Circling Through This Life

This is my first time participating in the Ultimate Blog Party.   I’ve been debating all day as to whether or not I want to post.  And if I write a post what do I say? As I sit and ponder and fret and wonder, I end up with Mercy Me’s  “No More, No Less” song running through my head. “Let me introduce myself to you.  This is who I am. No more, No Less” Maybe I should just let you listen to the song for yourself.  It’s become a theme song of sorts for myself.  Like the lyrics state “I’m just trying to be real.” So who am I?  I’m not sure how to answer.  I could tell you things like, I’m married with four daughters or that I’m Christian .  I could tell you that I like to read and I like to cook .  Or maybe I should tell you that I home educate my children? Maybe I should warn you that sometimes I just ramble on about whatever’s on my mind . I’m still trying to figure out exactly who I am and this blog is my way of pro...

A couple of weeks ago my friend Debra issued a reading aloud challenge to herself.  Last week, I joined her albeit a little late.  Today I’m joining her again.   In my last R.A.C (That’s Reading Aloud Challenge) post ,  I mentioned that I was going to give the girls a choice between 3 books.  I plan on eventually reading all three books but let them decide which one to read first. The girls voted for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and asked for The Last Battle to be added to the list of upcoming read alouds. We have not done as much reading aloud as I originally planned so I’m trying to take the position of “some is better than none.” Here is what we *have* read aloud this week: Honeybear read at least 3 days worth of history to Tailorbear from the Usborne World Wars book.  They are almost finished! I finished one story from The Dutch Twins and started the next week.  Only Supergirl is really listening to this one though I think Tail...

These past few weeks, Supergirl and I have been enjoying using an introductory Latin program from Classical Academic Press entitled Song School Latin . As I type this I hear “Here comes Magistra. Salve. Salve!” coming from the family room as my 6th grader works on her math.  She’s not even the student I’m using this product with!  But she’s been listening to the songs as well. Song School Latin , written by Amy Rehn, is an enjoyable way to introduce Latin to younger Elementary aged students. Children learn words and phrases from songs. Song School Latin presents both classical and ecclesiastical pronunciations. We’ve chosen to use the ecclesiastical pronunciation. The Student Edition: The student book includes the CD containing all 30 songs in both pronunciations.  A pronunciation guide with charts for both classical and ecclesiastical styles is included in the beginning of the book. This guide also describes the differences between the two pronunciations. The rea...

Last week a couple of my friends participated in this fun blog hop/meme.   I’ve seen at least one of my blogging friends participate already this morning so today I’ve decided to join in the fun. Questions: 1.  Crunchy or soft tacos? Crunchy.  Definitely.  Hands down.  I’m a crunchy taco girl.   My husband prefers soft tacos so we end up with both when I make tacos.  Like tonight.  We’re having tacos tonight  and I have to remember to get the flour tortillas out of the freezer for Honeybear.  But it’s ok that he prefers soft tacos.  It just means more crunchy ones for me <grin> 2.  Do you scrapbook? No, not really.  I’m a scrapbook wannabe failure.  No, I don’t wannabe a failure.  I want to want to scrapbook but I fail.  My daughter kind of sort of scrapbooks.  She’s  a crafty kind of gal.  If she didn’t look like both my husband and I,  I would seriously consider wo...

Spring is here and summer is just around the corner. For me that means it’s time to bring out the salads!  On Friday, I made my first summer salad of the year: a tuna macaroni salad.  With some fresh fruit (I have a fondness for grapes with my macaroni salads) and crusty bread this main dish salad makes an excellent summer meal. If you’ve read any of my other recipe type posts you already know that I don’t really measure anything.  I’m a “dump cook”.   I just dump the ingredients in a bowl and mix it altogether making adjustments as I go depending on how it looks or smells. What you need: 2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions (I prefer elbows with my tuna but you can use any shape) 1/2 cup or so mayonnaise or Vegenaise (more if you want it creamier. Vegenaise is a vegan alternative to mayo which contains no egg or dairy) 1/2 small onion, finely chopped 2 stalks or about 1/4 cup or so celery, finely chopped 1/2 cup or so GREEN...

Recently my friend Debra, from Footprints in the Butter began a reading aloud challenge for herself .   I want to join her in that challenge. There are lots and lots of great reasons to read aloud to and with our children.  Sometimes I need to be reminded of those reasons.  I’m looking forward to reading Sarah Clarkson’s Read for the Heart so I can be reminded of those reasons and have a book list to help me choose some great literature.  (Look for my review of this book on May 27th) I believe Reading Aloud is an essential component to home education.  We used to read aloud about  1 1/2 to 2 hours a day from history, science and literature selections.   This past school year, I have really dropped the ball. Part of the reason we chose Sonlight Curriculum was for the great books.  I would spend about 45 minutes to an hour a day reading Science and History and in the evening, as a family, we would read for another 30 minutes to an hour...

  Big IQ Kids states that they have only have one mission: “to transform your young learner into an A+, 100 % student.”    The Facts: Not a a software product “ Our learning applications are interactive tools that proactively work together with young learners to create individualized lessons around that particular student's own pace.” Customizable —use predefined word lists for spelling and vocabulary or create your own.  Adjust the number and type of problems in math. Adjust the number of questions in the U.S. States program. Online Subscription —access Big IQ Kids from any computer with internet access. 4 Programs: Spelling, Math, Vocabulary and U.S. States Programs for grades 1 through 8- The age range that benefits the most would be 2nd grade through 5th grade.  For math and spelling you can choose from “Grade 1 and below”  through “Grade 8”.   Vocabulary starts at 3rd grade, however there are guidelines for the number of w...