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Real Life Homeschooling: Food

4/8/2015

I married later in life, I spent my young adult years watching my siblings raise their children and witnessed battles over food.    I determined in my mind that food was not worth a major battle over.   So I chose NOT to fight with my boy about what he will and will not eat.   It gets a little exhausting you know.   (real life eh?   dealing with a picky eater and being tired of it).

I have gotten tired though of the "Mom, can't you make something I like?"

Since I am working with my son on how to turn complaints into questions and ways to be encouraging rather than discouraging, and how to be content with what he has.... I've decided that I will teach my boy how to make a variety of foods.

To that end... Let me walk through how we are changing my son's focus from "Why can't you" to "Mom, can I help you?   Can we try______???"

My son likes perogies. He would happily have them two or three times a week.. but I've so learned not to do that!   If he gets sick of something he simply won't eat it again. :)   (not going there you know what I mean?).   Anyways, we found this recipe for perogies and thought we'd give it a whirl.

Ingredients for the outside part.

- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2/3 cup cold water
For the "meat" of the perogies we made up a package of mashed potatoes and added a whack of shredded cheese to it.

It's amazing.

My boy is gaining confidence in the kitchen.
He'll happily make the shells for me now. Then we mix up the potatoe and cheese filling, sometimes (oh my oh my) adding bits of bacon or ham to it.   He's getting brave cause you know what "HE" can do it.

I'm thrilled.

He doesn't need reminding as much about food to find ways to be kind or helpful. He comes up with suggestions.   We've made pizza using naan bread (making them more than plain cheese ones).   A client at the foodbank gave him an idea about how to make mini pizza pockets.     Homemade mac and cheese, home made buns and so much more.   His repertoire is expanding and that is such a good thing.

The other day I was busy doing dishes and he asked if he could start supper. I found him a recipe and off he went. Reading, doing math, thinking out loud, asking questions.   Such a marvelous thing we've started here with the cooking.

Does he still sometimes complain? Yes, habits don't die overnight. But it is getting better and that is a very very good thing. :)

Some children's cooking sites that might be helpful to you.
Schoolhouseteachers.com does a cooking class.
Kids cooking activities has proven helpful.

Have fun looking on line as well.. a lot of sites are for LITTLE children, but some are for older ones as well. :)   Don't be discouraged. Your picky eater just might change their tune with just a touch of help in the kitchen. :)

Discover real life in other homeschools with the Schoolhouse Review Crew bloggers! Join the blog hop to read more!

Treasuring Life's Blessings Double O Farms Simple Living Mama Fried Clams and Sweet Tea This Sweet Life A Net In Time Counting Pinecones Some Call It Natural Kingdom Academy Homeschool Debbie's Homeschool Corner

Thinking Tuesday: Confucius

4/6/2015

Confucius.. I have to admit I don't know a whole lot about Confucius before I approached this chapter.   Other than to offer that sage wisdom "Confucius say..." and then utter some witty wisdom or some saying.

Originally his name was Kong Qiu.   He was born into a wealthy family ad worked as a servant when his father died.   He found time to study and over time became an administrator in the Lu Court.     When his suggestions to the rulers were ignored he left his position to concentrate on teaching.   He travelled throughout the Chinese Empire teaching as he went and fragments of his teachings and sayings have been collected by Confucian scholars.

So what did Confucius believe?
Confucius looked to the past for his wisdom.    He blended the wisdom of the past with the changing of the present.   China was developing a civil service class of people, people who earned their positions through merit rather than by family position.

The Analects, a collection of his teachings and sayings, is the main source for learning about Confucius.   It is more of a political treatise for how to form a good government with some attention to how to be a good gentleman (junzi).      At it's heart is a comprehensive ethical system.    Good gentlemen form good governments.

Heaven (tian) uses people (not just those in high classes but ANYONE) to unite the world with moral order.   It is the duty of people to act with virtue(the "de") and benevolence in order to achieve a just and stable society.

Confucius followed this train of thought
Faithfulness and sincerity are shown in traditional rituals and ceremonies.
These qualities in these settings allow virtue to become visible.
Virtue is then made manifest in the world.
Virtue can then be seen by others.
Others are transformed by virtue.
Faithfulness and sincerity hold the power of transformation.

click image to go to source: Chinese traditions

In these five constant relationships Confucius stressed loyalty. The first loyalty is politcal, then family and then clan. One must possess this virtue of Loyalty. This outward show of loyalty to one's position and to the way things should be done (via rituals) was the outward sign of true inner sincerity. And through this, the world can be transformed.

Some of Confucius' sayings

He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it. Confucius, The Confucian Analects

Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous. Confucius, The Confucian Analects

The determined scholar and the man of virtue will not seek to live at the expense of injuring their virtue. They will even sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue complete. Confucius, The Confucian Analects

When anger rises, think of the consequences. Confucius

A man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it is committing another mistake. Confucius

My Thoughts
I have to admit, I'm glad I took the time to try to understand some of what Confucius taught. He wasn't just a man of random sayings (Like I'd had thought). :)

But he's a man who really wanted to change society for the best, and he thought that by letting your virtue be seen that society could be changed for the better.

As believers we know that society is changed by letting people see God at work in you and telling others the reason for why you do things. It's not just in how we live. THOUGH how we maintain our relationships with others speaks to our relationship with God as well.

What do you think of Confucius???

Five On the Fifth - April

4/6/2015

I appreciated the Question and post posed here by Rebecca Ray, about What's in Your Hand?

I thought it a nicely written article that encourages us to use what we have in hand. Be willing to use what you have for the Lord.

"We think we’re weak. We think we’re too small and weak and have no skill for the work ahead. God sees our skills. God sees what’s in our hand."

The Privilege of the Pastor's Wife. Five good points in this article that folk like me (Pastor's wife) don't always think about... it's too easy to think of our isolation and lack of quality friendship or the really high expectations people put on you. But this article turns that perspective on its head and is worth reading.

Leah's answers well a homeschool myth in this post. "I could never teach my child anything." So I think it's worth a read for others as well. I am so pleased that she says it so much nicer than I think and so she encourages me to again, think before I speak (which I usually do). But I'd like to avoid the internal snort that I can be apt to do. :) (yes I know.. being much too honest here I'm sure).

Michele's honesty in this post, encourages me to continue my journey of change as well.

it's Good to let God change our hearts.

Even if, the process seems very slow....

If it gets posted in the next couple of days I will be linking up on Ben and Me.

If you were featured (like I was here) you can grab this button for your own blog. Pretty cool eh?

Real Life Homeschooling - Reading

4/6/2015

I read books. It's what I do.   You will never find me far some thing that I can read. (except when I am on a long walk in the bush or something). :) But then I'll have a book sitting in the car. :)

I am raising a boy child whom I dearly love. Who LOVES to tells stories. Who LOVES to have books of all sorts read to him. He simply adores it.   "Mom, don't stop reading" is an oft repeated phrase. "Mom, will you keep me company as I do ______ and read something to me?"   (now...who could turn down that offer???   :)

BUT this story loving .. does SO not actually like to READ the books himself.

Sometimes it feels like the world is screaming at me
"What? He doesn't like to read?!?!?! Whatever did you do wrong???"

Whatever is a homeschooling mom to do??
Like seriously.   I scratch my head about it somedays, but most days I do what I do which to .. TALK.

I talk.   I explain that we just need to find the genre of books that are not too hard and yet are interesting enough for him to want to read. I explain, that I expect him to be a mix between dad and I... a lover of mysteries and a love of facts!    And that yes, Minecraft books count. :)   So while we search for his genre we continue to read.

It amazes me sometimes just what books tickle his fancy. Take for instance this book on Antarctic Antics.

We had so much fun reading this book. :)    Answering riddles, following the life of a penguin all done in poem form.   Just fun. It's good to hear a giggles from a boy child. AND simple enough that he could take a gander at the odd riddle and see if he could flummox his mother! :)

But just as it surprises me about the book that he does like, it surprises me sometimes what books he does not like. Recently we read a book called "Curious Critters". He loved the pictures in it, but the text.. my... he was just not happy. When I pointed out the factual info at the end of the book he asked why the author couldn't have just written the text with the pictures like that.   I hear I had thought he'd really like it.   Goes to show I am continuing to learn what he likes.

What we have tracked down is he doesn't like sappy stories, he likes mysteries, and books with facts in it.   The more we read, the more we learn...and who knows... maybe before long we'll have a boy who loves reading as much as his mom and dad do. :)

So tell me.... if you have a boy in the 8-11 year old range, what would you have them read????

Discover real life in other homeschools with the Schoolhouse Review Crew bloggers! Join the blog hop to read more!

Real Life Homeschool: Art

4/6/2015

I don't know about you but I have a creative child. He draws, writes, story tells and creates. He plays minecraft and creates these little worlds that are very specific in their purpose. "DAD! Don't do that in this world. That's not supposed to happen!" Is a frequent cry in the afternoon.

I find him rather fascinating at times with what he creates. I would love to be able to create more often with my child.

I will come up with marvelous ideas that I think might tickle his fancy.

Any thoughts on how often I am successful?

Well...absolutely NONE! Yes indeedy. I have learned something very important with my lad. If I can't sell the art as a way to tell a story, we have no art.

If I can find a story, I can create the art with my lad. I've learned that not finding the story means a sulky child that engages in the form of art without actually DOING the art. Finding the story... even if it's from a poem... and Voila! We have art.

We found these books at the library called "imagine a day". I would read the poem of the day to my lad and then we would each sit down and draw a picture of what the story told us. We had SO MUCH fun with these books. When we were done we would compare our pictures with the picture in the book. Sometimes we were quite similar to the book and to each other and other times we had good discussions on what we did and why.

Another day we worked with doing a fresca. This time I was unthinking and followed the instructions in the book about getting used to drawing with fresca by doing sample lines of colour on the material. Unhappy compliance and a negative speaking child... UNTIL I turned it into a story. What do you think might happen if we did a boat that would capsize? What would happen if we had a clan cat hunting for a mouse? This created a child using his love of storytelling to talk himself through using different colours and being willing to try different options.

It's taken us time to figure out how to make art part of our homeschooling days. And we've learned something really important. Art can make a story, a story. It can! It's adds depth and humour and colour. So we need a story to create art, and art can make a story better. :)

So tell me something, how do you do art in your homeschool? Do your children happily engage in any art opportunities that you offer them? Or are they more like my creative one... needing a reason to try something new in to make it okay?

Discover real life in other homeschools with the Schoolhouse Review Crew bloggers! Join the blog hop to read more!

Every Bed of Roses Ben and Me Footprints in the Butter Mountain of Grace Homeschooling Raventhreads Counting Our Blessings Homeschooling for His Glory Ozark Ramblings Chestnut Grove Academy Only Passionate Curiosity Farm Fresh Adventures

Day one of Real life homeschooling - reading.

Missionary Monday: Paul Harrison

4/5/2015

Dr. Paul Harrison was sent out from the Trinity Reformed Church to be a doctor in Arabia. He worked there from 1909 until 1954.

He worked hard to establish a hospital for men while he was there.    He was not afraid of hard work or of learning new ways to do things. At one point, he saw a friend crocheting, and said "how do you do that stitch, it might be handy to sewing up a wound".      In his final year at John Hopkins as he was deciding where he would practice, Dr. Zwemer who was a medical missionary to Arabia came to talk to the students and he told them how working in Arabia is tough.. due the language, the climate and the people.

This proved to be the challenge that Dr. Harrison needed, and so he presented himself a doctor ready to serve in Arabia.   Despite the hardships (two years to learn basic Arabic) he manged to start a hospital.

He worked all over Arabia, traveling by donkey, camel, plane or automobile.   He would treat people under date trees, or lying on a mat in his hospital. He worked hard and served well.

Sources
Book Missionary Heroes.
HOPE college
Google books
google books.

Five Minute Friday - Good

4/4/2015

Take five minutes on Friday. Write on the word supplied by Kate. Just write, revel in the writing without needing to worry on editing and correcting and making it just so. Just write on one word and join in with others. Then go link up, take the time to be ind and comment on the person who linked up before you. It's good to encourage and to be encouraged is it not? :)

Today's word is GOOD.

1018 GO.

Good.
I think on this word and am brought to mind of two things.

One--- God's Grace supercedes my goodness.
Two---Being good isn't why Jesus came to die for us.

If I believe that my goodness makes a difference then I'm believing a lie from Satan himself.
Seriously.

Too long I have allowed Satan to lie to me.
Too long have I believed that somehow my goodness or the strength of my belief in God is what made me "okay" in the sight of God.

It isn't true you know.
God loves me regardless.
My faith is not required to be strong or sure or great or big.
It's simply supposed to be.

He is my strength.
He is my surety.

Not me or mine or anything else.
Just him.

God sent his son to die for ME because he loves me. That's all.
That is the only statement I need to be believing.

What about you?

1023 STOP

Review: Curious Critters

4/4/2015

David FitzSimmons has put together a really pretty book calls "Curious Critters - Marine". I have to admit, I enjoyed looking through this book as I reviewed it. The pictures are just stellar. :) It is his third book in the series "Curious Critters" which has won several awards.

My son eagerly picked it up for his daily reading time, and enjoyed looking at the pictures. When he saw the picture below he exclaimed "an urchin!"

As you can see, Fitzsimmons did an excellent job of taking pictures for this book. It is 32 pages long of colourful photography and written description.

At the close of the book you will find additional information about each of the animals featured in the book, it is a two page spread covering all 18 animals.   All the animals in this book being marine animals.

As I mentioned, my son enjoyed looking at the pictures in Curious Critters. He enjoyed the brief write ups on the end of the book but was disappointed by the text that accompanied the pictures.   He wanted facts, not stories.   My son is nine years old.   After he commented on it, I took a closer look at the text and understood his disgruntlement.   When one expects facts, and one gets a story told from the perspective of the animal, it's a bit disappointing. :)   "BUT my lad said.   The pictures are really clear, you can see EVERYTHING and that's really cool".

If you would like see some sample pages of Curious Critters, you can find them here. FitzSimmon has a goal to "allow children to experience nature, particularly animals, through reading". He meets that goal. :)

If you are looking for a book with clean, clear pictures of marine animals, this book is totally for you.   It's a really nice book and I could see using it with younger children as a way to introduce them to the variety that is in our oceans.   It would actually be fun to read the stories to the children... and then do a craft with them on it. :)

Product Details.
Received: Hard Cover book: Curious Critters, Marine.
Author: David FitzSimmons
Publisher: Wild Iris Publishing
Pages: 32
Series: Curious Critters.
Review done for David FitzSimmons.

David FitzSimmons is a photographer. He runs a photography blog. His photography and work can be seen at his website (note mute your speaker if you don't like noise as you browse). His work appears in books, magazine and calendars. He travels around talking about nature, photography and writing.

Review: Case for Grace for Kids

4/3/2015

Lee Strobel wrote an excellent book for starting discussion with your child(ren) about the fact of God's grace.

My son and I have read a section in this book for the past month.   It has provided us with much fodder for conversation. Not just about the grace of God but about how people treat each other, how we can handle hard events in our lives, how to react under pressure and much more.

We have both enjoyed it. My son is nine years old and just starting to think more deeply about things and he often comes up with interesting thoughts and questions about the things he learns about.

The format of the book is to introduce the story and how he managed to connect with different people.   We then learn about the person and what happened in their life, and then are shown how God's grace was active in their lives.

Each chapter concludes with two questions, one of which has a reading of scripture and a question about it.   These questions were often the catalyst to discussion.   I can't say my son connected with every question, but he always thought about them which was good. :)

Nine Chapters which are

On the Case
The Orphan
The Prodigal
The Professor
The Evangelist
The Executioner
The Hero
The Thief
Dream Come True

The second last chapter is a list of bible verses about Grace.

So what do I think about this book?
It's a great book for talking about what God's grace means in a practical sense for children. I liked how Mr. Strobel put a face to what grace can look like. From being adopted as a child, to being forgiven, and to the ability to react under pressure and stand as a witness for Christ.

It would be good for an older child to do through on their own say .. in the 12-14 year old range, or for a family discussion time. I could like to see the rest of the books in this series and go through them with my boy.

About the Author

Lee Strobel was the award-winning legal editor of The Chicago Tribune and is the best-selling author of The Case for Faith, The Case for Christ, and The Case for a Creator, all of which have been made into documentaries by Lionsgate. With a journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a Master of Studies in Law degree from Yale, Lee wrote 3 Gold Medallion winners and the 2005 Book of the Year with Gary Poole. He and his wife live in Colorado.

Jesse Florea has written and edited for Focus on the Family for over 20 years. As editorial director for youth publications, he oversees Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines, and he co-hosts the “Official Adventures in Odyssey” podcast. Jesse has written or co-written more than a dozen books, including the best-selling devotionals The One Year Devos for Sports Fans and The One Year Father-Daughter Devotions. He lives with his wife, Stephanie, in Colorado Springs and enjoys hanging out with his two grown children.

Product Details:
Received: Soft Cover book "The Case of Grace for Kids".
Author: Lee Strobels with Jesse Florea
Publisher: ZonderKids
Pages: 167
Reviewed for BookLookBloggers.com

Field Trip and Review : Medieval Times, Toronto

4/2/2015

Imagine my delight, when after a year of studying the Middle Ages, we were offered the chance to go to Medieval Times, Toronto and review a show? Could I have asked for anything better? And Boy Oh Boy did we ever have a good time! Let me tell you all about it.

As we drove around the building to find parking around the building we saw glimpses of the Rivalry, Chivalry and Revelry we were about to experience. This just led us to further anticipation.

First off I have to apologize for the quality of my pictures. I thought they turned out better than they seemed to have, and I'm not so great with playing with the settings on my camera. Much of the show was done with dimmed lights creates and additional challenge in taking pics. So my apologies, please DO NOT let it stop you from going to the show! Really Don't!!!

From the get go we were treated ever so nice. From the moment we passed through the doors of the building everyone was so very considerate of us. Helping us to get ourselves situated, explaining everything as we went along.

We were given three green cards. This meant we were assigned to the green area. I can't recall the numbers on the cards, but we were sitting right next to the arena. We were able to clearly see the actors and their animals going in and out. But I'm getting ahead of myself. On our way to the sitting area we had our pictures taken, each person in our party got a copy. We each received a green hat. As we walked toward the area, all the people with various coloured hats gathered in one area which was surrounded by a variety of different shops. Each colour group was called in, in order. Green, yellow, blue, red/yellow, black/white and yellow. There were six colours in all, each colour sitting in it's own area.

I wanted to know if the shops had as good a customer service as the front service people and they did. My boy asked a question of me that I didn't know the answer to so I sent him up to the service people to ask. He's known to be quite persistent at making sure he understand things well, and they responded to him very nicely. I noticed they did this with other customers as well. I was pleased that they didn't brush him off as has happened in other venues. :)

Once we were sitting down, the wait staff came around to get our drinks organized. I asked him how he kept the drinks straight and he told me his trick. He arranges the mugs to show the drink that people want. I asked him what happens if someone isn't paying attention and moves the mug... he said he always double checks right before he pours the drink. And he does! :) He was very pleasant through the meal.

I should mention that the family sitting next to us had a different meal. It was vegetarian. I asked if they enjoyed it "very much so, it was good". They serve Vegetarian, Halal & Kosher meals and well as providing full bar service. I noticed some families could not finish their meal and had it packaged up to take home.

I have to admit, my son felt challenged throughout the meal. He's a bit of a fussy eater and getting tomato soup and potatoes served in a different fashion was a bit of hard thing for him to do. :) But he enjoyed the butter tart (plus mine), garlic bread, and corn (plus mine) and left feeling quite satisfied overall -- and I ate most of his chicken (Dad had the extra soup). Everything was eaten without utensils. The food was placed on our platters

We also received this very nice program. It gave some of the details behind the show and kinda what we could expect.

Throughout the meal we enjoyed the show. They timed it really well. :)

This was an immensely enjoyable evening. Well put together with the royalty talking and dispensing rewards, the Lord Chancellor did an excellent job of keeping the show moving along well, the knights competing to show who was best, and even having a villian! Oh.. I wanted to get a good pictured of him, but he was dressed in dark clothing in a darkened arena....I just couldn't get a good shot of him. :(. Green team one!!!!! In case you didn't know WE WERE GREEN! My son was ectastic!!!

most of the time my son was so busy watching he would forget to eat. He was so intent.

The battles at the end of the show totally captivated my lad.   He was so intrigued wanting to know who would win, cheering madly for the green knight and beyond excited when he won. The villain got thoroughly booed and it was good to see him get trounced by the green knight.

I was happy to see various methods of weaponry used so that what my son has been learning about he could actually see put in to action.   The flail is quite a deadly weapon!    Seeing the great sword in action, my lad said "that weapon is massive mom, and it's as slow as I thought it would be.   He must be strong!"

So do i think you should go out to Medieval Times and take in the show? YES!
It is a very well done show.   I am so happy we were invited to take it all in.

What did we take home with us?
Three copies of a good family picture, including the King (each coming with it's own blue protective folder).   A green ribbon, a green hat, and nicely put together program.

Some Pertinent Details.

Medieval Times is doing some Knight Training in April. You can learn more about that by going to THIS LINK.

Pricing information can be found at this LINK for the regular shows.

They can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Medieval Times has been in the Toronto area for over 20 years and are the destination for celebration: birthdays, anniversaries, grad trips and bachelor & bachelorette’s. When you come to Medieval Times you will experience spectacular pageantry, dramatic horsemanship, breathtaking swordplay and falconry while feasting on a four-course medieval banquet. The experience culminates in an authentic jousting tournament between six brave Knights of the Realm.