Minivan Moments

When I was given access to Lesson Planet for the purposes of reviewing their website, I was certain this was an answer to prayer!  Who doesn't want the most information for the best price?  We know there is a ton of information 'out there' on the internet that is free (or just about), but it can be time-consuming to find it all... and let's face it, time does often equal money. That's where Lesson Planet comes in: they offer an ad-free zone full of lesson plans, worksheets, and links to educational information that is geared for educators.  At this point in the process, I was hooked... but I have to be honest: actually using the site didn't measure up to my expectations.  For some parents/educators, this site would offer a great variety of lesson plans, worksheets, and teaching topics in a short amount of time.  For me, a fairly accomplished "Googler" (is that a word??), Lesson Planet didn't really offer much more than I had already been findi...

When you watch someone you love struggling with his flesh, you can be pretty sure the breakdown is coming.  It is through the breakdown that people often have the breakthrough. However, watching someone you love have a breakdown can be heart-wrenching!  We women, especially, want to hold, comfort, reassure... but they don't need us.  They need God.  Sometimes, we get in God's way. My mission these days is to get out of God's way and let the breakdowns happen.  They might be small and many, or they might be big and few.  Whatever God requires.  And... i find... it begins... in childhood . Watching my son come to terms with his own breakdown in order to let him have his breakthrough is painful.  But... the goal is adulthood.... So, i have to ask myself, "is this current pain worth less pain later?"  The answer is a resounding "yes!" Madelyn Swift, author of Discipline for Life and speaker on the subject of behavior training, taught me ...

i am a bug. i'm on Life 's windshield. i have broken wings, but i am alive . i have been bruised, but i can move . Being able to move means i can make a decision. Possibly the biggest decision i will ever make.... Do i try to get off the windshield? Or do i hope Life doesn't turn on the wipers? i wish i could tell you which decision is the right one.  i cannot even tell that for myself right now. What i do know is this: ~ i am never alone, for God is with me . ~ i never suffer in vain, for God has a plan . ~ i will not be asked to do anything i cannot bear, though it may sometimes seem that way. ~ i will be alright... as long as i follow the sound of my Creator's voice. Are you one of the bugs on the windshield with me?  Do you need to hear from God? Father, in all that i am, in all that i have been, i surrender.  i am nothing without you, and i repent fully of all the days i thought i could rely upon myself.  i ask total forgiveness tonight fo...

When we found out we would have the opportunity to review something from Super Star Speech , I thought, "well, I guess we'll sit this one out." We have no speech problems or delays in our home (and 3 of us are even tongue-tied!).  Blessed, for sure!! Well, it turns out there are GAMES made by the same folks, so we got to try those instead!  Yay! We got a download of Super Star Games that contained 11 print-and-play games.  The topics were things like insects, continents, planets,  inventors, plus others. We played a couple of the games since some of them were above my kiddos' level (not that they couldn't be interesting and fun just because we didn't know the subject matter... I just didn't print those because I thought they would be too hard).  The kids really liked them!  They wanted to play again as soon as a game was over, and there was a lot of laughing and 'Oh, man!" to be heard.  My first-grader was really trying, even though he had ...

That's it... my brain has flown the coop! The lights are on, but no one's home! I've reached the end of my rope! I'm going to start climbing the walls! Hmmm, how many idioms can i recite to describe my current state??? Oh, forget it. I have lots to do, not enough time to do it, and everything is swirling in my head, bumping into each other and getting mixed up!!  Today, i planned a field trip for this week that is supposed to be for next week.  Oh-kay. I am going batty!! Which is not a good thing since i can't go into a cave!! Ah, well, it's okay... this, too, shall pass. {sigh}

Oh, i wondered the same thing initially! And i sent her to Uncle Sam's Public Brainwashing Academy instead for over 2 years because of that doubt.... oh, the guilt!!! Well, okay, so your kid doesn't always obey you, and we know kids are better-behaved with strangers, so it stands to reason you would ask this question. Alrighty, well, just beat 'em. Kidding. Seriously.  I'm kidding . You have a LOT more time to teach proper behavior when you don't ship your kid off to the Brainwashing Academy , so what may seem like a big deal after school will be much less so when your child is not overstimulated, overstressed, tired, hungry, and reeling from negative social influences all day. Junior gets to fold a LOT of laundry.  Scrub toilets.  Mop floors.  Pick up dog poop.  Whatever it takes to make Junior a productive member of the household and get his cooperation rather than his complaining. Okay, okay, oversimplifying, i know.  But seriously, if your...

We received a copy of the Alphabet Beats "lowercase (Letters)" DVD to use and review in our homeschool.  I was thrilled!  The Smallish Man-Child doesn't form all of his letters properly, and if you watch him write, he even goes about it all wrong!  Plus, the Littlest Drama Princess is learning about letters, so why not let her in on it, too? Alphabet Beats is a video for your children to watch (with you!) that teaches how to write the letters of the alphabet - each in 5-minute segments.  There are practice segments built right in for your child to write with Miss Marnie, and there are phonics lessons to supplement the writing portion of the program.  So, in essence, your child is learning the sound the letter makes (phonics), the letter's name, things that start with that letter, and how to form the letter with a pencil and paper... all in a television or computer video that is fun.  I don't think they'll even realize they are learning about writing!!...