September

I Meant To Do My Work Today

My friend Terri of Home At Last Farm posted this poem on the Motherculture yahoo group that she and I both belong to. I thought it so aptly described what I fight almost daily! So I would like to post it here for you.


I Meant to Do My Work Today

I meant to do my work today -
But a brown bird sang in the apple tree.
And a butterfly flitted across the field,
And all the leaves were calling me.
And the wind went sighing over the land
Tossing the grasses to and fro.
And a rainbow held out its shining hand -
So what else could I do but laugh and go?

Richard Le Gallienne (1866-1947)

Free Gifts from The Old Schoolhouse

You know, one of my pet peeves is when someone says you get something free but you have to buy something to get it. That doesn't seem free to me! And I just realized I'm about to do the same thing to you. Okay, you have to purchase a subscription to The Old Schoolhouse magazine to get their free gifts promotion. But this promotion is 25 free gifts with any new 1 year TOS subscription for just $25.00. In the past you have had to purchase a two year subscription but this time it's $25.00 for 4 informative issues of TOS and 25 free gifts valued at almost $400. It's their biggest gift package ever!

If you haven't received TOS before it's full of really great content written by homeschoolers for homeschoolers. There are many practical how to articles along with great inspiration and encouragement. And reviews, and giveaways...I could go on and on!


There is a special limited time offer for renewals to be able to get the same offer. Until Oct. 1, 2007, they are allowing subscribers to renew their subscription for $19.95 and they get the 25 free gifts. This is a huge savings plus the bonus gifts valued at almost $400.

I have a personal reason for sharing the good news about this offer. You see, a few years ago in our first year of homeschooling my husband was laid off. I borrowed most of my curriculum or checked things out of the library. I was given a copy of The Old Schoolhouse and read inside that they provided subscriptions to people in financial need. I emailed them and explained our situation and asked if they could provide a subscription. This was the first year that they did free gifts with two year subscriptions. They wrote me a kind letter back that said not only would they provide me with a subscription, but they had decided to send me the two year subscription with the special gifts as well. It was such a blessing to me at that time. So I recommend this magazine to you whole heartedly with no reservations. It's very praiseworthy!

Good Stewardship

Like many of you, I am concerned with being a good steward of the precious resources God has given us. Because of that I often look for ways to reduce my consumption of consumer goods and resuse things that might normally be waste. Well, I saw this idea on one of my favorite blogs Apartment Therapy: Green. I don't agree with everything they have to say, but I thought this was a fantastic idea. A fence from yard debris. Very praiseworthy indeed.

Something Fun: States Visited

I've just returned from a trip to another state for my brother's wedding. On coming home I saw this fun tool on Visited States. This would be fun to do with your kids and a nice lesson on geography as well. Here is a picture of the traveling in my lifetime:




create your own visited states map
Enjoy!

Free Laminating for Educators!

Laminating is a wonderful thing turning an ephemeral object into something more permanent. My current project is making a paper slip wall timeline for our school. So I was thrilled to learn that Office Max will be offering free laminating for teachers (that includes home educators) now through September 3rd. You can sign up for their Max Perks for Teachers program here but check your store for any proof requirements they may have. So gather your flashcards, charts, or what have you and head to Office Max on Thursdays. For locations check here.

For other information about educator discounts and rewards programs check this page.

Historic Paper Dolls!

I love paper dolls and so does my daughter so you can imagine how excited I got over these Swedish paper dolls. There are dolls from many different periods of history. Something fun to do while we are listening to our Story of the World CD's. I thought some of you might love them too. Check them out along with many other pages of dolls at Kattis Dolls!

We All Scream For Ice Cream!

My father gave me a wonderful birthday present this year. This ice cream maker. I happen to love ice cream and it's been really fun finding recipes and coming up with ideas. And of course my kids (and yes I'm including my husband in that) love it too. We have made ice cream sandwiches, mocha sorbet, and lemon sherbet to name a few. Tonight I made up a recipe which I thought I'd share with you. I was inspired by my husband's favorite ice cream, Ben and Jerry's Funky Munky. Banana Walnut Ice Cream with hot fudge sauce. YUM!

Jill’s Banana Walnut Ice Cream
2 cups whole milk
2 cups cream
4 bananas
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
Put 2 cups milk in blender with bananas and sugar and puree. Add cream to mixture then place in ice cream maker and follow maker’s directions. During last five minutes add walnuts.

Makes 2 quarts

You might notice that this recipe is for 2 quarts but my ice cream maker is only 1.5 quart. Yeah, I gave the mixture that wouldn't fit to the kids as milkshakes. They didn't complain. So check the size of your maker and halve the recipe if needed.

Vacation at Home!

This year our family vacation was spent at home. It may sound boring but if your used to a busy life with year round schooling, running kids to lessons and meetings it can be so relaxing to wake up at your leisure in your own bed doing what you like all day. I still cooked and did minimal cleanup but the meals were easy meals and my kids like to cook so we baked too which we don't normally have time to do. My husband and I decided not to tackle any big projects although we did clean out his office in the basement...but that was our choice, not something we had to do. That kind of mindset is very mentally relaxing too. So, if you aren't rich enough to afford the price of gas or plane tickets and hotel rooms I definitely encourage you to consider a vacation at home this year!

The Peace Which Passes All Understanding

One of my favorite bloggers and writers is Ann Voskamp. I reviewed her curriculum The Glorious Appearing in December last year. Her blog is like an oasis. Peaceful music plays and the posts are worshipful, insightful and practical.

Today I would like to highlight a particular post on anger management. The posts is for helping children manage their anger, but I believe the information can help anyone. I urge you to check out this post and then look around her blog for others. I'm sure you will want to anyway. It's very praiseworthy.