Encouraging Moms Who Homeschool

First off, thanks to the terrific book ideas shared after my post "What Books Do You Love to Read Again and Again?" (click HERE for that post). We have thoroughly enjoyed reading the titles that were shared. In this brief post I'm going to share a few excerpts from two of my all-time favorite books. Kind of like movie trailers, but for books. From "The Terrible Hours: The Man Behind the Greatest Submarine Rescue in History" by Peter Maas : "Driven by battery power, the Squalus slid down into the ocean. Outside, had anyone been watching, he would have seen the cold North Atlantic boil over her elongated hull, reach for her three-inch deck gun, and surge up around the base of her superstructure. "Then, suddenly, she was gone." (p.29, softcover edition) "For Isaacs, time was fast running out. But, his face pressed against the eyeport, he seemed unable to tear himself away from the frightful sight in the forward engine room. H

Reading Eggs is an online learning program for pre, early and emergent readers (ages 3 to 7 primarily, with a unique online area for readers ages 7 to 12). As my children are all older, this is primarily an informational review, kind of like "looking back" to consider how this program might have worked for our family several years ago. However, we did spend quite a bit of time using the online are for older readers, called "Reading Eggspress" - I will mention both throughout the review. The Reading Eggs website is divided into three categories: First Steps for 3-4 years; Ready for School for 5-year-olds; Fun Practice Makes Perfect for 6-7 years . The ages are really more like guidelines, so your child could easily move through all the levels at their own pace. And when ready, they could move on to the lessons available at Reading Eggspress . I feel this would have been a fun, easy to use resource for my children in their early years as readers. There are loads of

A mother's life is filled with caring for others - in essence, serving them. How much more so for the homeschooling mother? It's easy to feel a little sorry for oneself, to become overwhelmed, to harbor a wee bit of resentment concerning the never-ending workload and the few-and-far-between thank yous. Would it make a difference in our attitude if we were reminded of the excellent company we share when living the life of continual service? By pouring out our lives for others, we are a little bit like our Lord Jesus. And isn't He the One we desire to imitate? It seems exhausting, at times, this life of a homeschool mom. But the Lord Himself will renew our strength as we yield to Him. When the road seems too rough and the way too dark, He Himself will be our light. There is never a moment when He isn't right there with us; never a second when He isn't fully "in our corner". After all, who could possibly want us to succeed in the task of Christian homeschooli

The Jesus We Missed by Patrick Henry Reardon is a study through the Gospels aimed at examining the humanity of Jesus. This book looks to answer the question, "How was Jesus fully God and fully man?" It seemed as though the book were hoping to astound the reader with thought-provoking insight that could potentially reshape the image of Jesus. However, I did not find myself astounded or at all surprised by the concepts shared by Mr. Reardon. Rather, I assume that any devoted follower of Jesus of Nazareth has wrestled with the awesomeness of God living in the flesh as a man; and having pondered the imponderable, has continued a walk of faith all the more amazed by God's lavish love and unending grace toward mankind that He would choose to live as one of us. On my 'Page Turner Scale' of 1 to 5, I am giving this book a 2 . It may be an interesting read to a new follower of Christ, but I found it almost took away from the Biblical account of the life of Jesus. (Disclai

I cannot lie - when I learned I would be reviewing the second in a 4 volume series entitled "What We Believe" from Apologia Ministries , I was ecstatic. I was blessed to review the first volume in the series (click HERE to read that post) and was excited to review the second volume. The 4 volumes that comprise the "What We Believe" series from Apologia are: 1. ~ Who Is God? 2. ~ Who Am I? 3. ~ Who Is My Brother? 4. ~ What On Earth Can I Do? "Who Am I? And What Am I Doing Here?" is a 262 page hardcover book, written by John Hay & David Webb. The book contains 8 lessons, broken into sections that are easily understood and solidly Biblical. If using a curriculum that is Biblically based is as important in your home as it is in ours, then this series on worldview from Apologia is what you need. The "How to Use This Book" section explains ways to incorporate the text into your family's homeschool. Information about notebooking, the struc

Colossians 4:17 tells the reader to "be sure to carry out the work the Lord gave you". How can this be applied to the enormously busy lifestyle of a homeschool mom? First of all, we must always remember that the Word of God has the answer for our every need and we can trust fully in God to use His Word to lead us, guide us, correct us, and bless us. Keeping that in mind, let's consider what this verse is saying. We are told to carry out, or complete, the work the Lord has given us. We are wives, mothers, homeschoolers. Those three BIG job descriptions come immediately to mind when I think of homeschooling mothers. Applying God's Word to our life means carrying out our work as wives, as mothers, and as homeschoolers. When I am exhausted from another long day (or long week, long month, long year, etc.) I still must honor the Lord by blessing my husband. Maybe that means having a hot meal on the table when he arrives home from work. Perhaps your husband

The Celestial Almanack, Volume 2 (February 2012)- A Visual Representation of the Sky by Jay Ryan, from The Classical Astronomy. Yes, that's quite a title. And this is quite a product. This resource is a 21-page ebook, available as an instant download from CurrClick.com (here is the DIRECT LINK ). It sells for the very moderate price of $3.00 , and let me just say you get a whole lot of product for a small amount of pocket change! This volume is filled with well written content, which by my definition means it's interesting and engaging, holds my children's attention while teaching them, and doesn't "dawdle" but rather keeps moving. February's volume of Celestial Almanack covers Leap Years (it's the perfect time to study Leap Years in your homeschool since 2012 is a Leap Year!), the origin of the calendar, the astronomical calendar, the sun's delcination, the great constellation Orion, North East and West horizons, Jupiter and Venus, Mars and Satu

Some books are hard to finish; others you can't put down. And then there are those you find yourself returning to again and again. I'm going to name some books that I read and read and then read once more. Then I want you to tell me what books you truly love to read again and again. # 1 - The Four Feathers by A.E.W. Mason . Yes, I have mentioned this book before but I have to mention it again. It's a terrific book and please don't skip reading it if you've seen the move adaptation - the book is SO MUCH BETTER ! Seriously, I read this book at least once a year. Hands down, my absolute favorite piece of fiction. # 2 - The Terrible Hours by Peter Maas . When our kids were little, I always read aloud on lengthy road trips. There was a book I would read to them (something like Holes or Farmer Boy ) and there was a book I would read aloud to my husband (usually at night when the kids were asleep but we were still on the road). I grabbed this book at a WalMart somewhere