I would like you to welcome with me, Carol Emmert, to my blog today.  Carol is a sweet lady with a quick heart to pray, and heart to listen to others.

I asked her if she'd be willing to be part of this encouragement series.  I am so delighted that she did so, you must simply read this great post on Tying Heart Strings.

Today I have another Claudia Mills book for you.   You may recall that I did a review for Simon Ellis, this is one of his classmates.  We met him as the farm boy on Simon's Spelling Team that made sure the team knew how to spell the word trough.  Cody is a boy who likes animals so it makes sense that a book about him would be called Cody Harmon, King of Pets.

My Son's Review

"It was an enjoyable book".

"It had a good story line to it.   They had a pet show.  Not everyone had their own pet so one person loaned their pets out.   Cody had to make a hard decision to not let a friend borrow his most favourite pet and letting him have another pet and seeing that friend not treat the rooster very nicely.  They were able to stay friends".  

"The reason he didn't let his friend borrow his dog was the friend threw a stone at a squirrel"

"I think other children should read this book".

I absolutely LOVE soup.  It's my go to food whenever I am stressed or feeling poorly.  Love soup, even basic chicken noodle, or broth and noodle soup.  Every once in a while I'll make up a fancy soup... with different stuff in it. 

Yesterday we were going to be out all day so in the morning I put a soup together with my international student and the lad.

What did we put in this soup?

• Pork roast - I made this the night before with cranberry sauce and broth. Very simple.
  
• carrots
• barley
• hard wheat red I think
  
• green beans
• corn
• onion flakes (dried)
• broth chicken and beef
• green peas
  


• tossed in some different seasonings
• Garlic
  

Put it in the crock pot and left for the day.

As to who did what?
International student learned how to chop up roast into soup sized pieces and how to operate our can opener.
Son added the broth, spices and onion flakes.
I added frozen veggies, barley and wheat.

I love family cooking and it gives confidence to the less sure members of the family.  :)

Came home to "Mmmm.. something smells good".
Two hungry boys and a mom dug right in.
It was good.  :)

We have enough left for lunch on Wednesday, unless we have it for supper tonight.

Imagine this... You have a child who is good at art, but is reaching that stage where he wants to try new things, but has a mother who isn't quite up different ways to do art and doesn't have the inspiration for it either?   Enter in The Entire Level I course of ArtAchieve... it has been a blessing to a lad and his mother.  :)

ArtAchieve: What is it?

• Inspired by art from all around the world
• help people like me teach art to my lad
• includes helpful links to make the art lesson broader, covering social studies, science and language arts
  
• it is an online art drawing program from children from kindergarten age up through to adults of any age.
  
• Lessons are presented in video and power-presentation formats
  

What is included in the Entire Level I course?

• Shading Rounded Objects (this is also a free lesson)
  
• The hungarian Insects
  
• The Haitian Gecko
  
• The dragonfly from Ecuador
  
• The Chinese Dragon
  
• The Owl from Bali
  
• The Kitenge Tree Wall Hanging from Tanzania
  
• The Plate from Nepal
  
• Four Suns with Four Faces
  
• The Sheep from Wales

Each Lesson has four sections to it.

   I really appreciated the layout of this on-line art curriculum, I loved that we could go as fast or as slowly as we wanted to.

We started out each lesson watching the video lesson.  This gave us an opportunity to just see what we were going to do and get the ideas into our heads.  We would talk about the new techniques we would be learning and make sure we had the needed supplies.

We'd research the topic of the lesson... geckos, suns in art, and dragonflies.   Seeing how people have used them in art and observing them in the wild (via video in the case of geckos).   We did science (studying geckos and dragonflies), Geography (learning about where the art inspiration came from, seeing where that was in the world), art (seeing how the sun has been used in various art forms) and more.  Art, interwoven into so many subject areas.  I can totally see this being used in a co-op situation if you have a screen big enough for all the children to view.

We worked out way slowly through each of the lessons using the power point presentation.   We really liked how we could go slide by slide, skip ahead, go back and double check what we are doing.   Using out touch screen laptop was very beneficial in this, helping us flip through the slides quickly.

And to be honest, I have to admit that I really liked that ability to slow down and go at our own pace, it fit into how we do school and life.  :)

Working on the four suns project was a great way to show my lad how two people can approach the same project with the same instructions and come out with a completely different project.  It taught him a bit about planning ahead, and when that doesn't pan out the way you thought it would, how to regroup and figure out how to make it work.   I LOVE the vibrancy in my son's four suns work (he didn't want me to show the finished work).  He is SO detail oriented... I think the final result turned out splendidly but all he sees is the bobble he made on the cool side...  In my eye the colours on his just pop out and say HEY, look at me!!

I have to admit, that there were areas that my son struggled with. This provided us with an opportunity to talk to John and discover that he's a very helpful and friendly fellow.

Rules for drawing stymied my lad:
Silence?   Playing Music?   MOM!!!!
Some of you don't know me or my boy well enough to know that we are chatterers.   We like to talk about all sorts of things while working, and most often it's not connected with the task at hand.   So the idea of playing music or working in silence was an anathema to us.   So we asked John why this was a recommendation. 
His words: Maybe a story is a helpful way to answer this. When I learned to play tennis, I was constantly saying things like, “Oh, no!” and “Come on! That was terrible!” as I swatted at the ball. A friend advised me to hum while I played, and for me that humming ushered in a big step of progress in my playing. Why? Because while I hummed (while I was caught up in the tune) I wasn’t able to engage in all the negative talk. The negative talk got in the way of being playful, thinking visually/spatially, and being aware of how the game was going. The negative talk turned play into work, and made me a poor player. Humming made me more playful; it made the game almost like a dance. As the game became more fun and playful, my skills advanced rapidly.
       Playing music during art can work in a similar fashion, if we let it. It also helps us make that mind shift from verbal/analytical thought to spatial thought. If it helps to hum along with the music, do so. If you prefer to simply hum, like I did in tennis, skip playing music, and simply hum.
My son couldn't work his head around humming and doing art, so we gave up on that idea, and has been learning that silence sometimes helps with concentration, but we still chatter.. it's part of who we are.  :)   

As you go through the lessons, John makes them as helpful as he can.  Providing lists of supplies needed, practice sheets for drawing and basic instructions for what to do with your paint is too thin, not the right shade and such like.   Many different techniques are included into each art work, from learning the cool and warm colours, shading, blending and much more.

Our most recent project, the dragonflies, we haven't finished yet.   My son is not convinced that adding water colours to the oil pastels will work well, so he's been testing it out on "bad drawings".   What colours he wants to use, how much, in what patterns and will it affect his dragonfly?   He's worked hard on it and isn't convinced it "isn't perfect" but is starting to think it "might be okay".   It's hard sometimes when you are a perfectionist and you're engaged in a medium for the first time.   It's been a great project for him though, as he's seeing how science and art go hand in hand... from learning about the object we're drawing, to finding ways to draw circles in decreasing sizes, mixing colours, figuring out thickness of paint and water and how to combine the two, and through it all...needing to breathe out his frustration and relax.

The relaxation techniques that he hated when we started have become a part of doing art now.  As John told us "it’s a way of helping us be more aware. First, we take time to be aware of our breathing, and that aids in slowing us down; it sets us up for being aware and taking time to look carefully when we get into the drawing, to notice how a color is working, etc."

We received a years access to the entire lesson I art drawing lessons from ArtAchieve. 

I fully anticipate completing the rest of the art projects. 

Over the next three weeks I anticipate finishing another project with our International Student who is visiting us from France.

It will be a great way to practice English and to have fun learning.  He's quite curious about the fact that we school at home as he's never heard of such a thing before. 

Did you know that you can purchase individual lessons?  I know awesome eh?   You can also try out sample lessons from each of the levels.  

The site is easy to navigate, so I recommend you visit them and check out the individual lessons.   Each bundle of lessons is priced differently ($27 and up), as are the individual lessons ($4 each and up).   All available for a full year.

99 people from the TOS crew have been reviewing three of the different levels the ArtAchieve offers. 

Entire Level I
Entire Level II
Entire Level III

Click on the banner below to learn more

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His children shall have a place of refuge. Proverbs 14:26

Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty rock
Within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness,
A rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat,
And the burden of the day.

O safe and happy shelter,
O refuge tried and sweet,
O trysting place where Heaven’s love
And Heaven’s justice meet!
As to the holy patriarch
That wondrous dream was giv’n,
So seems my Savior’s cross to me,
A ladder up to Heav’n.

There lies beneath its shadow
But on the further side
The darkness of an awful grave
That gapes both deep and wide;
And there between us stands the cross
Two arms outstretched to save
A watchman set to guard the way
From that eternal grave.

Upon that cross of Jesus
Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One
Who suffered there for me;
And from my stricken heart with tears
Two wonders I confess;
The wonders of redeeming love
And my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow
For my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine
Than the sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by,
To know no gain or loss,
My sinful self my only shame,
My glory all the cross.

 Elizabeth C. Clephane wrote the words to this hymn.  The words were published post-humously in the Family Treasury, a Scottish Presbyterian magazine, in 1872, titled Breathing on the Border.

Ms. Clephane was a Scottish lass, who lived for only 39 years.  She was a sickly lass known to have a cheery outlook on life.   She was a devout Scottish Presbyterian and in her community was known as "The Sunbeam".  She enjoyed writing poetry, unfortunately most of them were published after her death, in a magazine called The Family Treasury.    Her parents died when she was young, her father being a sherrif.  Along with her sister, she ministered to the poor and needy in her neighbourhood of Melrose.   

The publisher of "The Family Treasury" had these words to say in regards to the poem that became the hymn Beneath the Cross of Jesus.    “These lines express the experiences, the hopes and the longings of a young Christian lately released. Written on the very edge of life, with the better land fully in view of Faith, they seem to use footsteps printed in the sands of time, where these sands touch the ocean of eternity. These footprints of one whom the good shepherd led through the wilderness into rest, may, with Gods blessing, contribute to comfort and direct succeeding Pilgrims.” (source)

Sources:
Cyber Hymnal.   Discipleship Ministries. Lectionary.  Gaffney Ledger.

Dear Mama,

Do you see those faces before you?
Those sometimes cherubic faces?
Those mischievous get into trouble faces?
Those faces that make you laugh and cry and wonder?

Yes, THOSE faces...the ones you raise and care for?

Do you know what you are doing with those faces mama?

You are building.  Building the next generation.
Shaping, forming, creating, the next generation of folk.

Who in their own turn will
Shape, form and create the generation that comes after.

It's what you are doing mama,
Don't forget it in the midst of the busyness and turmoil of life.
In the laughter and the joy.

You are building lives.

It's NOT all in your hands.
You have a helper who is the best builder of all.

Lean on that builder as you do building of your own.

That's all you have to do mama... Lean on a builder as you build younger lives.

First up: by Betsy Harvey Kraft.

I found this an interesting book to read, filled with great illustrations, about daring and persistence and faith in his design.    George Ferris tried time and again to get funding for his invention, and finally got it.   His observation wheel went up in Chicago for the World's Fair.    So many skeptics until acceptance came.

I can just imagine the wonder, the excitement and the fear that such a large invention would have rendered.   The first of it's kind.

People have copied his design since that day.   It's exciting to see all the different ones that have gone up throughout the world.   It's unfortunate how Ferris' wheel ended up but his invention lives on in Ferris wheels everywhere. 

Illustrator Seven Salerno did the Ferris wheel justice in his rendition of it.

This is a wordy picture book, so not one to hold up to read for story hour, but it's an excellent book to set with if you want to start a study on Ferris Wheels as it gives a good grounding into the determination needed by George Ferris to get it erected and used by the public.  A book study could easily be written for it as well and I'm contemplating doing that as it's a solidly good book.

Published by Henry Holt and Co. it is 9.45 x 11.24 · 42 pages and geared for ages 5-9 years.

Next, let me introduce you to a book ALL about Coyotes.   Coyote Moon by Maria Gianferrari.

Coyote Moon is book that to my 51 year old eyes need to be read in a well light room.  The books' colouration FITS really well in the life of a Coyote and when they are most active.   In this book we go with coyote mom as she heads out to find lunch for her brood of youngsters. 

Can she get a rabbit or a goose or ?????

I have to admit I was disappointed at what the coyote ended up catching.   As I read the book I was fascinated learning about the coyote, the lyrical sentences drew me in and caused me to want to know more about them, and then to basically have the coyote be called a chicken thief at  the end. 

I grew up on a farm.   And coyotes don't exactly have a good rap growing up, and I guess I just expected more from this book.   It's good to have that realism and I appreciated the end note by the author pointing out how very adaptable coyotes are to living in all sorts of environments.   Coyotes will make do wherever they find themselves.

I just wanted more.

It's a wonderfully illustrated book, the coyotes are portrayed realistically.   I don't want to leave you with the impression that I disliked this book because I liked it.   I just hoped for a different prey to be caught at the end.  Momma coyote took care of her family and this is what the book was about, could she find prey, could she use all her skills, knowing that she'd miss at least once, maybe twice until finally she achieved her goal.. food for herself and her younglings.

Good job momma coyote, excellent job in illustrating by Bagram Ibatoulline, pleasant and informative lyrical verse by Maria Gianferrari.  This book would be an excellent introduction to the study of Coyotes as it shows them in fine detail and in their environment, living their lives.

Published by Roaring Brook Press, it is 10.89 x 10.24  and runs 32 pages, geared for children ages 4-8 years.

These books were generously sent to me by Raincoast Books.

this post contains affiliate links.  Just helps me and my family out, doesn't hurt your bottom line at all.  :)   Thanks!

Kids need Heroes, you know that right?

Their folks serve well as heroes, and then as time goes on they find new people to emulate.

Right now my boy is fascinated by the character Will in the Ranger's Apprentice.  He has built entire stories around him.   How he's good, how he trains others to work and fight hard, how he works with a team for the safety of his people.   It's SO GOOD to see him with a good hero.

But you know what's even better.... when children have biblical Heroes as well.  When they have people of faith to look up to.   People like Joseph and Moses, Ruth and Esther.  People, just regular people, that God loved and worked with.  

So let me tell you about Grapevine Studies.. they have a "heroes" bundle for you this month.  Can you imagine...you can save 20% this month if you get the bundle.  Help your children develop some biblical heroes as well.  

Grapevine is one of my favourite methods of studying the bible.  Drawing pictures as you put God's word into your heart and mind.. EXCELLENT.  :)   Keeps hands busy and minds thinking.   Maps, history, and God in action.   It's GOOD.

You need to check out this sale though eh?

Just to clarify, 20% off until July 31st.   Nice eh?    Get a copy, use your own bible translation if you want to, get your children talking and learning about the bible, let them draw the pictures their own way if they don't like the suggested picture, let them draw their own....sometimes that brings out additional questions and more learning happens.. it's totally cool when that happens! 

Anyways, check out the sale today.  :)

 Simon Ellis and his best friend Jackson are in trouble, a distance is growing between them... could this be the end of their friendship?   What can Simon do?   Will third grade be a horrible time for Simon?

My son and I thoroughly enjoyed reading through Simon Ellis: Spelling Bee Champ.   My son thought the game the boys made up when they were younger sounded fun and then when mom got stopped by the police over it.. he just HOOTED!   I can totally imagine other children enjoying this book as well.

A good story, I have to admit, I found it interesting how they ran the spelling bee as a team.  It was a new idea to me, and I could see how it would cause tension in children.   Especially if a good speller was linked with some not so good spellers.   

Simon learned that competition with a team was an interesting challenge that required some give and take, and his friend learned that smart kids make mistakes too, sometimes even on purpose!

Could my son have read this book by himself?   Sure... but it was fun to read it together and during the spelling test I would stop and give him two different ways of spelling a word and then ask... so which do you think is right?   Sometimes he was right, and sometimes well... let's just say we haven't done a lot of spelling work.  :)

Psalm 104:1-7: “Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent, you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers. You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken. You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.” 

Sources:
Share Faith. Discipleship Ministries.  Hymnary.  Christianity.com.  Wiki. Bartleby.com.