Friday, October 31, 2008

Warning about delsym Cough Syrup...

The active ingredient in Delsym, dextromethorphan, can cause hallucinations. At the very least, in it's proper doses can also, like it did my son, cause MAJOR night terrors. i am not sure if it was night terrors or hallucinations or both but the doctors said that this is what the highschoolers are now using to get high and make themselves have hallucinations.
It was really scary what hapened to my son.
I did not know that this was the new drug kids were using either! Man, it sure keeps changing, huh?
Ok, well, I though you might like to know.
it also has put a renewed vision in my mind of making sure anything that they could possibly get into, is put away.
Stay safe with our kids and meds.



The best book on homeschooling I have ever read!

The Heart of Homeschooling is the best book on homeschooling I have ever read. It is written by a home school father in the HSLDA, Christopher Klicka.
This book really gets to the heart of what parenting and homeschooling is really all about.
If you have ever wondered what the bible says about how our children should be taught, it is in here.
It teaches from every viewpoint. What the bible says about homeschooling, The husband, the father, the mother the home school teenager, the biblical worldview, understanding suffering in the midst of homeschooling, evangelism and homeschooling, etc..
This book is sooo good, I just can't tell you enough how much I love it. I have so many corners turned down so I can go back and read it again.
It will really help you to understand what the bible says about homeschooling and better equip you to tell others what the bible says and why you believe this way.
I have read a LOT of home school books and this is at the very top of my list!
Check it out, you will love it!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Scary Public School statistics...

These statistics are scary...

National Crime survey...
Shows that almost 3 million violent crimes and thefts occur on public school campuses each year.
This equals approximately 16,000 incidents per school day or 1 every 6 seconds.
The survey indicated that about 67 students of every thousand teenagers or 1.9 million are victims of violent crime, including rape, robbery, assault and murder each year.
The survey estimated that 1/3 of these crimes are not reported, making the actual figures much higher.

The Surgeon General...
expressed shock at the findings of a surveyof highschool students that revealed that nearly 20% of all girls and 40% of all boys that it was OK to force sex if a girl was runk.
Another survey showed around 500,000 U.S. teenagers in grades 7-12 habitually do binge drinking and that nearly 14% of the nations 8th graders are already binge drinkers.

In a federally funded study by the Guttmacher Institute, it was discovered that among 15 year olds, 33% of boys and 27% of girls were sexually active; among 16 year olds, 50% of the boys and 34% of girls were sexually active.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
did a school-based survey of risk behaviors of students in grades 9-12.
The study found that 18.3% carried a weapon and 7.4% were threatened or injured with a weapon on school property.
32.9% had property stolen or deliberatley damaged one or more times. They also found that the numbers of multiple homicide victims in public schools had tripled in the last few years.

A recent survey found that 1/3 of students entering college need significant remidial help in reading, writing and math.

And perhaps scariest of all is the fact that approximately 50% of christian youth walk away from Christ after they graduate from college.

I will leave you to think what you will of these statistics, but to me they are very frightening.

(This was taken from "The Heart of Homeschooling" by Christopher Klicka)

Want to know how to get your little boys to help around the house?

If you have little boys and want them to help around the house, try making them feel REALLY BIG to be able to do this job! LOL
If I ask my son to do a job he usually won't want to do it. But if I say something like" Do you think you are big enough to do a big, helpful job for Mommy?" He will usually say yes, and I will say "Are you sure you are big enough to do it?, Can you do it all by yourself?" "Wow, I didn't know you were big enough to do that big of a job!" LOL
But it works!
Flattery for men at any age works! Besides it make them feel good and important and helpful!
Try it! Good Luck!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Do you let others influnce your decisions?

Do you ever go against how you really feel because of how others make you feel about it?
Do you let the views of all your friends influence the decisions that you make for your own children?
I know that it is very hard to stand up in this world and take a stand for what is right.
It is really hard to say that your kids can't watch a certain t.v. show when you are at someone elses house and they want to watch something that you feel is inappropriate or to say sorry, no they may not play video games with your children or No, we do not do sleepovers.
You will probably be met with the enevitable, 'why not?"
Then you have to explain your position, meanwhile trying to make sure that what you say does not make the other person feel like you are judging them.
It really stinks to have to always be defending your choices but it is worth it.
You are the only one who knows your child and what is best.
I have had to make a LOT of hard decisions in my life, (and I am only 28) I feel like I am constantly having to defend my decisions or explain why I feel the way I do, and unfortunately this has ended up in the loss of friends and family sometimes.
It is so hard when others will not understand where you are coming from and that you have to protect your children.
In trying to protect my children, I have lost a lot, but nothing is more important than protecting your kids. You have to be very careful in what you allow in your childs life and who they make friends with.
Many times you make friends and then start hanging out and then find out you don't have much in common or you really don't want your kids influencd in a certain way that they be if they hang around that person.
It is better to take it slow in our friendships and get to know one another than have to end a friendship or live our lives trying to make excuses to not see them. This is not only stressful for you but it is unfair and dishonest.
Sometimes it is your own family that you are having problems with. You can't control how others raise their families and you can only teach your children what your family believes is right and wrong.
If it is a serious problem, you may have to remove your family from the situation. It is hard and no one really wants to stir things up in their family and if you have to, do try to be as loving as possible and not make it worse.
But do know that you have the resposibility to raise your children up for God, no one else.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

THE JOYS OF COPYWORK!

Does that sound like an oxymoron?
Yes, it does, but it is true!
I used to think that copywork was pointless. Even when I was reading all about Charlotte Mason, I didn't really see the point of copywork.
But as I go along in homeschooling I am seeing why this is necessary.
It is especially useful to the little ones who are just learning to write and spell. When they copy something they see it written perfectly and they will see how each word is spelled.
I have noticed with my 11 year old that she repeatedly spells some of the most simple words wrong, no matter how many times I tell her the correct way. But this is because she had seen it spelled wrong in the first place.
If she had been doing copy work from the beginning, then she would not have seen words spelled incorrectly.
It is so very hard to get over those mistakes.
Also, it is hard for children to think of things to write on their own until they get older. This is where narration really comes into play. I will write on narration another time.
When your little ones draw a picture, give them a sentence or two to copy onto the picture.
Did you know that you probably do copywork yourself?
Well, hmmm, let's see, Do you ever copy scriptures or poems or a quote that someone else has said that you found helpful? SEE??? LOL
Scripture is perfect copywork.
Start small. If you or your children want to copy a longer Scripture, just do a few sentences a day and add to it until it is completed.
The copy work will get longer as they get older.
When you do copy work though, you are not just copying. You learn grammar, spelling, punctuation, everything!
Copywork is the perfect way to learn language arts.
There is no need for grammar or writing books.
When the children get older, then you can teach all the grammar that they need to know one time. Yes, just one time. There is no need to teach grammar every day every year. Just wait until they are a little older and teach it once! teach it when they are old enough to remember it!
You can have copywork be a separate subject each day OR you can intertwine it into whatever you are already doing. If you are note booking in your history notebooks, have them copy a famous quote or speech or just something that they are learning about. Same goes for lapbooking!
We incorporate it into what we are already doing but we do also have scripture copy work daily also.
Just think how wonderful it will be when your children end up having a handwritten book of scripture?
It will be priceless.
I am doing this also. I do it along with my daughter in the mornings and add more to it in my free time.
We write on paper and then put it into page protectors and into binders.
When they get full enough, we will go and get them bound into books that we will be able to keep forever.
Make sure you store their copywork where it will be protected so that it doesn't end up ruined.
You could have them make a copywork notebook on any topic. What about a copywork book on famous speeches or quotes? What about a copywork book on any topic that they are really interested in?
make it special and make it into a book that they and you can treasure.
Let them make a handwritten book of scripture for grandparents or friends for christmas! They will treasure it.
Copywork eliminates spelling tests and grammar workbooks and writing lessons, etc..
This really simplifies your school day.
The time for these things are when your children are older. Don't rush them. They will get it and they will be better off.
If you have any questions on copywork, just leave a comment and I will try to answer it.
Have FUN!!

When Satan attack turn it around on him...

Wow, I sure am having a hard week.
I don't really understand what is going on.
I have really been working on my kids behavior and they had really improved and then all of a sudden BOOM, they are driving me crazy with their fighting ALL the time.
I don't even know what to do about it. I hear it and just close my eyes and ignore. it. I know that is not going to help, I just have had it.
The funny thing is, the more I read, the more I pray, the more I KNOW what I should do and how to handle it, the worse it gets. I know that my children are So precious, they are gifts from the Lord. I know what really matters, I know what is most important.
The harder I try to be a better mom it seems like the more Satan tries to hit me.
I feel like I am under attack.
I didn't even realize this until I started typing that this is Satan hitting me and trying to mess everything up so that we don't have the kid of family that God wants us to have.
Satan is really working hard right now in the world. he wants us all to be miserable or depressed or to feel like we just can't do it all or we are not good enough. Man, he is a LIAR.
He will try as hard as he can and we need to realize that and be on the defense of him. We need to be able to see that , hey, this is Satan here, this is not me. I am good enough, qualified enough, whatever it may be. God does not give us responsibilities and then hang us out to dry.
He does not leave us alone, but we do have to come to HIM. we can't just keep trying to do it by ourselves or we WILL fail. if we rely on Him though, we will make it through and we can make it through happily!
I was feeling so overwhelmed and even though I know how I truly feel, and it is not defeat, I was falling for the lie.
The more you understand what is really important and what you really need to do and how to parent your children or how to be a godly wife, the more Satan will hit you and say You can't do that. It is too hard. You will fail. He just wants you to crawl up in a ball and be depressed and leave the children to themselves, b/c he doesn't want your children to be raised up in a godly home.
We have to stand strong and do not allow him in our homes or lives. We need to get to he point to where he can't do this to us.
I will rebuke his lies and not let him get me down because if he does that affects my children and my husband and he loves it. But it is detrimental to my children if I am not being fully there and helping them to grow into godly children.
When these time come, just rely on God and what he says in scripture and we will make it through. Take these times to be learning opportunities to grow in whatever situation may arise. Come out of it stronger in faith and Spirit.
I will NOT let Satan get me down. I will rise up and rebuke him and grow stronger in whatever he is trying to bring me down in.
If he tries to attack me again, I will just grow stronger. Eventually he will want to give up because he will see that he is only making me stronger and that will defeat his purpose.
HA- Hows that ? Sounds good to me! LOL

Friday, October 24, 2008

WARNINGS - UPS COMPUTER VIRUS AND HALLOWEEN CANDY GOLD COIN RECALL...

I have been informed of these warnings and checked them out on snopes and they were tru, so I thought I would pass them along to you all...

New computer virus
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/ups.asp
The newest virus circulating is the UPS Delivery Failure. You will receive an email from UPS Packet Service along with a packet number. NOTE: The word packet is misspelled on this line. It will say that they were unable to deliver a package sent to you on such and such a date. It then asks you to print out the invoice copy attached. DON'T TRY TO PRINT THIS. IT LAUNCHESTHE VIRUS! Pass this warning on to all your PC operators at work and home. This virus has caused millions of dollars in damage in the past few days.

http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/coins.asp
With Halloween fast approaching comes a warning to parents and kidsregarding Sherwood brand Pirate's Gold milk chocolate coins imported fromChina.The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning the public not to eat,distribute or sell the candy. It is sold across Canada by Costco and mayalso have been sold in bulk packages or as individual pieces at variousdollar and bulk stores.The chocolate contains melamine which is the samechemical responsible for killing several babies in China, and sickeningthousands more.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Ok, I made a nice dinner for my family tonight and my 3 year old son said...

I made chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and green beans.
I set the food down in front of my kids and my 3 year old son said,
"What is this dog bone chicken stuff with dressing?" HAAAAAAAAA
It was chopped up with gravy on it, but where did he get the idea that it was dog bones and salad dressing? Ha-Ha
He is funny!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

How do you homeschoolers do your schedules?

I always seem to have trouble getting everything done everyday.
I am constantly trying to reschedule things around so that it will be easier but still incorporate everything needed.
What do you consider absolutely necessary and how do you incorporate them?
We do a LOT of notebooking and that takes a while. I do feel that it is best take the time and really learn the things instead of rushing through just to have done more.
I am onsidering doing scripture, copywork and math every day and then doing history, geography, science, grammar, nature journals once a week. We are also trying to do states and government a little since it is election time.
Do any of you do some subjects only once a week instead of trying to do them every day?
Thanks for your help!
Luv, Rodna

Guess where my 3 year old wants to have his birthday party?

AFRICA! How funny is that? LOL

Monday, October 20, 2008

How do I organize all those notebooks, paper, page protectors, etc..?





Ok, so your doing the whole notebooking, lapbooking thing and loving it But what do I do with all of the paper and page protectors and folders. etc..? When you are notebooking and lapbooking you have tons of paper and folders of all colors; great but once you open the package, you can't keep all the paper in right? And all of those notebooks, what am I supposed to do with them all?
So, what can we do that doesn't cost a fortune or involve putting up shelves? Well, what I did was to get a couple of sterelite crates! Yes, they are low price, perfect size for paper, folders, page protectors, picture paper, everything!
I took some pictures to show you what I mean. I love it because I don't have to have bookends or shelves to keep all of my notebooks up and my paper doesn't get scattered around or bent or torn!
I hope this idea helps you.
Good luck!!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Pilgrims Progress Give Away!

Photobucket http://www.angelfire.com/sc/anderklan/seasidetales/index.blog/1343095/october-giveaway-pilgrims-progress-allinone-curriculum/
Check out this website and get a chance to enter for a free giveaway for a Pilgrims Progress set!!!! Enter by Oct. 28th

2 Timothy 3:12-17

Yes, and all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Did you notice that this scripture says "and that from CHILDHOOD you have known the Holy scriptures"?
If our children are going to grow up to be wise for salvation, then we need to start from birth, or now if you haven't started yet. This says, "CONTINUE" in the things you have learned. In order to continue, you have to have already started and that's where we as parents come in.
We have to get our children off to the right start.
It is a big responsibility but that is what God tells us to do, and as parents, there is no more important thing that our children's salvation anyways.
I myself have not been able to always read our scriptures everyday, and I fall very short of being the kind of parent scripture tells us to be, but I can start new tomorrow and try to make this the priority that it should be.
Lets all try to implement more scripture into our daily lives with our children.
Our children are supposed to tie the scriptures around their necks, and most children won't just automatically read their bible every day, so we need to help them out!
If we read scriptures everyday to our kids then we also get some scripture, so if time is a big issue, then do it together!!!!
Good luck!!!

Friday, October 17, 2008

What is the first step to getting organized?

The first step to getting organized is actually your mindset! Surprised to hear that? Well, it is true! You have to make up your mind that you are going to declutter and get your life organized! Make a new motto "SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY"
In everything you do try to get rid of anything you do not truly need.
Try to make everything as simple as possible. The less items you have on top of your surfaces, the easier it is to quickly dust!
The less toys your kids have the easier it is for them to pick up their rooms.
The less everything you have, the easier everything will be!!! LOL
Try to simplify everything as much as you can and you will find that it is easier to maintain your home.
Good luck decluttering and simplifying!!!

Thanksgiving Lapbook on sale!

If you are thinking about doing a thanksgiving lapbook, Hands of a Child has theirs on sale right now! 25% off or 50% of if you are a super member!
I just bought it and it looks great! You can use the same lapbook for multiple grades! It is from pre-k - 8.

Do you really have the authority to choose whether or not to homeschool?

Think about this... If our children are gifts from God, and our children belong to him, and he gave us our children to raise for him, to raise up our children in the way they should go, to teach our children about him and how to live for him; If our children belong to God and he gave them to us as a blessing to raise for him, do we really have the right to hand them over to someone else to train?
Think about it...

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Pictures of my daughters Presidents Day Lapbook!











The Presidents Day lapbook was actually FUN!




My daughter did not really want to do this one because she thought it would be boring. She was surprised when she actually found it fun!


Check out the pictures of her lapbook! It is from Hands of a Child if you want to do it also!




Childrens bible studies

I have really struggled with doing bible studies with my 11 year old daughter. I have bought many different bible studies, spent too much money trying to find the best bible study and have come to the conclusion that all we really need is the BIBLE! Wow, what a realization, of course I only realized this after I spent too much money on bible curriculums and am now stuck with several different bible curiculums that we will never use...
The point is that all you really need to effectively teach your children about God and the bible is ...the Bible itself. Don't waste the time looking and the money wasted on a poor subtitute when you can use the real thing!!!!

LAPBOOKING!!!!

Do you love lapbooking???

I do too!!!

My favorite lapbooks are from hands of a Child. They have the lessons already done for you! All you have to do is pick a topic and print!
We have done several lapbooks from them and have enjoyed them all!
It makes learning some of the more boring topics fun!
I have a super membership, a lifetime membership! If you have a super membership, you get a FREE lapbook every month! This months is American Indians!!! You can get a super membership from anywhere from 2 months to lifetime!
I am not getting anything for posting about this company, I just really love it!

Big Sale On Lapbooks~

Hands of a Child is having a BIG sale!!! Check it out!

Save $3 off each of the All American Lapbook Project Packs listed below.
NO coupon code needed just add the unit in the format (eBook, Printed or CD) you prefer to your cart and you will have saved between 25% and 15%.

And that’s just for the basic members.
If you are a Super Member you will have saved an additional 15% on top of that for any eBook purchases.

But wait…
We Americans LOVE more ways to save RIGHT?
*Well, share this sale announcement on your blog and receive a $5 gift certificate towards any purchase during the month of October 2008.*

And you still want more RIGHT…
All shipped purchases over $30 receive a free gift with purchase ($1.50-$5.00 value)

Of course that’s NOT all!
Place a $60 order and receive our special
Meet the Candidates 2008 Project Pack eBook***
which includes more than 20 activities for you to Lapbook and covers both the Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates.
This unit will NOT be available for purchase!

And because we want to make this a sale you’ll be telling all your friends about, the corresponding Kit Packs and Answer Keys to these All American Units are 40%** off until Oct 31st as well.

Now how American is that?!!
So start spreading the word and get shopping!!! Then start Lapbooking of course!!
And for those big spenders out there, we’ll even throw in a Super Membership discount with all purchases over $80! Place an order over $80 and receive a $20 off coupon code good towards a 1 year Super Membership that you can use for yourself or pass along the savings to a friend.
(Valid towards renewal as well as new memberships!)

All American Units to Choose From:
· HOCPP 1254 Presidential Elections
· HOCPP 1032 American Government
· HOCPP 1105 September 11th, 2001
· HOCPP 1181 The American Civil War
· HOCPP 1061 The American Revolution
· HOCPP 1015 The Declaration of Independence
· HOCPP 1132 The United States Air Force
· HOCPP 1256 The United States Constitution
· HOCPP 1106 The United States Navy
· HOCPP 1238 U.S. Army: The Big Red One
· HOCPP 1104 Labor Day
· HOCPP 1149 Presidents’ Day
· HOCPP 1220 Presidents’ Day Fun

Great Resources on Christian Homeschooling and Parenting!

If you are a christian homeschool mom than you must check out Cindy Rushton! She is wonderful! She has TONS of books and audios to help you in your homeschool journey! She has monthly seminars that you can always listen to live for free! The topics range from homeschooling to Debt free living to romance...
She has helped me more than any other homeschool person or book ever has before.
Check out her websites. They are in my favorite websites list!

Beyond the Stick Figure Art School/ TOS Review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not requir...