Homegrown Thoughts

Is that title random enough?

We have ‘officially’ finished the legally required number of school days for this year.  Since we school year-round, this isn’t really that big of a deal, but for some reason I’m feeling a sense of accomplishment.  We’ve also just finished my older son’s grammar book, the math book we were working on (taking time from Math-U-See to establish a bit more mastery in a tricky area before moving on) and the Capitalization & Punctuation workbook we were also using for Language Arts.  Things seem to be wrapping up all at the same time here without me planning it that way.  Funny how that happens.

We’re going back to Math-U-See now.  I back-tracked a few lessons to make sure we get a running start at it, and so far things are going much more smoothly than they did the last time we were here.  I’m glad I seem to have made the right decision to step back and work on the tough stuff more before moving on to new skills.

We’ll also be diving back in to The Mystery of History and our timeline notebook.  We’re learning about Africa in general and Tanzania in particular since we started sponsoring Selina.  I haven’t yet decided what will go into our Selina notebook and what will be made into a lapbook.  We’ll be continuing our Language Arts by using the Total Language Plus guide for Charlotte’s Web.  Just a small problem there.  I can’t find our copy of the book!  I’ve been almost literally tripping over the thing since I bought it last year and of course now that I need it, I can’t find it anywhere.  ARGH!  Good thing I’m in spring cleaning mode.  I’ll find that thing one way or another.  Or buy a new one, LOL.

My younger son has a new pet - a ladybug.  I got him a bug pod for Christmas and he’s had to wait all this time for a bug to put in it.  Poor child.  I suppose it was a little mean to give it to him so far ahead of time, but he managed to play with it in the meantime - treating it like Tinker Toys, mostly.  My older son found the first ladybug of the season (or a ‘leftover’ from last year) in the kitchen yesterday, so we now have it imprisoned comfortable in its new home.  Which my younger son is carrying around the house like it’s a pet carrier.  I’m just waiting for one of the tubes to fall off and the ladybug escape.  We’ve warned him but he doesn’t care.  He wants his ladybug with him so he can keep an eye on it. I’ve armed him with a magnifying glass in the hopes he’ll be happy watching it that way and not decide to take it out and ‘play’ with it.  We’ve given it water and some raisins so it should be good for now.  It’s currently napping on top of one of the raisins. :-)

So, that about does it for the excitement around here today.  Our heavy rainfall of earlier today has now turned into snow of the very fat and fluffy piling up quickly kind.  It should melt by tomorrow, though.  I’m so sick of snow, but at least we’re getting to the time of year when any snow we get can’t stay long.  Hopefully this will be the last of it for this season!

Sometimes our prayers are for deliverance from conditions which are morally indispensable — that is, conditions which are absolutely necessary to our redemption. God does not grant us these requests. He will not because He loves us with a pure and implacable purpose: that Christ be formed in us. If Christ is to live in my heart, if His life is to be lived in me, I will not be able to contain Him. The self, small and hard and resisting as a nut, will have to be ruptured. My own purposes and desires and hopes will have to at times be exploded. The rupture of the self is death, but out of death comes life. The acorn must rupture if an oak tree is to grow. — Elisabeth Elliott

We no longer hold the title of “Last Christian Homeschooling Family With Children Over the Age of Six Who Have Not Read or Seen The Chronicles of Narnia.” That’s LCHFWCOASWHNRSTCON, for short. Please, hold your applause and do not faint. It is true.

We have owned the movie probably since it first came out on DVD and never watched it. I also have the entire set of Chronicles of Narnia and it had not been cracked open. Well, we watched the movie tonight (even the 7 year old who claimed he did not want to watch it, but couldn’t stay away!) and said 7 year old has now requested that I read him part of the book, starting with the Magician’s Nephew, every day. Oh, yes he did!

Part of my hesitation was that I thought it might be too deep or that the boys (or me) wouldn’t like it, but we were all glued to it. That was a fast 2 hours! Tomorrow, I think my older son will be watching EVERY bonus feature on the DVD. I think the boys are officially hooked. Whew! :-)

So, I can now stop cringing in fear whenever the topic of Narnia comes up lest my total ignorance be revealed to the world. And yes, I did cry. A couple of times.

I must go now. He who wants to be read to is insisting we start NOW because he just can’t wait until tomorrow.

In case anybody hasn’t looked at the rest of my site lately, I thought I’d highlight some of the newer items that have been added.

Eye Spy! Vision Lapbook - How to make a lapbook about vision, including optical illusions.

Lapbooks For Everyone - Our first lapbook and resources to help you make yours with children of any age!

Also, some free printables for notebooking (and maybe lapbooking, too) can be found on the Fun Stuff page:

• In the Geography section, there are pages for recording information about any country in the world.
• In the History section are blank basic timeline pages and a continent legend page.

I have plans to add many more articles and printables in the near future.  As my kids are getting older, I’m finding there are more and more topics that I can add to my site.  I hope you find these helpful!

I came across this prayer card that I received at a homeschool meeting awhile back. I thought I’d share it here for others that might find it beneficial. The idea is to pray for each virtue according to the day of the month.

I found the original article online here, if you’d like to read the full text. Below is the prayer list. I believe the Bible translation used is “The Message”, except where noted.

1. Salvation. “Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (Is. 45:8, 2 Tim. 2:10).
2. Growth in grace. “I pray that my children may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).
3. Love. “Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to live a life of love, through the Spirit who dwells in them” (Gal. 5:25, Eph. 5:2).
4. Honesty and integrity. “May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection” (Ps. 25:21).
5. Self-control. “Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be alert and self-controlled in all they do” (1 Thess. 5:6).
6. Love for God’s Word. “May my children grow to find Your Word more precious than much pure gold and sweeter than honey from the comb” (Ps. 19:10).
7. Justice. “God, help my children to love justice as You do and act justly in all they do” (Ps. 11:7, Mic. 6:8).
8. Mercy. “May my children always be merciful, just as their Father is merciful” (Lk. 6:36).
9. Respect (for self, others, authority). “Father, grant that my children may show proper respect to everyone, as your Word commands” (1 Pet. 2:17).
10. Biblical self-esteem. “Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:10).
11. Faithfulness. “Let love and faithfulness never leave my children, but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts” (Prov. 3:3).
12. Courage. “May my children always be strong and courageous in their character and in their actions” (Dt. 31:6).
13. Purity. “Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their actions” (Ps. 51:10).
14. Kindness. “Lord, may my children always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else” (1 Thess. 5:15).
15. Generosity. “Grant that my children may be generous and willing to share, and so lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age” (1 Tim. 6:18–19).
16. Peace-loving. “Father, let my children make every effort to do what leads to peace” (Rom. 14:19).
17. Joy. “May my children be filled with the joy given by the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:6).
18. Perseverance. “Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to run with perseverance the race marked out for them” (Heb. 12:1).
19. Humility. “God, please cultivate in my children the ability to show true humility toward all” (Titus 3:2).
20. Compassion. “Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion” (Col. 3:12).
21. Responsibility. “Grant that my children may learn responsibility, for each one should carry his own load” (Gal. 6:5).
22. Contentment. “Father, teach my children the secret of being content in any and every situation, through Him who gives them strength” (Phil. 4:12–13).
23. Faith. “I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children’s hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them” (Lk. 17:5–6, Heb. 11:1–40).
24. A servant’s heart. “God, please help my children develop servants’ hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, as if they were serving the Lord, not men” (Eph. 6:7).
25. Hope. “May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Ro. 15:13).
26. Willingness and ability to work. “Teach my children, Lord, to value work and to work at it with all their heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Col. 3:23).
27. Passion for God. “Lord, please instill in my children a soul that ‘followeth hard after thee’ (Ps. 63:8, KJV), one that clings passionately to you.”
28. Self-discipline. “Father, I pray that my children may acquire a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair” (Prov. 1:3).
29. Prayerfulness. “Grant, Lord, that my children’s lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Eph. 6:18).
30. Gratitude. “Help my children to live lives that are always overflowing with thankfulness and always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20, Col. 2:7).
31. A heart for missions. “Lord, please help my children to develop a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Ps. 96:3).

I hope you find this list helpful as you pray your kids through life!