homeschool4life
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June Bookmarks, Journals, & Reading Logs
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/12/June-Bookmarks-Journals-Reading-Logshttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/12/June-Bookmarks-Journals-Reading-LogsThu, 25 May 2017 11:04:00 +0000
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
I can't believe that we are at the half-way point of the year! Wow! The kids are probably out of school, or maybe you're just taking a short break before you get started again.
We have created some great printables for you to brighten up your month of June. Here are the bookmarks, journals, and reading logs that we made just for you for the month of June. We hope that you enjoy them! To print them, just click on the pictures below.
Bookmarks
1/2 Page Journals
1/4 Page Journals
Older Elementary Reading Logs
(there are 8 in this set)
Younger Elementary Reading Logs
(there are 8 in this set)
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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The Typing Coach Review
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/24/The-Typing-Coach-Reviewhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/24/The-Typing-Coach-ReviewTue, 23 May 2017 11:56:17 +0000
Since typing is an invaluable skill to learn, I wanted both of my boys to work on this review forThe Typing Coach Online Typing CoursebyThe Typing Coach. Learning a new way of doing something can be a struggle, but I think that it makes you better in the end.
One of the things that I liked about this program is that it is an online program. I know that it's in the name, but I wanted to talk about how this worked for our family. You see, I have a laptop and then we have a laptop that both boys share for school related assignments. I don't like sharing my computer with the boys (I have to have something that's just mine, right?). I always feel like that mean kid at the sandbox who brings the newest and brightest toys, flaunts them, and then doesn't let anyone else even look at them. Maybe not that bad, but you get the idea. I do all of my work on my own laptop, which includes setting up all of the boys' school items. Since this course is an online course, I was able to set up both boys with their own user names and passwords and then bookmark them each so that when it was their turn to work through the lessons, all they had to do was go into the internet, then into their individual bookmark folder that I have set up for them, and type! I really liked that about this program!
Another thing that I liked about this program was that they played music on the audio while the student was supposed to be typing their lesson. My oldest wouldn't agree that this was a good thing, as he's kind of picky about his music, but I thought that it was a nice added touch.
I have to tell you that this program is different than most typing programs. Most other programs have you retype something that is already on the screen so that you get used to where the keys are without looking at your fingers on the keyboard.The Typing Coachtakes it a step further. They add in the skill of not looking at the screen while you are typing. That's hard, people! I've been typing for a long time. I remember taking a keyboarding class my freshman year of high school and that was a LONG time ago! I worked through a couple of typing exercises and it was difficult to have the screen dark so that I couldn't look at what I was typing. It really got me to focus on the letters on the page and where my fingers were at on the keyboard. I haven't even really focused that much on my fingers because I was always looking at what was on the screen. I think this improved my typing accuracy.
Our boys had mixed feelings about this program. Our oldest, 12, has done more typing than his brother, 7. He is a little bit faster and he was able to go through the lessons faster, but not as fast as he thought that he would.The Typing Coachfocuses on mastery skills - and - guess what? That takes time. Time is not something that either of my children like to take on anything other than video games.The Typing Coachforced him to sit and practice, a skill that is really important for him to learn. If you make one mistake on the "test", you can't move on to the next lesson. When they say "mastery", that's what they mean. This method, however, really improved his accuracy. He was dependent on the delete key (as I am), so this really forced him to focus on his accuracy.
When I had my 7 year old work through the same lessons as his brother, of course at a slower pace, he really had a hard time because it seemed as though the lessons were too fast for his little fingers to keep up with. I looked more deeply onto The Typing Coachwebsite and they offer slower paced lessons! I thought that that was so great to offer those, so I had our 7 year old work through those lesson. He found those to be too slow. Really? Too fast. Too slow. You just can't win sometimes, but I thought that this was a great option!
I am thankful that we were able to reviewThe Typing Coach Online Typing Programprovided by, none other than,The Typing Coach. Even though it was a struggle, it showed us some things that we need to be working on (like not using the delete key so much) to help us become more accurate typists in the future.
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Little Excavator - A Book Review
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/22/Little-Excavator---A-Book-Reviewhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/22/Little-Excavator---A-Book-ReviewMon, 22 May 2017 13:03:12 +0000
~ I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my own. ~
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Little Excavatoris such a cute book about being small. Little E, along with all of the big rigs, arrive at the work site to work for the day. There are so many jobs to do in order to get everything done. Little E tries so hard to work along side all of the big rigs, but he's just too small. They are all almost done with the project at the end of the day, but there is still one more job to do. There's a problem, though. Everyone is just too big for the last job - - - or are they?
This is a great book for all of those littles that you have at home. All little kids want to help, but a lot of the time they are just too small to do the jobs that need to be done. This is where we need to put our thinking caps on in order to teach our loved little ones that they are still important and can help out around the house.
If you would like to purchase this book for your own littles at home, or maybe you know a momma who could use this book, click on the picture below.
This is where chores come in. Our little ones can definitely help us out around the house, sometimes we just have to be creative. This is the time to teach them how to start doing things. If they can do little jobs now, they will be able to continue in their knowledge and ability in order to do bigger jobs later. Isn't this what education is all about? Starting with the basics and then building on that in order to learn more so that they will be able understand more in-depth concepts later.
Here are some basic chores that your littles should be able to do with a little teaching from you:
* Emptying small trashcans into the kitchen trashcan
* Folding washcloths
* Setting the table (be careful of knives!)
* Clearing the table (be careful of knives!)
* Get a snack for themselves
* Bring their dirty clothes to the laundry room
* Help you wash their clothes in the washer and dryer
* Putting away their own toys
* Making their bed
* Putting their shoes away
Do you see all that they would be able to do with a little help from you? Have them shadow you as you are doing your work around the home. Ask them to join in when you think that it is safe and appropriate. Maybe a job is too big for them. Can you break it up into smaller parts for them? For example, maybe they aren't able to set the entire table. They can, however, place the napkin under the fork. After they can accomplish that on their own, have them set the fork as well as the napkin and work up from there.
Read Little Excavator to your little ones at home and then talk with them about what jobs they can do!
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
We have a section about household chores that could help you with this in your own home!
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
Oh my goodness! When I saw that we would have the opportunity to try out and review Thin Stix 6pk of Classic ColorsbyThe Pencil Grip, Inc., I instantly thought of our (then) 7 year old (now he's 8). He really does love to do art projects (especially painting), but Mom doesn't like the prep or the mess.
Thin Stixis the answer to those problems! They are truly a mess free art product. I didn't have to get out the paint, bowls, paint brush, newspaper to cover the tables, or a water cup plus paper towels for clean ups! All he (notice how I said that he did it) had to do was to open the package and start "painting". The package came with the 6 paint sticks as well as a paper to draw a happy face on. The pamphlet also had some great ideas of how to use them. I love that! Especially with a new product, sometimes you're just not sure what surfaces that you can use it on. All of the guess work was already done.
Look below at what all comes in the package. He literally started right away without any other supplies!
Isn't he just the cutest?
He wanted to show off his happy face and be my little "Vanna White" in the process.
Now, of course he wanted to paint some more so all he needed to do was to go into the supply closet and get some more paper. That was it! There is no mess! There is no prep! I love it!
These look like markers, but they are actually paint sticks. I even touched one to see how they felt and they are like a solid stick of paint - with no mess. There was nothing on my finger when I touched it. Pretty cool, I think. They work really well, too! Look at how bright those colors are! We couldn't believe how great they are.
I guess I should explain something, here.. I am not a clean freak. My house is, as I call it, "lived in" and we try to keep things picked up. I don't mind some crumbs on the floor, dishes in the sink, or books on the bed. But, sometimes this mom just wants things simple. Do you know what I mean? We are busy people - homeschooling, raising children, learning, teaching, keeping up the home, grocery shopping, cooking, running a blog, cleaning, etc. I always have a ton of things on my to-do list that I check out when it comes to "the extras". I know that I shouldn't be that way (trust me - I'm working on it).
I am not a crafty person. I am not great at art and I'm not a huge project person, unless there is a purpose. This is NOT my youngest. He loves projects! He loves to get everything out (and leave it out) and he doesn't mind a mess. I need to do more of these types of "lessons" for him because he enjoys them and, frankly, he needs them. This is him. He is a kinesthetic learner and he needs to experience what he is learning. He likes the "fluff" and the "just to keep busy" projects.
When we got this product in the mail, our 12 year old instantly asked, "That's for him, right?" I chuckled and agreed, while our 7 year old was jumping up and down at the thought that it was ALL for him!
You know what? That made my day that this simple product could bring such joy to my son's heart. He loves theseThin Stix!The Pencil Grip, Inc.really nailed it with this product. What I love about these Thin Stix is that they can be used for anything! He can just do art projects if he wanted to OR we could use them for a project that he is already working on for school. I love the versatility of this product!
This product and other products like it are available atAmazonas well asToysRUs!
Guess What?!
One of you will be able to win one of these Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors.The Pencil Grip, Inc.is gracious enough to send one of you a set of these very cool paint sticks. How cool is that?
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Five Minute Fridays: Truth
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/19/Five-Minute-Fridays-Truthhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/19/Five-Minute-Fridays-TruthFri, 19 May 2017 13:28:24 +0000
Well, here we are again. It's Friday! I like Fridays because my husband gets off early. So we are here to do a little thing called "Five Minute Fridays" where we write about a given word for 5 minutes. There are others that do this as well and I know you'll love to read what they wrote as well, so I'll put the link below so you can go there - after you've read mine, of course.
Ok, so here it goes.
Truth. What is truth? Truth is relative - or so they say. I don't believe that's true, though. Truth is not relative. People say, "Well, your truth is your truth, and my truth is mine." That just doesn't seem right, does it? How can everyone have their own truth. If that's true, then nothing is truth.
What truth is based on is the Word of God. His truth is what we should be basing our lives on.
I think people get truth and perspective confused. We all have different perspectives in life because we all see life differently depending on what our experiences have been.
For example, I have stuttered all my life. I struggled in school with my stuttering because kids would make fun of me. As I got older and I was working at a furniture store, customers on the phone would ask to talk to someone who knew what they were talking about because I stuttered on the phone. Guess what? Each year that I taught in the public school, I always had a student who stuttered. I was able to help them understand what it was like, as well as help their parents understand.
So, could other people's truth be that all people who stutter just don't know what they are talking about or are confused with what words to say. Would that be true? No. Could my truth be that all people are mean? No. Those are the perspectives that we have, not truth.
Truth, like I said earlier, is God's Word. God's Word is truth. If we are questioning whether something that we hear is truth or not, go back to God's Word, the Bible, and check it out. You'll never go wrong!
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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Ladybug Girl's Day Out With Grandpa - Book Review & Printable Activity
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/10/Ladybug-Girls-Day-Out-With-Grandpa---Book-Review-Printable-Activityhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/10/Ladybug-Girls-Day-Out-With-Grandpa---Book-Review-Printable-ActivityThu, 18 May 2017 11:45:00 +0000
~ I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my own. ~
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Ladybug Girl gets to spend the entire day out with her Grandpa. What fun! Guess where he's taking her? They are going to the natural history museum. Oh, Ladybug Girl is sooo excited to learn "everything about everything". They see dinosaurs, bears, a blue whale, and, of course, butterflies! There is so much to see that she keeps jumping from one thing to another. Grandpa reminds her, "If you take your time and are still for a moment, you'll learn more."
What great advice for all of us, right? We all need to slow down a bit and enjoy what we have around us.
Click the picture if you'd like to purchase for your own home library
or a gift for a loved one!
Ladybug wanted to learn about so much at the natural history museum, but couldn't because there was just so much to learn. I have put together a printable for you all to help you and your child be able to learn more about the things that Ladybug Girl wanted to learn about. Just click on the picture below to print it out! Then all you need to do is go to the library and find books about each item, or look each item up on the internet, and fill out the chart. Great book for discussion and discovery together - just like Ladybug Girl and her Grandpa.
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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Captain Absolutely - A Book Review
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/11/Captain-Absolutely---A-Book-Reviewhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/11/Captain-Absolutely---A-Book-ReviewWed, 17 May 2017 11:48:00 +0000
My boys LOVE comic books. Almost every time we go to the library (just about every week) they pick up more comic books. Did I mention that they love comic books? I wasn't sure so I wanted to make sure that you knew that. (LOL) Anyways - when I heard about this comic book fromFocus On The Family, I knew that I just HAD to get on the review for it. Imagine our excitement when it came in the mail! I barely gotCaptain Absolutelyout of the package before my 7 year old grabbed it!
This is a great comic book for kids of all ages. Hey! I even loved it. I was finally able to read it (last by the way) and I just couldn't put it down. Before I get to all of that, let me tell you a little about it.
Josiah King is a librarian who was at the library late one night with his friend, Darren Gray, straightening books while updating the computer system - the dreaded Dewey Decimal System. An accident happens in which both of them get blown to different parts of the library: Josiah landed in the hidden room where they were hiding all of the Bibles, while Darren got thrown into the philosophy section. This night changed their lives forever - and how they saw the world.
Josiah turned intoCaptain Absolutelywho stood for truth - God's truth. Darren turned into Dr. Relative who believes that there really is no absolute truth.
My 7 year old grabbed it first and went through it that night. (I had to get him to come back with it so I could at least take a picture of him with it.) I'm not sure if he actually read all of the words, so I don't think that he grasped all of the Biblical ideas in it, but that didn't stop him from enjoying it. He said that the Bible verses were his favorite part of the comic book.
Now, my 12 year old had seen parts of this in hisFocus On The FamilyClubhouse Magazine. Their Great Grandma has given this to them as a gift for years and they just love getting it in the mail! He said that they have put parts of it in his magazine, so he was already familiar with it, but he never saw the beginning. I asked him what his favorite part was and he said it was the beginning because now he knows how he becameCaptain Absolutely! Yes, that's him in the picture above. He brought it to the breakfast table and kept right on reading. I love it!
Back to what I was saying earlier about not being able to put it down! I decided to read through it so I would know what they were reading and because I, too, enjoy comic books. I connected to the characters and wanted to know what would happen next. The best part, to me, was all of the Biblical references that were placed there. They seamlessly weaved Biblical truth and verses into the conversations that were happening. Very cool!
This book is just wonderful! It is packed full of Biblical truth AND Bible verses! After I completed reading the book, I knew that I HAD to do something with all of those Bible references. So I put together Bible verse cards that show all of the Bible references that were in the book. I wanted my boys to be able to read what the verse was and to understand how that fit into the story.
I wanted you all to have them too, so I have linked them below. Just click on the picture and you will be able to print these. I pray that they are a blessing to your family.
Captain Absolutelyis a wonderful comic book fromFocus On The Family. I would highly recommend it for kids of all ages, even if you need to sit down and read it with them. I think that all ages could go through this and learn various Biblical truths and verses as well as understand what it means to defend the truth of God.
Do you homeschool? Then Only Passionate Curiosity'sHomeschool Rescueis for you. We were able to review this item and it really has helped me to focus back on what's important. This program is for the new homeschooler as well as the veteran. It's for if you have 1 child that you are homeschooling or if you have 16 (as one mom is talked about in one of the lessons - yikes!) Homeschool Rescue is for every single homeschooling family.
Homeschool Rescueis an online program for homeschooling moms - like us! It is split up into modules which are filled with lessons for you to go through at your own pace. I really liked not feeling pressured to get through the lessons, but to work through them when I could during my own free time. Now I know what you're saying, "What free time?" We all have some free time during our days or week, we just need to find out when that is. Actually, that is one of the lessons thatHomeschool Rescuegoes through.
Specifics of the Program:
* This is an online program that, once you purchase it, you have lifetime access to it. That means that you can take as long as you need to get through it. You can even revisit it again and again, if needed. You also will have access to any new modules or lessons that they add along the way.
* The program is split into modules which, in turn, are split into lessons.
* Each lesson has an audio to listen to while there are slides on your screen to watch as you listen.
* Each lesson has "homework" printouts along with many resources available to print or look up.
* There is a private Facebook group only for the Homeschool Rescue members. This is a great place to ask questions, get advice, and find accountability partners.
This program is a treasure trove of information that even the most seasoned homeschool family can find helpful tips on how to improve their homeschool. This program is about homeschooling, but, as we all know, homeschooling is a way of life and that life is what gets hard sometimes. The lessons that are in Homeschool Rescue really point to all areas of life, not just the "schooling" portion. They go through learning styles, schedules, time management, organizing your homeschooling space (and house), as well as how to deal with behavior issues, cleaning lists, and getting your kids more involved in taking care of the home. People who don't homeschool don't realize what all goes into homeschooling and this program helps with it all.
One of the lessons that I went through asked me to have a "meeting" with each of my kids about their schooling. This is something that I usually do, but this class gave me a printout to be able to take notes and to make sure that I covered everything. I have to be honest that I was surprised at the results. I thought that the math program that I used with my 7th grader at the beginning of the year was great and felt guilty for not spending the money to purchase the next level. After talking with him about it, he didn't like it. He said that it had too many pictures and he likes a simpler version of math to just "get it done" (in his words). I was shocked! I thought it was great, but I'm a visual learner, so pictures are helpful. For my auditory learner, the pictures were distracting. So, going through this lesson really helped find that out!
There is even a lesson that goes through how to teach teens. Now, I won't have an official teen until July, but this module was very helpful to listen to. He has grown up so much this year and has really matured. I was already thinking that I needed to change up how we do school for him and have him be more accountable for his own learning. Homeschool Rescue reassured me that I was on the right track and was able to give me some tools and advice in order to help him to succeed.
The biggest thing (or maybe it's the smallest) that I learned throughout this programs is "Don't sweat the small stuff"! This was repeated over and over. For people like me, that's necessary. I am one of those rule followers and I get bogged down with plans (that I've made). I needed to hear that my plan is not the boss - I am. I am in charge of my homeschool. I am in charge of my children's education. Even though those are daunting responsibilities to think about, it also gives me the freedom to educate our children the best way that I see fit. Homeschool Rescue gave me the confidence in my own abilities in order to continue on this path that we've chosen.
To tell you the truth, this year in our homeschool, we have struggled. I struggled. My kids struggled. We all struggled! You see, we made a huge life move last August. My husband switched careers, after 16 years in the same field, and we moved (AGAIN). We are now by family, which is great, but life completely changed for us. On top of all of that, our oldest started 7th grade, which was an entirely new animal for us. As well as him starting a higher level of school, he was going through changes - LOTS of changes. All of this to say that it has been a year of struggles and trying to figure out where we all fit in and how we need to "do school" in our new life. I was frustrated and feeling down about my abilities in order to teach my children and to continue on this path.
Homeschool Rescue- came to my rescue. I have to be honest - none of the information was earth shattering for me. They are practical teaching and parenting tips that I knew already - but wasn't necessarily practicing. I needed that push and "kick in the rear" to remember what I know and how to put it into our homeschooling life. After completing the courses, I am now excited to start again after a break for summer (and moving again).
I can tell that this will be something that I will continue to reference back to. I think Only Passionate Curiousity'sHomeschool Rescuewill be one of those references that continue to be used - year after year.
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How Homeschooling Can Continue During a Break or Vacation
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/10/How-Homeschooling-Can-Continue-During-a-Break-or-Vacationhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/10/How-Homeschooling-Can-Continue-During-a-Break-or-VacationMon, 15 May 2017 16:21:15 +0000
I'm guest posting over at theHomeschool Review Crew'sblog today! Here's a snippet of what I'll be talking about.Click on over to their site to see the entire post.
We all need a break sometimes, don't we? Us homeschooling parents seem to be "on" all of the time between teaching our kids, and having our kids with us all of the time, sometimes we just need some down time.
Our kids need that too. Their brains need time to rest and recharge just like ours do.
So, how can we continue to homeschool during a break? And should we, even?
Well, as I think most of you would agree, that homeschooling is a way of life. It's the lifestyle that we have chosen for our family. That means that we already understand that our kids are learning all of the time, not just when they are at the kitchen table completing a math lesson. Our kids are even learning while baking cookies (check out this post to see what they're learning)!Life itself is educational.
Click on over to theHomeschool Review Crew's blogto check out the great ways that the learning can continue, while you all take a good break from the "formal" schooling.
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Five Minute Fridays - "Mom"
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/12/Five-Minute-Fridays---Momhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/12/Five-Minute-Fridays---MomFri, 12 May 2017 12:50:48 +0000
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Well here we are again doing another five minute Friday writing session and the word today is "Mom". This time I'd better set my timer. Hold on a sec...Ok and go.
My mom. What can I say? She's the greatest! She cheers me on when I'm trying something new. She comforts me when something went wrong. She supports me in my endeavors, especially with my kids. It's wonderful to be able to chat with her about struggles I'm having with raising kids (after all she raised 4!). We have the same tastes and likes and we just genuinely like to spend time with each other.
Being a mom - well this is another story. No, not really. I really do love being a mom - especially a homeschool mom. I really feel that homeschooling has given my children and I an opportunity to get to know each other and enjoy each other's company. Do we always get along? Nope - not a chance. Do I envy the yellow school bus going by? Sometimes. But, I wouldn't change my job as a mom for anything!
My oldest (12) was asking me the other day what the big deal was about getting married and having kids. You know - I couldn't really explain it to him. You really don't understand it until you have it. Then you wonder how you ever lived without being a mom. I tell my kids that I did have a life before them, but it's really hard to remember THAT life.
Mom - I love you and I appreciate everything that you have done for us. You are an awesome Grandma, too!
---and time is up!
You now what, guys? You know my mom. She's Grandma Edie ofGrandma's Reading Corner. She loves kids and loves to read books to them, so when we started this blog together, we made a special place to do what she loves - reading books to kids, your kids, on video! Go on and check out her very own tab on the top! There are tons of books on there that she has read so far - and we're adding more all the time.
Better yet! Go and subscribe to ourYouTube Channelso you get notifications when we add new videos.
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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Book Study - Chapter 12: Esther A Woman of Strength & Dignity
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/05/Book-Study---Chapter-12-Esther-A-Woman-of-Strength-Dignityhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/05/Book-Study---Chapter-12-Esther-A-Woman-of-Strength-DignityFri, 12 May 2017 11:43:56 +0000
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Well, here we are. Chapter 12 of our book study of Esther: A Woman of Strength & Dignity. Thank you for taking time out of your day to go through this study with us. We will be traveling to Persia in our adventure and we will see what life was like in the days of Esther.
Click below if you'd like to purchase the book that we will be going through. You will need it in order to get the most out of the book study. If you don't have the book, how do you do a book study? Hmm? There is a "real life" book version as well as a Kindle version. Your local library might have it as well.
Here's Chapter 12. This is the last chapter of this book! Click on the picture below to print out this chapter's Bible study.
Clickhere for the landing pagefor this book study. This link will lead you to all of the other sections of this book as they are posted.
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
A boy and his dragon have all kinds of fun outside during Spring.
Come and listen to Grandma to find out what they do!
If you would like to purchase this book for your own home library, click below!
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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Strawberry Shortcake: A Fresh-n-Fruity Spring - Grandma's Reading Corner
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Grandma Edie
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/03/Strawberry-Shortcake-A-Fresh-n-Fruity-Spring---Grandmas-Reading-Cornerhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/03/Strawberry-Shortcake-A-Fresh-n-Fruity-Spring---Grandmas-Reading-CornerWed, 10 May 2017 11:17:00 +0000
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Orange Blossom is a little over-worked with all of the flower deliveries that she had to complete. After she mixes up a few orders, her friends are there to help!
Come and listen to Grandma read all about this great Strawberry Shortcake book about Spring.
Click on the picture below if you'd like to purchase this book for your own home library!
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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Guess How Much I Love You - Grandma's Reading Corner
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Grandma Edie
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/03/Guess-How-Much-I-Love-You---Grandmas-Reading-Cornerhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/03/Guess-How-Much-I-Love-You---Grandmas-Reading-CornerTue, 09 May 2017 11:27:00 +0000
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Classic book about how much a parent and child love each other. Try not to cry while you read it to your kids.
Better yet, let Grandma read it to your kids while you stand in the back with a cup of tea and a tissue.
Click the picture below to purchase this great book for your own home library.
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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NOPE! - A Book Review
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/03/NOPE---A-Book-Reviewhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/03/NOPE---A-Book-ReviewTue, 09 May 2017 11:10:00 +0000
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
What a great book, especially with Mother's Day right around the corner! This book is great for children of all ages (and their moms). It doesn't have many words, but a ton of pictures - almost like a comic book.
Summary of the Book
This book is about a mother bird trying to get her baby bird to fly for the first time. The baby bird is scared and doesn't want to do it, so the baby keeps telling their mama, "Nope!" The baby looks out of the nest on to the ground and their imaginations gets the best of them, all the while the mama keeps pushing them to fly.
My Favorite Part
My favorite part of the book is when the baby bird says, "Nope!" in 4 different languages. This would be a great discussion on languages, what languages he speaks, and maybe how to say other phrases in other languages.
Application
This book is great to reassure us moms who are unsure of our parenting skills. We are mostly unsure of them because the world is telling us conflicting methods about how to raise our children. But, deep down, we know what is best for our kids and what their potential is. This mama bird knew that her baby bird could fly and so she was pushing her baby bird out of the nest. This reminds me of "tough love" - doing things that may make our children uncomfortable, or even mad sometimes, in order to get them to do something that we know they can do.
Many years ago, we were gifted a new bunkbed from my in-laws. The boys were so excited! They both wanted the top, but we decided it was best for our oldest to have the top as our youngest was still very young and was already falling out of their bed (that wouldn't be good to fall out of the top of a bunkbed). Well, our oldest climbed right up to the top and was happy, until he wanted to come down. He wanted us to help him down. Hmmm. Nope! He needed to learn how to use the ladder in order to come down - as I was not going to be doing that for him every time he needed to come down. I showed him. I explained it to him. I encouraged him. Finally, I decided to leave the room because nothing was working. He got so mad! He was yelling and crying. Finally, he got so mad at me that he climbed down on his own. Success! Not the way that I desired it to happen, but he needed to get mad enough at me in order to do what I knew that he could - all by himself.
Activities
Babies & Toddlers
* Go through the book with your child
* Discuss what's going on in each picture
Preschool
* Go through the book with your child
* Have them tell you what is happening in each picture
* Ask them how they would feel if they were the baby bird
Kindergarten - 1st Grade
* Have them go through the book on their own
* Have them tell you what went on in the story
* Have them discuss how they would feel if they were the baby bird
* Ask them what their favorite part of the story was
2nd Grade - 3rd Grade
* "Read" through the book on their own
* Have them tell you what the story is about
* Have them discuss how they would feel if they were the baby bird and/or the mama bird
* Ask them what their favorite part of the story was and why
* Ask them to tell of a time that they felt like the baby bird
4th Grade - 6th Grade
* "Read" the book on their own
* Write a book report answering the following questions/statements:
~ Write a summary of the story
~ How would you feel if you were the baby bird
~ How would you feel if you were the mama bird
~ What was your favorite part of the story and why
~ Tell of a time that you felt like the baby bird
7th Grade - High School
* "Read" the book on their own
* Draw their own picture book about a time that they felt like baby bird
Click below if you would like to purchase this book for your own home library!
Other Posts That You May Enjoy
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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Five Minute Friday - "Should"
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/06/Five-Minute-Friday---Shouldhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/05/06/Five-Minute-Friday---ShouldMon, 08 May 2017 11:25:00 +0000
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Some of my fellowReview Crewmembers are a part of this "Five Minute Friday" link up. I usually look through some of their posts and think - yeah, but I wouldn't know what to say. That sounds weird coming from a blogger, right? But, usually I write about what is on my heart and mind. I'll make a printout for our kiddos or come up with an activity for your littles to do.
Then, they shared what the word for this week is going to be - Should. My mind started to race with thoughts of all of the things that I "should" do.
I Should:
* do the laundry
* write more posts
* make breakfast
* clean the bathrooms
* make my bed
* play a game with my youngest
* serve my family
Should...should...should
That's how my life seems to be run - on what I should do. As a preacher's wife, my life was run by what I "should" be doing for the church and the people of the church. Teach Sunday School because they are short teachers. Teach Jr. Church because they are short teachers. Teach Wednesday night kids classes because, yep, you guess it, they are short teachers. Lead the Women's Ministry. Clean out the supply cabinet. Decorate the room. Call this person to encourage them (I'll have to tell you later why this is such a huge issue for me). Do this - Do that. Do...do...do for others. Everyone had expectations for me for everything that I SHOULD be doing.
That's not what I want, though. I don't want to go-go-go and do-do-do.
This is what I SHOULD be doing. I need to just "be". I need to sit at His feet and let my God do.
As I come to find out, what I actually "should" be doing is actually what I want to be doing! Throw aside people's expectations and follow Him.
Other Posts That You May Enjoy:
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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Book Study - Chapter 11: Esther A Woman of Strength & Dignity
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/27/Book-Study---Chapter-11-Esther-A-Woman-of-Strength-Dignityhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/27/Book-Study---Chapter-11-Esther-A-Woman-of-Strength-DignityFri, 05 May 2017 11:58:00 +0000
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Well, here we are. Chapter 11 of our book study of Esther: A Woman of Strength & Dignity. Thank you for taking time out of your day to go through this study with us. We will be traveling to Persia in our adventure and we will see what life was like in the days of Esther.
Click below if you'd like to purchase the book that we will be going through. You will need it in order to get the most out of the book study. If you don't have the book, how do you do a book study? Hmm? There is a "real life" book version as well as a Kindle version. Your local library might have it as well.
Here's Chapter 11. This is a great chapter reminding us to celebrate events in our lives! Click on the picture below to print out this chapter's Bible study.
Clickhere for the landing pagefor this book study. This link will lead you to all of the other sections of this book as they are posted.
Other Posts That You May Enjoy
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information. It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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The Little Butterfly - Grandma's Reading Corner
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/26/The-Little-Butterfly---Grandmas-Reading-Cornerhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/26/The-Little-Butterfly---Grandmas-Reading-CornerThu, 04 May 2017 11:17:00 +0000
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Is your family growing your own butterflies? Are you learning about the life cycle of the butterfly? Then this book is for you!
This book walks your children through the entire process of the life cycle of a caterpillar to a butterfly. It uses real pictures - which I love!
Click on the link below and have your children listen to Grandma as she reads this great book aloud. Then check out the picture of the book below to purchase it for your own home library!
To purchase this book, click below!
Other Posts That You May Enjoy
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information. It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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Mother's Day Gift Idea
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/26/Mothers-Day-Gift-Ideahttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/26/Mothers-Day-Gift-IdeaWed, 03 May 2017 11:24:00 +0000
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
To celebrate my mom's birthday today, Grandma Edie, I wanted to post an easy Mother's Day gift idea for you all!
Can you believe that Mother's Day is coming up so soon? I know that most of you are probably homeschooling moms reading this, so it seems a little strange giving out a Mother's Day gift idea to you all.
Maybe you are a part of co-op where this might be handy or even a Sunday School class or church even. This really is great for any of those women in your children's lives that have really helped you in guiding them.
It's really simple. Just print these bookmarks out on card stock. Cut them out. Buy some silk flowers and tape the bookmark to the flower. Or maybe you find a great little book or pen that would be cute to give out with the bookmarks. Make it your own and have fun celebrating the women in your children's lives.
Other Posts That You May Enjoy
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information. It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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ArtAchieve - Entire Level I Review
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/28/ArtAchieve---Level-1-Reviewhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/28/ArtAchieve---Level-1-ReviewTue, 02 May 2017 12:48:26 +0000
I have to tell you that our 2nd grader was thrilled to be able to use
ArtAchieve'sEntire Level I
for the past few weeks! He loves to do art, but this Momma isn't so great at it, so this was a wonderful resource to have.
This program is a unique one, in a good way. I thought that it was more than just an art class. They show you what state learning objectives that they are working on as they complete each lesson. I don't follow the state objectives, personally, but I think that it's interesting to know what skills they will be learning (I think it's the ex-public school teacher in me). They don't stop with just art, though. Each of the items that they draw are from actual pieces art or architecture. For example, the drawing of the bug that my son is holding up in the picture above, is actually from one of these:
Cool, right? I love that these are actually pieces from their journeys throughout the world. Speaking of that,ArtAchieve actually gives you Cross Curricular Connections for the pieces of art. For example, when I was going to have my son work on drawing the Chinese dragon, he was able to see pictures of actual Chinese dragons while they talked about them. I have to tell you - this was my son's favorite lesson!
Also, when he was going to draw the Hungarian insects, they taught him about insects! Science and Art! Wonderful!
Look at those smiles! YES! This was the first full lesson that he did that created a project. I say it that way because he worked through Lesson 1 which was actually a lesson on the 6 different types of lines: straight, an oval, a curve, a dot, an angle, and a wavy line. The lesson explained that if they could draw those six lines, they could draw anything! That was reassuring to my novice artist (and to his un-artistic mother).
Here's how these lessons work:
* There is a warm-up page for each lesson. This is a great page to print out for your child to work on. My son didn't like doing these pages because he wanted to just jump into the "real" picture. I felt like these were important for him to work through as they "broke up" the larger picture into smaller parts.
* Then there is the printout of what they are going to draw. I have to tell you that I love this because, especially at this level of ability, "we" need something to look off of. As we were going through the lessons, I would point to this page to the part that he was to draw next to put it into context for him.
* There are PowerPoint presentations of the lessons or a Video! I always love a choice!
Before you go through the lesson, they have you do a "calm down" procedure where they have you rub your hands together until they are warm and them hold them over your eyes to relax. They remind you that you can do this whenever you feel like you need it throughout the lesson.
Grandma Edie even got in the act one day!
He thought it was so cool to be able to do his art class with Grandma!
I have to tell you, that they go over a few "rules" of art before each and every lesson. Here are what they are:
My favorite rule is #5! That means that my drawing is as good as one done by Leonardo DiVinci? Right? Just Kidding!
Here are some more pictures of some of the projects that he was able to complete!
I got in on the act for this one! I guess I didn't do too bad.
I have to be honest, though. There were still tears that fell during some of the lessons. Sometimes his 7 year old hand wouldn't do what he wanted it to do or what he saw in his head, and that's frustrating! That was when I knew that it was time to stop for the day and that he had too much. Sometimes, though, he wanted to keep going. For example, the teacher uses a black Sharpie marker to draw with. That didn't work for us. It was easier for our son to manipulate a pencil to draw with. No biggie!
Anyways! I really enjoyed being able to go throughArtAchieve'sEntire Level I with our 2nd grader and he liked it too! We might be looking into getting the next level of lessons for next year.
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Go Sleep in Your Own Bed - Book Review
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/27/Go-Sleep-in-Your-Own-Bed---Book-Reviewhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/27/Go-Sleep-in-Your-Own-Bed---Book-ReviewTue, 02 May 2017 11:15:00 +0000
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Having trouble with someone not sleeping in their own bed?
Want a fun bedtime story?
This is the one for you!
It's time to go to sleep on the farm, but no one is sleeping in their own bed. This is a great predictable book that will have your little ones laughing all the way to their own bed!
Click below if you'd like to purchase this book for your own home library!
I've put together a great little printable activity to go along with this book. Just click on the picture below, print it out, and cut out each of the squares.
As you are reading the story, you can have your child find the picture of the animal (or girl) that is being talked about.
After the book, have your child sequence the cards from memory of how the animals are mentioned in the book.
Other Posts That You May Enjoy
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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I'm Silly - A Book Review
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/28/Im-Silly---A-Book-Reviewhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/28/Im-Silly---A-Book-ReviewMon, 01 May 2017 11:14:00 +0000
~ I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my own. ~
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
My boys LOVE comic books! That's what first got our oldest son interested in reading! Comic books were literally our hero (if books could be heroes).
I know how some people feel about comic books.
"They're not actual books."
"The kids aren't really reading."
"They're just full of pictures."
"They're not going to want to read any REAL books if you let them read comic books."
Have you heard any of these complaints about comic books? Well, I have. When I was teaching in the public schools, teachers would say these things all the time.
I don't agree! I think comic books are a great source of reading material. I used to love reading comic books when I was younger!
As a teacher, I didn't mind kids reading comic books. (As long as the subject material was appropriate - there are some not-so-nice comic books out there!) It got my struggling readers interested in reading because it wasn't all full of words and intimidating to them. They could use the pictures to deduce what was going on.
As a mother, I don't mind my boys reading comic books, as long as that's not all that they are reading. Trust me, my boys have a wide range of reading interests, but they still love their comic books.
All this to say, that I love this book by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm! It's a "My First Comics" board book for babies and toddlers. You read that right. A comic book for toddlers!
Tizzy Tornado is having fun, well, being a tornado. She does some things to her friends, who don't find her so silly. This book is great because it goes through multiple feelings that your baby or toddler can relate to. The pictures are great and easy to follow.
Go check this out at your local library or if you'd like to purchase it, just click on the picture below.
Other Posts That You May Enjoy
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
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Book Study - Chapter 10: Esther A Woman of Strength & Dignity
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/27/Book-Study---Chapter-10-Esther-A-Woman-of-Strength-Dignityhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/27/Book-Study---Chapter-10-Esther-A-Woman-of-Strength-DignityFri, 28 Apr 2017 11:20:00 +0000
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Well, here we are. Chapter 10 of our book study of Esther: A Woman of Strength & Dignity. Thank you for taking time out of your day to go through this study with us. We will be traveling to Persia in our adventure and we will see what life was like in the days of Esther.
Click below if you'd like to purchase the book that we will be going through. You will need it in order to get the most out of the book study. If you don't have the book, how do you do a book study? Hmm? There is a "real life" book version as well as a Kindle version. Your local library might have it as well.
Here's Chapter 10. Have you ever had anything wrong done to you? Of course you have. We all have. This chapter helps us through this. Click on the picture below to print out this chapter's Bible study.
Clickhere for the landing pagefor this book study. This link will lead you to all of the other sections of this book as they are posted.
Other Posts That You May Enjoy
Have you printed our book, yet? What are you waiting for?
It's 50 pages full of homeschooling information.
It's a FREE and Printable resource that is great for any homeschool.
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Do you ever feel like your life is out of whack? I mean, you just can't put your finger on what's going wrong? You mentally go through everything that you are doing and they are all good and/or necessary, but it still seems as though you are running around like a chicken without a head.
Well, your life may be out of balance.
If our family had a word that we try to model our life after, it would have to be "Balance". We are constantly talking about having balance in life and how it is so easy to get out of balance. We need to have a balanced life of family, friends, school, work, faith, fun, etc. It all needs to balance out in the end. If we work too much, we aren't getting enough fun time. If we are doing too much together school work, we aren't having enough individual time. You get the idea.
Trying to find balance in my life is like trying to hit a moving target. Once I think that I have it, something else happens to throw it off-kilter. It seems like it is constantly changing. Will everything ever be perfectly balanced? No Way! But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't strive for that.
What do you spend your time doing? As part of myFREE printable book, Homeschool Basics, I created this simple Average Weekly Schedule printout. Once you have printed it out, by clicking on the picture below, go ahead and fill it out. See where you spend your time. Is your life out of balance? Are you spending way too much time at social events and not enough time at home chilling out with your family?
As we are moving towards summer, this is a great time to work on getting our life into balance. Will you have seasons where you need to spend more time on one area of your life more than the others? Of course. Moving? Yep, takes a lot of time. Sick child or parent? Yep. Family vacation. Of course! Struggling with one child over another. This happens and you need to spend more time with that child for now. But these seasons won't last forever.
As you are making decisions about your schedule and life, keep the word "Balance" in mind. Will you have to say "No" to a fun event? Probably, if your family needs you. Will you need toput aside the curriculumin order to be there for your teenager who has questions? Yes!
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
May is coming and that means it's time for new bookmarks, journals, and reading logs!
To print them, just click on the picture! Have fun!
Bookmarks
1/2 Page Journals
1/4 Page Journals
Older Elementary Reading Logs
(There are 8 pictures to choose from)
Younger Elementary Reading Logs
(There are 8 to choose from)
Other Posts That You May Enjoy
Have You Seen Our Book?
It's a 50 page FREE and Printable book all about Homeschooling Basics. It includes curriculum choices, scheduling, and budgeting among so much more! Just click on the picture below to print it!
** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
What exciting things does Spring have in store for you?
Come and listen to Grandma as she reads this engaging rhyming book about Spring.
If you'd like to purchase this book for your own home library,
click on the picture below:
Other Posts That You May Enjoy:
Have you printed our FREE 50 Page book on Homeschool Basics? This book includes curriculum, budgeting, scheduling, and more! Go print yours today!
We have thoroughly enjoyed Drive Thru History®–“The Gospels”this Easter season. This is such a great DVD series that "drives" us through the life of Jesus.
To be honest, my boys don't get excited or even ask for any sort of school usually. NOT SO with Drive Thru History®–“The Gospels”! They looked forward to this each and every morning of school. After we were finished watching the first episode and went through the discussion questions, they asked if we could watch another episode. WHAT?! Of course we did! I love that this really connected with both of my boys at their own levels (7th grade and 2nd grade) and they both really enjoyed watching all of the episodes. We ended up eating breakfast in the Living Room while we watched our daily dose of Dave Stotts and Drive Thru History®–“The Gospels”. It turned out to be a great start of our schooling day! They want to get some more DVDs of Drive Thru History® to start watching. SUCCESS!!
Here's what you get when you purchase Drive Thru History®–“The Gospels”:
I love that it all comes in a compact case so that I don't have to keep track of DVDs as well as a study guide. There are 3 DVDs with 6 episodes on each, which equals eighteen 30 minute episodes that lead us from a summary of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as well as "The Historical Landscape" of Jesus' ministry through "The Resurrection of Jesus" and a summary of "Who is Jesus?"
Dave Stotts drives us in his beat up old vehicle through the lands of where Jesus went. Our boys really enjoyed his humor and candor about what he was going through. Their favorite is when he cooked a meal on the engine of his vehicle. He talks as though you were just having a conversation with him and not being taught a lesson. It was very conversational for our boys and they really enjoyed it.
Even though it is enjoyable to watch, it is also filled with a ton of information. Enjoyable and educational? WIN! Dave Stotts really gives so much information from places that people went, places where they think some of the events happened, background information, and historical information. As Dave is talking, the screen is filled with Bible verses, art pictures, and real life tours of what these places look like now.
After you watch each episode, you move into the discussion booklet. This includes a summary of each episode, discussion questions, Bible readings, and a "side road" where they talk about a "side note" about something in the episode. The discussion questions don't have answers because they are there just to provide a starting point for a discussion about the episode. I love that there are Bible readings included so that my kids could read about these events for themselves from the Bible itself.
This series came at a great time of the year, Easter time! We were watching episodes that lead up to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as we were celebrating it now. It really made this Easter more meaningful because they had a deeper understanding about what happened, where all of these events happened, and what Jesus actually went through. The episode of the crucifixion Jesus really helped them to see what Jesus went through in order to save them! Powerful!
I highly recommend Drive Thru History®–“The Gospels”for any family, homeschooling or not, who wants to dig deeper into the life of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
One of my favorite ways to relax during the day is to play games on my phone, so this review for
Planet 316'sDaily Bible Jigsaw was great! This is a free app available for various platforms so this is actually for everyone - well everyone with a smartphone or computer, that is.
Do you like to work on jigsaw puzzles? Do you like to read encouraging Bible verses? Then this game is for you! Here's how it works: you get a FREE puzzle every day. You complete it and when you are finished with the puzzle, it turns into an encouraging Bible verse for you! When you complete the puzzle, that piece is added to the month puzzle that will show a picture once you've completed every puzzle for that month.
It's really a great twist on the age-old love of jigsaw puzzles!
There are bonuses as well! Within each puzzle, there is a secret "power piece" that if you connect it to any other piece, you receive a bonus coin. Now, these coins are important for a couple of reasons: 1) If you miss a day, you can "purchase" that day's puzzle with 3 coins & 2) You can "purchase" various "helps" to help you finish the puzzle, if you are stuck.
The helps are great, too! Here are what they are and what they each do:
Rotate
When you start any puzzle the pieces are here - there - and everywhere - and turned very which way, just like if you just poured the pieces of the puzzle out onto the table from the box. If you use the Rotate tool, then the game turns all of your pieces so that they are all facing the right way.
Guide
Gives you a sneak peek at what the completed picture will look like. It's like being able to look at the picture on the box as you work on the puzzle.
Sweep
This tool moves all of the pieces out of the working area in the middle of the screen. Great for saving time!
Magnet
This does just as the name suggests. It connects two pieces together for you.
Edges
I love this one as it gets rid of the middle pieces and just leaves you with the edges, which is where I always start working on a puzzle. Once you have completed the edge, it brings back the middle pieces for you.
Each of these tools "costs" coins that you have earned or purchased. You can even use multiple tools on the same puzzle.
I have a little personal story to tell you about that has to do with this game. So, we have been trying to purchase our own home recently. We have been having one struggle after another. We have had financing, then didn't have financing, then financing again. We have driven what seems like a thousand miles driving neighborhoods and driving by potential house, being disappointed most of the time. We have put a contract on a house, just to lose it. We were about to put a contract on another home, just to find out that it was just taken that same day.
So, last night we were waiting to find out if our offer was accepted for the 3rd house that we tried for. I couldn't work. I couldn't write. I couldn't function. I needed encouragement and something to get my mind off of the waiting. I remembered about theDaily Bible Jigsawand decided to play. I played that day's puzzle and then waited to work on a couple puzzles that I had missed through the month.
Here are a couple of the Bible verse that were pictured:
God has a sense of humor, right. God's Word was able to speak to me through this simple, but extremely fun, game. If that's not a reason to download this free game, then I don't know what is. Go downloadDaily Bible JigsawbyPlanet 316 today!
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Here is a great book about Spring - hence the title of the book. But seriously, this book describes the different parts of Spring, including: weather, animals, flowers, trees, etc.
I love this book because it has real photos as well as a table of contents to teach even our little ones about parts of a book.
Click on the video below to listen to Grandma read this great book about Spring to your kids!
If you'd like to purchase this book for your own home library, click on the picture below.
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Day 5 of our 5 Days of Living the Bible in Your Homeschool ~ Putting Aside Curriculum
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/19/Day-5-of-our-5-Days-of-Living-the-Bible-in-Your-Homeschool-Putting-Aside-Curriculumhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/19/Day-5-of-our-5-Days-of-Living-the-Bible-in-Your-Homeschool-Putting-Aside-CurriculumFri, 21 Apr 2017 11:44:00 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Here we are - our last post in our5 Days of Living the Bible. We've made it! I hope that you've enjoyed reading these as much as I've enjoyed writing them. Most importantly, though, I pray that they have been some help to you in your homeschooling journey. Remembering to put God first, even in your homeschool will show your children that you are really living the Bible in your homeschool.
Today, I'd like to talk about putting aside the curriculum. What?! Why would I put aside my curriculum? I'm supposed to be teaching my children, right? I need curriculum in order to do that.
Sometimes you can teach your children more
by putting the curriculum away.
Here's what I'm talking about. A couple of months after we moved from Oregon to Arizona, my boys were really dragging in school and just weren't acting right. I closed the book we were working out of and asked what was going on. Our youngest starting crying. Come to find out that both of them were struggling with the move and were missing one of their old friends.
This was a prime opportunity to put the books away. They needed to know that I cared more about them, than the books we were studying. They ended up typing out letters to their friend, addressing the envelopes, and mailing them. We put aside curriculum, but they were still learning.
Our oldest is 12 (almost 13) and he has really been struggling this year. Puberty has hit and it's a struggle. Some days he just has so many emotions that he doesn't know what to do. There are days that I end up sitting on his bed with him talking about what's on his mind for a couple of hours. When he's like that, he's not going to get much out of his Science book, but these are the times that I can speak truth into his life and use the Bible to do that.
I really like this verse. I can teach my boys all of the knowledge of this world, but that won't help them with their knowledge of their Heavenly Father. It is my duty as their mother AND teacher to teach them Math as well as how to live the Bible.
Putting aside the books doesn't mean that you aren't teaching
and that they aren't learning.
Other Posts By Homeschool 4 Life That You May Enjoy
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Book Study - Chapter 9: Esther A Woman of Strength & Dignity
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/19/Book-Study---Chapter-9-Esther-A-Woman-of-Strength-Dignityhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/19/Book-Study---Chapter-9-Esther-A-Woman-of-Strength-DignityFri, 21 Apr 2017 11:26:00 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Well, here we are. Chapter 9 of our book study of Esther: A Woman of Strength & Dignity. Thank you for taking time out of your day to go through this study with us. We will be traveling to Persia in our adventure and we will see what life was like in the days of Esther.
Click below if you'd like to purchase the book that we will be going through. You will need it in order to get the most out of the book study. If you don't have the book, how do you do a book study? Hmm? There is a "real life" book version as well as a Kindle version. Your local library might have it as well.
Here's Chapter 9. This really hits us at the heart. This chapter talks about the walls that we have around us. Click on the picture to print!
Click here for thelanding pagefor this book study. This link will lead you to all of the other sections of this book as they are posted.
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Day 4 of 5 Days of Living the Bible in Your Homeschool ~ Biblical Discussions
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/19/Day-4-of-5-Days-of-Living-the-Bible-in-Your-Homeschool-Biblical-Discussionshttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/19/Day-4-of-5-Days-of-Living-the-Bible-in-Your-Homeschool-Biblical-DiscussionsThu, 20 Apr 2017 11:08:00 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Do you talk to your children? Of course you do. Do you talk with them? Ahh...I got you thinking right? Aren't those the same thing? Nope. I can talk to someone without talking with them.
Do you see the difference? When you are talking to someone, there isn't a discussion. It's not a conversation - it's a monologue. But, when you talk with someone, you listen to what they have to say and have an actual dialog happening.
This is what needs to happen if you want your children to talk with you about things that they are thinking about. Open discussion about everyday topics that they want to talk about are so important to the relationship that you have with your children.
If your children don't talk to you about the little things, there is no way that they are going to talk with you about the important things - like their faith.
That's what today's post is all about ~
How to have Biblical Discussions with your Kids.
Here's the Bible verse that we base our parenting on:
Do you notice the list in there?
We are to teach our children DILIGENTLY.
I looked that word up in the dictionary and here's what it said, "constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything".
Ok. So if we take what the dictionary says and apply it to teaching our children, that means we are to have a constant effort in order to accomplish their Biblical teaching. We are to be attentive to it and persistent in doing it.
Discussing the Bible with our children should be an everyday "thing". Now, I don't mean that you have to sit your children down and say, "Ok children. I'm going to teach you about the Bible." Sometimes that's okay, but that's not "Living the Bible" which is what the topic for this series is all about.
What I'm talking about is discussing Biblical ideas
and topics as they come up in the day.
Let me give you an example of when I was the Assistant Director of a Christian preschool about 10 years ago. We had this wonderful preschool teacher that was the first teacher in the school each morning. As the sun was rising, she would gather all of the children in the room over to the window and say, "Look at the beautiful sun that God has given us! Thank you God for the beautiful sun!" Then all of the children would thank God for the sun and then go on back to playing. That's it! She brought out something that was happening at that moment and brought God into it.
It's doesn't have to be a deep down theological discussion, but it could be depending on what's going on. You can't force it or it's not going to go well. You have to let it just happen. When my kids are scared at night, we pray that Jesus will help them. When we see a car accident, we pray for the people's safety. Before each meal, we pray thanking God for His blessings.
When our boys want to talk about something or ask a question and I can think of a Biblical example, I'll bring that into the conversation.
Just this morning, I was talking with our oldest son about something. Funny how it works, right? He was talking to me about a struggle that he had last night. He was having a discussion in his own mind about wanting to play his iPad in bed even though he knew that he wasn't allowed.
He wanted to know if he was going crazy.
I said, "Yes" and left it at that.
NO, I didn't! I bet I caught your attention, right?
We talked for awhile about temptation and how the Holy Spirit helps us to fight against that. He was having a real life temptation struggle and he won! I brought up Romans 7 where Paul talks about doing the things that he hates while not doing the things that he knows that he should. He then asks if I struggle with anything and so we had a further discussion, after I finished laughing of course.
Our youngest son did something about a week ago, I can't even remember exactly what it was, but we talked about disobedience. He brought up Adam and Eve and so I asked him if God liked when they disobeyed. Then I asked him if God liked when he disobeyed. End of conversation.
You can't Bible beat them with it. There is a fine balance of not enough Biblical teaching and every single answer you give them is a quote from the Bible, whether it makes since or not.
Let them talk about the Bible.
Last Thursday, when my husband and I were taking our youngest to soccer practice, he just started chatting in the back seat about Adam and Eve. There wasn't any real questions in there, he was just talking to us about what was on his mind. We just let him talk and gave a little input here and there. Then that was it. It didn't lead anywhere else and that's fine. If they think that every time then say something to you that you are going to give them a 45 minute sermon, they're not going to talk with you about anything.
Here are a few tips that I have in order to live out Deuteronomy 6:6-9:
Let it flow.
Don't try too hard.
Let the Biblical teaching match what they are asking about.
Start small - then let it grow from there.
Enjoy talking about the Bible with your children!
Other Posts From Homeschool 4 Life That You May Enjoy!
Click on the picture above and look below for more great posts from the Homeschool Review Crew Blog Hop!
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Day 3 ~ Bible Study in Homeschool
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/18/Day-3-Bible-Study-in-Homeschoolhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/18/Day-3-Bible-Study-in-HomeschoolWed, 19 Apr 2017 11:24:00 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
My husband and I have always felt that teaching the Bible to our children was our job, not the church's. Sure, our kids go to Sunday School and church services, but we don't rely on the church to teach them everything they need to know about the Bible.
That's why, when we decided to homeschool, we decided that Bible Study would be a subject on their school list just like Math and Science. Having it on their school list each week keeps me accountable to do it. I am a list person and so this really helps me to stay on top of their Bible education.
Do I do Bible Study every day? No. Do I do it every week? I'm embarrassed to say it, but, No. I can say that we do it most weeks. It's easy to let that one slip because we don't take grades or we feel like other subjects are more important. But it's like my husband used to tell his youth group, "Your Science book won't save you." It's important, of course! But, is it more important than the Bible. Most definitely NOT! Science, Math, and English will help your child be successful in THIS LIFE. What about their soul?
"How do your kids know so much about the Bible?" I was asked this question from a fellow homeschool mom at church years ago. I simply told her that Bible Study is a part of their schooling, just like Math and English. She answered back, "I don't think that I could do that." I was taken back by her answer. If you want your kids to know how to add and subtract, you teach them. If you want your kids to know how to write and spell, you teach them. If you want to know the Bible, you teach them, plain and simple.
I'm going to list below what we've done by age group. Your child might be at a different stage of development than what I list below. That's okay! Just take what I've said and adapt it for your children and what you want them to know and learn.
Babies - Kindergarten
We would read Bible stories to them and talk about them. At this young beginning stage, you are setting their foundation for them to get to know some of the main characters in the Bible: David, Moses, Jesus, etc. We would read at bedtime or before their nap. We would read the story and then talk about what was happening in the picture. We would ask questions, like: "What does David have in his hand?" "What swallowed Jonah?" "Who is Jesus hugging in this picture?" This really helps with their comprehension of the stories.
Here's one that we loved using with our boys! The pictures are bright and colorful and there aren't many words per page. Just click on the picture for more information and to purchase it!
1st & 2nd Grade
We moved on from reading them the stories to them reading the stories to us. We moved from theBeginner's Bibleto a story book that had more details about the stories that they already recognized. These are written more at a young elementary school age level and helped them to feel like they were "big kids" instead of "babies".
We love these from Rod and Staff. They are actually part of a curriculum and aren't very expensive. We just bought the readers (they come in different units), but there are teacher's guides to go along with them. Just click on the pictures to look more into them. If you'd like to purchase, I am just putting the picture of Unit 1 of each grade, but Amazon has the other units for each grade level available.
3rd & 4th Grade
This is the age that we feel like our children are ready to really understand what the Bible is all about. We work with them to memorize the books of the Bible, the number of books, etc. We work through these before 3rd grade, but there isn't a major push for information. At this age, they really are developmentally able to grasp the Bible as a whole and how it all fits together.
The book below is the one that I like to start working through starting in 3rd grade. It does a nice job of going through each book of the Bible by talking about the author, what the title means, location in the Bible, main characters, outline, main events (sometimes going chapter by chapter).
I have to say that we don't agree with all of the information in this book - mostly the part about salvation. Make sure that you read through the information before you read it to your children or have your children read it for themselves. Please make sure that whatever Bible education you have for your child matches what you believe.
For the price (it's pretty cheap on Amazon, like $5 or so) it's a wonderful source for Bible information.
I think this is a great book to start note taking skills. It really lends itself to the outline form or just subtitles. I like to get a spiral notebook and that's what they take all of their notes in.
5th & 6th Grade
For 5th and 6th grade we worked through a book from my husband's college Biblical studies class, adapted down for his level. It was called "The Unfolding Plan of God" and it talked about God's plan for the salvation from Genesis through Revelation.
This book isn't available from Amazon, but there are other books like it.
Another great resource would be the Answers books. They basically ask questions, and then answer them. Questions like, "Is there really a God?" or "What happened to the dinosaurs?" and "Are aliens real?" The author is Ken Ham who is extremely knowledgable about evolution and creation along with a multitude of other topics. You can get DVDs as well!
7th Grade - High School
These years are so unique for each child that it's difficult to discuss specific books to use - and seeing as we are just getting out of our first 7th grade year. For these older years, you need to figure out what your child knows and doesn't know. Where are they developmentally and what material can you use to help them learn more about the Bible and their Savior. The best book for them to read is the Bible. Have them start by reading a chapter a day and then discussing it with you. There are many devotionals out there to purchase to help them get into the habit of reading their Bible daily.
Please remember to look over each and every lesson of whatever Biblical material that
you choose in order to make sure that they line up with your belief system.
I hope these ideas have helped spur on some ideas of your own! Please email me if you have any questions or ideas for your children's Biblical education.
Other Posts By Homeschool 4 Life That You May Enjoy
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Day 2 of Living the Bible in Your Homeschool - Having Patience
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/18/Day-2-of-Living-the-Bible-in-Your-Homeschool---Having-Patiencehttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/18/Day-2-of-Living-the-Bible-in-Your-Homeschool---Having-PatienceTue, 18 Apr 2017 21:52:11 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
First of all, I have to get something off my chest.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Okay, I feel better now. Why was I laughing, you ask? Well, because I think that it's hilarious to think that just because I homeschool my children that I have patience. But, that's what people think, isn't it? I lose it with my boys just as much as the next mom does. I'm no better than anyone in this area. If you don't ever snap at your children, roll your eyes at your spouse, or yell at the person in front of you at the stop light, then you can stop reading the post now. But, if you're like the rest of us and it seems almost impossible to be patient ALL OF THE TIME, then this is for you (and for me!).
That's why I think that it's such an important idea to focus on for our 5 Day Series of "Living the Bible in Your Homeschool" for the Annual Homeschool Review Crew Blog Hop. Patience is something that I think everyone struggles with. We get irritated because the stop light is taking too long or the cashier is too slow checking out the person in front of us. The line at the bank is too long or our vacation isn't coming soon enough.
Do you see that verse above? It's the Fruit of the Spirit verse. These are the character traits that we should have if we are a Christian. Do we automatically have them as soon as we become a Christian? No, but I wish that were the case. It would make it so much easier!
These are attributes that we are to work our entire lifetime to enhance. Patience is just one of them, but it's a hard one for most of us!
Look, here, at this verse. The writer of Hebrews is telling us to be "imitators" of those that have patience. Is there anyone on this earth that never gets impatient? Probably, but I don't know them. However, I do know some who have a better grip on patience than I do. I need to study those people. I need to try to be more like them. Better yet, I need to be more like Jesus. Look at the passage below.
We need the steadfastness of Christ. Steadfastness is a synonym of patience. This was written by Paul who was writing to the people of Thessolonica (a.k.a. the Thessalonians). He was praying that God would help them to have patience through all that they were going through.
That's the answer! Prayer!
We need to be on our knees praying for patience. It isn't something that will just happen. Patience comes through work.
This verse is talking about how when we go through rough times it beings about perseverance. That's patience! That's only the beginning, though! This verse continues to say that perseverance brings character, which then in turn, brings about hope. What a great thought! And to think that it all starts with patience.
When I'm having trouble being patient, it's usually because things aren't going my way. Does that ring true for any of you? I'm impatient because no one else understands what schedule that I'm on, or how I want things done, or why things are so important to me. Do you see anything wrong with those statements? They are all about me, myself, and I. Being impatient is a symptom of selfishness. Ouch! It's true, though, isn't it?
What happens when I'm impatient? I snap, I grumble, I yell, etc., etc., etc.,
Listen to what James has to say about that.
As my husband always tells our boys, "You have 2 ears and 1 mouth. You should be listening twice as much as you speak." Sometimes when I'm impatient, I'm not actually hearing what the other person is saying. I have my own thoughts going on that I don't time to listen to them. Also, I don't put myself in the other person's shoes before I grow impatient. Sometimes looking at the situation from another perspective, will change our perspective.
Here is my final piece of advice for a problem with patience.
We need to keep our minds on the right things. Do you see the verse above? Here are the things that we are to "dwell" on: Things that are honorable, right, pure, lovely, good repute (reputation), excellence, praiseworthy. We get impatient when are eyes only see the bad. We need to train our eyes to see the good, instead, and we will have more patience.
Here is a summary of what we've talked about:
* We all have a problem with patience
* Patience is an attribute that we should be striving for if we are Christians
* Imitate others who have more patience than you
* Strive to be like Jesus!
* Pray that God will help you with patience
* Patience comes through work
* Listen more than you speak
* Keep your mind on what is good in your life
Well, I hope this has helped someone! I know that it has helped me just looking through these verses.
Other Posts By Homeschool4Life That You May Enjoy
Come and check out all of the other posts during our
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The Giant Jumperee - A Book Review & Activities
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/18/The-Giant-Jumperee---A-Book-Review-Activitieshttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/18/The-Giant-Jumperee---A-Book-Review-ActivitiesTue, 18 Apr 2017 20:05:07 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
I was so excited when I received this book in the mail from Penguin Random House! It's calledThe Giant Jumpereeand it's by Julia Donaldson and Helen Oxenbury.
I just love kids' books! This is such a cute book. Look at my 7 year old diving into it.
Summary of the book:
Rabbit is just trying to go home, but there's something in his burrow! It's the Great Jumper! Rabbit is too afraid to get it out and so are some of his friends. I don't want to give away the ending - sooooo - you'll just have to go read it yourself.
As we were going through this book, so many ideas were popping into my head for activities to go along with this book.
Prediction
As you read your child this book, stop as you get to each animal. Ask them if they think that the Giant Jumperee will come out for that animal.
Prediction
Ask your child what animal they think is going to try next.
Onomatopeoia
Simply put, this is when we give a human word for a non-human sound. For example, "meow", "roar", etc. You can talk with your child about what the animals sound like in real life.
Animal Homes
All of the animals are trying to get the Giant Jumperee out of Rabbit's burrow. You could learn about the different homes of all of the animals in the book.
Animal Actions
Have your child act like each animal.
Animal Research
Look up each of the animals on the internet or look up books at the library to learn about each of the animals in the book.
I even put together a couple of printables for you all!
Here's the first one.
Just click on the picture below to print it out.
Activities to do with this printout:
Cutting Practice
Have your child cut out each of the boxes on this page.
Animal Parts
Talk about which animals have tails? Are they big or small tails? What size ears do they have? Do they jump?
Size
All of these animals are different sizes and I made the boxes to correlate with that. Have your child put the animals in order from the smallest to the largest. Mix them up and then have them put them in order from largest to smallest.
Book Sequencing
Have your child put the pictures in order from the first animal mentioned in the book to the last.
Here is the next printout that I have for you.
Just click on the picture below to print it out!
With this printout, you could print it out and give it to your child to fill out on their own or you could do it together. It really depends on how old your child is and if they are ready for writing on their own.
So, there you have it! I really love this book and think that (even though it's a little kids' book) there are so many activities that could be done with it.
Click below if you'd like to purchase your very own copy!
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5 Days of Living the Bible in Your Homeschool - Taking Time for Yourself
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/14/5-Days-of-Living-the-Bible-in-Your-Homeschool---Taking-Time-for-Yourselfhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/14/5-Days-of-Living-the-Bible-in-Your-Homeschool---Taking-Time-for-YourselfMon, 17 Apr 2017 20:08:24 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
I am so excited to be a part of Homeschool Review Crew's Annual Blog Hop! Many of us from the Crew are taking this week to write about the topic "5 Days of Homeschool...". I have decided to write about "5 Days of Living the Bible in Your Homeschool"
This wasn't my original topic, but one Sunday in church this thought came to me that this was a needed concept in our homes as well as in our schooling. So here we go!
Living the Bible in Your Homeschool
What in the world does "Living the Bible" mean?
Let me back up just a bit and then maybe I can explain this. I grew up in a church-going family. My parents always made sure that we went to church as kids. They taught (and still teach) Sunday School as long as I can remember. When my sister and I were old enough, we even taught as well. We were all involved in our youth group and had friends at church. A couple of us even found our spouses at church.
Speed ahead to me being married for only a couple of months when my new husband tells me that he wants to go into the ministry full-time to be a youth minister. Surprise and shock! I had always been involved in church, but being a "minister's wife"...what? It worked out and we fit well into the "roles" we were to play. That sounds bad, but being "in the ministry" changes your outlook on the church and where you fit in the mix.
Jump ahead 16 years later (and 3 ministries later) and we are now "out of the ministry" and my husband has a different career now. We are still a "church-going" family and our oldest son and I even volunteer in a children's class (with my parents).
Why do I tell you all of this? It's because I don't see myself as ever "living the Bible". We have all heard of the dreaded "Sunday Christians" and no way do I want to be one of "those people" (please hear the sarcastic tone here). But, you know what? I think most of us are "those people". Gasp! Did I just say that. Yes. Yes I did.
Do we REALLY take those sermons and Bible study lessons home with us and live it out each and every day? My husband used to say that there is a "sermon sucking hole" out in the parking lot of the church and that's where all of the lessons that they "learned" while he was preaching got sucked down into. They all told him "good sermon" or "Wow! That really helped" as they were walking out the door, but then they didn't take it any further. Do we REALLY love our neighbors as ourselves? Do we turn the other cheek when our children make a snide remark? Do we REALLY live like Jesus?
I have to be honest - I don't. I float through life making decisions before I've prayed about them. I get irritated at my neighbor for letting their truck just sit there beside my house - and never move it. I snap back at my boys when they make an off-the-cuff remark about something. I don't live like Jesus.
Don't get me wrong. I do my best - just like you. But, I don't want to just "do my best". I want to live the Bible. I want those around me to see Jesus in me. I want people to see that there's something different about me and have them ask me about it.
That's what this series is about. Living out what the Bible says in our daily lives. Not just on Sundays or when others see us, but every single minute of every single day.
You know what I think it starts with? Look below.
Day 1 - Taking Time for Yourself
How does taking time for myself help me to live the Bible? If I don't take time for myself, I'm tired, I'm cranky, I'm irritated all before my children even come into the room.
Along with any parent, the life of a homeschool parent is busy.
We all know how important it is to take time for yourself, but we don't do it. Why? Because we think that we aren't important enough. You may be wondering what I'm talking about. Here's what I mean.
We fill our days with a to do list a mile long.
We are taking care of the children:
Teaching them, feeding them, clothing them, taking them to the library, sports practices, dances practices, music classes, museums, nature walks, etc.
We are taking care of the house:
Doing the laundry, cleaning, making meals, etc.
We are helping others:
Taking meals to those in need, taking the phone call to listen to someone who needs a friends, etc.
We are working:
Many of us have jobs where we have responsibilities to complete. This may be for pay or volunteer.
We wear many hats, sometimes more than one at a time:
I, by no means, am not saying that these things aren't important or necessary. They definitely are!
What does this have to do with "Living the Bible"?
Great question!
This life that we have made for ourselves - it's too much. Too much by ourselves. Why do we think that we can't stop for just a few minutes to be by ourselves? Why can't we take some time to pray and get help from our Heavenly Father?
By taking time to stop, relax, and pray, that shows our children what living the Christian life really means. We are teaching them that we aren't doing this life by ourselves - we have help from our Heavenly Father. It is good for them to see that we value our relationship with our Savior enough to stop what we are doing and to pray.
We homeschool parents are with our children all day every day and some days seem longer than others. For introverts, like myself, this wears on us. I get re-energized when I'm by myself for a little bit. We all need it. So why do we think that we don't deserve it?
NO MORE!
We have some pretty great examples of men and women in the Bible who took some time to get away from the crowd, pray, and to be with their Heavenly Father.
Moses
Esther
Abraham
Solomon
David
JESUS!!!
If Jesus took the time to get away and pray to His Father, why can't we?
Here's what I want you to do.
I want you to make a list of things that you do that help you to relax.
Do you like to:
take a bath
read
nap
play games on your phone
eat chocolate
Figure out what you can do to relax. Then choose a time and make sure that it happens. Make sure that during that time of relaxing, you pray. Trust me - it helps. It doesn't have to be this fancy smancy prayer. Just talk to God. Tell Him how you're feeling. Tell Him you don't know what to do next. Tell Him you're hurt. Tell Him you're happy. Tell Him whatever is on your heart - trust me - He can take it!
Don't make excuses.
Don't fill in that time with something else.
It should be a priority in our day just like meals and school are. I know that we will all be better parents and teachers if we will do this. Let's try it, together!
Other Posts From Homeschool4Life That You May Enjoy
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The Garden of Gethsemane - A Word from Grandpa Ed
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Grandpa Ed
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/12/The-Garden-of-Gethsemane---A-Word-from-Grandpa-Edhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/12/The-Garden-of-Gethsemane---A-Word-from-Grandpa-EdFri, 14 Apr 2017 11:38:00 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. **
Jesus prayed to His Father in heaven.Jesus was not asking not to die on the cross. He knew He was sent here to do that! He was asking not to be separated from God.
While He was on the cross, the world's sin was placed on Him to be atoned for. At that time, while on the cross, He was being ridiculed, jeered, and poked with a spear.
Then He was separated from God, for God cannot look on sin.
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Book Study - Chapter 8: Esther A Woman of Strength & Dignity
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/12/Book-Study---Chapter-8-Esther-A-Woman-of-Strength-Dignityhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/12/Book-Study---Chapter-8-Esther-A-Woman-of-Strength-DignityFri, 14 Apr 2017 11:33:00 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. **
Well, here we are. Chapter 8 of our book study of Esther: A Woman of Strength & Dignity. Thank you for taking time out of your day to go through this study with us. We will be traveling to Persia in our adventure and we will see what life was like in the days of Esther.
Click below if you'd like to purchase the book that we will be going through. You will need it in order to get the most out of the book study. If you don't have the book, how do you do a book study? Hmm? There is a "real life" book version as well as a Kindle version. Your local library might have it as well.
Here is Chapter 8. Great tips on how to deal with the "silence" of God. Just click on the picture below to print.
Clickhere for the landing pagefor this book study. This link will lead you to all of the other sections of this book as they are posted.
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Paw Patrol: The Pups Save the Bunnies - Grandma's Reading Corner
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Grandma Edie
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/08/Paw-Patrol-The-Pups-Save-the-Bunnies---Grandmas-Reading-Cornerhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/08/Paw-Patrol-The-Pups-Save-the-Bunnies---Grandmas-Reading-CornerFri, 14 Apr 2017 11:17:00 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. **
Do your kids love the Paw Patrol?
Here's a story about when they save some bunnies and try to find them new homes. Click on the video below to listen to Grandma!
If you'd like to purchase this great book (with other Spring books included) click the picture below. There is also a DVD version of this book and I have supplied the link to that as well.
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. There are also links on this page that if you simply click on them, that will benefit our family with no purchase necessary. Thank you for supporting our blog. **
Do you need a quick Easter activity that your kids will love? Look no further! Here is a simple Easter egg activity to teach your children a Bible Verse about the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Here's What You Need
Printout (click the picture below to print)
7 plastic eggs
scissors
Sharpie marker
Here's What You Do
1) Print out the Bible Verse above and cut out the strips (or use your own Bible Verse)
2) Label the plastic eggs 1-7, giving each egg their own number
3) Put the Bible Verse strip in the corresponding egg (see list below)
1 - He
2 - is not here.
3 - He
4 - has risen.
5 - Just as He said.
6 - Matthew 28:
7 - 6
4) Hide the eggs around your house and have your children find them
5) Open the eggs one at a time and have that child read what it says (or read it for them depending on their reading ability)
6) As the parts of the Bible Verse is being read, do the corresponding hand motions to help your children memorize the verse.
He- point to heaven
is not here- shake head "no"
He- point to heaven
has risen- act like you're sleeping and then wake up
Just as He said- point to mouth as you are shaking your head "yes"
Matthew 28- hold up 2 fingers and then 8 fingers
6- hold up 6 fingers
Do this activity a few times to solidify the Bible Verse in their minds.
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Five Little Bunnies Book & Activity
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Grandma Edie
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/08/Five-Little-Bunnies---Grandmas-Reading-Cornerhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/08/Five-Little-Bunnies---Grandmas-Reading-CornerThu, 13 Apr 2017 12:34:11 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. **
Great book about some bunnies hiding Easter eggs.
This is a cute book for your littles because Grandma Edie talks about counting and colors as she reads the book to them.
Go check out the video below!
If you'd like to purchase this great book for your own home library, click the link below:
The Activity:
Here it is. We have created a simple coloring book for your little one to work through. The words on each page are repetitive so that your new reader could try to read it themselves. This coloring book works on color words.
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5 Days of Homeschool Blog Hop
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/12/5-Days-of-Living-the-Bible-in-Your-Homeschoolhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/12/5-Days-of-Living-the-Bible-in-Your-HomeschoolThu, 13 Apr 2017 11:35:00 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. **
Hey there! I have some great news. The Homeschool Review Crew is having their Annual Blog Hop starting on Monday April 17th! Many of our crew members will be joining up to write posts about 5 Days in their Homeschool.
I have decided to write about 5 Days of Living the Bible in Your Homeschool. Here are the posts that I'll be writing about for the Blog Hop.
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The Donkey - A Word from Grandpa Ed
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Grandpa Ed
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/12/The-Donkey---A-Word-from-Grandpa-Edhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/12/The-Donkey---A-Word-from-Grandpa-EdWed, 12 Apr 2017 12:38:17 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. **
I find it interesting that a donkey is a fact that ties Jesus' birth to His death. Mary rode on a donkey to Bethlehem in giving birth to Jesus. Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem on His final trip on Palm Sunday to start His final week prior to His death on the cross.
Not a coincidence!
The donkey on which Jesus rode was waiting for Him from a man that did not know Jesus. Two disciples were given instructions and the words to say in order to go get the donkey. Read about it in Luke 19:28-35.
I also find it interesting in Luke 19:36-40 that when, upon Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, the Pharisees (leaders of the Jewish people) told Jesus to rebuke the crowd that was shouting and rejoicing His coming. Jesus told them that even if they kept silent, the stones would immediately cry out!
Someone or something was going to rejoice Jesus' coming to save mankind.
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. **
Here is a fabulous activity just in time for Easter! Just simply click on the picture below and print it. Great for everyone!
I have put together a list of words and phrases that start with the letters of the alphabet. I have also provided a worksheet of the alphabet letters with blank lines beside them for you to have your children to fill out their own list of the ABCs of Resurrection Sunday.
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CompuScholar, Inc. Web Design Review
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/10/CompuScholar-Inc-Web-Design-Reviewhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/10/CompuScholar-Inc-Web-Design-ReviewTue, 11 Apr 2017 21:06:26 +0000
I was so excited when we were given the opportunity to reviewCompuScholar, Inc.'sWeb Designonline course! Our 7th grader really wanted to know what this thing called "code" was all about and this was the ticket to find out!
First of all,CompuScholar, Inc.Web Designis meant to be a full year curriculum approximately taking 36 weeks of lessons. From the get-go, the student is working on their very own web page. That is very rewarding to be able to see what you just learned put into practice onto your own web page! I really liked that as he was going through the lesson, he was making changes to the code and then was able to go to his web page and see what the change did to his page. Very rewarding!
Here are the title of the chapters of lessons that you are walked through:
* Web Tools and Languages
* Your First Web Page
* Head and Body Elements
* Organizing Content
* Connecting Your Site
* Cascading Style Sheets
* Common CSS Properties
* Styling Links, Backgrounds, and Borders
* Positioning
* Creating Your Brand
* Working With Graphics
* Tables
* Web Site Design Strategies
* Mid-Term Project
* Computers and Networks
* Tools and Trends
* HTML5 Concepts
* Figures and Annotations
* Adding Audio and Video
* Introducing CSS3
* Cool CSS3 Features
* Relationship Selectors
* Pseudo-Selectors
* Dynamic Menus
* Introducing JavaScript
* Dynamic Pages with jQuery
* jQuery Special Effects
* Final Project
* Supplemental Lessons
As you can see, there are a lot of lessons. Let me tell you that there is A LOT of information in each of these lessons. Our son thought that it was going to be easy. He's really good with technology and picks up on things quickly when it comes to computers, but this was more difficult for him. He really has to process what each section does and how to use it on his web page.
What I like about this program is that each lesson starts with a video, then you have a section that you need to read through, and then you have a "hand-on" portion where they walk you through what you just learned and how to apply that to your own web page. There are also quizzes after each lesson and usually a project and a "final exam" at the end of each lesson to see how much they remember. These quizzes and tests are not easy. They really make the student verify that they understand what each of the code "parts" do, where you put them, what they mean, and how they effect your page.
I was working through some of the lessons with our son and I learned a lot about coding! I learned some things that I could actually do with my computer today to make it easier to find files - I did not know about the "file extensions" and how to be able to see them. Wow! Knowing that has made it too much easier to find what I need quicker. I use code on my blog, but I haven't ever written the code myself - I copy and paste it from somewhere else. Going through some of these lessons have helped me understand what some of that code means. I'm going to like going through the rest of the lessons with him!
CompuScholar, Inc.offers other courses along with theWeb Designcourse that we are taking. They offer aDigital Savvyseems to be a beginners course on computer skills and getting ready to take on some more extensive computer projects in the future. They also offer aJava Programmingcourse for advanced students.
I would highly recommendCompuScholar, Inc.for their computer courses. The courses can be used on either PCs or Macs, which I am very thankful for! It's hard to find a program that is good for both types of computers.
Click below to see other reviews done for theWeb Designcourse as well asDigital SavvyandJava Programming!
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Let's Look at Spring - Grandma's Reading Corner
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Grandma Edie
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/08/Lets-Look-at-Spring---Grandmas-Reading-Cornerhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/08/Lets-Look-at-Spring---Grandmas-Reading-CornerTue, 11 Apr 2017 11:43:00 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. **
This is such a great book about how you can tell that it's Spring. What we love about this book is that it has real pictures to look at. Click below to listen to Grandma as she reads this book about Spring to your children.
Click on the picture below to purchase this book to have in your own personal library.
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. **
Yesterday marked the beginning of Holy Week. There are so many events that happened during this week so many years ago, one that completely changed history - FOREVER!
Of course that event is when Jesus died on the cross for our sins and then rose up again three days later! Because of that magnificent sacrifice, we can now live forever with Him in heaven!
A few weeks ago, I posted about 7 printable Holy Week booklets that I put together so that our church classes would have an understanding of what happened during that most holy week.
I have now created Activity Cards to go along with those Holy Week booklets. These activity cards are simply the covers of the Holy Week booklets made into a smaller size. Click on the picture below to print these!
Here are a few ideas about how to use these Activity Cards:
* Have your child/student put the cards in chronological order by how the events actually happened in real life
* Hide the cards around the room and have your child find them and read what the card says
* Make a booklet of the cards in order to have all of the events of Holy Week together
* Read each of the Bible references on the cards to learn about what happened
* Have your child/student tell about the picture on each card
* Cut each card and glue onto a piece of paper. Then have your child write about what happened.
Use these however you would like to in your home or classroom. These are easily adaptable!
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Basin Theology - A Word from Grandpa Ed
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Grandpa Ed
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/10/Basin-Theology---A-Word-from-Grandpa-Edhttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/04/10/Basin-Theology---A-Word-from-Grandpa-EdMon, 10 Apr 2017 12:46:38 +0000
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. **
Both Jesus and Pontius Pilate used a basin of water within a short time prior to Jesus being nailed to the cross.
In John 13:3-5, Jesus used a basin of water to wash His disciples' feet at His final meal with them just prior to going to the Garden of Gethsemane to be betrayed.
Pilate, in Matthew 27:24, washed his hands in front of the multitude of on-lookers to show he was not responsible for Jesus' death on the cross. He released Barabbas instead of Jesus.
Pilate washed his hands and turned away. Jesus, as a servant, washed the feet of others.
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April Focus: Build Up My House
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Felicia Mollohan
http://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/01/23/April-Focus-Build-Up-My-Househttp://www.homeschool4life.org/single-post/2017/01/23/April-Focus-Build-Up-My-HouseSat, 08 Apr 2017 21:29:55 +0000
How are all of you doing? It's April. Yikes! I can't believe it, can you?
You know what happens to me every single April? I flounder. You know, like a fish out of water flounders on the deck of a boat - flopping this way and that. That's what I feel like. The funny thing is that I don't realize that it's happening until it happens. I mean, I don't plan on it happening, I don't even think about it happening which means I don't plan for it, which means, yep, you guess it - flounder, flounder, flounder.
What do I mean when I say that I flounder. Well, I struggle with focus. I forget things easier (which is scary looking at how I usually forget things normally). I have a hard time knowing what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. I'm usually a very scheduled person. I use a calendar and I like to plan. I have a hard time with the follow through while I'm floudering (is that even a word?). I just feel like I'm floating through life with no purpose or intention. I don't like that!
It's not good to flounder when you are responsible for the education of 2 children, taking care of a household, cooking meals, running a blog, thinking up ideas (and actually completing them), etc. I don't have time to flounder. I don't like to flounder. I like to have a plan and I like to see that plan completed.
The worst part about this time of year for me is that I feel like I'm failing as a wife, mother, and teacher. Part of that failure is that I don't feel like I'm not doing a good job building up my family. Not that I'm intentionally mean and cruel or anything, but I'm not taking care to lift up the members of my family.
The wisest of women builds her house,
but folly with her own hands tears it down.
Proverbs 14:1
So that is just what my focus will be for this month. I am going to be intentional about lifting up my family. It's funny when I planned for this series at the beginning of the year, that "Building Up My House" landed in April. I didn't even think about this struggling time of the year for me and that I would need to be intentional with my family. God is cool, huh?
So what does this mean to "build up my house"? Well, how do you build a house? You start with the foundation - making sure that it is strong and solid. How do you build up a family? Look at the verse above. Wise King Solomon stated that "the wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down." You know what this tells me? It's up to me to be intentional about taking care of my family. I looked up the word "folly" in the dictionary and it states that folly means "the state or quality of being foolish; lack of understanding or sense." I don't want that! I don't what to have a lack of understanding about what I'm doing to the members of my home. We can tear down those closest to us without even knowing it.
Have you ever been working on something when one of your children come in and want to tell you something? What do you do? For me it depends on the situation. If I'm focused on what I'm doing and don't want to be bothered, I give a look - and that usually stops that conversation short. Not good! Do children need to understand when to interrupt and when not to, of course. But, what's more important? My children or what I'm working on? The answer is clear - my children.
She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Proverbs 31:26
How we say something can make as much of an impact. I've told our 12 year old this a lot. Attitude is everything! Learning when and how to speak is something that we all need to work on, not just our kids. My mouth opens and words come popping out that haven't gone through the "filter". You know what the filter is, right? That internal voice telling you whether or not you should say what you're thinking. That filter is sooo important, isn't it?
That filter is important with our actions as much as our words. The looks on our faces and our body language tells our family everything they need to know without even listening to what we are saying.
Here's what I'm going to be working on this month:
* Using words that will lift up those around me, instead of tearing down
* Taking care of how I speak to others
* Being aware of what my facial expressions and body language is saying to those I am speaking with
* Be intentional about finding things to praise those I come in contact with
