Big Universe, Small World... ©2013-2020

I have just finished reading Don't Check Your Brains at the Door, written by Josh McDowell & Bob Hostetler. I was allotted this opportunity through BookSneeze . I had have access to this book since some time last week, but was not able to put my hands on it until today. It was an electronic download and we were waiting until my son had access to his e-reader files for this school year's books for use. I wanted to be able to read through this book, because my son and his friends are at the age where it becomes important for them to know how to approach their faith and stand firm in what they believe. The book is self-described as being relevant to the high percentage of young men and women (approximately 70 percent) whom were raised in the church and then fall away from attendance and worship. Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door provides young readers with methods to defend their faith and beliefs, to the easy and tough questions regarding faith. The book is not...

Puppies can homeschool too!! 

Pearl in the Sand                    TitleAuthor: Tessa Afshar Publisher: Moody Publishers ISBN: 978-0-8024-5881-0      I was absorbed in this book from the minute I began reading it. It has been a long time since I was an avid reader, but this book had me hooked. I did find it had me running to the Bible often to look up battles I could not remember and other Biblical references. Afshar did not disappoint me, as this romantic tale is intertwined deeply with Biblical accuracy. While many are familiar with the story of the fall of Jericho and may be familiar with the union of Salmone and Rahab from the book of Matthew, we are left to wonder in silence how such a union occurred. How did the Canaanite woman, known to be a harlot, become the revered and loved wife of one of Judah’s sons?   Afshar takes dramatic and literary license to create a story based in Biblical hist...

these are pitiful looking no doubt, but these are the first three mini-me carrots pulled today and the tomatoes are making a come back with the help of cages and bird mesh around them. this is our second larger tomato of whatever variety it is and our second cherry tomato...not enough to feed a famine or family of three, but it is better than none. Yahweh does provide what is needful!!

I received this in the mail today. Anyone local to me probably received the same flyer. I did crop out the name of the medical facility offering to give children these mandatory  shots. I did not want anyone to think I was being mean to this facility. I know people who work there and I respect them. I do not like this scare tactic used to force people to take their children in rushed to get up to date on all the new required pricks.  Waivers are still available under the law for those whose children cannot be vaccinated or for those who chose to not vaccinate their children due to religious reasons. Medical and religious exemptions are the only vaccination and immunization exemptions available in South Carolina. There is also something many do not know about called a special excemption. If you need to get your child a religious exemption form, you need to contact your local health department .  The form needed is called DHEC Form 1126. Form 1126 can only b...

  Building Spelling Skills, Book 8 Publisher: Christian Liberty Press ISBN-13: 9781930367173 I received the 8 th grade level of Building Spelling Skills from Christian Liberty Press last week . At times, I am allowed access to review curricula sets or other book deals. This was a great opportunity to review this level of this overall set of books made for grades first through eighth. The review of this spelling set was done for the review on this blog for possible presentation use in speaking engagements and conferences regarding language arts curriculum recommendations. This is a comprehensive spelling program corresponding to all lower grade level. The series does not continue in the secondary grade levels. The book is a consumable workbook and is set up to follow a standard secular school year calendar in that it is based on 36 units and the student would technically complete one unit per week. Each unit has 4 lessons, one for each of the first 4 days of the week, followed...

2 days later and there are blooms!!  Child response:   We need to do this with all the vegetables. The other day, the child made a terrarium from a coke bottle. So, this is the update. :) If we did this with all the veggies, can you imagine all the coke bottles in the windows of this house?

We have done 3 Latin lessons thus far...not what I would call real Latin, because I definitely do not have a Latin background and the French I still know is beyond what one would call rusty - at best. We did win a full Latin I curriculum from Memoria Press at the homeschool conference a few months back, but I decided to wait until he can use it next year in 8th grade for his foreign language high school credit. This year, we are using online resources to learn an overview of Latin and become familiar with some normal conversational terms, the alphabet, phonics, and roots, and the like. Thus far, he has learned the result of the action of a sentence ends with an /m/.  These lessons have more focused on teaching that sentence word order is not as important as word parts placed within the sentence. We have discussed how this relates to his learning disabilities...something he noticed. In other words, if he spoke and wrote Latin, he would not be in grammatical trouble all the time. ...

The child made oatmeal cookies tonight and allowed the dog to lick the mixing bowl?  I did soak the bowl in the bleach/soap mixture that all dishes get washed in lately. So, it was sterilized and clean at the end of the process...but do you think this counts as precleaning perhaps?

Ending this week seems to leave me more tired than normal... We did three week's worth of science lessons .  He completed the final project for Swiss Family Robinson. We picked his next choice of literature from the library, Frankenstein .    He has read three chapters of the book as of this morning. I am having to read quickly to catch up to him so we can discuss it. He is happy to report to me this morning, that if he continues to read at this rate, he thinks he can finish the book within a week. I was happy to report back to him that even if he continues to finish the book within a week, we will continue to use the 3 weeks of lessons I had planned for this novel to review, complete character descriptions and analyzing dialogue and deeper meaning, vocabulary development, comparative essays, and so much more.  His response was a happy groan of approval . It amazes me how fond he is of comprehension and vocabulary development activities reading. I found a...

Being President of LDASC allows me to get access to some materials others might not have access to...this has not escaped me. I have recently been corresponding with Christian Liberty Press  regarding language arts curriculum. CLP mailed me a spelling curriculum for 8th graders to review for the blog and for future speaking engagements. I have just received this curriculum this week in the mail. I admit I have not had a complete chance to review it. I plan to test a practice lesson out on my child, though he is a 7th grader. I want to get a feel for what CLP is about and how they present their materials. More on this to come in the next week as we progress through this curriculum more in-depth and learn what it is about. If you have used this curriculum in the past, please let me know what you thought of it?!?!?

I will admit I am new to homeschooling my child this year...it is our first and I have just pulled him out of the public sector. Professionally, I am a teacher and an education professor.  I do both part time. I have taught in the public sector for close to 2 decades, with certifications in 9 fields and in two states. (I started really young.)  I don't say that to brag, but many people whom I have encountered who are against any homeschool endeavors ask me what qualifies me to teach my child.  Beyond the fact that the Bible tells me to and my child is on loan to me from Christ to raise up to be a Christian man, I am certified to teach. The next approach I get from well meaning strangers friends and family members is that my son is in middle school and I teach special education.  Fortunately for us, I am certified in all middle school fields...so...I think we will be just fine. We are using textbooks and a set curriculum...some from Bob Jones, some A Beka, a b...

I have joined Welcome Wednesdays...compliments of Take it From Me ....a great site of freebies and giveaways!! 

I was recently afforded an opportunity to review a newly published book by Mark Horne, J.R.R. Tolkien. This biography is part of the Christian Encounters series, in which the individual is highlighted for the important times or phases of their lives through interactions with others and the Christian Church. Horne to provides a front row seat Tolkien's life as it unfolds from a small child in Africa to his youth in Great Britain. Many people are familiar with the literary works of Tolkien:  The Hobbit and the three-volume novel The Lord of the Rings . Tolkien's faith in the Lord is evident in his written works and this biography explains in detail how imagination and faith gave fold to his novels and life experiences. The reading of this biography is simple and is a good base introduction to Tolkien's life. It is short and does not take long to read, but is a good overview of his life and works. Horne is forward in expressing that Tolkien longed to write the type of ...

So, the picture is fuzzy...but it shows a lot was accomplished tonight!!  9 jars of blueberry syrup made and canned. 8 jars of blueberry jelly made and canned. 12 ears of corn shucked and blanched and preserved for winter. Squash cut and preserved for winter. 7 pints of picked blueberry preserved for winter. Apples cut and preserved for winter. Peaches cut (still have to cut up more of those) and preserved. Beans were strung and blanched the other day and have already been preserved and frozen. Sun-dried tomatoes are waiting on the next batch of them to finish to preserve them for winter. Apples are drying to preserve and should be ready by tomorrow. This took most of the evening and into the night and wee hours of the this morning to do. It should be worth it this winter for fresh veggies and fruits. Time for bed to be able to get up in the morning and do intercessory prayer before church with friends. 

  yep...thinking it is time                                                                                  for a beach break...SoOn...

This year we are using Christian Kids Explore Biology for the science curriculum. This is initially written for upper elementary grades, but has many activities involved within the lessons that make it suitable for 7th grade as well. We focus more on the upper level activities and use the lesson reading, written at the upper elementary for the reading portion of the lesson. This works great for us and for the child's learning disability. I have really been impressed with the wealth of information provided as supplemental information that links to websites with learning activities and games. We also have used many of the supplemental reading suggestions from the library and online to reinforce ideas. For my child, due to advanced thought patterns, but somewhat lowered reading identification levels, this seems as though it was a perfect fit. We met with some of the curriculum homeschool specialists and this was one of the recommended curriculum selections to try. It does not over...

I'd do anything for you dear anything for you mean everything to me I know that I'd go anywhere for your smile anywhere for your smile everytime I see... I'd risk everything.... everything.... Anything for you.... for you mean everything to me (I)'d risk life and limb... Yes (I)'d do anything... anything for you. even the puppy misses the child  : /

bambi first ate every single blooming tomato i had - on every dang tomato plant... now bambi is eating all the leaves off of the sweet potato vines...do you know what is like to go to bed and leave just watered long lush vines full of beautiful green foliage...and to get up in the morning to have long vines with leaf stalks running down the vine, yet the vine is bare... naked vines will not help to make for good potato growth. i think i need a doe tag...when does deer season start?? bambi is no longer cute, nor my friend...

So, we finished up the cell study unit (for the most part) earlier this morning. As I am prepping dinner, the child goes outside to collect the spinach leaves to make the salad. I always stress washing the leaves well and then pat drying them before they are consumed. I always check behind his washing methods, just in case  because I am slightly OCD about such issues ...remember, he is a boy! :) Tonight, as I am washing the leaves, one leaf is full of little wormies on the back! Bleck! Yeck! Yuck! I called him over to see them firsthand. We discussed quickly how insects can lay their eggs on the back of any type of plant leaf...not concerned it if it your leaf for food or not!  We had to look at the leaf up really close for him to see them, as the creepy yuck creatures were miniscule! He informs me they could be glowworms! (Glowworms was his on the A Beka spelling list for the week.) Lessons of the day learned...1) always wash you food; 2) never argue with you...