FREE: Drive Thru History on Ancient Rome

Thanks Crewmate H. for this one!! Rightnetwork.com/Rome (Drive Thru History)

NOTE: not for young children: Scenes of violence from Roman times to the Holocaust. Excellent for upper elem through high school. My kiddos enjoyed it, and what a great history lesson~AND just WHY HISTORY is relevant to NOW!

I KNEW IT!

Thanks HomeschoolFreebieoftheDay for sending me this link on  boys reading  and what IS THE WORST thing that deters them...ACK!~I KNEW IT~and we're caught in a trap..but alas...FREEDOM is coming! Pray folks, pray! Thanks ;-))

Wordless Wednesday...My Son

HERE for more Wordless Wed...

Whoohoo! The Homeschool Post's 6th Annual Blog Awards 10/15-11/19

Get ready~Get set~GOOOOOooooo

 Time to pick YOUR fave blogs~and nominate for awards (PRIZES too!) Whoot!

I was nominated last year~Thank You so Much Sheriff Sherri! Whoohoo!

Review: The Way Home DVD ~ Healing via Trials~Rated PG

The Way Home~Based on the Inspirational True Story
Starring: Dean Cain and Lori Beth Edgemon
Release Date:10/26/2010
World Premier Oct 1, 2010 GMC info 8PM EST.
Location:  Various Christian Bookstores
View the trailor and get more info! 
I say: A tear jerker and heart warming!

I received The Way Home from Book Sneeze in exchange for my honest opinions and no monetary compensation.  My opinions are my own.

What is NOT to love about an adorable little brown eyed baby boy and a story of healing in the face of trial for his family?  Little Joe Simpkins goes missing while his Daddy was supposed to be watching~All the emotions imaginable crash down on this young couple as the community comes together to search...and it doesn't look good...will he be found?   Search and rescue through community both public, private and religious come together to help...but ONLY God can heal...AND there is healing despite... (I'm not sharing!  Girls, you will want to see this film;  it's definitely a chic flick!   I am not sure that some men will like it as it's not fraught with loads of action, but it is very inspiring and aimed showing a man's call to become a better husband and father, so wives will WANT our husbands to see it, for sure!)  There are some special characters in this story~I found the Deputy Bert to lend a slight chuckle... I don't want to spoil it for you!! ~and Ed found a warm place in my heart...

I'm a GA girl~so the sights and sounds are a WONDERFUL surprise to this homesick gal~I recognized the terrain and culture portrayed...VERY believable story ~excellent performances by all involved!   

Dean Cain and Lori Beth Edgemon bring the story to life! 

You won't be disappointed in The Way Home~it's inspirational and will make everyone who sees it THINK about the IMPORTANT things in life~

Blog Cruise: SisterT's Talking About Nature Studies!

How do you do nature studies 
where YOU live?
Both kiddos are high schoolers this year so we don't formally study "nature" like we once did using the Apologia Jeanne Fulbright courses and Considering God's Creation.  We still look up into the heavens and at the seasons and nature~ha!  It's not a formal course per se but how could we not notice what goes on around us?

When they were littles, my daughter and her friend had an adventure~a SCIENCE adventure~

"The Gator in KY"

It really started out as an easy day .  My daughter’s best friend and her mom were coming over for a visit that afternoon, and as we were studying archeology and the Ancient World, these two girls decided to go on a "dig" in our backyard.  I should tell you that we were living in Western KY at the time, and it was a gorgeous sunny warm day in the early fall of the year.  As my friend, Best Friend’s Mother and I were settling down for some relaxation with our favorite HGTV…IN SHOT ONE GIRL, THEN THE NEXT from the outside yelling, "We dug up an allegator!" which both girls repeated as they jumped up and down something like kangaroos or jack rabbits in their excitement.  Their eyes were wild with the wonder of WHAT they had found…the deceased body, the carcass of a baby…well, I won’t say it again, but you know!  AND of course their hands were dirty with the remainder of the soil from which they had dug and had fallen off in their haste to get to us to share their good fortune…they WERE fortune hunting that day…Imagining everything from gold to all manner of artifacts from some ancient PAST civilization.  Questions had loomed in their minds about just what lie under the layers of earth RIGHT in OUR OWN BACK YARD…they  had seen video of digs where groups had found fossils, pieces of pottery, clues to history, and THESE two girls wanted in on the action.  NOW they had found something…I got nervous.  We did live near a freshwater lake not in the so far distance that when the trees were bare of leaves, one could see the sun glistening on the water dancing.  WAS it possible for such a creature to survive in this climate?  Surely it’s species could NOT survive the cold of the snow and ice that we had experienced that winter past.  But because of their excitement, and my fear that there just might be a whole FAMILY of those ferocious animals just near our back yard, I cautioned the girls NOT to actually touch it, but gave them both a set of rubber gloves from my cleaning stash, a paper plate and words of instruction to bring it to me…I had to see it for myself.  NOW I was not then, nor am I now an expert on reptiles, but I’ve seen a few having grown up in south GA.  It wasn’t uncommon for an allegator to wander into ponds, rivers, ditches; we lived near the marsh which is a natural habitat for the creatures.  There is even the famed Okeefanokee Swamp in the area where there are many many who thrive…I was taking no chances; I needed to see this thing for myself.  Since this became a natural homeschooling venture really, I pulled from our bookcase the Smithsonian Animal guide for the girls to research their find…what kind, how old…was it indigenous to the area or had it merely found its way to KY from a sunnier climate such as FL?  Folks in KY LOVE FL! This wasn’t a big stretch that one of these reptiles could have lost his owner and ended up…in MY yard.  With resource book out on the table, the girls sat down with their "treasure" to research him thoroughly.  They looked up his species, his age as noted by the spiney prominences on his back…I began to really think about this…NOW I HAVE TO CONFESS that my friend, who is a native of the area was not one moment convinced that this animal could be in a natural habitat in our lake behind the house because of climate, but she wasn’t sure it had not perhaps gotten away from it’s owner and ended up there…after all, it was now fall…and summer travels could have brought him to our yard from the many miles of his home in a warmer deeper south.  AND I also have to tell you that she wouldn’t look at the find  either…it was UP TO ME…Curiosity what it is…and the girls had worked really hard determining what sort he was, I decided to check him out myself…no smell, no… well…I won’t go here, but something dead and in the dirt…YOU can IMAGINE for yourself…and why they and I wore gloves…but as I examined him, I began to feel of his body…spongy, intact all but the lower jaw…I looked and looked…WHEN IT occurred to me…he was a plastic gator that a child obviously before we had moved into our home…well, he was a lost pet, never an actual live one…My friend, girls and I found this so funny…except that the girls were a bit disappointed.  Their treasure was a toy…But WHAT A DAY where home schooling worked beautifully and so naturally.  When you see the picture, you will note the cat who is standing watch as the girls work…THIS IS HOME SCHOOLING when it works BEST!  AND BTW, gators don’t survive in KY…THANK GOD!

Head on over to ck out the crew on nature studies~

HERE!

Ed u ma ca shun~COULD WE Do It Today? Ha!

8th Grade Final Exam:
Salina , KS - 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph.
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,' 'play,' and 'run'.
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6. What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet Long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs, what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs for tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7percent per annum.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus .
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the Unit ed States .
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas .
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connect ed with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)
[Do we even know what this is??]
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?
2. Wha t are elementary sounds? How classified ?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America .
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco .
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

 

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!

Also shows you how poor our education system has become and,
NO, I don't have the answers!

 Hub sent this to me as an email. I am not the author, but it's well worth repeating!

REVIEW: Entrusted With Arrows (Christian documentary by MovieMakers)

Entrusted With Arrows:

Entrepreneurial Homeschool Fathers
MovieMakers DVD
AGE: Adults

Price: $19.99   HERE
I say: This is first rate! 

I received a free preview of Entrusted With Arrows and no other compensation for my review. My opinions are my own.

In the End...What's It Gonna Be?

Do you ever wonder what's going to happen to your kids when they grow up?  Do you think about life choices and how it's going to be~in their future?

Entrusted With Arrows showcases some Dads who have made an incredible choice~come home and ACTIVELY participate with the rearing of their children.  Wow~what a concept for a loving Christian Dad to show his children the ways of the Lord, first hand!

There's some pretty strong evidence shown from the Southern Baptist Convention, which I happen to be familiar with regarding the stats of what happens when kids grow up~it's alarming actually!  Kids are leaving the church, folks! If you haven't left yourself, you already know this...if you work with young people in the church or with children in the church, you know this as well~kids are getting harder and harder to reach for Christ~to teach about God and how to live in a Biblical way~sooo while it might not be for everyone, WHY NOT?  Why wouldn't Christian parents want their children to fully understand, love and serve God?  Is there too great a sacrifice to be made?

For some, homeschooling just might seem like a drudgery and burden~oh yes, it can be~no doubt on a bad day, and don't we all have those?  But, is it not the role of the Father to teach his children through his own efforts and role?  Coming home to work from home is a unique position these Dads have been called and allowed.  God has blessed them.

I think this is a wonderful resource for families~It's a call to becoming the Father and spiritual leader God has called men to become.  Every home and church family needs to see this!

In the end, end of homeschooling or other schooling, what is it going to be for your child? Will YOU become your their greatest influence? God help us all to be the Moms and Dads that will please Him~and help us raise our children for Him!



Check out Entrusted With Arrows!  It's a current semi-finalist at San Antonio Christian Film Festival!

Friday Farmgirls at Heart~Living the Dream!

Amber waves of grain...
Autumn...Fall...Harvest.  This is my favorite time of year when all the world is washed in the golden-orange-browns and greens of the season! I really can't decide if it's my ALL TIME fave or if like spring I am just so glad for the beauty and changes that it's so welcomed in my soul...but I do enjoy riding the roads looking at the scenery, picking up leaves, nuts and branches~and I love pumpkins.  I remember in college, a small christian Bible school nestled in the busy metropolis where we attended church in the countryside riding through to see my favorite house~a yellow, lapboard with a country porch...autumn had come with leaves on the ground and some pumpkins out front~the idea at the time was surreal~I was a single with no husband or children~this little home, a HOME was part of the dream life, for me...today I live in a yellow (ONE OF the many colors LOL) house that has lapboard siding and a porch...the family inside is the one of my longings~but hey, where are my pumpkins this year? I'm stopping at the pumpkin patch on Sat and picking up a few~for fun and for family~a reminder that DREAMS DO COME TRUE~sometimes!

I'm a city girl in a rural place living a farm girl's dream...if you'd like to join the other farmgirls at heart head overHERE!

NOPE, we didn't grow the pumpkins~wish we had, tho ;-))

FREE: Online College Entrance Help for HS (Students With Disabilities)

I am just  beginning to explore the college realm for us, and found this great overview~is geared toward disabilities, but I think  this could be helpful otherwise~Going to College

HELPING My Struggler~Interventions

It's just not worth melt downs and anger is it?  Some days we really struggle to put the pen to paper and get the work done.  I have two very different learners and this can be so challenging. While I combine as much as I can, the way they learn, rate and abilities really varies a bunch! So with all said, we have to juggle and THINK on our feet a good bit.  The other day, as I was "grilling and killing" my 9th grader who is delayed and struggling at times, I found that I was also really holding up my more advanced student...by teaching note taking using a dictation method.  Ha~sooo when you find something NOT working, you know you gotta change, right? Sooo once the mayhem was all over, I began to consider WHAT I could do to teach good classroom skills to a kid who can't keep up with written notes.  I KNOW it sounds really disparaging to say this, but it's true that note taking is a challenge for some.  There are adults who can't do it~sooo WHAT do do~how to help...

I got it in my head that in college while I'm not right now in our homeschooling purchasing an individual (in some cases) text for each child, in college most likely they will have their own and can HIGHLIGHT the text as the professor lectures~~OH yes!!!!!!! Like I've forgotten this little fact, right? NO! I do it, and I take notes in the margins! Actually I only do that IF the professor is lecturing straight from the text, which honestly~sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't~but...it's a credible skill to follow and focus on how to get the notes this way...so I began a system of study that included copying the text and giving my kid a highlighter.  I have one with this way and the other who is note taking! Oh boy, we were able to move! We actually CAUGHT UP with our work and have successfully completed the material to have a study guide written (typed) and ready to go...TEST is tomorrow!!

I know these pics aren't the best, but I want you to see what we did with the study guide questions at the end of the science unit.  My learner typed his answers on a separate sheet of paper and I went over them orally~it was too much for him to rewrite correct answers when he had something wrong or incomplete...and then I cut a part the questions and made flaps so he could quiz himself.  He liked it! If he likes, he will use it! This is the whole idea, right?

I hope if you have a child who is challenging that you can be encouraged to KEEP trying~I NEED this myself~it's hard..I KNOW..but in the end...when we've mastered a skill or gotten it down~wow!  Here's hoping!!

FREE: Writing: Essays, Book Reports and MORE!

Info Please covers most of the topics for writing~essays, book reports(elem & upper), grammar and mechanics.  There are other subjects too~check this out!

FREE: Museum Day 2010

September 25,2010
Don't forget!! ;-))

FREE: Mind Building Games (Math and Language)

Homeschool For Free You won't be disappointed to check out this entire site which is well organized by subject.  Thank Crewmate for this wonderful resource!! ;-))

GiveAway: $55 to CSN Stores

Families Again  is hosting. (ENDS 10/1)

Wordless Wednesday...Harvest Still...

We're so blessed~it's still coming!

BLT anyone?

Join Wordless Wed @5min for Moms
HERE!

TOS Planner~Helps!

The 2010 Schoolhouse Planner helps me stay organized, organized and productive.  I know it sounds silly how a planner could do this, but all the resources in it and it's easy use make my days BETTER~whoot! Don't you want to try it out?  Head on over to the schoolhouse store and get your copy today! It definitely HELPS make my day better~
About the planner! 

 Did you know that the same organizational skills and resources can be learned for our kiddos with the TOS Student's Planners? Check those out too! whoot!

FREE: Bloom Magazine for Teen Girls (Digital)

Bloom Magazine 9/2010 Issue
Thank you, Penny! ;-))

FREE: Civil War Unit Study (Uncle Tom's Cabin)

This is amazing~Cyndi Kinney of Knowledge Box Central has a free pdf download with the study, additional resources AND a download of Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.  AWESOME!
Knowledge Box Central  for signing up to her eNewsletter. I get this and enjoy her offerings!

She's having a 50% off sale too~wow!

Blog Cruise: SisterT's Talking About Her FAVES!

What are your favorite resources for the ages and grades that you are teaching?

I have some faves for sure~Having WHAT we need...what will work...what makes the tried and true~effective, easy, and essential is how I know what my faves are!

INTRODUCING~

1.  Mystery of History or MOH any version~we've used 1 and 2...and in a year we will use 3~which will be the first year since it was published we are on tab to use it!  Effective: The short narrative gives enough information to send us digging a little deeper and the activities give us an extension to enhance the fact we have learned.  Easy: I find her writing style easy to understand and very conversational.  The projects are incremental and simple to incorporate.  I didn't stress over the timeline.  I did not use it as suggested on a wall OR board, but rather had each child make a file card that one the unlined side put the name of the person or event along with the date.  Then on the lined side my kids wrote a short narrative about the person or fact.  We used a file card binder to organize our cards in chronological order so that an idea of how time went was gained.  In addition to using this system I had another fave that I used Veritas Press History Cards where we looked at some very nice illustrations of the person or event AND read about them from from the list of resources on the back.  Essential refers  to the knowledge being complete and in depth. Obviously if I used more than MOH then I felt we would benefit from more info, but depending upon the age of your child you could use it alone as it does cover each nicely.  I am a history nut and love it so hence why I added so much and even used history as our launch for literature, Bible, art, and often science in a unit study approach.

I've used MOH into our fourth rotation of history! It has to be my all time fave!

1A~TruthQuest History is great and a fave as well. I used it instead of MOH3 which was not out when we were in that time period of our rotation.  I continue to use it as a spine and as a combination of the other two~didn't I say I love history? IMHO, you can't know enough about the past so that the present is well understood.  While it's very similar to MOH, it is briefer in the narrative which I think lends itself to more curiosity in the student for an older audience.  The reading list is great, but MOH has this as well...I tended to add books that I already had or found useful.  I used the Foster books with both. My plan is to use MOH 3 and when the rotation comes to needing four which is not out yet, I may use TQHistory as the main spine..but hopefully...pretty please!!!??

2.  ANYTHING I can find by Genevieve Foster.  She is an American author who wrote historical books for children in the twentieth century.  We have read all the "world books" and a few others.  If you get the chance to include her books in your homeschool do so because they are so rich. She gives a nice time period overview narrative and even illustrated her own books.  If you want to know more about her,  Valerie's Living Books has some info.  Here you will find a list of her books, and I definitely recommend the "world books".  Effective~I'd say, yes they are effective in the use we made of them which was to complement our history study. Easy~While Valerie's books names the World books as Elementary level, I actually think they are middle to high school.  Maybe it's me~you see what you think...I used them when my kids were upper elementary as read aloud books.  We discussed a lot!  Essential~I think these can stand alone, but since I love history so much I believe they are best used to complement a spine curricula.

3.  Teaching Textbooks math.  We've used this system full time except for a year off to use ALEKS which did not work for my daughter for a variety of  reasons, since they were both in sixth grades. This curriculum is computer based instruction that is computer graded until the upper grades. It has instruction and solution cds and is written incrementally step by step.  Effective~we're struggling with math and have been with one child for a few years so we are now using MathTudor DVDs to supplement.  We're reviewing PreAlg then proceeding back into Alg I and then on into Alg 2 with both...Easy? NO! Math happens to be my subject or TERROR, so I really depend upon TT to teach...Essential~not for us...you'd have to decide.  It's not that I think TT is deficient, it's just that since we're struggling I ALWAYS wonder if something might be better that I've not found YET...

4.  Computer~I'd have to say that my computer has helped us homeschool in tremendous ways~not only does it allow ME to do stuff, it allows my kids to do their papers online as well as computer DVD type of learning programs such as their foreign language studies (TELL ME MORE Japanese and Spanish which is loved!   BTW~the Tell Me More Japanese is my daughter's favorite!!)   I print a good deal of stuff for them also like notebooking pages and worksheets.

5.  Hold That Thought Notebooking CDs...I don't use this anymore, but it's a FAVE~and in finding the link HERE  I see they are holding a special if you purchase a cd and then blog about it~you get a free one! These are wonderful notebooking and timeline resources~hmmm...might need to "rethink" this one...

Okaaaayy I could go on and on~but my FAVES have stood long in my heart.  I do venture out with other things in these areas, but I keep coming back to these favorites!

FREE: ASL Online Course

Lifeprint

Winner WINNER chicken-dinner!! Whoohoo~HOOT!

WE HAVE A WINNER~

$35 Gift Certificate to CSN Stores!! Oh yeah!

D R U M R O L L please....

TADdaaaaaaaa!!

I follow you on GFC - Krissie
CalifKitties {at} AOL.COM

I will be contacting Krissie and giving her the GREAT NEWS!

Thanks everyone for celebrating with me and CSN Stores! 

Ya'll Come BACK, now, Ya hear??

Apple ADDED UP~Just So You'd Know!!

OK! I posted two weeks ago about going to get the apples from a friend, and I wanted to let you know just how many we got~

Are you ready?

48 quarts of applesauce in the freezer.

10 pints of apple jelly!!

AND

We've eaten sooooooooooooo far~three apple crisps AND two apple crisps AND a pot of applesauce AND two dishes of apple salad.

NOW how's them apples??? LOL!

Recipe:

Apple Salad

Ingredients:

apples,
celery
raisins or dried cranberries
black pepper
mayo or Miracle Whip

Directions:
Wash your apples well. Depending upon how much you want to make and how large your apples are is how many you use.  We used about five each time. 

Core and chop into cubes.

Use as much mayo or Miracle Whip to cover the apples.

Chop very small celery.

Raisens or dried cranberries.  Use probably 1/4 to 1/2 cup.

Black pepper.  Use a good bit. This brings up the flavor!

I know it sounds funny to use the pepper, but it adds so much YUM!

Enjoy them apples!

Friday Farmgirls at Heart~Quilting: MY CHEATER Quilt (PrePrinted)

It's been about ten years ago since I first learned to "quilt" what I call a "cheater's" quilt. My quilt-expert buddy, Donna says it's a preprinted quilt, but because it's not a pieced one, I like my name for it better~it goes together so easy compared to one that's pieced! Isn't that cheating? LOL!!   NOT that I wouldn't like to learn HOW to piece one, because I definitely would! I just haven't done a pieced one, YET~one day, though, I am going to learn!!

Cheater Quilts are quite easy.  All you need is to gather together some measurements and simple supplies! You can make one up pretty quick!  Oh, these aren't my idea either. I can thank Miss Pat for teaching me those years ago and for the inspiration she gave me in showing me the ones she had done! Hers were so pretty, and I did one each for my kiddos when they were much younger for their twin beds. This time I am working on a baby gift for a friend.

The inspiration was the Disney movie, Cars. I went to Joann's Fabrics to get the materials.  It consisted of two layers of fabric and one of batting.  I used low loft and 100% cotton so it would wear and wash well.  The measurements are just right for a baby quilt.  Since the width is perfect, I didn't need to do anything but have it cut the appropriate length for both the solid and the print. (Make sure both sides are the same size!)

Supplies:

Two fabrics equal length of the project you are completing.  You can measure a blanket (quilt or comforter) that you already like and then take those measurements to the fabric store and purchase your fabric. Now what I did was take a color from a print and purchase that for the back. In this case it was the Disney Cars fabric with the bright primary red car of Lightening McQueen so I bought bright red to match.  When I made my daughter hers, I used black for the back and a butterfly print on black for the top.

Batting for the inside.  I've heard you can use old blankets for this, but I think if you can, getting the batting is nice.  You can choose how thick you want to quilt to be by choosing what "loft."  I chose low loft meaning it isn't awfully thick.  My thinking was that I'd have to quilt it by hand, and it would be easier with low loft instead of high.

Thread.  Match the dominate color.  I like to use the color of the solid background so that it's a monochromatic look.  But really, it's up to your tastes.  Use a good thread or embroidery floss.  You want this to be strong.


Quilting safety pins.  These are best to work with because they are bent to make pinning easier that with the unbent versions.  I've used both. Right now, this quilt is pinned with straight safety pins b/c I don't have the bent ones!

Directions:

Lay either the printed or solid facing down and then place the batting on top of the first layer.

Lay the top layer facing the ceiling and match those edges so they are even all the way around the quilt.

Smooth out any wrinkles from the center out.  Moving to the edges, smooth out all wrinkles.

After the piece is smooth, then go back to the center and pin dead center and work your way to the edges pinning as you go through all the layers.

Once you are reaching the edge, then roll the layers either towards the print or solid fabric. Roll this edge to put the raw sides turned under and pin all along the edges until the whole blanket is completed.

Once the edges are pinned, I always stitch these seams first.  This provides stability and strength to the early stages of the project.

Begin to stitch around a motiff in the patterned fabric.  My choice of bright red is matched with bright red thread.  I go through all the layers and then use the running stitch to outline a particular image all over the blanket. You could outlive all the images or just one particular one.  I like doing the least of them, and find that the guilt holds together quite well.  Another option is to "tie" the quilt using embroidery floss and using a larger bore needle go into areas spaced no further than eight inches and tie it off leaving about two inches after a square knot is tied.  You can also use buttons to tie the quilt off.  You could even quilt every motiff in the patterned fabric.  It's your choice!

After everything is stitched, you will see that your quilt is put together very well and solid.  It should last a good long time!

Do you quilt? Do you do pieced or "cheater" ones?

Read on to see what the other FarmGirls at heart are up to this week  Plans 4You!!

I'm still stitching but when I'm done I'll post up a pic for ya'll to see!

What are you working on?

Review: Vocabulary Cartoons SAT Word Power!

Vocabulary Cartoons SAT Word Power

Revised and Updated Edition
Vocabulary Cartoons (dot) com
Type:paperback 
Age: Jr/Sr High School (possibly upper elementary)
Price: $12.95
My Take:  I like this book!

I was given a copy of Vocabulary Cartoons SAT Word Power with no monetary compensation.  My opinions are my own.

W o r d s.  They are the basis for most of our communication whether we speak or write.  Of course there are other forms of communication like the nonverbal stuff, but the written and spoken word have some of the strongest effect when they are carefully crafted.  At the base of this skill is having a good command of words, also known as vocabulary.  Without words, we'd never hear of love or other strong emotion.  Without words we'd never hear meaning...words are power!

If you're like me, you want your child to have a strong command of words.  Being able to write and speak are such essential skills to so much in our world today, and kids can come biologically and biochemically disadvantaged or just not exposed to words.  Despite challenges, learning words can be possible by various methods, and New Monic Books has provided a new modality of learning with a mnemonic or a visual "cartoon" to enhance the definition of the word making it easier to remember~connecting the visual to the word so that recall is enhanced.  We all want our children to be successful in this world, and having a strong vocabulary is essential to academic and otherwise success!

Vocabulary Cartoons has 29 chapters of 10 words each all in alphabetical order.  Each word has the word, a pronunciation guide, definition, "cartoon" or mnemonic AND sentences illustrating the use of the word in them.  We are systematically working through it, and find that the cartoons are aiding in recall for my children.  I have a challenged learner, and he's doing great with this method!  While there are several possible uses for Vocabulary Cartoons like just giving it to older children to read and study, we have incorporated it as our vocabulary course this year.  As a result, we are finding that my kids have greater recall and ability to remember than ever before as shown with other vocabulary books/word lists we have tried.  Of course it could be a refresher and not used as curriculum.  You can follow the suggested us outlined on page 11in the forward section of the book or you can adapt it for your own needs. Our combo approach is working well for us!  If you head over to Vocabulary Cartoons to check out the teacher strategies!  There are 20!   

Vocabulary Cartoons SAT Word Power prepares students for the SAT and life!

You can choose  Vocabulary Words (Elementary version) if you have a younger child!

For another SAT prep book, you can choose Vocabulary Cartoons SAT Word Power 2!

Vocabulary Cartoons also gives some stats about test scores improving by 72% than other students who did not use this method.  That's pretty hefty!



We like it, and it's very effective!

If you are interested in what The Old Schoolhouse Crew is saying head over HERE!

GiveAway: $35 to CSN Stores~oh yeah!!!

Big Mama and Me  is hosting (ENDS 9/21)

GiveAway: No More Christian Nice Girl (Okaaaaaaaay LOL!)

Homeschool & Family  is hosting (ENDS 9/15)

Parental Rights Legislation

If you think you are safe to navigate your children's lives in the instance of education, think again! There has already been an onslaught against parents, and an amendment is needed to ensure parental rights.  September 17 is Constitution Day and you can go HERE to view a film on it.

Join the call blitz Oct 4th to congress concerning parental rights in our nation~
Also you can sign the petition and support parental rights for the sake of your kids~HERE!

GiveAway: 1 Gallon of Organic Coconut Shortening

Legacy of Home  is hosting  (ENDS 9/16)

Curriculum CLEAN OUT~Can IT COME to YOUR HOUSE??

What do you need for your homeschool this year? I've got several items and will describe and provide as much info as I have~thanks for looking! I will be adding more, so please come back to look! ;-))

Augustus Caesar's World by Genevieve Foster
New Condition with mild shelf ware~this is a duplicate I've never used.
Barefoot Books 
ISBN  0-9643803-2-3

$15.00 plus shipping (plus USPS media mail)

 Peterson Directed Handwriting Animated Letter Cards
CD ROM (cracked case/otherwise great!)
Check out Peterson's HERE!
 Reg: $17.95  $10.00 (plus USPS media mail)

Tapestry of Grace  Year 1 Unit 4
Pop Quiz (short audio reviews for Dad and questions to quiz the kiddos)
1 CD and set of cards (new)
$14.00  (plus USPS media mail)

Fearless~Imagine Your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado
Like New
Hardcover with dust jacket (shelf wear/no damaged pages)
$15.00 (plus shipping USPS media mail)

Review: Fearless~Imagine Your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado

Fearless~Imagine Your Life Without Fear

Author: Max Lucado
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN:  978-0-8499-2139-1
Pages: 221
Price:  $24.99
I say: I really enjoyed it!

Fear is one of those things we all have that can nag us in the back of our minds ripping us of joy and peace.  Max Lucado shares an overcomer's manual to living life free of those fears!  Being free from fear and living in Him~knowing that He has it all handled for our best~we are His creation and His design~that He cares so much we can trust Him!  Courage combats fear with faith!  I found Fearless inspirational, and you will too!

Max Lucado is a master storyteller who can weave the messages of God in unique ways.  One is of a young boy driving in wild abandon down the road, without whim or care~in His father's lap!  Can't we live our lives and drive on fearlessly when we are in our Father's lap too? There's wonderful safety and peace in His presence!

Descriptions of Jesus in the Garden with His fears, His own distress over the coming terror, the cruel death on the cross when all the way Jesus shows us that He laid His fears and distress at the feet of God~in prayer to trust Him for His future. We can do the same?  Fear is conquered in courage through faith and enabled by prayers.  Max Lucado shows the way...



You will want to read Fearless! Walk away from anxiety and angst and live in a way that is peaceful! Get this book HERE!


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.”

FREE: Check out Homeschooling Hearts and Minds' MATH Post

Here's a few math sites for you to choose from~Thanks Midwest Mama!
Homeschooling Hearts and Minds

Everyday Life~Pirate Week

Somewhere in this big ole world SOMEBODY is celebrating Pirate Week and I am going to celebrate too!
We're studying the Middle Ages~the age of pirates~so what could be more fun??

My pirate name is
Seaman Bessy the Thieving Leg
What is YOUR pirate name?
Hahahaha!! LOL...and sooo I wonder what kind of sea farer I am then??? Alright me, mateys!! Arrrggghh!

FREE: American History Audio Book: This Country of Ours by HE Marshall LibriVox recording

All of this collection is in the public domain and read by volunteers~I'd highly recommend This Country of Ours by HE Marshall from LibriVox for elementary to highschool.  EXCELLENT overview of American History-Eric the Red through the colonization and founding of each state in the United States. LOVE this book!
Librivox-This Country of Ours by HE Marshall

Blog Cruise: SisterT's Talking About FREE Time and HOW She Gets It!

IS THIS you OR ME?

ALL work and no play makes for a very dull boy~and Mama, I'm afraid! It's essential for we moms to take some time JUST for us~There are so many good things that taking breaks and doing things just for us teaches our littles.  IF I NEVER took the time to do the extra special grooming or fun things in my life, then how would I teach these things to my children?  I must lead and teach by example!  Without doing these things, then I not only deprive myself, but the kiddos fail to see just how important they are to a good life.

So exactly what is FREE time?  I think it's time that belongs TO ME~for what I want to do...when and HOW I want to do it.  Does this include others like my hub or kids or a friend? Sure~sometimes it does include another person, but sometimes it's just for me.  It can be quiet and peaceful~a quiet home without the noise of a television or computer blaring or just sitting outside on our deck with the fresh air and a cool breeze...I like hearing the birds sing...I even enjoy hearing cars drive by~there's something calming about that buzz.  The other day I had an opportunity to sit outside in my truck with the windows down, a cool breeze blowing under some trees while near a highway, I could hear the infrequent, but subtle noises of vehicles passing.  It was so calming and quieting.  I was waiting for my daughter to finish some work, and I did I relished in the few minutes of peace.  It's not all that often I can get these moments, but I so enjoy them when I do.  The folks where she worked kept inviting me inside~if they had understood HOW MUCH I was enjoying the driveway and not wanting to come in~there will be plenty of time to be indoors when winter gets here for sure! It was wonderful.

When my children, who are now teens were littles, their dad would come home and give me breaks.  Thank God for this~he has always done the bedtime routine of tucking them in.  It's been a tag team approach.  When I've wanted to sew or go to a ladies event, he would always help...and then there's been Grandma.  Thank God For Grandmas!! She has kept them on occasion for hub and I to go out sometimes.  We have only had a couple of babysitters, and really, this was when they were much much older...generally it was Grandma or one of us...of course it was our preference to do it this way.

I have found some fun things for them to give me small breaks along the way like the story time or reading programs at the library or even classes at the YMCA.  While the kids were busy for that short time, I would check out books or sit with my eyes closed~ha!  I have even had them doing aquatic aerobics with me in the pool while in a class as the instructor allowed it b/c they were well behaved!  Another way I got my FREE time wass to arrange play dates with their friends which was reciprocal because I'd let their friends come over too to give that mom a break too...it worked great!  Another way was to have quiet time each day for two hours while my kids played on their beds quietly or read books.  This wasn't to torture them, but to provide a short time for them to recharge after lunch for them AND ME. 

Like I've said, I take all the breaks I can.

Today as teens, they go to work and other activities which can mean a whole lot more free time.  I've been known to hit the Y or spa for a pedicure or just to take a ride.  A good deal of my time is spent crafting and blogging which are relaxing hobbies for me.  I've always felt that when things cease to be fun~they usually cease!

PLEASE dear mom~take care of you~you are teaching your children the value of self care which is healthful and wise as well as making your own life rich and pleasurable.  Gain those moments anyway you can and be as creative as possible in the season of homeschooling in the journey of life. It's so rich!

Read on to see how the other CREW are all getting their breaks along this season of homeschooling~whoot!

FREE: Home School Enrichment Magazine (digital)

Sept/Oct 2010 issue Home School Enrichment Magazine

Remembering 9-11 Lest We Forget

I'm an American. I'm a Christian. I'm a wife and mother. I am a daughter.  I am a female. I am a human.  On every level I rise up today, September 11, 2010 and REMEMBER that Freedom is NOT free and that there is evil in this world as well as good. Let me be part of that good. Amen.

If you'd like to read last year's post    9/11 2009
Here is a film I found several years ago that will touch you. It's over an hr long, but well worth the time...
(This film is not for children, PLEASE!)

First Week of School 210-11 ~ DONE!

Whew, I just wasn't sure we'd get going or get this first week behind us, and it really took day four (today) to feel like I'd gotten back my groove!  Dunno why either, but it has been an exhausting week.  It first started out with my son going into the rebellious teenager mode. I'd like to report that we NEVER deal in this, but it'd be a lie...cause we definitely deal in all the drama of the teenage world despite our MaGnIcEnT parenting...LOL...ha! But you know, what I mean, right? ...and the bickering:

Daughter:  "Just be quiet and get to work!"

Son:  "I want to be done!"

Daughter: "You won't get done unless YOU do the work!"

Son: "What TIME is school over?"

Daughter:  "Come on! I"m trying to do MY work!"

and sooo on..and on and on and on and on...it went...

Where's my aspirin?? LOL!

Well, we did finish today, and it was great~two experiments down in science, notebook/lapbook begun and ALL subjects delved into!! Oh yeah!  I really was rethinking homeschooling on Day ONE b/c cause my son threw such a fit...a huge fit...really didn't get in gear until I tweeked our schedule to give him some much needed parameters~he likes to be on a schedule and to SEE the end coming...oh boy! This is going to be a rough four years of high school!! But we did get through it, and he did ok..ok.

I'm loving our studies, though.  What we ended up with is this:

Math~ Review of PreAlgebra with Math Tudor DVD PreAlgebra I and I will need to get II...We're using this as a refresher bone up...and then moving on to Alg I...Teaching Textbooks Alg I.

Language Arts~We are doing a combo of things.  I am using Language Arts text McGraw-Hill for grammar. I am lecturing and doing dictation and exercises with them to teach note taking and grammar combo...along with writing exercises.  There are history/science essay assignments and short answer tests...we are focusing on writing this year AGAIN!  Vocb is a combination of things: using Vocabulary Cartoons SAT Word Power Vol 1 and Spell Quizzer software.  I am using the software by typing in the definition and having them type in the word FROM MEMORY...wow~it works!!

Science~Apologia's General Sci along with Knowledge Box Central's notebooking/lapbooking pages. These are NICE!!

History~This is turning out to be a hodge podge of things as I am attempting to give a complete history of the medieval world..beginning with Christ's resurrection and the early church as in the Book of Acts and going onward...Most of the Middle Ages studies begin around 100AD...I am beginning at 33AD...and focusing on the NT...so we are listening to Faith Comes By Hearing KJV NT dramatized Bible...this is awesome! And we are using The Kregal Pictoral Guide to Church History and the New Testament along with Story of the Middle Ages, Veritas Press history cards/work books (appropriate timeline parts), TruthQuest History, MOH2, The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History of the Church (900-1300), Streams of Civilization I and anything ELSE (LOL) I can find...to make it come alive...I have the Genevieve Foster books, World of Augustus Caesar, Columbus and Sons that I hope to read as well...I just believe Rome was such an important civilization and period of history that is relevant to our present world!  I am including geography as well~using Abeka's World Geography to round it out...whew!

Literature is taking on a life of its own~son is reading King Arthur and daughter is reading Foundlings.  I will add other works as part of our history/sci studies...

Son is doing Tell Me More Spanish, and daughter is using Tell Me More Japanese. Their new computers are making it sooo much easier to use AND have enable features they found difficult to use b/c of locked up and slow computer systems!! NEW computers really have been a blessing!!

Music~son is still doing trumpet and daughter the bass...

Drama~daughter is an actress and crew leader and son is on a crew.

Devotionals~daughter is reading One Minute Devotionals, and son is reading a new devo that I can't remember the name right now...ha! I'm fried!! LOL!

But WE ARE ON OUR WAY...now to do the intent and all the junk for the BOA...glad the printer's got ink~but I need some paper NOW LOL!!  It's ONLY beginning....ya think??

Friday Farmgirls at Heart~Chocolate Spoons and Fun!

Everytinhg I do is tied around being a farmgirl and country LOL~even though I'm a city girl!  Soo this past week I found myself making a cool treat for our ladies' missionary meeting.  AND I don't really LIKE chocolate~believe it or not! I prefer fruit flavors~haha!

Please go check out what the other girls who have the farmgirl heart are up to this week!

Here's some pics and the process as I go...UNFORTUNATELY I don't have a pic of the finished spoons in their wraps~I cut off the corners of some sandwich baggies to cover and tied them with raffia~our ladies' meeting was African themed~so the raffia added to that!

Supplies: Add wax paper and loads of trays to what you see.

Don't drool over that bowl of choc, ya'll LOL!










This was a fun and easy project, just took some time! What you see as the last pic is some of the coconut spoons. Daughter and I did red sugar sprinkles, candy sprinkles in fall colors, crushed peanuts(unsalted) AND coconut that you see here.  These were used to stir into hot coco AND coffee~they went over big! Enjoy your farmgirl heart and bless you too!