This book was captivating read.   Just who was this bold young minx determined to prove her point?   Just what is the back story behind the play-boy Jack?   Something is going on and I quickly wanted to know just what it was.

Not only did I enjoy the story between Grace and Jack, I was particularly intrigued by the knowledge of the Women's Forage Corps.   I had not known of this organization prior to this book and was drawn to do some research on it.  Here is one of the pages I found.

The action takes place in the spring of 1917.   Grace's brother is fighting in the battle, and to Grace it appears that perfectly healthy Jack is shirking his duty to his country and its people, so she makes sure he gets a white feather of cowardice.   His reaction to getting it causes me to think there is more going on his story then we are originally given to believe.

As the rest of the book unfolds we learn there is much more to both characters than one might think, and even in those knowledge, the Jack and Grace find themselves continuing to learn and grow.  

A treason is committed.    
Who really in the guilty party?

Read and find out!   It just may surprise you, or perhaps you'll figure it out yourself.  Either way, if you enjoy light romance with a touch of mystery, this book will appeal to you.

Ah, it's been too long since I've been able to take part in Five Minute Friday.  The rules are still the same.  Go to Kate's Blog.  Discover the week's word prompt.  Write for Five minutes.  Link up.  Then IMPORTANTLY.. encourage the person who linked up before you.  Easy peasy.  :)   This week the word is FIND.

Five Minutes on a Friday (this is actually late on a Thursday night) thinking of the word Find.

Find is an odd word.
It brings up different thoughts doesn't it?

Like I am finding myself watching an episode of Who loves Raymond and finding it VERY stupid.  Comparing through who don't believe in Santa with atheists.     It's like "GET REAL".   And then, since I'm thinking of the word find, I wonder if any of the Raymond writers have "found" the Lord God yet.    If they did, I wonder how they find themselves dealing with this subject in their workplace.   It can be a difficult thing integrating work and faith.

Like how I find myself increasingly fascinated by my lad.  Aware now that there will be consequences for poor behaviour on his part.  An issue that he is struggling with is suddenly lessened.    It intrigues me how punishment becomes so quickly a motivating factor, and it's causing him to do what I've been imploring him to do.. THINK before he acts.

Like how finding something implies that it was LOST in the first place.   But sometimes it was never lost, it just hadn't been discovered yet.   Is something not yet discovered lost?   That notion intrigues me.

I hope that this finds you locating how often you can find things throughout your day.    Enjoy the journey won't you? 

Hiding at a Bridal School?   Seriously?    Could a person really do this?   But that is exactly what Militine chose to do.  Leaving behind her past as she looked for a new future.  Would she find one?   Come with me on this journey though a light romance filled with touches of mystery.

Everyone has secrets and hard things in their lives.   Tracie Peterson focuses her attention on two individuals involved with a Bridal School in Seattle.

Militine is running from her past.   Attending the bridal school in Seattle seems the perfect solution.   Make some friends, learn how to be a good wife, gain some real life experience and training and be far from a past you no longer want to part of.

Enter conflict.   Wealthy men.  Pastors who wish to impose their will upon a church.   A particular man (Thane) with a past all his own he'd rather not be talking about it and you have all the mixings for an interesting book to read.

Milicent herself is a good character, well-developed, helpful, she seems a girl I wouldn't mind getting to know.  :)   Her best friend is Abrianna.

Thane, a good-hearted young man, recovering from a hard past.  An easy character to like and appreciate along with his best friend Wade.  

The book revolves around the lives of these four characters, with a wealthy business claiming a love interest, whimsical aunts (who run the boarding school), and a disaster!

Can't say anything more or I'll give away the book!  :)

It was a good read, I enjoyed it, though sometimes I shook my head at the foolishness of the people involved.   That foolishness is part of what made it a good read, waiting to see how it all turns out, friendship and love and concern and anger... it's all in the mix and God will see his people through.

It's that time of year when homeschooling bloggers are making lists of what they plan to do for the school year.  I've not done this before and I'm feeling uncertain about doing so as it seems like a commitment to do so right?   And we change things around here speedily if there is need to do so.  

BUT life is nothing but flexible right?

HISTORY:
1. Story of the world (reading chapters)   We are currently 3/4's of the way through the second book.
2. Chronicles of church history (reading chapters)   Have finished the first in this five book series.
3. Canada diaries (reading chapters).     We've read several of these and thoroughly enjoy them.  Also do the Princess diaries...wondering if there is a Prince diary as well... 
4. Veritas Press.  On-line history course.    We are finishing off our middle ages course and are soon to start our explorers course.

Why so many different books?   Because we like to read and it means we can skip one and not feel like we are missing anything.  :)   Could we read through the books faster if we just read them one at a time?   For sure...but what if we get bored then?

Geography:
I have to admit, I"m really hit and miss with geography and I'm really not sure what I'm going to do with this.   It does it covered, but we really don't do anything in depth.  I'm considering doing a couple of different things.   A child's geography  started this for a review and didn't finish it as it's an ebook which means it's really easy for me to forget that it exists.   Lisa has done an explore Canada ebook that we might take a month to go throw as well.

Math:
GPA worked well for us last year, but the further we got into the course the more I heard "Mom, can I skip this?  I know this."   So I"m looking into alternatives.  I've ordered Jump Math books for the lad.  Not sure when they will arrive so until then we'll be working through Stinky Kid Math.   Stay tuned for an upcoming review.  So far the words I'm hearing are "MOM!   I don't get this!!!"   This means he's being challenged and that's not a bad thing.  :)

Language Arts:
IEW-  institute for excellence in writing.   Did this as a review this year, we have a fair bit to finish yet, so will finish working through the course.   We'll also do some work with Logic of English.   A current review we are working through is SuperTeachers.  Love this website and will continue to make use of it.

Science:
Science is very boy based and nature oriented.   That will continue as well as adding in studies of gears, chemistry kits, videos, books and all sorts of things.   Nothing specifically planned for this subject area.

Other stuff:
Music: going to work through Gena's new ebook on20th century composers.
Art: working on water colours this year.   Hoping to find good books in the library
Archaelogy: found areally neat curriculum for my co-op class.  My lad is intrigued... so.. we'll be doing a unit on archaelogy.
Tinkers Time: I'll use schoolhouseteachers.com as well as finding stuff on Pinterest.. Doing some of the things on this board.
Cursive: continuing to work through Cursive Logic.
Bible: Will continue to do much the same as last year.... doing devotions together.   Might also do some stick figure bible work.

Interspersed in the midst of all this will be various "social study" type information, unit studies, page a day books, and TONS of reading.   Reading is good for the soul and good for learning.   So continue it we shall.

We'll see how it all goes.   We'll be doing a four week on, one week off rotation with time off for vacation, holidays and what not.     Hopefully it will all work.  :)

I don't know about you, but around this house crescent rolls are a favourite.  :)   We have learned to experiment with them as well.   My lad often mentions to people at the Foodbank what we've done with them lately and they are getting less frequently surprised.

Our current favourite thing with crescent rolls is to not unroll them but rather to cut them into 1 cm (at the most) slices and roll them in cinnamon sugar.   Just cook 'em up in the toaster oven or in a regular oven and you get tasty smiley goodness (at least my lad says they smile at him).

We have also
1. wrapped them around mozzarella sticks
2. made pizza bites: tomato, cheese, favourite topping
3. shredded cheese bites
4. leftover casserole bites.... particularly good with cream soup/rice/chicken
5. hubby likes to do onion bites (but the lad and I aren't huge onion fans).
6. unroll them and make cinnamon rolls or peanut butter/banana rolls, or try them with nutella or chocolate chips... mmmm.....
7. pie filling bites.  First time my lad had these we needed to caution him that in this house we share food.  :)

Friends have used them to do hamburger rolls... not my fav... but hey.. it's an option.  :)

For more inspiration check out these pages.
15 easy recipes from Pillsbury.
Christine Bryne
Recipe Lion.
Breakfast and Dessert Ideas.

Dear readers, tell me this, what is your favourite way to use crescent rolls?  Can you share the recipe below or link to it?     Thanks a heap.  :)

My boy surprised me this week.

He's in Vacation Bible School at one of the local churches.

They put a challenge out to the children.  Complete an activity book (easy enough) and read the book of John (21 chapters...daunting!).

I kept reminding my boy to read it, to complete his activity book and he kept blowing me off.

So I stopped reminding him.  I don't need to remind a boy to do things and have him blow me off.  Consequences will teach.

The second last day.  He's reminded of the benefits of following through on the challenge.

The reminder is out of my hands beyond.. "MOM!   Why weren't you stricter with me and make me do this? AH!!!    How am I going to read it through?   How am I going to do this by tomorrow???!?!?!?!   MOM!!!"

I told him I'm not keen on getting blown off and that I gave him LOTS of reminders and it was his choice to not follow through.   I encouraged him to do his best.

And you know what?   He did it!

I was surprised.

I did help him read six chapters because he was doing a stellar job of reading .. but not only that... he read and he talked about what he was reading.

I was FLOORED.   In less than a day he read the entire book of John, completed an activity book, and turned from stressful boy into "I did it Mom".  

Rather cool eh?

So guess what this means?

I can step up my expectations of my boy and the work he is able to accomplish.  This is a good thing to know.  :)

My boy, who has hitherto been content to read comic books, because everything else is too hard, or too boring, read and enjoyed reading through the book of John.  He understood much and asked excellent questions of what he was reading.

I think it's time to ask a bit more of him.

So tell me this....as you plan your homeschooling this year, have your children surprised you by what they can do and made you revamp some of your opinions and strategies?

Taking part in the blog hop has been fun.
I hope you've enjoyed this week.
If you want to see what others are writing, here's a list below to get you started.
if you want to see a list of all the participating bloggers, GO HERE.

Joanie @ Simple Living Mama
Aurie @ Our Good Life
Jennifer @A Peace of Mind
Jenn @ Treasuring Life's Blessings
Kemi @ Homemaking Organized
Wendy @ Life at Rossmont
Katie @ DailyLife
Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
Kim @ Homestead Acres
Melissa @ Mom's Plans

I don't know about the circles that you run in, but in mine... many homeschool teachers have a subject that isn't so easy to teach OR simply isn't received well.

For me... teaching art is a challenge.
For my son... doing math is WAY on the bottom of his list.

What is THAT subject for you?   What about for your child/student?

As teachers, if we have a problem area, an area that is harder to teach we have all sorts of options available to us for teaching it.
1. If not a core subject we can drop it.   Let it be something that a child can pursue when they mature and are interested enough to pursue it on their own.
2. Source it out.   Get someone else to teach it.  
3. Research and find materials to help you teach it.

Seven different steps to take.

What we can do as teachers, teaching a difficult subject is to
1. Back off a bit.    Figure out what the issue is.  Wording, mental block, terminology, difficulty level,
2. Change it up a bit.   If doing worksheets is causing a mental block, watch a video, do some practical work
3. SHORT sessions.  Seriously.   Right now my boy is trying to understand Commutative properties in basic algebra.   I don't get mom.  Doesn't make sense to me.   I could get all stressed about it, but what I've learned to do is the following: Watch a video....twice.  And then stop. Walk away from it.  Two days later (so tomorrow) I'll read about it with him.  AND thats it.  I won't try to explain it.   I will just let it set with him for a couple more days.  Then next week Tuesday we'll watch the video again.  By then the stress of figuring it out will have eased, and some of the wording will have sunk in and we can look at it with clearer heads again.
4. Give permission to fail.   Remember this: It doesn't matter how long it takes to learn a concept as long as it's eventually learned.
5. Back up a page if you need to.    If a new concept is too hard, just back up to something a bit easier or break it down into smaller parts.
6. Slow and steady wins the course.   In a culture of immediacy it's hard to remember that taking time is not a bad thing.  Cementing the learning in a steady way is a good thing.
7. Ask questions to help gain additional learning.   Don't be afraid to ask questions or even to answer them.  

What steps to you take to help yourself or your children learn THAT subject that just causes you problems?    Share please.  :)

This post is part of a blog hop with a group of delightful women.
Here is a partial list to get you started.

Rebecca @ Raventhreads
Karen @ Tots and Me...Growing Up Together
Rebekah @ There Will Be A $5 Charge For Whining
April @ ElCloud Homeschool
Brenda @ Counting Pinecones
Tara @This Sweet Life
Tara @ Embark on the Journey
Jennifer @ Chestnut Grove Academy
Annette @ In All You Do
Lisa @Farm Fresh Adventures
Tauna @ Proverbial Homemaker

For the entire list, check out this post.

My posts this week can be found at the following links, if you'd like to follow along.  :)

Monday:  Keeping your cool during the back to school rush
Tuesday: Where will your reading journey take you?
Wednesday:  Those hard to teach subjects.
Thursday:
Friday:

I have to admit to feeling a bit flummoxed today....I had a hard start to the day, and I like writing interesting posts and I have nothing.  :)   Can you imagine me with nothing to say?   Shocker isn't it.  :)

I do suppose though, that one can always find something to talk about though.   Like some of the really interesting posts some folks are writing.  

I read a couple of different posts about how people school for six weeks and off for one, or they work for four weeks and take one off.  The week off gives mom teacher a chance to make a schedule that is shorter in duration, and reflects one's ability to make changes.      I have to admit, that REALLY resonated with me.    I hope to do something similar.  Giving myself a chance to do some scheduling of work (as I can usually get something to work for a month and then it fizzles) and can therefore (I hope to be very adaptive).  :)

I liked this post, which will be good for down the road with highschool needs.   Grading without tests.   I don't know about you, but I haven't had the need to test my boy all that much.  For the most part I know what he knows when it comes to the core subjects.   But it makes me think about how I will have to introduce testing to him.  One doesn't want taking a test to come as a complete surprise in grade nine... so I need to start thinking about this now don't you think?

I appreciated this post on what if you can't afford to homeschool?   It all costs money right?     Some good tips were given on what to do to make homeschooling more affordable, or rather, how to work within your budget. 

I've read posts on colour coding your school supplies, organizing your homeschool, planning your curriculum, how to FIND curriculum and so much more.   It's been fascinating and I hope you've enjoyed the ride.   Tomorrow is another day as well... I hope you enjoy the reads that people will come up with.

Such a talented group of people, you are bound to find something that will be of use to you.  :)   If you do, can you tell me what you found and why it was interesting to you?   I'd really appreciate it, maybe you'll find something that I missed in the busyness.   :)  Cheers!

To read what others wrote during this back to school blog hop you can start here with these folks, and then move on to all these fine folks.  :)
Cristi @ Through the Calm and Through the Storm
Meg @ Adventures with Jude
Dawn @ Double O Farms
DaLynn @ For the Display of His Splendor
Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling
Steph @ Indy Homeschool
Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
Tawnee @ Adventures in homeschooling
Lisa @ Tales of a Homeschool Family
Jennifer @ Organized Home Organized School
Callie @ Mama's Coffee Shop

"What's so funny mom, I want to know.   Why is it funny?"   This book made me laugh and I just couldn't explain it to my lad.  Millie is such a funny gal.  She hooked me in from the first page.   Seriously, it's a FUN light read. 

Millie sets out to be a good nanny.  She really does.   But what SHE thinks is a good nanny and what the upper East Coast society thinks is a good nanny doesn't always mesh well.  :)   She finds herself frequently out of work with the agency despairing of where to place her.

Enter Everett.   Three orphaned children who are successfully driving away their nanny, with a fiancee whom he is looking to keep happy.  Enter the STRONG need for a nanny.

One need + another need = in the eyes of the agency a solution.   Albeit neither party is happy about it.

The fiancee proves to be a problem.
The peacocks prove to ANOTHER problem altogether.
The friend well.. I mustn't give spoilers.
The family of the orphans proves a mystery.

And Millie and her friends prove to be tougher than folks give them credit for.

ALL round this was a GOOD book.  So glad I read it and if I have a chance to read another book by Jen Turano I will snap it up.  :)    Suggestion: If you like light romance and enjoy a good laugh, this book should be right for you as well.  So go grab a copy.  :)

Product Details:
Received: Softcover book
Title: In Good Company
Author: Jen Turano
Pages: 347
Series: A Class of Their Own (book 2)
Publisher: Bethany House
Reviewed for: Nuts about Books