Feeding One's Soul

Spent the Day resting and listening to this, soaking in the smell of the lilacs that have finally bloomed and watching Les Miserables.

 

 We like this version better:

For one, we fast forwarded through several scenes in the newer version. The innkeeper is a cretin, already, we get that. And Prostitution is bad. Get that too. We seriously don't need it in living color in our living room. That said, Javert was far more approachable in the newer version. He makes more sense. And I loved how Jean Val Jean's faith was so up close and personal in the newer version. "Who am I." The priest named the man. The man remained true to the name. Claimed by God's redeeming grace. The True Story.

That being said, Cub still voted Focus on the Family Radio Theater as the big rendition winner. He has declared opera and musicals verboten and stated that subjecting him to 3 hours of operatic singing was even worse than sitting through Gone with the Wind. I have been officially declared a mean Momma. I am so over it already.

Share It Saturday

Teach Beside Me and The Sugar Aunts and I all team up to bring you Share It Saturdays- check out there blogs they are full of inspiration!

And now, here's the HOP:

Have a link back to this post if you are participating (on your blog or in your post)

If you link up, click on at least one other link for each one that you share.

You don't have to comment or follow, but I really do love both of those things! (A Lot!)

HAVE FUN! On to this week's link. Bring it on.....

 

High School Prep Genius -TOS Review

 

College Prep Genius has come out with High School Prep Genius. It has everything you need to plan for high school and beyond. There are 4 sections and several appendixes:

I: Introduction- this includes forms. I love forms.  Forms to use during high school, the summer, as you plan for post- high school, etc.
II:Foundation for Personal Success
III: Foundation for Academic Success
IV: Foundation for Future Success
Appendix A: How to Build a Transcript
Appendix B: Talent Searches
Appendix C: Great books to get you started
Appendix D: How to reduce Test Anxiety
Appendix E: Admissions Terminology

If you homeschool or alternative school through high school, you'll want to get a hold of this one. It tells you, in clear, step-by-step detail what to do when to successfully navigate high school and college acceptance.

Ds 13 and I read several sections and discussed them. He wasn't very interested in filling out detailed accounts about his personal development or areas of interest but then he's not a mull-er, he's a get-er doner.

He also was very frustrated by some of the rhetoric in Chapter 3: "Own Your Personal Beliefs." I. too, found this section to be troublesome in the way that it handled issues of worldview, values and "Truth." If you are reading this as a person of faith, you'll want to read it with your student, or amend it to reflect your and your families belief system.

This book advocates creating a notebook for each high school student. We already had a file system in place, but I did appreciate and include some of the forms found in the introduction.
If you have a student from 6th grade up, are unclear about how to navigate the high school years, add this to your list of must buys. It is an affordable, inclusive way of approaching high school and college admission!

College Prep Genius offers other products and services. Sign up for their free newsletter here.

High School Prep Genius an Academic Guide to Excellence is available for $29.95.

Content -excellent
Presentation -excellent
Organization -excellent

Spanish for You- TOS Review

 

Spanish for You! is a unique, fuss free curriculum designed to teach Spanish. It is based on "themed units" that build your language acquisition through vocabulary, pronunciation, syntax, conjugation and grammar. This is done through a combination of speaking, reading, and writing.  Each unit can be used as a stand-alone, or for quicker acquisition, done more than one at a time.

To date there are 2 units, Fiestas  (which we used) and Estaciones.

 

Fiestas teaches Spanish by gaining an understanding of the language used during certain celebrations. The festivals listed in this book include The Day of the Dead, Carnival, Holy Week in Spain, The April Fair. One of the aspects I really appreciate about this program is that it teaches within a context that makes sense to the student. Everyone loves a party, right, and the elements; food, theme, activities, purpose, etc. contextualize well vocabulary and grammar. Love that.

 

Debi Arnett, the creator of Spanish for You! designed the program to be fun, affordable and effective.  Which is exactly what we found it to be. And simple. Have I mentioned a time or two that I am all about simple? It's as simple as listening to the download, follow along as you listen to the audio and doing the worksheets as needed. It's straightforward enough that if you have older/responsible kids, they can do on their own, which is how we used it.

Each unit comes with the following products: 

• -paperback book or e-book
• -24-30 week lesson guide PDF download (24 weeks for Grades 5-6 and 7-8, and 30 weeks for Grades 3-4)
• -Self-checking PDF download worksheets
• -mp3 audio file downloads Flashcard/activity pictures PDF download

Spanish For You! is affordable.
Grades 3-8 - $64.95
Grades 3-4 - $39.95
Grades 5-6 - $39.95
Grades 7-8 - $39.95
Extra books - $12.95

One of the aspects of this program that I absolutely LOVE is that you can use it with multiple students and they can jump in whenever without finding themselves behind. In addition, while Debi recommends doing 3-4 classes a day, you can certainly go at a speed that works for you without losing what you've learned, Feeche cruised right through while Cub and Flower went at a more reasonable pace.  And it's always a thrill (for me, anyway) when you catch a student responding in Spanish, just for the sheer fun of it.

You know I'm all about memory work, and there is plenty of opportunity to create flashcards. The kids make their own, further reinforcing vocabulary learning. There are also ideas for games and activities, included within the lessons.

Want to check it out? Click the links for free samples:
Spanish For You! Fiestas
lesson guide
sample worksheets
mini lessons
 
Content - excellent
Presentation - good. We found the original downloads confusing but the author amended them even as we reviewed the program. This is one that is just going to get better and better.
Organization - Each area of the program was well organized and the ability to make sense of the pieces became better organized even while we used the program.

On Having and Being a Mother

I have had the privilege of having a Mother, and being a Mother. My own Mom was motherless for many years. This colored her life in ways big and small and so, perhaps, I have a unique understanding of just how important a Momma is. In addition I've had 2 amazing Grandma's whose input into my life has been profound. My Gram, age 96, is still alive and lives in her own home, 1/2 of which was hand-built by my Grandpa. My niece lives with her now, and it is so good for both of them. Gram has someone to baby and Miss. E has someone to fuss over her. Love that. I don't even have a picture of me and my Grandma Audrey but she loved us all well, in her quiet, Plymouth Brethren way. You can read more about my amazing Grandparents here and here.

My Mom's been gone for 14 years- too soon and I feel cheated by her early death. I miss her most at holidays and birthdays because she was Grandma extraordinaire, loved gift giving, loved a party and loved her grand babies (that's her oldest gc and my oldest dd in the photo above). And I miss her during cheesy hallmark holidays like Mother's Day.

My Mother-in-law, has greatly influenced my  life (most obviously by being the Momma of my Husband) and she and my father in law continue to amaze me with their good health, joi de vive and willingness to serve.

And, while I have vowed B.C. to never have kids, I'm so very grateful for each of the beautiful children, over 1/2 of whom are adults, that I've had the privilege raise. We have had close (as in near death) experiences with 4 of them, cried our eyes out over and with them, been proud to bursting because of them, laughed at thier crazy antics, prayed diligently for them, and love each and every one of them so very, very much.

Miss. R.

KB

 

Feeche

(have I mentioned that I love living with competent men, even if they do HATE having their pics taken

 -see my hand around his neck?!)

My Man- Cub

My sweet baby, Flower, who still buries her head against me and whispers,

 "I love you, Momma."

Love, love, love that.

If anyone tells you you're too old to have a child, I'd like to witness to the fact that having kids old,

while totally different than having kids young, is its own kinda beautiful.

 

Not only have I had the blessings of being loved by Grandmas and Moms, and the blessing of being called Momma,  I have been blessed with amazing friends around the country, who have nurtured and offered me a Mommas touch, perspective and wisdom when I've needed one, often when I didn't even know that I did:

Shari, MaryAnn, Jeanette, Zigrid, Steph, Jannell, Ruth

my sweet sil Laura,

and before her untimely death, my bossy big sis Sue, who Momma bossed me more than anybody.

 

As anyone who has mothered knows,

"Motherhood is...difficult and...rewarding"  (Gloria Estafan).

and for my own children I hope that they

"Remember their mother's prayers and they would always follow them. That they would cling to them all of their lives"

(Abe Lincoln).

Share It Saturday!

110. Memorizing System for Kids

Moms Have Questions To shares a great memory system. If you want to do more memory work but aren't sure how, check it out!

95. Teacher Appreciation Week Gift Ideas

Second Chance to Dream share 15 GREAT teacher appreciation gifts! Simple and adorable!





Art Club Blog has some great ideas for what to do with your lonely socks !

Teach Beside Me and The Sugar Aunts and I all team up to bring you Share It Saturdays- check out there blogs they are full of inspiration!

And now, here's the HOP:

Have a link back to this post if you are participating (on your blog or in your post)

If you link up, click on at least one other link for each one that you share.

You don't have to comment or follow, but I really do love both of those things! (A Lot!)

HAVE FUN! On to this week's link. Bring it on.....

History Lessons from Brutal Rome

So much for a blog a day in May! Day 9, here we come- "A Moment in Your Life."



History Lessons: Wednesday we listened to the vignette of the Roman Consul, Brutus, who sat in judgement of his two sons, Titus and Tiberius, found them guilty of conspiracy to bring back the banished former King Tarquin, and watched, seemingly unmoved, as his boys were stripped, scourged and beheaded. Afterwards, he seemed to go a little nuts.

Flower looked up at me at the end of the story and said, "Did Brutus do the right thing?" Watching your kids get scourged, Roman-style (think cat-o-nines- 9 thin strips of leather, tied to a handle with sharp rocks tied to the ends- they basically  skinned a man) and then beheaded, knowing you passed judgement on them and condemned them to such a fate, would be, simply put, a hard thing.

So yesterday morning, over breakfast, it was brought it up again. We had a great discussion about conflict of interest, proving ones loyalty, patriotism, nationalism, and the duty of family members. The whole concept of dishonor and family legacy seems to have dissolved in our current day and age and it's every man (or woman) for themselves.  The concept of "differentiation" is bandied about, as if people truly knew what the word meant, while familial ties, loyalty and honor aren't even up for discussion. Patriotism- pah- given the news of the day, what does that even mean other than the CEO will play media games, all the while sending good men and women in to face certain death."One Nation Under God" has given way to what will assure re-election. Not that that's so different but the "Under God" part is a thing of the past in a post-modern culture that defines god as whomever will serve you best.

Dr. Dh's take on the trial was that the Romans were forcing Brutus to prove his loyalty to the state, in light of the flagrant betrayal of his 2 sons.  Condemn his own flesh and blood, or go down with them. In a system based on injustice (as the Romans's were) there was no win-win. Nationalism means little if it's based on man, or gods. It's only "under God" that anyone has a prayer.

 

It's these moments in our days that I love. Tying in bigger picture concepts with specifics, wrestling with faith, apologetics, justice, mercy, and the religion du jour. Our kids know enough history, Bible, theology and news to really make the discussions challenging and interesting. These, my friends, are the sweet moments, in the midst of the bitter, of homeschooling, and child-rearing. Having time for and watching the kids wrestling and struggle with hard issues, challenging me with their questions, and then asking more, really trying to get to heart of what a Living God might expect and understand. I don't have the answers but I know the One who is Truth and I love it when my kids go after Him.

No-wins? You cut your losses and move on. Sometimes folks are committed to their prejudice, make a show of caring, when it's their own agenda they pursue, are committed to their narrative, would sell out truth for perceived real. You see that all of the time in the Old Testament, you see that every day in the news, in families, in discussions, in history. Life is full of tragedy. But I love how a story of hopeless despair can cause my kids to thirst for some fresh, soul quenching Water.

 

Spring Dinner/Dance

 

The homeschool spring dinner and dance happened this year, just like every spring! It starts with a a mystery dinner and round table mixer, followed by crazy games and the dance. Most of the kids go to the bi-monthly ballroom dancing lessons so they know several dance. This year there were about 45 kids at the event! Fun times!
(pics from my sweet friend, over at Arttejannell- stop by and say "Hi!")

 

 

The whole group!

 

Gorgeous Girlies!

 It's always a "Mystery" dinner, served by parents.

Blue Beauties.



 

Release the Butterflies - "All the Same and Yet Different"

My very talented blogger buddy, Susan, over at Homeschooling Hearts and Minds is hosting a "Release the Butterflies" theme for the month. You really need to hop on over and get all of the details from her, read the sweet story that inspired this theme,  grab a button, and sign up for the DigiScraps Give-away.

What's it about? In a nut-shell, it's about embracing the uniqueness in each of our children, and seeing them for who they really are. Susan has a son with a rare skin disorder and she is a Momma on a Mission to educated, inspire and inform! I love people with mission and passion and Susan has plenty of both! Susan has gathered a group of wonderful bloggers to write along with her this month and I get to be one of them! Woohoo!

We have been incredibly blessed in that we have 5 children who have all been relatively healthy and fairly intelligent. We haven't had huge challenges like some of our friends whose children have either mental or physical health issues. We count our blessings and thank-God for that. To a one they have been beautiful, delightful children, eager to learn and curious about the world. In the grand scheme of things, all of our kids have been "normal" (as much as anyone is, right Mae? : )

That said, how does a "normal" family embrace the uniqueness of each child? While I've had healthy, mostly happy, incredibly opinionated children, each of them have been so very, very different. I have a couple of extremely outgoing kids, 1 serious introvert, a couple of highly organized kids and one or two severely messy ones as well as 2 highly auditory learners, 1 visual (read it and weep) and 2 kinesthetic/ mixes, most of whom are more linguistically oriented than sequential, but I think, by jove, we might end up with a mathy kid yet.

I'm a reader and an autodidact. In order to really appreciate something, I believe that you need to understand it. To that end I have read vast amounts of books on child development, learning styles, etc. I've heard this dismissed as "just psychology" but the folks making those types of comments often don't take in to account the actual science behind the field.

Two of my fav, easy to read books on kids/ people:

The Way They Learn, by Cynthia Tobias Ulrich and

The Birth Order Book by Kevin Lehman
 

They both contain simple, straightforward info on how to understand you kids (and maybe yourself, too).
Childhood and Society by Erik Erikson is also worth a look, if you want to delve in to psycho-sexual stages of development.

We home school using a neo-classical paradigm; that might seem counter-intuitive to those eager to embrace a child's uniqueness. But I believe that learning is an art form. And like all art forms you must start out with structure and form and as the student grows and develops their uniqueness, passions and creativity will spring forth from the structure. Furthermore, a classical approach will shore up, rather than give-in to or succumb a child's weak or less attended to areas. Honestly, for me, really getting ahold of what classical education is has helped me educate my kids in a way that strengthens and encourages the uniqueness of each child/ student because it's starts out big picture and then gets specific, focused, individucalistic and personal. Love that.

So, I'd have to add listening to Leigh Bortiens and reading The Well Trained Mind have given me greater understanding into each of my kids uniqueness.
 

And really, homeschooling is one of the major ways in which we seek to develop our kids unique abilities and embrace them for who they are (read Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto or anything by John Holt).

What are some of your favorite books/ resources that have allowed you to understand the uniqueness of each of your kids?

Read what my blogger buddies around the globe are writing:

Susan writes Embrace the Wild Child, Release the Butterflies @Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

Chareen writes  Releasing Butterflies this May @ Every Bed of Roses

Nicole writes Releasing the Butterflies. Turtle... @ Schooling in the Sun

 

And check this out!

GIVE-AWAY: Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids Book Bundle ($44 value, ends 5/12)

FREEBIE: Thursday, May 9, 2013: Free Preschool Butterflies Printables!