Good Morning, God --A TOS Review

Several weeks ago members of The Old Schoolhouse's Homeschool Crew opened a package from Apologia Press.  

In the package was a beautiful and very sturdy book called 

"Good Morning, God." 

This beautifully illustrated 48 page book written by Davis Carman presents a nice little story which directs your child to think about and talk with God throughout the day, every day.

"Good Morning, God" has a nice introduction page explaining how to use this book as a "mini-curriculum" and a "literal application of Deuteronomy 6:6-7." (You may access the first 12 pages, including this introduction page at the link provided in the title of the book throughout this review.) 

The back of the book includes daily questions and scripture suggestions which correlate with the days mentioned in the story.  

The center of the book contains the story.  

It is written from the point of view of a small child.  

From the illustrations and story we know that this child is growing up in a two parent, loving home that regularly attends church, regularly worships God together and has a family who homeschools.   It points out the areas of joy in his very young life as well as those moments when he should be better.  The book points the child to see and praise God in every moment of every day and to see God's wonder everywhere (inside, outside, in others, in nature, etc.).

"Good Morning, God" is geared toward children who are 1-8 years old. 

The book sells for $14.00 and you may purchase it HERE at Apologia Press.

Also available is a coloring book that very nicely compliments this book.  You may see it at THIS LINK for $4.00.

I would highly recommend this book to evangelical families who would like to help their children start to see and recognize that God is with us at all times and everywhere.  It is a sturdy, well made, beautifully illustrated book well worth the $14.00.

If you would like to read additional reviews on Apologia Press' "Good Morning, God" from the TOS CREW click HERE.

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Disclaimer:  I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Homeschool Crew and receive free products and services in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  My reviews will always reflect my honest opinions, findings, beliefs and experiences on the products and services that I receive.

Happiness is: Me WATCHING a Combine!!

I lived on an acre of land that was nearly surrounded by other people's cornfields.

Fall was my favorite season.   Everything would turn a beautiful, golden brown.  The few leaves (remember cornfields have few trees) would change radiant colors.  The weather would be perfect for sweatshirts and jeans. I LOVED Fall.  Then the combines would come.  Large combining machines (not monstrous like today's machines) would go up and down super long rows of corn.  They would seem like a tiny dot in the distance, get larger and larger and louder and louder.  When they reached our yard they (with permission) would often drive into our yard and make a U-turn and head back the other way.

I LOVED watching the combines.  I would sit by a window or outside on the swing with my homework and work while the machine was away and then when it got near I'd get lost in my observations.  The dust that followed the machine was amazingly beautiful when the sun set behind it.  The wheels were HUGE to my young body.  The driver could barely be seen and seemed to be as high up in the air the tower of a castle.  When the trucks parked near our yard I would be thrilled because I then knew I would get to watch the combine empty it's corn through it's chute (or whatever it's really called).

I just LOVED watching the combine eat up the corn and spit out the waste.

Flash forward to college......

Right as the college semester would REALLY crank up and mid-terms would be around the corner and large projects would be due I would begin to get a bit heavy in the heart.   It was ALWAYS at harvest time.  Gas was cheap so I'd hop in my car and drive out of town (you know like all of maybe 6 miles away from campus).  I would find a field that was being harvested and park my car along the side of the road.  Pull out my books and watch the combines.   I'd return to the dorms with a happy and content heart and the farmers were probably wondering what on earth that car was doing along the side of the road (especially since there were few to no "mobile-car" phones back then)!

Flash forward to our homestead life.....

Our land runs adjacent to a small corn field.  The first year when we met the farmer I warned him that I was a bit odd and when he came to harvest that field he might find me watching because corn being harvested makes my heart happy.

Then the tractors came.  I was so excited.  Until, I realized that this farmer uses the corn for fodder. Of course at that time I had no idea what that actually was or how it was created.  He harvests the corn while it is still green by driving a CHOPPING machine around the field.  The machine (actually a small tractor pulling a mower sort of thingy) eats the corn stalks, chops the entire thing and chutes the entire plant chopped up into a wagon which is being driven or being pulled behind the tractor.     It was *kinda* cool but really not the same at all.  I, for whatever reason, always found myself watching but not feeling as happy as I remembered being while watching the harvest as a young lady/woman.

Flash forward  to this year......

This year's corn crop in my neck of the woods is the BEST EVER on record.... EVER!  Farmers everywhere are chopping less and cashing in more.  The grain elevators are trucking the corn into neighboring states and then are finding that they have to haul it farther and farther and farther because of the great harvest this year.  There are HUGE piles (mountains really) of corn overflowing from the elevators.   It actually makes me think of Joseph in Egypt.

Flash forward to TODAY.....

Today I heard a noise.  It was weird.  It was loud.  I listened to the few electronic things we have in the house that might have put off a noise (like the radios) and realized it was coming from outside.  I opened the door to heard a tractor coming.  I watched thinking, "Well, It IS December 3rd after all and we ARE forecast to get up to 8 inches of snow tonight. The farmer is SUPER late harvesting this year.  I'm glad he finally managed to get this crop in before our heavy snow starts to fall." 

Then I squealed!

My boys did not notice.  They were watching an old episode of Underdog on my computer and I think they thought I was adding my commentary on the storyline.

IT WAS A COMBINE.

A REAL AND HONEST TO TRUTH COMBINE.

Watching it work around that power pole was quite exciting!

For around here it was a PRETTY BIG COMBINE (a whole 8 rows!!!)  *giggle*
I sat and watched.

and watched.

and did dishes when it went on the other side of the hill where I could not see it.  I tuned my ears in intently listening very hard so I would not miss it's return.

When it came back my eyes were glued on it, on the corn stalks being eaten by the creature, by the dust it left behind, at the corn on the cab of the tractor that had spilled out, assumedly on the downside of the hill *giggle* and as it manipulated a less than flat, odd shaped field (unlike the perfect squares and rectangles of those I grew up near).

I have said all Fall that this WAS THE BEST FALL in all the years we've been up here and then I ***THOUGHT*** winter had arrived.



When the combine left the field to unload it's bounty I ran to my computer to announce to my friends that I indeed might be the weirdest person they know.....but you know what?  If the weirdest part of my life is my very intense love of watching a combine devour a perfectly golden corn field, I think the world is still quite safe.  :)

Winter and Advent may now OFFICIALLY begin.  :)

My Review of Magnetic Pattern Block Set

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

This innovative combination of magnets and wood, is incredibly low priced and designed to bring endless hours of fun! The Magnetic Pattern Block Set includes 120 colorful geometric magnets to replicate the 12 included geometric pictures.

Features:

• Ages 3+
• Includes 120 mag...

Magnetic Pattern Block Set

Perfect

By Clothesline Musings from Western Wisconsin on 12/2/2010

 

5out of 5

Pros: Lots of Fun, Engaging, Interactive, Educational, Durable

Best Uses: Young Children, Educational, Entertainment

Describe Yourself: Education Oriented, Parent Of Two Or More Children, Homeschooler, Stay At Home Parent

Was this a gift?: No

Made of durable wood and painted in bright colors. The magnetic board and magnets are strong, yet not so strong that my 2 and 4 yr old have trouble pulling the pieces back off again. The pieces stick through the pattern pages which is exactly what I needed for my two youngest children. I have been looking for a pattern block set for some time and am thrilled with the quality of this product in comparison to others on the market. My only complaint is the the plastic carrying case is just big enough to hold the board and pieces. I wish it would have been slightly larger so that my little ones could more easily put it all away with out mom helping to squeeze it into the bag. It is made of a strong plastic that should last.... if we can continue to get the pieces in.

(legalese)

Pioneer Night

Last Friday we had our second Pioneer Night.  It went much like our first.  We tweaked some of our lighting and started our games earlier so we could see all but the last answer to our Wits and Wagers contest.

We began at 4 pm by turning off all the lights, shutting down the computer and no longer accessing anything with electricity.  Our first task was to clean up our environment putting everything away so that we would not trip over a small toy while carrying a lit candle.  Once that was accomplished Hubby played Chutes and Ladders with the boys and I played our new favorite game called Wits and Wagers.  I need to figure out what else pioneers might have done in the mostly dark house other than go to bed early.  I might actually try some school by candlelight next time.

For supper we heated up Potato & Ham soup on the wood stove and ate left over Hush Puppies and a veggie for supper by candle light.

With the Camera Flash.

The actual darkness we ate in, 

 

without the flash.

I think between now and our next Pioneer Night I will try to do some *Cooking* on the wood stove so that for our next Pioneer Night I am actually COOKING instead of merely using our heat source as a primitive microwave.   I do want to try this ahead of time because it seems like learning to cook over our wood stove would be much better done with the electric lights showing me what on earth I'm doing instead of trying to figure it all out in the dusky or dark house.

After supper the boys picked up where they left off in our "Best in Children's Books" where Hubby read to them the story of Kintu, the eldest son of an African Chief who was learning what he needed to do to become Chief but who was afraid of the jungle.  It was a great coming to age story.

The boys reading w/o camera.

This is what it looked like with flash.

While they read I tried to mend.  It seemed like mending was a Pioneer like activity.  My eldest's beloved blankie had started to rip out and I needed to immediately sew it back up as he would not be able to survive a night without her (yep, blankie is a girl).

So I took some pictures of this feat. 

Threading dark yarn!

With camera light.

After Blankie was mended good enough for the night I switched over to white thread and white buttons.  I also switched to a candle stick instead of a pillar which was a HUGE improvement.

I do believe that my eye strain was gone after a good night of sleep.  I need to do some researching as to what every day life actually LOOKED like in the evenings.  I know they went to bed sooner than we do but it is very dark here by 5 pm in the winter and I can't imagine them going to be THAT early.

Anyone have any insight on what the folks of yesteryear did after it was too dark to see but too early to go to bed?