Encouraging Moms Who Homeschool

Right about now you might be wondering, "What's a Scruble Cube ?". Don't worry, I wondered the same thing when I received one (free of charge for review purposes). Turns out, a Scruble Cube is a fun educational game that is something like Scrabble combined with a Rubix Cube. The cube itself is 4 inches by 4 inches, and has 16 squares per side. Each square has a sticker representing a letter or other game play information on it (like 2x word score or 4x letter score ). Along with the game cube itself, I received a score pad and a sand timer. And lesson plans encompassing science, language arts, mathematics, English and spelling for grades 3-10 are available at the company website, www.ScrubleCube.com . When you visit the website, check out "Getting Started Tips & Tricks" - it's a great way to learn all about the Scruble Cube . And should you run out of score sheets, there are more online in a printable pdf format along with replacement directions. A...

Today's calendar reads "Monday, October 3rd, 2011" . Umm, what?!?! It's already October ?? Anyone else a little surprised by the rapidity of this year's passing? Beginning a new month often leads me to think about what has taken place in the previous month. For our family, September was pretty eventful! And praise the Lord, He was faithful to bless us and sustain us through each and every moment of September. My son had just begun his freshman year of college when we received a text message telling us he had ruptured his Achilles tendon on his left leg. OUCH!! Since he was in a brand new community 12 hours from home, and is on a campus that doesn't allow freshmen to have cars, I loaded up a rental car and my youngest daughter's homeschool work and headed northeast for Gage's surgery. He did fine and has been making a terrific recovery, praise the Lord. Soon I returned home to Wichita, Kansas and to life as "normal" (whatever that means). Sho...

Aletheia Writing Magazine is quarterly publication aimed at 13 to 19 year old Christian teenagers that is "committed to offering readers a quality literary and artistic publication that nurtures spiritually minded creativity from Christian teens." As a member of the TOS Crew, I received a copy of the Fall 2011 edition along with a digital copy of the Summer 2011 issue. Having two editions gave me a broader overview of the magazine, revealing a nice variety of content. (These products were provided to me at no charge for review purposes.) Aletheia Writing Magazine has a Featured Contributor in every issue, along with a Writer's Challenge and a Book Review . One of their newest features is a blog where Christian teens can share their thoughts and experiences on many different topics. I'd like to share what 3 of my teen daughters had to say about Aletheia : Oldest daughter ~ "It's a good magazine overall. It features talent from young people in a much more pos...

Ya know how they say New York is the city that never sleeps? I think something similar could be said of homeschooling mothers ~ we never stop homeschooling, even on the weekends. Today is Saturday, and I've been up and at it since 6:30am. I've read the Bible (seeking His wisdom about the upcoming week's homeschool), prayed (asking Him to bless my homeschool efforts next week), thought about how the day's activities can be a time of learning (we're reseeding our yard and there are plenty of teaching opportunities involved), and made a purchase on Amazon (every item I bought is for use in our homeschool). Since I spend a good portion of my weekend "homeschooling", I'm sure many of you do, too. That got me thinking... Why not ask what other moms homeschool related questions? I'm sure that all of you have tons of wisdom gleaned over your time homeschooling that you'd just love to share with me! This weekend, I am wondering what spelling programs d...

Reviewing the board game Tri-Cross (from Games for Competitors ) sure didn't seem like work for me and my family. It just seemed like good old-fashioned fun. And the fun was doubled, since Games for Competitors sent us the boxed version and the Tri-Cross Eco-Edition ! How awesome is that?! Tri-Cross can be played with two to four players, ages 10 to adult, and the instructions explain both traditional play and optional variations that increase the challenge level. Both the boxed game and the Eco-Edition are played the same way; the difference is the eco-friendly packaging of Tri-Cross Eco-Edition (which is ideal for traveling - all the pieces fit neatly in a small cinch-sac). The object of the game is to win by occupying the Tri-Cross square located in the center of the game board with any one of your pieces, OR to jump and remove all your opponent's game pieces. My 9th grade daughter says it reminds her of checkers, but it takes a lot of strategy. No two rounds play out in th...

Today's blog post is just to encourage you as a mother. Your job is world-changing and of the utmost importance. The day-to-day mundane tasks make a difference that cannot be calculated. You matter more than you may realize. Do you believe what I just shared? If you have trouble believing it about yourself, do you readily believe about motherhood as a whole? Of course you do - if you didn't believe motherhood mattered, you wouldn't be a homeschooling mom. In essence, you do what you do as a mom who homeschools because you believe it matters, to God and to your family. You trust God enough to do what He has called you to do; because you trust Him, you also obey Him. This is the secret to success in this life. (Note I didn't say worldly success ~ I'm talking about success in God's economy.) Obedience in the small stuff leads to faithfulness in the big stuff. And some day you will look back over the annals of your lifetime to discover the small stuff truly was the ...

We all come from somewhere, and where we've been defines who we are now. The book "One Call Away ~ A Memoir ~ Answering Life's Challenges with Unshakable Faith" lays out the details of Brenda Warner's life from childhood through the present day. Reading this book is like traveling through Brenda's life, during all the ups and downs. From small town girl to wife of a Super Bowl winning NFL quarterback, a relationship with the Living God has been key for Brenda as she faced life's challenges head on. I must say, this book was not at all what I expected it to be. I was surprised by some of the choices Brenda made over the years, and even more surprised by her candid way of laying it all out there for the world to see. Many of her life stories were heartbreaking, and I found myself wanting to hold her hand and tell her it would be okay, God hadn't forgotten her. And some of her circumstances reminded me of things I've encountered in my own life; the w...

AIMS Educational Foundation is a non-profit foundation begun in 1981 by a group of 80 elementary and middle school teachers who desired to provide students with a solid conceptual understanding of math and science. Through a wide variety of ever-expanding books and activities, research and conferences, AIMS is making an impact in the math and science world for the betterment of students in all learning environments. AIMS Educational Foundation made several different products available to members of the TOS Crew to review - I received a book entitled "Area Formulas for Parallelograms, Triangles, & Trapezoids" . It's an 80-page softcover book the comes with a CD containing printable student pages, videos, and the comics & animations that set this book apart as a unique way to learn some basic Geometry. It is aimed at grades 6-8, but I think it could be adapted for use with younger or older children. I encourage you to be sure and check it all the reviews posted by...

Do you ever feel pushed and pulled and filled with uncertainty about your ministry as a mom who homeschools? Should you say yes to that small group Bible study, or should you say no? Can you take time out for an evening walk with your husband, or do you need to spend that time prepping for the following day's school? Maybe you struggle with caring for aging parents while fulfilling your call to homeschool. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the daily struggle to find balance in our lives, God's Word does provide us with all the wisdom and counsel we need for our daily dilemmas. It's natural for us to take a grass-is-greener approach to life, and often we do it without recognizing it (but remember, the sinful man lives according to his natural lusts and we are called to live according to the Spirit). For example, that small group for women may be something you really, really want to do and it seems like the perfect way to take a short break each week - and whe...

In my attempt to do justice to what I believe to be an excellent educational resource for homeschoolers, let me preface this TOS Crew product review with these words: My review may not fully convey how terrific I believe Time 4 Learning is, so I encourage you to check it out for yourself! So what is this great resource known as Time 4 Learning ? According to the description provided on the FAQ page, "Time4Learning is a technology-based online educational program that teaches preschool to eighth grade curriculum using a combination of animated lessons, interactive activities and reinforcing worksheets." That is the description in a nutshell, but I hope to show you that it's a whole lot more than you might think! The first place to start as you learn about Time 4 Learning is at their website's FAQ page ~ click HERE to access that page directly. You will find answers to questions such as "Can I use it as a homeschool program?", "What does the math curricu...