School Time!

   What sort of people use their child (by means of their stroller) to steal from a christian bookstore? You would think that Lee wouldn't have much problem with theft as the manager of a Christian bookstore but he loses thousands each year through theft. The most ironic, is when someone steals a Bible! Lee has Bibles in the back that he could give out if someone truly was in need but apparently these sort of people don't "just" want the Word of God, they want it with a leather cover and study notes, etc. ;). Of course, whenever someone takes a Bible you have to figure they needed it, whether they thought so or not :).

   Anyway, all that aside, I am absolutely giddy!!! Most of Bri's and Tori's  books have come in and I am really enjoying going through them! We're still waiting on English (from Rod and Staff) and Bri's copybook (from Queen Home School Supplies). We do most of our subjects together, all except math, spelling/phonics, and English. I remember reading books like Little Women, Heidi and Anne of Green Gables to Bri when she was itty bitty and feeling kind of silly, asking myself, "How much can a three year old get out of these books?". Now I realize how instrumental they were in increasing her vocabulary and reading comprehension so I have Tori sit through most of our reading whether it is for history, science, or just a good book. I don't require the same kind of focus from Tori as I do from Bri yet, Tori is free to tend to her dolls or play quietly with blocks, etc. while I read. We are using Saxon Math again this year. I wasn't thrilled with it last year but it was all because of the format. When I got a chance to look at the fourth grade book this year I saw that the format was entirely changed from the third grade book and was actually exactly what I was looking for! So, I'm willing to give it another chance. For science we are using the new curriculum from Answers in Genesis. While we haven't officially started it yet, I have looked through it quite a bit and I would recommend to anyone to check into it, I can't wait to get started! I also ordered the new Zoo Guide from Answers in Genesis and that looks really fun as well. The girls are enamored simply by the pictures and we haven't even taken it to the zoo yet! It makes me think of Pa's "Big Green Book" mentioned in Little House in the Big Woods. We're continuing in Latin with "Latin's Not So Tough II" and I got Bri a spelling book this year because the whole "check it as you go" isn't working out, I think we need some structure there. I got the book Maidens of Virtue to use as a Bible curriculum this year along with our regular Bible reading, etc. and our history will also include a lot of Bible. For art we will be continuing with I Can Do All Things, published by How Great Thou Art, since we haven't gotten even halfway through it yet, the girls are always coming up with their own projects to do. We use the Mary Francis series for a Home Ec. base, as well as what comes up in the day to day. Music is another of those things that just happens around here. We love music and we have cassettes of classical music with the composers biographies scattered throughout and CDs with pure instrumental as well as CDs with hymns and other songs of worship.

    I also got a few books for me! I am currently reading A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot, what an enthralling book! Some of the things I've come across have really been confirming to me right now. On the other hand, like all of us lowly humans, you can see in this book that Amy had a spirit of flesh to battle just like the rest of us. A couple of the others are The Harsh Truth About Public School and Genesis of a Legacy. Plenty of good books to read, I am in my element!!!

     For now, I need to go get our paperwork sent in for our home school association membership, pay some bills, answer some emails, and write some "snail mail" letters :). All of those good books will just have to wait...

*Edited February 3rd, 2007 to add~ The spelling we used for Bri and the math/spelling we used for Tori were from Spectrum, they are such a good deal!
I'm not saying any of the following to be mean but I would not recommend buying from Queen's Home School supply. They took forever getting the copybook to us, it was also very poor quality for the price. Then we found they had sent us the wrong book (a sports theme instead of a lady theme) and they would not reimburse us the shipping cost to send it back even though it was their mess up. They also held our book "hostage" until they got the one they mistakenly sent, back. In the end they said they never received the book  back but that they would send our order "anyway", reluctantly, as if they didn't believe we had sent it back. The whole thing was odd. I suspect they aren't very organized and I was not impressed by their customer service.

The Downside to Digital Cameras

   It used to be that I could take two or three shots with my automatic camera (is that what it's called?) and one of them was bound to come out. Well now, if I don't get it the first time I'm out of luck because by the time I realize this one's eyes were closed or that one's making a funny face they have all moved and are now clambering at my feet saying, "Let me see!" or "Oh! I want to see" or (if they can't speak yet) "Uh, Uh!" :). And to add insult to injury I know that I didn't get it :)!!! Technology...can't live with it...glad I don't have to live without it...

It's not very comforting when...

...after feeling for Baby's position, etc., the midwife asks, "So, how big has your biggest been?".

Me: "8 pounds even."

(Side note: I love that Bri, our first, was born at eight pounds. The number eight symbolizes "new beginnings" isn't that cute?! Anyway, back to topic...)

Midwife: "Well, we'll have to wait and see, of course, but this one's looking like a big boy!".

Wow, you gals were right...

...boys are more difficult!!! This little one isn't even born yet and he's already lost a little blue bootie to the washing machine!

Ha!

Any ideas on how to clean peanut butter out of a toaster?

 Our 4 year old has been making toast for many months now. Today she forgot to toast the bread before she applied the peanut butter and without hesitation popped it into the toaster to correct her "blunder" :). She brought it to me with a look of deep consternation saying, "Mommy! My peanut butter boiled!!!".

   

A Little Friendly Banter

  Lee went to Advance Auto yesterday to pick up the fans that finally came in. He installed them before work this morning and they're working!!! Yeah! We can use the air conditioner in the car when we go to see the midwife on Wednesday :)!!!  We are done with all of that fun van stuff, hopefully for a good long time! Anyway, that was a bit of a side note. While he was walking into the store he passed two guys replacing a radiator:

Lee: Oh, I just had to do that too!

Guy #1: Ya? Well, were you three hundred miles away from home?

Lee: No, it was the day after I had my wisdom teeth pulled.

Guy # 2: Wellll....

Guy #1: Whoa! No really,  you win!!!

   He finally felt up for some "real food" last night so I finally got to make him the pumpkin pie that he sooo deserved :). You know, I never realized how much I love talking to my husband until we picked him up from the oral surgeon's office and he was in no mood for a long chat :). I kept thinking of something to say and then having to evaluate whether it was really necessary or not. I am so glad that's over, though I know I certainly got the better end of the deal! At least I could talk...and eat...and yawn... :).

Here's an Eye-Opener for You!

   What do the children in America's government school system have in common with the American POW's kept by the communist Chinese during the Korean War?

   Have you ever heard of Outcome-Based Education? How about Values Clarification? Cooperative Learning? Behavior Modification? These and other teaching techniques have all derived from the "Hegelian Dialectic", the method of mind control that was used by comparatively small groups of Communist Chinese to control large groups of American POW's, changing their very core values and even invoking sympathy toward communism in many of them.

   This is just one example given by the late Marlin Maddoux in his recent book, "Public Education Against America" of the lengths some will go to, to seduce our children into secular humanism and ultimately toward their final goal of a "socialized" one world government.

   This book is definitely an eye-opener and one I would highly recommend. As a home educating parent it was a great source of confirmation to me that I'm doing the right thing, and I think every parent with a child in the government schools needs to read this book, if only to be able to send them with an idea of what these little ones (and the not-so-little ones!) are facing.

 "The state has no more business running the schools than it has running the churches, and it has no more ground for financing education than it has for financing churches. What is needed badly is the disestablishment of the schools - the separation of school and state. "

-Rousas Rushdoony

"And all your children will be taught by the Lord;

and great shall be the peace of your children."

Isaiah 54:13