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Psalm 91
14 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
       I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

 15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
       I will be with him in trouble,
       I will deliver him and honor him.

 16 With long life will I satisfy him
       and show him my salvation.” 

Nearly every morning, as we enjoy our breakfast, the children and I do a family devotional.  Today’s devotional was focused on prayer.  After we finish our meal, we get ready for the day, then meet back at the table for “projects”.  The kids always look forward to these fun crafts and often come up with a few projects of their own.

Today, we traced our hands and made “prayer hands”.  I read a few verses in the bible about prayer, then we talked about what sort of things we pray for.  We closed with each of us praying.  I LOVE listening to their little prayers.

Nolyn’s went something like this, “Tank yooo for Mommy and Daddy. Tank yoo for letting me sleep in my bedwoom. It’s really cool. Amen.”

Merika’s was a little longer. “God, thank you for Nana and Poppa.  Please help  us to behave. Especially Keagan, because he can be a little booger because he cries sometimes.  Thank you for my ring. It has bunnies on it, and I really like it because I like bunnies, even though I don’t have any.  Bunnies.”  She said a few other things, which I cannot recall, before ending with, “Love you Jesus, thank you.”

Here’s my article for the May Edition of HOTM, a homeschooling e-zine.

Lately, the Lord has really been nudging me, reminding me, and pricking my soul. There’s a lesson to learn, one that I have to learn over and over again.

Where the Lord guides, He provides.

Sometimes God gives us a list of specific instructions. Sometimes He just points us in a specific direction, destination unknown. In I Kings, chapter 17, God tells Elijah to turn eastward and head for a brook near Jordan. There, the Lord would nourish him with water from the brook and food, which would be brought by the ravens. Elijah obeyed, and the Lord followed through on His word.

My Heavenly Father has been whispering in my ear, “Depend on me. I will provide.”

Often, as homeschoolers, we wonder how we’re going to do it. Maybe you feel ill-equipped…..

Read the rest over at Heart of the Matter! 

-Your children learn geometry from playing billiards (or pool, if you prefer).
-Fractions were figured out whilst making cookies, cakes, and casseroles.
-Your son’s first chemistry experiment occured when he figured out eating beets turned his “tinkle” an orangey-red hue.
-You sometimes have mini-panic attacks and think, “Oh my goodness, I need to load up on curriculum and teach these children something!”
-And then your children spurt out something amazingly intelligent and you think, “Ha, nevermind.”
-Yesterday’s lessons included stuff like, “How to get jelly stains out of the carpet”, “Where does poop go when it’s flushed down the toilet?”, “Oh, and what happens when you use ten times the regular amount of toilet paper, then try to flush it all at once?” along with “What sort of mental effect will this have on Mom when she sees we’ve flooded the bathroom?”. 
-You find out the reason your children speak fluent Czeck and a little German is because they’ve been calling Prague on your cellphone.  Hmm, that explains the outrageous bill.
-The excuse for everything gone awry is, “We were conducting an experiment.”  Unfortunately, the fire department doesn’t think that’s a great reason.

BTW…… I’m adding new blogs to my blogroll! Please, check them out!

My daughter’s birthday falls on this Mexican holiday, so we celebrate “it”, in a sense.  Her birthday parties usually have a special Spanish flair to them, as we combine the celebration of her years with the remembrance of the victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.  Some people believe Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of Mexico’s independence, which actually took place in September 1810.  Cinco de Mayo marks a David and Goliath type battle in which an ill-equipped Mexican army, made up of Mestizo and Zapotec Indians, defeated the sophisticated, well-trained French army.

Mexican history is very interesting to me, maybe because it’s woven into my own history as a Texan.  This time of year, I love to introduce new aspects of Mexican culture to my children as I teach them about this special holiday.

Growing up, I had quite a few Mexican friends.  On the bus ride home, a friend of mine would share tasty Mexican treats with me, like fruity suckers covered with chili powder.  Her grandmother would stuff me full of homemade tortillas, which I later learned to make with the help of a boyfriend’s mother.

In highschool, I learned to make piñatas (without a balloon), and this year, I plan on passing this down to my children.

First, you have to make a papier-mache paste.  There are loads of recipes available on the internet, most of which use just water and flour.  Google “papier-mache paste” and find one that suits you.  Some pastes require boiling, some don’t.

You’ll need lots of newspaper. Loads of it.  I like to wad up the newspaper to make forms (like a head, or a body, or even a star).  You can use masking tape to hold the form together.  If you plan on using this as a piñata, then you’ll need a hallow part to add candy.  You can do this in the back or at the bottom.  Once you’ve created the form you like, you’ll need to cover it with newspaper strips (1-2 inches wide, 4-8 inches long).  When you’ve finished covering it, you need to let it dry.

Once dried, you can either paint it or cover it with tissue paper (or both).  Decorate and design to your heart’s content! This is a great art project to make statues as well!

I’ll post pictures of our creation once we complete it!

I heard that bananas will last longer if you separate them from the bunch, so I tested it out.  Actually, it was a bit of an accident, but a learning experience for us all.

I bought two bunches of bananas.  The first bunch as just barely ripe.  The second bunch was slightly green.  Since my children are a bunch of banana-eating monkeys (see what I did there?), I figured the second bunch would be just perfect by the time the first bunch was consumed.

I separated the first bunch into “singles”, but forgot to separate the second bunch.  This morning, I realized the second bunch was already spotted, while the ones I had separated were a perfect shade of yellow.

So, even though the first batch was more ripened when I purchased them, because I separated them, the process slowed down.  The ones that stayed in a bunch ripened faster.

I have now proved the theory that if you separate your bananas from the bunch, they will last longer.

I think I’m more excited about this accidental experiment than my children, but I’m sure, once they realize this means this will keep our bananas from going bad before they are eaten, they’ll be just as excited too.

(Also, you can use your mushy, super-ripe bananas for banana bread.  I usually have good intentions to do this, but… well, let’s just say it happens now and then, but not as often as it should.  There have been many a banana who has found it’s way into the trashcan.)

Today we’ve been in a reading frenzy.  Some of our favorites:

This is a wonderfully educational book, even for younger children.  It asks them to do specific moments to feel the bones in their bodies and has a little humor thrown in for your funny bone (Get it?).  My critters loved it!!  Afterwards, Merika was walking to get water and said, “Hey! I can feel my bone moving!”

This is a cute, but simply worded book which shows you different ways animals carry their babies.  Since I often carry our little baby in a baby wrap, this is something the kids found quite intriquing!  Turns out, all sorts of animals have all sorts of ways of carrying their babies, whether it be on their back, in pouches, or on their tails!

This book is colorful, creative, and absolutely AWESOME!  Three thumbs up….

It’s Home Education Week!  Blog topics are hosted by Dana @ Principled Discovery!

My children really have no concept of what “school” really is.  In truth, the only school they understand is that little class they go to on Sunday morning.  In fact, when my daughter was asked where she goes to school, she usually replies with, “I go to Sunday School!” 

We’ve been talking about school lately, especially now that most of my daughter’s friends are now attending school.  I have explained that we are teaching our children at home, so they are “homeschooled”, while the majority of her friends are going to a building called a “school”.

Fortunately, two of her closest friends are also homeschooled, so she is not totally alone in this.

Merikalyn and Nolyn are getting to the stage where they want to do school work.  They ask me to help them write words and sentences.  My daughter is currently flipping through her workbook and pretending to teach students (which are invisible to me).  She’s teaching them about “Asleep in the Booty”.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read this short entry from my regular blog: “Asleep in the What?”.  You’ll also get a good laugh!

School is fun to them.  They learned their colors while taking walks with me and pointing out “red cars” and “yellow flowers”, instead of bending over a book and pointing at blocks of hues.  This is how most of our learning is done- by having wonderful conversations in which we talk about what we’re doing and what we see.

My munchkins are so young now, but it will be interesting, in several years, to hear what they think about their education and method of schooling.

Dana @ Principled Discovery (and also, a fellow writer at the homeschooling e-zine, HeartoftheMatterOnline.com) is hosting a blogger celebration of homeschooling in honor or Home Education Week!

Sunday’s topic:
Share your personal history…before you were a home educator. What was life like? Think about things you miss and things you and your family have gained.

Every since I became a mom, I’ve been a home educator.  It’s impossible to be a parent and not teach your children something.  Even poor parents teach their children a lesson, even if it’s not a particularly good one.

Hopefully, I’ve been filling my children’s hearts and lives with encouragement and inspiration as well as Godly wisdom and direction.  So, life before I became a home educator? Well, that was life when I had a job outside the home.  You know, I prefer to be a full-time mom over working outside the home.  I enjoyed my job, but I enjoy my children way more.

I suppose, if I had my children in public schools, I could have a lot of time to myself, lots of time to run errands, lots of time to (groan) clean, but I’d also miss out on so much of their growth… and I just can’t imagine doing that.

I suppose, if I had my children in public (private, charter, whatever) schools, I could find myself a nice little hobby and devote a lot of time to it, but I’d much rather explore my creativity with my children so they can learn as well.

I suppose, if I had my children in public schools, I’d be pretty bored. I mean, I can only entertain myself, clean the house, and run errands for so long.  I could paint my fingernails 10 different colors, bake lots of cookies (eat half of the batter), and count all the change in the couch….. but I’d much rather spend time with my children, discipling them, learning from them… enjoying them.

Here’s the link to see this week’s topics!
http://principleddiscovery.com/2008/03/25/home-education-week-is-here/

Here are some of the cool crafts we saw at the Children’s Museum in Baton Rouge. I was inspired!

Sometimes we aren’t able to get out of the house, so our field trips often take place indoors.  We love playing pretend, and so, on this field trip, we were all professional chefs in the McGoobie Kitchen (that’s the name we decided on for our restaurant). 

The McGoobie chefs voted to make jambalaya (with andouille sausage).  I love it because it doesn’t require too many dishes (less clean up) and makes a great one-pot meal (because it includes meat, vegetables, and grains)!

The Mohawked McGoobie was in charge of placing the andouille in the pan.  Merika McGoobie cut up vegetables (bellpeppers and onions) with my assistance before we dumped in sliced okra and minced garlic along with a can of organic diced tomatoes (optional). Meanwhile, a pot of rice bubbled to tender perfection.

The Head Chef (that’s me) gathered bowls from the cupboard.  Keagan and I set the table while the pot of jambalaya simmered.  (Okay, I set the table. He slobbered on my spoon.)

By the way, a good way to de-slime okra is to cook it (by itself) with a little vinegar, then rinse it after a couple minutes. If you don’t have vinegar, like juice will do just fine.  Rinsing with water, then continuing to cook it for a bit longer, will wash away the tart taste.

The Jambalaya at the McGoobie Kitchen was rated 2 thumbs and 2 big toes up.  It’s a favorite around here!  Just load up your bowl with rice and spoon the jambalaya over it.  We keep the rice and “soup” part of it separate so the rice doesn’t get too mushy if we happen to have leftovers to set aside.  We usually serve it with saltine crackers, which are a staple in our household!

Baby Keagan will likely grow up to be an essential part of the McGoobie kitchen, as he often has front row seating when it comes to our cooking productions.

See…

If you wear your baby while cooking, please be extremely careful.  Make sure you aren’t cooking anything that splatters (like bacon).  Also, pay attention to what your baby is doing.  You don’t want him sticking his hands or feet into any pots or pans or pulling them off of the burners!  You could also wrap your child on your back, which is much safer.

Here are a few of the fun projects my children enjoy!  Feel free to leave some of your own ideas!

Keep a Journal:
Help your children make a journal. You can either buy a journal, or make one using a variety of materials.  For example, you can staple loose leaf papers (lined, unlined, or construction paper) into a manila file folder.  Have the children decorate the front. You may want to put a picture of your child on the cover.

Have them write in this journal on a daily or weekly basis.  Include pictures of what they did throughout the week if possible.  Younger children will have a lot of doodles and scribbles, but that’s okay.  You may want to ask them what is going on in their pictures or scribbles, and make note of it at the bottom of the page.  If your children like to write a lot, you could make a journal for each month.  Making one out of a file folder is a great idea because they don’t take up much space and you can save them for a long time.  You could punch holes in these folders and keep them all in a binder to remain organized.

You can also make themed journals.  My children’s favorite journal (they flip through it on a weekly basis) is one about things they enjoy, titled “About Me“.  With my help, they cut pictures out of magazines and pasted them into their journal book.  It’s made out of different colors of construction paper. 

Texture Time!
This is a fun activity, but can be messy as well.  Get out finger paints and squirt them on a plate or tray. (You could line a cookie sheet with foil for easy clean-up.)  Wad up a grocery bag for the kids to dip in the paint and “stamp” on their paper.  You could keep it wadded up by wrapping it with a rubber band.  Also, have leaves and other items (like lace) they could dip in the paint and stamp on their sheets.  If you have a couple little cars (Hot Wheels), show them how to run the wheels through the paint and roll them on the paper.  Talk about the textures and colors you are using.  Look around your house (inside and out) for different textures you can use to paint.  For example, you could use the eraser end of a pencil to stamp perfect polka dots!  Lids from water or soda bottles have ridges on the side that can be “rolled” on the paper to reveal a neat texture.  Let your children help pick out the textures you will use. Don’t forget, they have wonderful textures at their fingertips…. literally! Show them how their hands have special, unique grooves!

Dance-Dance
Put on goofy clothes and turn on music with a good beat.  Start out by dancing “freestyle” around the house.  Then have one person make up a dance move and the rest of the people copy it. Take turns making up moves.  If you are able, video tape part of it and play it back at the end of the session.  It’s a great way to get in some exercise and have fun doing it (especially for parents).

Working Together
Use a scarf or rope to tie together your children’s legs (three-legged-race style).  Ask them to do something, and watch while they struggle to work together to complete the task.  Once they have mastered that, tie them back to back or hand to hand.  My children absolutely LOVE this game.  They giggle through it!  Parents can try this together to show them how it works! It’s quite hilarious! 

Here are a few great Easter related links:

Easter Bunny, Are You For Real? A story which explains the truth of Easter from Jesus’ ressurrection to the bunny aspect.

Apples For Teacher: Easter Activities  Fun things like word scrambles and poems.

Have a wonderful, God-glorifying Easter that celebrates and praises our Savior!

Merikalyn’s main interest this month has been writing her ABC’s.  I found her sprawled on the floor near the sliding glass door writing letters in a workbook and doing it pretty well.  I’m always amazed by her eagerness and willingness to learn.  Once she sets her mind to do something, she gives it her best.  I am sure she will be reading in a matter of months, but I’m not going to push it.

There’s been so much chatter about the big debate going on in California.  Should homeschooling parents be required to have a teaching degree?

It seems our government is trying to take more and more of our rights away.  It’s very disappointing.  What happened to freedom?

I don’t want someone else raising my children for 7-8 hours a day.  I don’t want my children to be thrown into the world before they are ready to handle bullies and ridicule.  I don’t want my children being taught by a system that does not allow God to be a part of education.

It is my RIGHT as a parent to teach my children.  There are millions of graduated homeschoolers who can prove that parents can do just as good, and in many cases, even better, than public schools when it comes to educating their child.  It infuriates me.  I am so tired of the government telling us what to do with our children!

These are the people who told me I must give birth in a hospital.  My home is just not safe enough!
These are the people who told me I must vaccinate my children, nevermind the fact that my daughter has had severe reactions!
And here they are…. telling us we are not qualified to teach our children.

Who will love my children as much as I do?  Not the school system! 

My goal is to make sure they are prepared for their future.  That is, prepared for today, tomorrow, for arguments, for friendships, for college (if they choose to go), for moving out on their own, for marriage, for children of their own, and for death.  My ultimate goal is to prepare them for Christ’s coming again.

These are MY children, children God trusted to me.  If my state tells me I cannot homeschool, I WILL MOVE.

The March Issue of Heart of the Matter (Homeschooling E-zine) has hit the virtue stands!  Here’s an excerpt from my article: 

Over the last couple months, I have had the privilege of getting to know a new breed of homeschoolers. They’re eclectic, but not very structured. They’re borderline unschooling leaning toward delight-driven education with the ultimate goal of leading their children on the path of the Lord.

It may seem like a new trend, but discipleship schooling has been around since the beginning of time. Over the next few months, we’ll be exploring what it means to be delightfully discipled.

This month, I’ve interviewed a fellow discipleship schooler and good friend of mine, Natasha Pharis. She’s been a blessing to have as a friend, and, without knowing it, encourages me daily………………….
Read the rest of my interview with homeschooler Natasha Pharis over at HeartoftheMatteronline.com