preciouspeas

We had a little friend make a home in the wheel of our BBQ grill several weeks ago and before we knew what was happening, he had formed a chrysalis.

The girls were so patient and checked his progress each day.  We waited, and waited, and then look what happened today. . . . . .

Isn't God's creation so beautiful?  The Doodler wanted to know if it was "OK" if he ate food out of our garden?

This article Criminalizing Homeschoolers just hit the news late this week and for those who haven't heard about it - it could be detrimental to home schoolers in California and possibly nationwide.  While we do not currently live in California, we will be retiring in CA soon, and it directly affects our family and the way WE want to raise our children.  This decision by the courts could make homeschooling illegal in the state of California unless you hold a valid teaching credential. 

HSLDA has created a petition to depublish the ruling, which would allow home schoolers to remain schooling as sanctioned under California law currently.  Won't you please join us by signing the petition?  Even if you don't currently live in California or homeschool, they are looking for national support. 

It is our parental righjts to chose how WE want to raise OUR children - not the government's. How do these politicians think that they will handle an influx of approximately 160,000 home schoolers in an already overcrowded school system, if in one day they all become truant?  What would the politicians do if they lost their California constituents, or if an exodus of more than 160,000 families up and left the state?

Let's show the world that home schoolers can make a difference!

Blessings,

Michelle

Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, is a powerful, abololitionist novel fueled by the fire of the slavery debate during the 1850's.  My oldest DD read this great book for her literature studies, and having never read this book before, I decided to join her in reading it.

This book is an awesome and powerful example of what the slaves experienced during this horrific time period prior to the Civil War.  They were beaten, degraded, belittled, and regarded as something lower than a human.  Stowe's characters are heroic and forever enduring.  Uncle Tom, being the main character is a slave whose faith and dignity are never foresaken.  Even after being sold from a wonderful master, Tom leads a godly life, being kind to his next two masters, even forgiving the final master for his cruel and inhumane treatment prior to his death.  Tom is a kind, gentle and godly man whose faith is forever portrayed to all he comes in contact with.

I never realized before just how inhumane the plantation owners treated their slaves.  Stowe goes on to say, "Does not every American Christian owe to the African race some effort at reparation for the wrongs that the American nation has brought upon them?"  It is my hope that every Christian during that time frame would have behaved in a manor similar to that of Jesus, loving slaves as equals amongst the family.

The book was excellent and I highly recommend it.  It opened my eyes to the injustice that blacks endured during that time frame.  Even amongst that persecution, God chose to save many, providing freedom for them through the "Underground Railroad, and many great black heroes and heroines rose up to help the poor and meek survive."  We can all take a lesson from these great characters and their perseverance during times of trial and hardship!

Does Blogging 101 count as a home school class?

I'd say a resounding "YES", and in which case my girls need to be my teacher because they have far surpassed me in learning computer language or being "techie" if I can coin their phrase.  Within the last week of them creating their own blog pages they have loaded up blinkies, images and web slide shows.  Unbridled learning is an awesome thing.  I'd really love it if they would just gravitate towards the history or science books with this same fervor -a never-ending quest for knowledge.

Proverbs 2:10
For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

Please check out their sites:

Little Woman

Crazy Monkey Girl

Yet another reason to homeschool my children: New Type of Field Trip

What we need is for the government and the schools to step away from trying to raise our children and for us as the parents to step up to the responsiblity and teach our children about abstinence and waiting.  We need to be instructing our children in purity and the sanctity of marriage. 

1 Timothy 4:11- 12     Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

Unfortunately, the schools are too wrapped up in the state/national driven agendas to promote what is right and sound.  Instead of promoting abstinence, we'll teach how to practice safe sex and we'll teach children how to obtain and use condoms.  

Oh, how I wish that all parents would make it their personal mission in life to describe and reiterate how wonderful the intimacy between a man and woman is.  God designed it for procreation, but also for us to enjoy it.  He didn't design it for us to give it away freely to whomever was the latest and greatest.  He wanted us to cherish our purity and to give our body away once to our future spouse.

Why is it that complete strangers take it upon themselves to offer their comments towards our chosen lifestyle?  Reading other blogs and myself included,  I always hear this comment when I tell someone that I homeschool my children; "Oh, I could never stay at home all day with my children, they would drive me nuts, or you must have so much patience."   Well, I don't have anymore patience than anyone else, I just enjoy what I do and I love spending time with my children. 

Colossians 1:10-12:
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

Perhaps they've never tried spending time with their children- maybe if they tried they would see the uniqueness that God wove into every child.  Here are just a few of the things that I wouldn't want to miss witnessing from my children:

♦ Every morning they greet me with a cheerful "good morning mom," or a special "I love you"

♦ The excitement I see in their eyes when they've just learned something new, or discovered something amazing on their own.

♦  When my babies begin crawling, walking, and saying their first word

♦ Watching my children play and interact together, sing silly songs, dance to the latest musical movie.

♦ Seeing their love for the Lord increase leaps and bounds and then seeing them witnessing to their friends.

This beautiful poem sums up how wonderful it is to be a Keeper at Home.  Thank you God for my God given role in life.  What a blessing it is to raise children of God for His glory.

Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best.

Weary and homesick and distressed,
They wander east, they wander west,
And are baffled and beaten and blown about
By the winds of the wilderness of doubt;
To stay at home is best.

Then stay at home, my heart, and rest;
The bird is safest in its nest;
O'er all that flutter their wings and fly
A hawk is hovering in the sky;
To stay at home is best.

~ Longfellow

We continued our study of crustaceans by reading the following books:

1.     About Crustaceans by Cathryn Still

2.     Crab by Rebecca Stefoff

Crustaceans have a hard shell to protect their soft body, eyes on a stalk, many legs and did you know they have "pincers," not "pinchers" like I've always thought they were called.  I guess it goes to show you that my education is always evolving right along with the girls.

An activity can be located at this page CRUSTACEANS . 

This is what happens during the day when I turn my back on schooling