The inventive mother of necessity

Times are tough all over, and it doesn't look as though things will brighten any time soon, especially as we consider the actions of the leadership of our country. Even the attempts of reversal at this point may come too late.

Panic of 1893

But our God is the Master, the Creator, and the All-Knowing-One. Whether or not I am willing to acknowledge it—He is in charge, what He does is always a blessing, so that I can see with my own eyes the parting of my own Red sea, the water running out from the rock and the manna that He provides for me each and every morning.

The other day we were reading a chapter in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard J. Maybury and the events surrounding the Panic of 1893 became a part of our family discussion. My son, Joshua, remembered that he had recently studied about this financial crisis while reading a history card (we own a box full of these from an encyclopedia publisher). He found the specific card and we all read it aloud together.

While reiterating the events that lead to the crash in 1893, the notes on the card also outlined some of the more positive historical developments of that year. It was an eye-opener to me. Upon further investigation, I found lists of other good things that occurred or were begun in that challenging year of crisis.

Here are but a few of the highlights:

• Katherine Lee Bates wrote the lyrics to America the Beautiful that year.
• Beatrix Potter gave us the children's story of Peter Rabbit.
• Inventor, Henry Ford, produced his first gas-powered engine.
• Six-million acres were claimed and settled in one day in the history making Oklahoma land rush.
• The very first open-heart surgery was performed.
• The familiar song Happy Birthday to You was written and became widely popular.
• Wrigley introduced his Juicy Fruit and Spearmint gums.
• Hershey began experimenting with chocolate in his factory.
• And here is a fun story. —A man by the name of William Neilson, 49, who had recently gone bankrupt in the operation of a local grocery store, suddenly had an idea for a new enterprise that still blesses many of us today—why not sell ready-made ice cream in grocery stores? Working on a farm for $4 a day, with barely enough money to keep a roof over the heads of his family, he scraped together every penny he could find to purchase seven dairy cows and a number of hand-cranked ice cream machines. The next summer he sold 3,750 gallons of ice cream, netting over $3,000! He went on to start an ice cream plant that continued for the next 100 years!

Funny, it is often during the times of want, the periods when the pot as well as the kettle are black to the very bottom, that God gets the greatest glory, that you and I grow the most and the smallest blessings rise to their true prominence.

My husband and I needed to go on a date, but money was tight, so I prayed. Soon ideas began to present themselves—a picnic basket, a trip to a nature park. I told him that this date would be my treat—a surprise. 

1895 Benz velo

The girls and I packed up the basket—a bright madras plaid cotton tablecloth, utensils wrapped up in home-made cloth napkins, wine goblets artistically filled with the same napkins. A bottle of sparkling cider (chilled) that we had reserved for a special time. Plastic tubs filled with salad, Ziploc bags filled with salad toppings, dressing and toasted garlic bread were wrapped up and placed in petite brown bags.

The basket was clandestinely covered with an old blanket in the back of the car, so my husband was none the wiser as we started out for our destination together—the two of us alone.

After a secluded picnic table was secured, the contents of the basked were all laid out. It was so pretty—better than the finest restaurant we had ever experience (and we have been half-way 'round the world together these past 29 years). The late-winter sun was warming on this temperate 50 degree day, and I believe that my dear Lord had calmed the wind for our sweet luncheon (the wind picked up just as we were putting things away).

No waiter, no onlookers (except for a brightly-colored blue-jay), just a party of two in the midst of a bright meadow bordered with bare trees and sandstone monuments—all carved by the hand of God!

Union Trust Co. - San Francisco 1893

My Prince helped me up to the top of a majestic crag so that we could enjoy a view of the mountains before us. I sketched while he enjoyed his pipe. Except for our low voices, we were immersed in the healing waters of the profound quiet that we were both drinking in.

When we returned my husband told me that it was one of the most meaningful experiences he has had for many years; he wants us to plan more picnics in the future.

Prosperity can mask the pleasure of the simplest of delights. Richness is a relative state.

Birds singing in the morning.

The smell of the air after a drenching rain.

Soft and downy infant hair.

The sweet strains of a gently whistled tune.

Experiencing the transforming power of forgiveness through Jesus; that we are once again granted the privilege of His gloriously marvelous friendship.

No amount of money could ever replace these, and yet it is often the lack of money that helps us to reacquaint ourselves with them. Certainly, we find our security is not in money, but in Him!

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

And why take ye thought for raiment? 

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 

(Matthew 6:25-34)

Statistics on Public School Vs Homeschooling

In the past, performance statistics on public schooling vs homeschooling have been scarce. However, in recent years, as the percentages of families who choose to take education matters into their own hands has increased, so too has the amount of research done on how home schooling measures up to public school education.  Refer to Statistics on Public School Vs Homeschooling

* This is just a snippet of the very positive proofs of homeschooling. Follow the link above for more.

Homeschooling—less is more links and lists

I just received a homeschooling catalog in the mail today. It brought to my mind the memories of years long past when I would salivate over the countless multi-colored books and curriculum that always promised great success. I can also appreciate that this is the time of year when parents are either considering homeschooling their children for the very first time, or are in the process of re-evaluating their methods, materials and the organizational tools they have been using over past year or so.

A precious gift from God

That is why I paused to think—if I were to start today, from scratch, which items would mean the most to me? What did I buy back in the early days that I still value and use (besides my McGuffey Readers, Ray's Arithmetics and Spencerian Penmanship, etc.)?

Then I realized I also have found other resources and learned different skills and tricks that have stood the test of time for us. It occurred to me that others might benefit from some of what we've learned, although I would not offer this as an exhaustive list or even hint that anyone should follow what I have written here exclusively—each and every family is so different—thank God!

If I were to start tomorrow and had little or no money, I would purchase...

• A Bible
• Pencils
• Colors
• Paper
• Scissors
• Glue

...and then I would get a library card.

The Bible standard

What I would do with these materials would be to read aloud with my children—first the Bible, (children can understand the simple stories beginning from Genesis on as they are presented verbatim, no need to purchase a "Bible story book") all types of illustrated books, etc. I would have them draw pictures about what we read, or not—depending upon our time and their interest at that moment. I would encourage them in whatever they drew—not too concerned with whether they were staying within the lines, or even if they were "artistically correct", but appreciating what they created as coming from their hearts and enjoying it. I would place these creations on the refrigerator or any other nifty place where we could all enjoy them together. They could color and paste if they wanted sometimes, but this would be during special times. Afterwards everyone would help to clean up.

As I saved a little more money, I would begin to invest, not in books for my children, but in books that would challenge and encourage me. These would include the books that are "tried and true", the ones that the "pioneers" relied on, the classics. Anything by Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore, or by Ruth Beechick would be peachy. "For the Children's Sake" by Susan Schaeffer-Macaulay is a good one, as are the books written by Marilyn Howshall. You could probably find these used, which would save you money. The Heart of Wisdom website and other materials would also be a great place to start.

For reading, there are some cheap essentials that could carry a family through many children, such as "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". We actually have gone through two copies of this one—even after I protected the bindings with duct tape and contact paper! For about $20, you really have all you need to teach the basics of reading, but a good, solid set of phonics flash cards will help the process along as well. I ordered mine from Rod and Staff Publishers about 19 years and ten readers ago, but they are still very much in use today!

For reading practice, Dr. Seuss books are about the cheapest and the best—and I have found multiple copies of each title at thrift stores and while visiting garage sales on the weekend. This is great if you are teaching or reinforcing skills with a number of children at the same time. I discovered most of the beginning readers that are sold in the catalogs were quite boring, so I decided to use the books we already thought were fun, with great success!

Also, we have found that our children loved learning to read with the Mother Goose poems—and you can find collections of these just about anywhere! In fact, a few of my kids taught themselves to read with these little rhymes.

A mother reading to her children

As for math, I would first like to share that everyone seems to think they are not good at it, until they teach it! Of course if you don't do long division well—you probably weren't taught it well to begin with, or perhaps you haven't used it in years. You would be surprised how fast it comes back to you when you sit down and do it with your kids for the first time—I know it happened for me that way.

But little kids don't need long division at first. They need to associate numbers with real-life. They need to count how may cups are on the table, how many bananas you bought at the store, etc. When they are ready, and this time varys for each child (just because they start late does not mean they will be behind—Einstein, Edison and Churchill didn't fare well according to their classmates—you can read some amazing education stories at Learning in Freedom), you can begin to help them to associate written numbers with concrete objects, then move on to the abstract concepts.

At this stage, all that is needed is a 100's board. This is such a great, simple and cheap resource. You can print one up from Donna Young. From this little tool you can learn to count by 10's, 5's and 2's

The Math Worksheet Site. You can also find other links Homework Helper.

I also like taking a trip to the teacher supply store and picking up the little "Homework Helper" booklets, which are often just enough to give young minds some math practice. You can find them Math: An Integrated Approach.

Science is always one of those things that we tend to tremble over. I like the old definition of science as "thinking God's thoughts after Him", instead of the secular idea of picking everything apart and trying to fit it all into some super-imposed humanistic framework. If any secular scientist would take the time to research, he would find that science was founded by men who feared God and revered His Word. Learning science from this perspective not only feeds the mind, but the spirit as well, as one oohs and aahs at the wonder of God in His creation.

From this frame of reference, anything by Answers in Genesis is marvelous. If you visit their site you will find many resources that are free, and others that are well worth the money spent. Ken Ham is a homeschooling dad and is unapologetic about the fact that the basis for life and learning should be in the Word of God.

Another site I have recently discovered that has been an answer to my prayers is the Science of Cooking. With the aid of the links on this site, you can take advantage of the laboratory in your home—your kitchen! My children love the idea that we can learn and eat all at the same time! Of course, we had to start learning about candy first (in moderation)!

As far as penmanship, spelling and grammar, there are some really fun ways to approach these. First of all, we utilize the Word of God for these. I have found that Galatians 5:22-23 is a wonderful passage to have the children read, memorize and copy as a good foundation. The words are simple and in a list form that is easily broken up into small sections.

She is looking to you for her future

Another good section is Colossians chapter 3. Currently we are all enjoying studying Psalm 1 (a wisdom psalm). We read it aloud together daily, then do "word searches", dictations, etc. There is just something about utilizing scripture that opens up the heart and mind at the same time and makes learning easier and much more profitable.

Another resource is Kathryn Stout's "Natural Speller". In it pages are lists of spelling words, with rules, roots, etc. I have used these to make my own spelling game for my kids in the past. To go along with that, here is a list of basic spelling rules.

Grammar is hilariously enjoyable when you use Mad Libs. These are worth their weight in gold. They teach the basics of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in a totally painless way.

For learning technical grammar, like when to capitalize, when to use commas, semi-colons, etc. I have found that guides written for college such as "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White is excellent to have as a resource. Even a secretary's desk reference set can be invaluable, and these are found so cheaply second-hand.

Copying is the perfect way to teach penmanship. No special curriculum is required for this, just a few pointers from someone who cares. Donna Young has some wonderful stuff on her site for penmanship, if anyone is stuck or wants to improve. Another wonderful classical option is called Spencerian Penmanship.

As for those wonderfully fun subjects of History and Geography—we always read lots of books and had laminated maps on the walls, historical time-lines, atlases, and outline maps displayed or readily available. Making your own map from scratch is really the easiest way to learn geography, but reading about a place and finding it is also a wonderful way to make its location stick in your child's mind.

The reprints of Charles Coffin's books were a real eye opener to me, in particular was "The Story of Liberty". This is one of the only times that I would highly recommend the study guide as well. The idea is to look at history as HIS-story, and see God's fingerprint in and through it all. Ruth Beechick and others have also written some that are very enlightening. Biographies and autobiographies are history that can enrich the homeschooling experience and make your children yearn for more!

You will also need a dictionary, and an old set of encyclopedias is nice—we have one from the 1950's and one from the 1980's—most information is still relatively current. When in doubt we can access current reference material as well.

Over the years we have gathered so many books from yard sales, thrift stores, etc., that we hardly need to visit the library. Even if your children are little, you could begin this process today. Libraries contain millions of books that are of very little value—it is so wise to begin your own home-school library.

The ABC's of homeschooling

Of course, we can't leave out the obvious—the Internet and a good printer! What would we do without these?

And...

...reading aloud novels, histories, articles and all sorts of other subjects is the best way to learn almost anything together.

And...

...discussion is the way we work through all sorts of things, and is a way to organize things in your child's mind. Oral reports—as an experienced homeschooling mom, I have discovered that just listening to my children talk about what they are learning is often better than any test that could be devised. We have been known to sit around for hours, just hashing over life and what everyone has been thinking or dreaming about. So much fruit has come out of these sessions.

Things to keep in mind:

• Don't try to cover "everything"—no school could ever do this!
  
• Grade levels are not as important as allowing each child to learn at his own pace.
• Grades are irrelevant to children who understand the benefits of becoming life-long-learners.
  
• Prepare them first for eternity, then for life—in that order of importance.
• Don't forget that they are people, not educational products.
  
• No curriculum or method can guarantee "success", no matter how comprehensive or expensive.
• Your own prayer and devotional life are vital to hearing God in order to aid your children on their learning journeys.
• Don't let your own pride or fear lead you—let peace be your decision-maker!

Whew! I could have written a lot more, but these are some of the basics—I hope this is a blessing.

* This post was first published on April 2008.

Delayed learning and the well-educated child

The privilege of homeschooling

I realize that we have all been blitzed in recent years with propaganda concerning the so-called "benefits" of early childhood education in the public school arena.

I have lived long enough to also know that pigs ears don't make silk purses, no matter how beautifully they are embellished.

My dear eldest daughter tells me that, among the young mothers attending her home-school oriented fellowship, not one of them trusts that they are qualified enough to teach their own children, not even at the early preschool ages of three or four!

The body of evidence against formal schooling for young children (from historical, anecdotal, statistical and even scientific sources) is so enormous that it is staggering—but you will not find evidence of these facts among public educators or from their condescending proponents.

Why not? Because early education is not about education at all. It is not about teaching reading or producing exceptionally gifted adults. It is about "socialization".

I hope I am not going to lose you here; this is not another attempt at forming a huge conspiracy theory; I don't believe in black helicopters spying on us to see what we are doing in our own back-yards...

...I just believe that whoever is in power, or desires to be, knows that gaining the hearts and minds of children will ensure that their side "wins" in the end, and what better way to gain this control than through the avenue of "curriculum". Remember, they are not supporters of pro-life or even family values. No, indeed—they want our children!

As far back as the Spartans of Greece, and probably before that, powerful people knew what an effective strategy it was to gain control of a population through the education of the young within a society.

Hitler knew it. Stalin understood it. And those who have wanted greater control over the minds of traditional minded Americans know it too.

Junior does not need to attend preschool to learn his colors. He doesn't need a huge poster, ten workbook pages, and three songs with body motions to understand the difference between "up" and "down". But Junior does need to learn that Teacher is his best friend, that He/She is the one who really cares about them. Junior needs to know this because Teacher represents School, and School represents Government, and children must be taught to trust and believe that Government Officials are their real friends who have their best interests at heart, above their parents, their pastors, and even above God Himself (in actuality, God is seldom even mentioned since He is a myth of by gone years and held in high-regard only by the feeble-minded).

An exhausted U.S. Marine-Thank you!

The Sandinista had a way of convincing small children that their belief in God was futile. They would simply approach an impoverished child and ask him to pray that God would put a piece of candy into his open palm. When the candy failed to appear, the child was directed to ask the soldier for a piece of candy, and of course the request was promptly fulfilled. For a simple people, this method of reverse-proselytizing was quite convincing and often overpowering.

It is a technique which confounds the principal issues, of making the relevant question irrelevant and of convoluting the essential matters in order to convince an unsuspecting people that—lies are truth.

Children who enter into school at early ages do not excel. They may graduate in much greater numbers, but modern high school credentials are almost worthless compared with those earned by previous generations. My second son, at 18, was one of the managers in charge of hiring employees for a local grocery store. He was hard-pressed to find recently graduated students who were able to pass the basic math test in order to become cashiers!

More schooling does not produce people that can think; it produces people that are more easily led.

This is the true purpose of the public school agenda.

Up to my grandmother's time, it was common practice not to enroll a child into school until the age of eight (the compulsory attendance age in my own state is seven), and until the 1960's children were not formally taught mathematics until the 3rd and 4th grade level. The introduction of Kindergarten for five-year-olds was controversial, and I remember when it was considered "optional". Parents were expected to be responsible for the education of their preschool aged children, and many were homeschooling up until college—and quite successfully.

Albert Einstein was homeschooled 

I just don't believe the lie that the values and methods that created the most freedom oriented and devout society in all the world (besides Israel) are inferior to the ones we presently use today. We must remember that homeschooling used to be the standard practice in American homes—public education of young children was virtually unknown.

"Everything should be made as simple as possible,

but not simpler." —Albert Einstein

It's just not conceivable to me that the same values and liberties that enabled our Founding-fathers to inaugurate our republic and to expand across an entire continent are not sufficient to aid us in the challenges we face today. Even secular convention is re-thinking the need to push younger children into public instruction too soon—where they must learn to think "institutionally".

Benjamin Bloom, a man revered in many modern education circles—who originally advocated early education, later recanted and had this to say about it:

"There is no question in my mind that the mother who is really interested in her child teaches that child so much more than the child could learn with a group of twenty or thirty other children."

My own mother once told me that she had met some public schooled children that were brighter and better educated than my children were. I can still remember the red flush in my cheeks and the embarrassment I felt as my own doubts would arise to mock my early attempts at homeschooling (some years later my own fears would soon diminished as I realized the falsehood of those disheartening words).

S. Clemons aka Mark Twain was home taught

But are these children really better educated? Really?! Or is it the "slight of hand"? Educators know how to create an illusion, the counterfeit of true learning. What is more notable, a stack of original drawings that transform from being hardly recognizable into accomplished illustrations, or a neat workbook filled with colorful pages of carefully prescribed "learning exercises"?

Of course parents, grandparents and especially school administrators expect results that can be quantified, plotted and used to produce more revenue of support, so little children must parrot and produce on cue and at the expected time-table a mound of cute craft projects and predigested assignments that will exonerate them and look marvelous on a bulletin board in the hallway of the school as parents file past on their way to the parent-teacher conference. The children are the losers, left with a sense that learning is something plastic and unrelated to real-life experience. Sadly, the natural love for learning of a fertile young mind soon fades into mediocrity.

A quiet place to read

Institutions do not turn out creative, life-long learners. Education methods today teach children to be passive, to be sure and wait for the prompt before they begin to deliberate. Students are never trusted to solve the problem of boredom for themselves; the schedule will always be there in case they can't think of anything constructive to do. This has created obedient drones addicted to media entertainment, but can never produce individuals of greatness or good character. It's only the child with a will of iron and dogged determination who escapes such tyranny.

The child who is given the chance to create on his own is the child who will emerge into the world able to answer the questions of an uncertain future.

The only time my eldest son spent in a public school was when he was employed by a local IT repair business to maintenance the computers utilized there. Other youngsters, such as himself, were also employed by this computer firm; some were homeschooled, others were public-schooled. He told me he could always tell the difference. Whenever a public-schooled employee was faced with a PC problem that was not easily resolved, he would give up and expect someone else to furnish him with the answer.

The homeschoolers, on the other hand, didn't give up until they had found an answer on their own.

Thomas Jefferson

Delayed education and homeschooling have produced some of the most brilliant minds of previous generations. Here is but a sampling: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and his distant cousin Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Claude Monet, Andrew Wyeth, Irving Berlin, Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Douglas MacArthur, George Patton, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, the Wright brothers, the Wesley brothers, Lewis and Clark, Dwight L. Moody, Jonathan Edwards, Pierre Curie, George Washington Carver, John Jay and John Marshall (Supreme Court justices), Agatha Christie, Mark Twain, Florence Nightingale, Sally Ride, Will Rogers, Albert Schweitzer, ad infinitum...

Someone suggested to me recently that homeschoolers are not going to be able to obtain gainful employment or become societal leaders—I find the preponderance of evidence abundantly clear that homeschoolers have had a major influence on the free world for quite a long time.

Some interesting sites and articles:

Britain is delaying formal schooling—an article containing a revision in the thinking of educators in Great Britain. An excerpt from the article (below):

"...four and five-year-olds tended to be at a stage where they were just "tuning in" to learning and that they could be 'turned off' if they were made to follow too formal a curriculum, too early on."

From The Moore Foundation, The Moore Formula, When Education Becomes Abuse

A home taught man who held a nation together!

John Taylor Gatto, The 7-Lesson Schoolteacher

The Learn in Freedom website—all sorts of articles, lists and information.

Of Cabbages and Kings—When should we start formal instruction of math and grammar?

Research on the teaching of math—the evidence presented here suggests children are not mature enough to grasp the abstracts of math until the mental ages of 12 or 13!

Homeschooling little ones--the "learning basket"

Story-time

A dear mother who has a seven-year-old along with four younger children (including twins) asked for some tips on what to do with the little children while homeschooling the eldest.

First, I suggested that home education shouldn't be very time-consuming at this age. Most children, especially boys, cannot sit still for longer than 20 minutes at a time (and even this may be a stretch for some). Over the years I have learned that the basic foundations can be laid in a short amount of time, as long as it is done fairly consistently.

What do we want a 7yo to be learning? We want to make sure they have memorized their basic phonics sounds. We want them to be able to know how to sound out small words. We want them to be able to copy letters and words neatly, and we want them to understand how to count objects and recognize and write numbers up to 100, add and perhaps subtract one-digit numbers up to ten.

Old-fashioned wooden blocks

Some children will struggle with these things, others will move like rocket ships and will want to progress much faster. Will this matter when they are 18?--probably not, as long as you don't make it a big deal, and as long as you don't allow others to make it a big deal for you. Appreciate your child for the person that God made him, and don't be pressured by what you perceive "every other child" to be doing (folks like Einstein and Edison didn't do so well when they were young and in school--perhaps it was their late-blooming that aided in their greatness later on). This, more than anything else, will keep you from becoming impatient or discouraged, and your unwearied perseverance will enable him to relax and enjoy learning with along you.

A "learning basket" of your own

I have a seven-year-old in my house at this writing. We have been using what I call a "learning basket".

Inside this basket I have placed things for her and for her four-year-old sister, mostly so that she can feel included and cared for during our homeschooling periods.

Here is a list of what I have included:

• McGuffey's Primers--both the original and revised
• Phonics flash cards--mine are black-and-white ones I have used for over 20 years, originally purchased from Rod and Staff Publishers
• Roaring Spring first and second-grade composition books--I bought these from Sam's Club and had them delivered. They cost me just over a dollar a piece, delivery included!
• Sharpened pencils and colored pencils--the colored pencils are for my daughter to make little boxes and illustrate her copywork in the composition book
• A preschool workbook that I purchased from Sam's club for the four-year-old so that she can feel "official"--we do just a page or two at a time, sometimes she just looks through it while I work with her older sister.
• A copy of the New England Primer--for the alphabet, prayers, some copywork, etc.

I also have an out-of-print math reader, Number Stories, Book 1, that we are slowly working through. I eventually will add a 100's board for practice in counting, recognizing and writing numbers, then I will go into Ray's Primary Arithmetic.

Stay-at-home mom

There is enchantment in this sacred (meaning no one is allowed to pilfer it or use it for any other purpose--not even if they can not find a sharpened pencil anywhere else in the house) basket!

For one thing, I can take this with me anywhere I go--be it at the table, on the couch, or even in the car while running errands!

I can take it out for any time I have a few minutes--such as when my nursing baby is sleeping on my lap and the other children are happily occupied (with toddlers, this may only last 20 minutes at a time--usually just after breakfast). Even if I am on "endless hold" with some agency, I can put my phone on "speaker" and use this often waisted time to its fullest by squeezing in some precious learning time.

Here are some more suggestions of things that could be included:

LFM Home-School Planner

• A beautiful Bible story book, such as The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes (the original, not the redo).
• Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons--this is a great book for teaching us old-brained parents how to teach our children to read (this helped me a lot in the beginning).
• Dr. Seuss titles--The Foot Book, Hop on Pop, Green Eggs and Ham (these can often be found at garage sales and at thrift stores).
• A collection of children's stories and nursery rhymes--we routinely use The Bookshelf for Boys and Girls, but there are many others.
• A few library books that you are discovering together with your kids.
• A planning/recording booklet (with a pen!) to jot down some simple plans, notes and recordings of what you have done together--my planner could be adapted for this (pictured upper-right).

Oh, and it helps if your basket is sort of square and has a handle--the thrift stores where I live seem to have an unending supply, but this might be considered a good investment even at a retail price. Of course, you could always use something you have on hand, or even a milk crate or two could easily work.

It might also be fun to create a basket for the little ones who sometimes feel left-out. Here are some of the things that can be included:

• Playdough
• Magnets for the refrigerator
• Crayons and coloring books 
• Small board books
• Healthy but delicious snacks--for awarding quiet, polite behavior, or just to make them feel that this time is "special"--snack bags of raisins, craisins, banana chips, cookies, etc.
• A timer--ten minutes for each plaything, etc.

The whole idea is to reduce stress, and increase love and enjoyment for both you and your children, so play around with this suggestion until you find something that works well for you and your family.

Old-fashioned Chicken noodle soup and biscuits

Delicious Chicken Noodle Soup

It's snowy and very cold outside today, I have one with a stomach bug, and four more children that came in from sledding--happy yet exhausted.

Time for home-made chicken noodle soup and biscuits!

Warning: This is not an organic, whole-foods recipe. However, I figure that, if offered in a spirit of loving care, with thanksgiving it is better for your health than a million spinach salads!

This is one of those "'round-about" recipes--you can adjust according to your needs and tastes.

We seem to need these simple old-fashioned family meals more and more. It certainly is a good way to stretch the food budget these days!


Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup:

Water (amount depends upon family size)
(3-4) Table spoons of chicken broth powder or bouillon (we use Knorr's from Sam's, but this contains MSG)
(2-3) Cups cooked chicken
(1-2) Cans mixed vegetables
Dry egg noodles--approximately 4 cups

Place first three ingredients in stock pot with enough water so that you can add the egg noodles later. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the noodles. Bring entire contents to a boil and simmer until the noodles are done.

Sometimes I cook some IQF chicken with frozen veggies. Combine these contents into the chicken broth powder and water then cut up the chicken while the noodles are still cooking. Additional ingredients--It just depends on what I have on hand.

Home-made Biscuits:

These can turn out hard-as-a-rock, or tender, light and fluffy. It is all in the method. Remember, don't over-work!

(10) Cups flour
(5) Table spoons of baking powder
(2) Cups butter/margarine (I prefer real butter)
Add salt to taste
Add (4) cups of milk

I put the first four ingredients into my Kitchen-aid mixer on low speed until the mixture looks like grainy flour. I keep the mixer going adding the milk steadily. I stop the machine as soon as it looks mixed--not a minute more. The dough should still look wet and be sticky.

1950's Family giving thanks.

I turn 1/3 of the dough onto a small mound of flour, put some more flour on top, and gently pat and roll it out into a rectangle that is approximately 1/2" to 3/4" thick. I then cut the rectangle of dough into equal square shapes and place them on a cookie sheet, then bake them in a preheated, 350 degree (Farenhiet) oven until golden-brown.

It is so often the simplest things that lend us the greatest comfort! Try it--during these cold winter days I'm sure your family will enjoy it.

What's included in the new Home-School Planner

Someone asked me to give a list of what is included in the planner, so here it is--you can view testimonials from folks who have already purchased the L.F.M. Home-School Planner on the blogs sidebar.):

• Explanations and directions
• Numerous title pages, some that could be personalized
• Sticky notes pages
• Attendance
• Philosophy and goals
• Planning--male/female versions (for older students)
• Recording--male/female versions (for older students)
• Journal pages
• Scheduling
• Resources
• Course of study--male/female versions (for older students)
• Projects
• Two styles of calendar
• To Do List
• Christmas gift tracking
• Christian creed page (from the New England Primer)
• Virtuous Women - Proverbs 31 page
• 2012 and 2013 calendars-on-a-page
• Year-at-a-glance
• Prayer and the Word
• Business
• Budget
• Meals and sides
• Ingredients
• Shopping
• Recipes
• Menu list pages
• Chores and chore directory
• Internet
• Contacts
• Birthdays
• Pocket separators (for half-sheet size) with tabs
• Untitled forms for personalization

What makes a house a home?

What makes a house a home? What does a home consist of?

1) People, and

2) Possessions

People use possessions or things, and things can be used to serve people, but individuals must learn to maintain and steward the material goods entrusted to them. The occupation of a good woman is to look after both equally.

If a mother and wife focuses excessively on "people", then possessions can become neglected and may no longer be used to serve her loved ones, because without due care and maintenance, they will ultimately cease to function properly. If she concentrates too much on all the stuff, the home will become a house—and not a home, simply a shell of emptiness where the life of the family can not continue to prosper.

There are physical limits of effort to which a woman is able or even willing to invest herself in the preservation of her home. All women function at a median capability. There are varying levels of commitment, where one's heart and soul become wholly devoted to a cause or purpose. The same is true regarding the home. Each of us can function with some degree of excellence at various times in our lives, according to a variety of situations.

The important thing is to recognize that our homes are not insignificant; they are truly foundational to the success and life of the family.

The home life you help to create is going to reverberate out into the world-at-large. This is why we have witnessed such moral disintegration within our society on every side. We as Christian women, have neglected to "keep the home fires burning" for much too long. When God fearing mothers were home mending, nursing and comforting, the world was a much better place. Neighbors cared because they were taught to be considerate of others. They took time for courtesy because their mothers and grandmothers taught them that it was very important to do so.

I acknowledge that callousness existed in former generations, and that no era is ever perfect, nevertheless, compared to the social morays of today the mid-twentieth-century was very benevolent!

Things have definitely changed since I was a young girl. I can still remember a time when it was taboo to even use the word "pregnant" openly, and yet my children are very familiar with terms, not curse words, but vocabulary now used for previously unmentionable things, that I never dreamed of as a child. In short, contemporary society has lost all propriety.

Our homes must once again become a haven. We must use things to serve people and teach people to properly steward things—and in so doing we can create a little bit of heaven on earth. Furthermore, we must protect our children’s innocence from the world.

It begins with prayer. Before we open our eyes, we must look up to heaven and fall upon our faces before the throne of God. "Unless the Lord builds the house, he labors in vain that builds it"—Psalm 127. I know that I cannot make a house a home unless I have the Spirit of God operating in me, guiding and correcting me. It is the Spirit of God’s place to convict and woo my spouse and children. I cannot "fix" things myself, only the Great and Awesome Creator God can bring things to completion. If I begin to try and use my own power to make everything "perfect" or even "good", I have the temptation of human pride which can lead to witchcraft (the attempt to manipulate or control people and situations to achieve my own perception of what is right).

Becoming a virtuous wife, mother and home-maker is a big task. I don't think that any position in the world comes close to it in challenge, commitment or technical ability. Anyone can sweep the floor or make the bed, but it takes an artist and an engineer to make a home beautiful, clean and functional. Almost any woman can give birth, but it takes a mother of great dedication to love and nurture a bond that can bear fruit for God for generations to come.

Don't give in to mediocrity. Even if no one else peeks into your windows and sees you, Jesus is there. Love as if you are trying to make Him smile. Clean as if He were living with you. Pray and sing praises as if your home was at the very throne of God. Most importantly, don't do it in your own strength, and certainly not because of the fear of man or to "impress" others. Do all things as unto Him!

Sometimes our efforts will look quite modest to those around us, like when we lay the mop and bucket down to read a story aloud (remember—“things” serve people).

Or when we put off a phone conversation with a girlfriend so that we can get the house in order before our husband arrives home, or when we wash the dishes even though our pregnancy nausea begs us to lie down. But all these things are known and not forgotten by our God who sees all. Our obedience becomes a sweet-smelling offering of worship to Him! 

(* This article was originally posted in July 2007.)

Cleaning walls--a snapshot of home happenings...

Someone asked how to clean walls

First of all, it depends a lot on what type of paint surface has been applied to your wall. The hardest to clean is flat latex, but it can still be done!

I like to start with a saucer, some baking soda, a bottle of dish soap (liquid), two clean terry-cloth rags, and a small bucket of warm water.

I make a paste of the baking soda and a bit of water, then use a rag to gently scrub scuffs and fingerprints off of the wall. If there is any oil or grease involved, then dish soap (liquid,--small amount, full strength) mixed into the paste will break it up.

I like to use small, circular motions, then rinse with the water. If it is not quite clean, I try, try again until it comes clean. Be sure to note the condition of the painted surface and take this into account while cleaning.

This will even work on crayon, and most marker. Permanent marker can most times come clean with alcohol, although sometimes it takes a bit of nail remover, but this can also remove the paint (be careful)--just use a tiny bit at a time. Sometimes marker will leave a stain that cannot be cleaned off (bleach can be tried).

Goo Gone is also something that can work if there is tape residue or gum. Remember that something like Kilz must be applied before repainting over marker, crayon, etc. or it will bleed through the paint, no mater how many coats you apply!

I was using this method a long time before magic erasers ever hit the market. You can use these as well.

In other news:

Tonight we are all cuddling, thankful for central heat with temperatures well below zero (Farenheit zero, that is).

Things we have been watching lately:

I Dream of Jennie--the old series from the 60's--the kids love this one, don't ask me why (no, we don't believe in genies, etc., we just think the situations are funny). 

Danny Kaye--Knock on Wood

The Bellboy--classic Jerry Lewis that makes your sides ache with laughter.

What we're listening to:

David Crowder, Lincoln Brewster praise music, The Isaacs (my daddy was a bluegrass player, and these folks love Jesus--wonderful combination!), Handel's Water Music too.

What we're reading:

Our "read aloud" (until this morning when I finished it--bummer!) was Snow Treasure, by Marie McSwigan. This was a well-written novel with lots of adventure and encourages children to have a sense of responsibility and even heroic self-sacrifice. I might just read "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy" next, although the children want me to read Harriet Beecher-Stowe's "Mayflower". 

Olivia is reading The Whipping Boy. Sarah is reading Little Women. Nicole is reading poetry anthologies, Joshua is reading anything and everything to do with world history, Ryan is reading through The Handbook of Nature Study, Eliana is reading The Secret Garden, and Faith has been reading The House at Pooh Corner (with the aid of her brother, Josh).

For Bible time:

We are still working through Job--enjoying it tremendously. One thing about this trek through the Bible--it has made things that were here-to-fore boring and made them come alive! God's Word is so bountifully, wonderfully life-filled! 

We are also re-reading through the book Hearing God by Peter Lord. We go very slowly with this one, taking notes and talking about putting these things into practice. 

As a sort of supplement, we are also using parts of the New England Primer--so much meat in that little book.   

Of course, there are lots of verses being copied down along the way that are assigned with the McGuffey lessons. 

For other activities:

Nicole continues to wow us all with her dress-making abilities (she is taking off in wonderful directions--making her own patterns after spending the last few years studying both pattern creation and anatomy).

Joshua is learning to play the guitar, thanks to some help from our grown son, David, who is very accomplished. Josh also loves to go on nature walks, drawing the scenes he sees in his sketchbook.

Ryan makes all sorts of things for his little sisters--little dolls out of wires and scraps he finds all over. He sketched Anna Botsford Comstock so realistically that it was stunning--he has been developing the technique of using only the three primary colors of pencils to create all others in a composition--I scanned one here (left) to show his work off ;)

I find little bits of Sarah's knitting all over, although her favorite thing right now is just to be with her baby sisters--she seems to know just how to brighten their days.

Ellie, Olivia, and Faith all love to play with paperdolls. They have a 3-ring binder outfitted with protector pages that are filled with different types--from vintage to homemade. All of our children have loved making their own paper dolls through the years. If you hadn't noticed, God has gifted many of us artistically, so that we spend a lot of our time doing creative projects.

Lorilee, 4 years old, spends most of her time with Mom and Dad, as does Patience, 19 months now. Most nights they share our bed with us. They pal around with each other and play together. Lorilee tells us, "God made me sweet"--as if this is her talent--how precious! Patience is perky and cute and just what we ordered--where would we be without this little baby doll?

I made a wonderful find at Sam's Club the other day. I was standing by the stacks of kleenex as my dear husband loaded up a huge box of POM toilet paper (we use up at least 40 rolls a month), when I spied a huge piece of cardboard used to separate the different layers of boxes--it must have measured 3 ft by 4 ft. It struck me what a wonderful tool this was--a perfect board for putting together a puzzle, or even making a poster, or cutting up to use as a paper-doll house, or puppet theater, or anything (we have been known to make our own board games)! So I grabbed one up and took it with me--and no one thought it was odd, and it didn't cost me a penny!

For lots of laughing-workouts (these count, too, you know) we also watch YouTube videos of Tim Hawkins and other Christian comedians (look for "Bananas" to find "safe" comedy). It is amazing that, if you are very careful, the monthly fee for Internet can turn into all sorts of other fun and necessary things, isn't it? We don't own i-anythings, and we don't do any computer games except for solitaire and chess, but it is still interesting how much time one can spend on the computer.

I have also been on a secret mission--a mission to create a whole new set of home binder pages. I just might get my act together enough to be able to share them with my readers--just pray for us as we put the finishing touches on them--for wisdom to put it all together, etc. We hope to turn it into an eBook soon. Here is a little picture:

PS - God spoke a word of forgiveness to my family today...I thought that you might enjoy this link to a wonderful song of forgiveness by White Heart. As always, we hope that this blog is an encouragement to those who need it.