Quiet Life Homestead

Raise, Robinson, Pirates at VBS

Well, Charlie's raise came in.......drumroll please.............................he got exactly $50 more than normal.  Yeah, I'm not too excited about it either.  But I do need to remember that this raise is something God gave him, not his employers.  And if we can ever get outside mobile home insurance, his paycheck will now be enough to pay the house payment each month.  We'll have to pay the lot rent from a separate check, but at least then we won't have to wonder how we're going to pay it!

The dog slept with the boys but came in at 6:30 this morning for me to take her out.  Afterwards, she promptly got onto my side of the bed and went back to sleep.  So much for me catching a few more Zs.  The wind is blowing quite nicely and it feels really good outside.  We are to get a cold front sometime today and I hope it lowers the temperature considerably.  They say we might even get some storms - I could use some rain!

I told the boys yesterday that we're going to do Robinson proper (well, close to it) during the summer and see how we feel about it in the fall.  I do love the Rod and Staff stuff that we have and will still be using the math and I've thought about using the english grammar on the days the boys work at the library.  I also told them that we were going to restart reading books aloud as well.  They were very happy with that and probably will have an argument over which one I begin with.  We've decided to make a game out of the Robinson vocabulary and I'll probably start on it today.  I'll be using index cards (my favorite thing to use to make games), cutting them in half and then writing the word on one piece and the definition on the other - the pieces won't match or anything, the cutting is just so it goes further.  Then what we'll do is have all the words laid out on the floor on one side and the definitions on the other.  Bethany will begin first since she's the youngest and she will pick a word and the definition she thinks fits with it.  I'll mark the backs of the cards with like symbols so that they can check if they are correct.  I normally don't do the marks unless its obvious that they need them, otherwise they use it as a memory-type game.  This is also one of the ways we work on States and Capitals and I'm wanting to make one up with Presidents and what order they go in or the years of their terms, or maybe some big event while they were in office.

Rashel's blog was asking today our opinions on if a pirate theme was okay for VBS.  I'm not sure how I would react if my children were still VBS age.  I do know that most churches have programs for the 12-14 year olds, but we don't do VBS.  I used to help teach every year and we used to use such themes as sports (comparing the equipment with the armor of God), the Amazon, and other things that I can't think of right now.........my point is, they try to use things that will connect with the children.  I'm not surprised that they are using a pirate theme since the movies (which I feel more and more are inappropriate for children) are a big hit.  Pirates were not God fearing, which even shows in the above mentioned movies.  I think a pirate theme would have to be approached very cautiously and carefully - not to mention prayerfully.  I do not believe that I would let my children go to a VBS that is pirate themed, yes, it could get others to come, but we can study Scriptures make crafts and have snacks here with whatever topic I feel the kids need.  But I may be going overboard (oh how funny - the pun) here.  I must admit that I won't go to a church either if in October it has a Halloween party or an Easter Egg hunt in April.  Seriously, that's one of the biggies with me and one of the ways that I use to choose a church home.  By the way, Charlie says the church in Sapulpa is too far away, so keep praying with us please.  We're going to OKC this weekend to pick up Bethy and will probably get to go to our old church there - I'm very excited!!!

I should probably go and make sure Charlie is out of bed.  Its 7:20 and I haven't heard anything from him yet.  Oh, and guess what he forgot....yep, the camera!  He walked in last night, saw the rug, and said, "Oops, I left the camera on my desk!"  I'll write him a note.  :)

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{ 01:25, Thursday, June 7, 2007 } { Posted by a1health }

God did give your husband exactly what He feels y'all needed. You're exactly right!
I have no problem with the pirate theme if Pirates of the Carribean, which is not moral at all, wasn't out at the same time. I think it all depends on how the kids preceive and materials teach.
Blessings,
~Farrah

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{ 04:24, Thursday, June 7, 2007 } { Posted by HandsNHearts }

Congratulations on the raise!!!

We have the older version of Robinson and I'm looking at getting the upgrade disk for it -- it only works on the desktop, which we don't use, and not here on either notebook with the WinXP. What do you think so far in looking at it? I'm torn between Robinson and the A2 curriculum....both look good

Deanna


********** I like the Robinson. We bought the curriculum years ago but purchased the upgrade CD when it became available. I couldn't get it to work on our XP until the other day when I downloaded a thing from Robinson's site which is suposed to help. I have heard about A2 but haven't seen it anywhere. If math is included in the curriculum it sure would be tempting. See, now I'm going to have to check it out! :)
Vicki

Edited by Keeblur on Thursday, June 7, 2007 at 11:23