Alleluia!

In observance of the missionary Patrick and for my mother.

The Old Schoolhouse Goes Digital!

One of my favorite magazines now has a digital subscription. For only 16.95 a year you can subscribe and receive your issues as a digital download. Try out this free sample here.



When you subscribe you'll receive 19 free gifts. BUT until Midnight, March 18th new subscribers will get a one-year digital subscription for $10.95 + 19 FREE gifts + 5 FREE bonus gifts–- a $379 value. But remember this special offer is available only until March 18, 2008. You can find more information here.

Remembering Patrick

Saint Patrick Going to Tara Ireland from allposters.com

There was a man called Patrick who was captured by Irish marauders and taken from his wealthy, comfortable life in Roman occupied Britain to live as a slave in Ireland. There he found faith in Jesus Christ and even though he managed to escape and return home, he obeyed God and returned to Ireland to evangelize to the lost. Patrick was a missionary.

Today he is traditionally called St. Patrick and considered the patron Saint of Ireland although he was never officially cannonized by the Roman Catholic Church. I like Patrick. I like to remember him and his love and service to God. I grew up observing St. Patrick's Day with my family and today I observe it with mine. I use it as a time to celebrate someone who gave his life to God.

I think one of the best children's books on the life of Patrick is Saint Patrick by Ann Tompert. This book focuses more on the facts that can be known about Patrick than the legends that have grown up around him. The illustrations are beautiful and capture the attention of young children. My 9 year old daughter reads it herself. If you only share one book with your children about Patrick, this is the one.

I'm currently reading "Let Me Die in Ireland" by David Bercot to see if I want to share it with my children. So far so good. Subtitled, "The True Story of Patrick" the author attempts to tell the story of Patrick using only facts gleaned from Patrick's autobiography embelished with details of life at the time Patrick lived. So far this is an excellent book. The gospel of Christ is presented as Patrick comes closer to God while a slave. The historical descriptions are accurate and manage to teach while entertaining.

We also spend this day in my family celebrating and learning about the Irish people. We listen to Irish music, check out parades online, and eat Irish food.

I hope you will spend some time tomorrow telling your children about Patrick and how he loved God enough to give up his own comfort to spread the gospel.

Vision Forum Giveaway on Clark Chatter

Ginger at Clark Chatter is hosting a wonderful giveaway. Go check it out!

I feel so much better about myself now!

Praiseworthy Blog: E.W. Spider

I've found a blog that I really love. It's called E.W. Spider and is described as "bite size, vegetarian based crafts and recipes for young learners. And that is an apt, if understated description. I'm simply enchanted with this site! There are so many simple fun things to do with kids. And the author's sense of humor is delightful for adults as well. Frankly, I'd like to do a lot of the things she writes about even if I didn't have kids!

The author of this blog teaches English to children in Japan. Now that sounds like a perfectly lovely job. And apparently through it she has learned a lot of things to do with children that aren't "twaddly" as Miss Mason would say, and that children will find as delightful as parents. Check it out!

No Knead Bread

Okay. I'm a little behind the eight ball on this one. I tried No Knead Bread a few weeks ago. This is the recipe that became famous all over blogdom after it was in the New York Times. Folks...it's fantastic. You just mix up a few ingredients, let it sit for eighteen hours. mess with it a bit and I mean a LITTLE bit. Then bake it in the oven in a preheated lidded pan. I used my cast iron dutch oven.

This bread rivels any I have bought in stores. The texture is a chewy, crisp crust and a tender interior with lots of air pockets. Some have complained about the taste, but I find it very tasty. And as you can see from the picture above, it looks quiet impressive.

The first time we had a few slices with butter and honey then I froze the rest of the loaf and used it to make garlic bread. The second time I made it I made two batches and used them to make pizza's the next night. Fantastic pizza dough! I just stretched the dough onto pizza pans, let it rise and then topped them and baked. Delicious. Next I'm going to try making cinnamon rolls with this dough.

So, I advise you to try it at least once. Teach your kids how to make it and let them do it! They'll love it and it's a great chemistry lesson.

Mother Culture

I missed the Charlotte Mason blog carnival this time around but wanted to highlight a few things. The topic is mother culture and I hope you'll click on the button on the right side of my blog to read some of the entries. But if you don't please at least read this post on living, learning and...loving. This is a new blog to me but I will be back. This post is one of the post explanations I have ever heard of what "mother culture" is in Charlotte Mason's terms. I found it so encouraging, positive and inspirational. Reading it is itself mother culture!

And if your wondering my mother culture is derived from reading the blogs you see in my blogrolls as well as handicrafts and time out doors. I'm so thankful God has provided me with these ways to grow and learn.

First in the Hearts of His Countrymen

According to the Federal Government this day is really Washington's Birthday observance. Many people traditionally view this as a day to remember both Washington and Lincoln whose birthday also falls in February. And still others choose to remember all Presidents of the United States on this day. No matter how you choose to celebrate this day here are some resources.

Face of Lincoln is a very interesting informational film that older children might enjoy...parent's too! Here is some information from archive.org where the 21 minute film can be downloaded.

Presents Professor Merrell Gage, retired head of the Department of Sculpture at the University of Southern California, describing the life and career of Abraham Lincoln as he sculpts a lifelike bust of the 16th President, making physical changes in the subject's hair, beard and expression to correspond to events in Lincoln's life.

Biographies of all the presidents are on the White House website.

A REALLY fun book is George Washington's Cows. You'll never believe what all those cows get up to.