Interesting Posts and Notes

I finally settled on Feedly for my new RSS Feed Reader ... not as fast as my Google Reader ... but it is working.   http://www.feedly.com

My daughters just like to browse their friends blogs ... so they chose News Squares - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/newssquares-stylish-readi/mkmehbmdeabanfnddlekelahkaclfdhl ... which is a Chrome App.



Click through on the titles or pictures below for the full articles.

ABC’s of Motherhood (For You, on Mother’s Day)

AUTISTIC FOR A DAY  

One parents' experience with allergy testing ... I found this especially interesting because Story would become extremely ADHD behavior every time she had any milk products - even a tiny amount.  Sometimes she would also suffer a horrible "diaper rash" 48 hours after consuming the milk product - usually blisters that would go all the way up her back and stomach and would disappear as rapidly as they arrived 36 hours after they erupted - the only trace of their existence was the scabby sores left from the blisters that had popped.    It took me over a year to figure out what was causing the rashes.  ...  BUT  people would laugh when I told them about her behavior issues, because it was rare to associate behavior as part of allergy symptoms.

The Best and Worst Countries to Raise a Child

(The parameters they have to determine this do not include parents who prefer homeschooling ... but it is still an interesting list).

Why parents should leave their kids alone

GETTING YOUR HOMESCHOOL ORGANIZED: A MICROWAVE CART ORGANIZER

When Your Homeschooled Child Doesn’t Like to Read

Ways to Save Money Before You Buy Homeschool Curriculum

How to Build Under-Cabinet Drawers & Increase Kitchen Storage

The ABC's of a Godly Mother

Debra Bell's Homeschool Planners for Parents and Students - @apologiaworld #mosaicreviews

GERMAN HOMESCHOOLING FAMILY’S REQUEST FOR ASYLUM DENIED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

(you really should be aware of this case ... at first glance it doesn't seem to be important to homeschoolers in America - but this is a crucial battle - it is a stepping stone for homeschooling to become illegal in the USA, by denying that parents have a right and obligation to determine how and where their children should be educated.)




FREE Math Placement Test

God help us if we don’t learn from Gosnell’s crimes

Information about "Common Core"
If you home school - you NEED to be fighting this.   Learn what it is and why it is so dangerous.



And some of you might remember Kevin Sorbo of Hercules fame?  His wife homeschools their 3 kids and they are quite conservative.
Recently she has posted several posts about Common Core.
http://samsorbo.wordpress.com/

F is for Fire

For F is for Fire

We gave the kids a "fire colored" F
(ours were yellow and red, but orange could work)

Then we gave them a pair of scissors and small chunks
(left over from previous projects)
of orange, red, and yellow scraps.

We put glue all over the letter,
and let them cut giblets and glue them down. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The really enjoyed the creative freedom of this project.

 

We studied quite a few stories and concepts ..

1.  Cain and Abel's sacrifice
2.  Noah's sacrifice after the flood
3.  The concept of sacrifice
4.  Elijah and the priests of Baal
5.  3 Men in the Fiery Furnace
6.  Worshiping Idols
7.  Concept of Hell and punishment for sin

 

Interesting Posts and Notes

These are a few links/articles that I've ran across this week that may be of interest to others.   Please skim and enjoy.

Also, I am in search of a new RSS Feed Reader ... Google Reader will be discontinuing their feed on July 1.
What I am looking for...
1.  Easy to add and remove a feed.
2.  Simple and uncluttered.
3.  Pulls the entire article and not just a few lines.
4.  Easy to enlarge the print
5.  Online.
6.  Able to mark off what I have read, and leave the rest for later ... as I typically have over 100 blogs that I follow, and do a rapid skim over the 200 or so new posts daily, then come back on Sunday Afternoons and some evenings to read what is left.
Some articles about other RSS Feed Readers
http://email.about.com/od/rssreaderswin/tp/top_rss_windows.htm
http://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/05/featured/15-best-free-rss-readers-for-windows.html
http://www.feedly.com
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/newssquares-stylish-readi/mkmehbmdeabanfnddlekelahkaclfdhl

When Your Homeschooled Child Doesn’t Like to Read

Basic Kindergarten Readiness Skills

Coffee Filter Crafts – Snail Suncatchers

from Parental Rights.org

Common Core: The 'State-led' Myth

Sidewalk Chalk – 4 Letter Activities

Should Christians Go to College?

How to Arrange a Personal Library 




North American English Dialects, Based on Pronunciation Patterns

E is for Eternal

We chose ETERNAL or ETERNITY
for our E word.

We discussed that God was eternal,
that he didn't have parents or a beginning,
and that he would never die.

We also discussed heaven and living for eternity.
We briefly mentioned hell as well for balance,
but as the preschool/kindergarten age are sensitive
to "scary details" - I chose to not elaborate.

We talked about some symbols for eternal,
such a a line that could go on forever,
or counting forever,
or a circle that just goes around and around.

We chose YELLOW for our letter E
to remind the kids of the color of GOLD and Heaven.

We did "5 Golden Rings" ...
bet you can guess why?
LOL

 

 

 

 

D is for Dove

D is for Dove


We looked at several stories about Doves,
and other significant factors in the Bible.

1.  God Created the Dove

2.  It was one of the clean animals that Noah took 7 of into the ark.

3.  We reviewed the story of Noah,
and the part the Dove played in the story.

4.  We talked about how God allowed a dove to substitute for a lamb
for a sacrifice if the people were too poor to bring a lamb.

5.  Mary brought Doves when she brought Baby Jesus to the temple.

6.  We reviewed the story of Jesus' baptism,
especially the part where the Holy Spirit descended as a dove.

7.  Briefly mentioned that the Dove is often a symbol of peace.

 

We used their hands to form the wings.
And I haphazardly drew a bird head,
and was impressed with the results.
(I can't draw).

 

 

Sunshine's Dove was unique.

A couple of the bigger girls were quite elaborate with their decorations.

I encouraged them to draw the stories and pictures from our discussions,
onto the D part of their Doves.

 

This is suppose to be John and Jesus at the baptism.

The kids erased most of the blackboard before I remembered to take a picture.

Sewing for Orphans - Feb 18

This is from 2012,
we did this again this year.




One Saturday afternoon,
the ladies of our church got together and
sewed lots of little dresses and shorts
for orphans in Africa,  in CAR.

 

I've long forgotten which ones Song and Cat did.

 

Story sewed finishing touches and pockets.
She doesn't care for sewing machines.

Aunt C
came to help us out.

We set up a table with all the pieces already cut out.
I helped match pockets onto dresses.

 

 

 

By the end of the day,
we had over 20 items to send.

Our church has tons of talent!
It was so much fun to hang out together and do something like this.



Recently there has been a LOT of political upheaval
in this country.
While most of it has been "peaceful",
it has not been without it's problems.

Please keep the people there in your prayers.




On another note ....

Song's art work.