Wednesday, April 29, 2009



Wednesday, April 15, 2009

First Book Bound







We tried our hand at book binding, and this is the result of the first try.

Monday, April 13, 2009



Friday, April 10, 2009


I can do school too!


Check out my new chair.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

HomeWork: Juggling Home, Work, and School Without Losing Your Balance

Homework: Juggling Home, Work, and School Without Losing Your Balance is a 93-page e-book published by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. It could also have been subtitled "God's Big Picture for Our Lives." This compilation of stories shows time and time again that if we will let God lead our lives, He will take out talents, our passions, and our desires and use them to bring glory to Him, to bless others, and to enrich our lives.

There is one common theme of a family running a business from home. It has one common bond of moms desiring to stay home with their children. Yet it takes many different avenues as each mom shares how God brought business opportunities into her life that utilized her special talents.

This book tells both the miracles that God worked and the practical ways of operating a successful home business. The stories tell the joys and the struggles. They tell the impact on the family. And they tell what each family has had to do to balance it all.

The overriding story is that God is the One who keeps it all going. Only when they subject their lives to His leading, do their families prosper.


Career Explorations for High School Students by Carol Tapp

With our oldest child starting high school in the fall, Career Explorations for High School Students by Carol Tapp caught my attention. I was hesitant at first because many sources do not share our family's belief that God has a plan for our lives and seeking His will is our first priority.

But as I began reading this book I was blessed to see an overriding theme of helping students become the men and women God created them to be. This book helps parents fulfill the verse in Proverbs 22:6 that instructs us to train up our children in the way they should go. Giving our children the tools to fulfill God's plan for their lives is the greatest gift we can give them.

The book addresses the fact that career exploration is a process. It goes on to enumerate steps to accomplish it. There are additional sources provided to assist our students in making this journey.

One highlight of the book is about helping our teens make a plan for reaching their desired career goal, which was previously determined by following the outlined steps. Having a plan in place allows the student to take control of his future instead of having the parent doing the pushing. It allows him to be internally motivated to achieve the steps on the path he feels God has for him.

The information in this short book will greatly enable me to help my children prepare for their future.

You can purchase this 4-page WeE-book from The Old Schoolhouse Store.

A Classical Education by Kate Kessler

A Classical Education by Kate Kessler is a 9-page WeE-book from The Old Schoolhouse Store containing an interview with Christine Miller, author of All Through the Ages and creator of Classical Christian Homeschooling.

I read this book desiring to learn more about classical education. That is, however, not the scope of this book. It is a brief overview of Mrs. Miller's life and homeschooling journey as it relates to classical education. Detailed information on classical education can be found on her website. These three nuggets that Mrs. Miller mentioned in the interview confirmed what we have already been trying to accomplish in our home.

One, it is extremely important to be your teen's closest mentor during those potentially turbulent high school years.

Two, our main job as a parent and homeschooling teacher is to teach Godly character. Academics, although important, are secondary.

Three, practicality if primary. Taking on too much is dooming yourself to failure.

The book provides encouraging tidbits for homeschoolers desiring to provide their children a classical education. It also provides sources to further educate yourself on the topic.

The Changing History Theories and How to Teach Them by Dr. Ruth Beechick

The Changing History Theories and How to Teach Them by Dr. Ruth Beechick highlights ways to teach history both accurately and enjoyably. In the first part, Dr. Beechick identifies different views of history. She encourages parents to use the Bible as their main historical guide. In the remainder of the book, Dr. Beechick discusses tips and traps of teaching history.

Homeschooling parents tend to worry about leaving gaps in their student's knowledge of history. Dr. Beechick points out that history engulfs such a large expanse that there is no way we can teach them all the history there is to know. She also teaches that memorizing every detail in not essential. Dr. Beechick states that the stories of invidiual people and specific events should comprise the majority of historical learning. She encourages less emphasis on chronology until students have a good foundation of reading history, usually starting in junior high. She also warns against using the non-Biblical order of empires. Dr. Beechick concludes the book with instructions for making a simple timeline.

What I gleaned from this book is that the Bible should be the center of our history studies since God is the One in control of all history. We should also strive to understand the overall flow of history instead of getting bogged down in trying to remember all the details.

You can order this 10-page WeE-book from The Old Schoolhouse Store.
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