Cooking as Science
Recently we talked a bit about finding something you love to do and injecting it into your day. For me, cooking and baking are a particular delight and I have long been wanting to teach my kids how to be capable in the kitchen. We started several weeks ago with a free lapbook posted on HomeschoolShare. We've covered measuring, tools, cleanliness, knife skills, and food borne illnesses. We've made pretzels, crescent rolls, carrot sticks, and scrambled eggs.

Practicing Knife Skills

This week we learned about candy making and the science behind all the stages of sugar cookery. I came upon a most wonderful website put together by the talented people at the San Francisco Exploratorium complete with video of the stages of candy hardness. As I looked further, I found the site to be a perfect companion to our cooking science course. Put the lapbook and the website together with some interesting books from the library and you'll have a fun time learning in the kitchen. Amy's Crescent Rolls from my friend and mom of many, Amy Micu 1/2 c milk 1/2 c butter 1/3 c sugar 1/2 t salt 1 package (2 1/4 T) yeast 1 egg 1/2 c warm water 4 c all-purpose flour In a saucepan, heat milk until bubbles appear around edges of pan. Add butter, milk, sugar, and salt and stir off heat until combined. Cool to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in warm water; let stand until foamy. Beat yeast and egg into milk. Beat in 2 cups flour, adding more until dough pulls away from sides of pan. Knead dough very gently until smooth and elastic, 2-3 minutes. Place in a large greased bowl and cover loosely. Let rise 1 hour, then punch down and divide into two pieces. Let rest 10 minutes. Roll dough into a circle and cut into eight wedges. Roll up each wedge and then curve into a crescent. Place on a greased cookie sheet, point side down. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes.
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Circle Time, Educating at Home, Family Friendly Recipes, ResourcesKendra Comments
Scripture Memory: It's Work (That's Why Kids Resist)
I have two girls, ages 4 1/2 and 3, and we are planning to homeschool K next year. We have been somewhat diligent with preschoolish stuff this year, and we have even begun learning to read by using the Ordinary Parents Guide, etc. My question, really, though is about Bible time. I have always wanted this to be a special time, but sometimes I feel I’m being way too hard-nosed about it. I know I have that tendency. Let me say that my four year old has learned several complete Psalms and a rather lengthy passage from Colossians. However, it comes at a price, and I don’t want the price to be too high. She seems very resistant at times to memory work. I “get” that she’s only four (’though I do have to remind myself often), and I don’t want to burn her out on it at such a young age. However, I know she has the potential to learn it fairly easily, and I want to take advantage of this time in her life when memorization is so, so easy. My three year old knows quite a bit of the passages big sister has memorized, as well. Do you have any thoughts on this, other than to tell me to “chill out”? -Amy Memorizing Scripture, poetry, anything is hard work.  Kids resist work.  Heck, adults resist work.  The difference between the two is that adults know that memorizing Scripture is beneficial and a blessing to us, while a four-year-old can't typically see the benefit of anything past the immediate gratification of the moment.  So while an adult will memorize Scripture because we love God's Word and want to have it in our memory banks so we can recall it when we need it, most kids have absolutely no internal incentive to memorize Scripture. You can go the route of prizes and incentives, but my husband and I have always been wary of this technique.  It's great for getting over the hump in some areas of a kids life, but it always bothered us to think of paying a kid off to memorize God's Word.  Doubtless others out there don't agree with us, and that's absolutely ok.  You'll need to decide for your family. What has consistently worked well in our home is the memorization of Scripture through singing.  Singing is fun, joyful, easy, and helps those trickier passages stick to the brain like super glue.  I have marked every passage we come across that we know set to music with a little music note symbol in the margins of my Bible.  It's easy to flip to any page with a music note and begin singing.  How's that for easy review? As the kids have gotten older and challenged themselves to memorize passages or books, there have been rewards; we'll celebrate and praise and reward with something tangible, but the reward isn't typically offered from the outset as a carrot on a stick, so to speak.  It's more of a , "Hey!  We're so proud of you!  Great job!" I think you're absolutely right to not burn out your daughters, possibly causing them to loathe Scripture memory.  Turn it into something joyful, exciting, and cozy.  Let them crawl into your lap while you sing Scriptural praises together.
Some good products to start with:






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Educating at HomeKendra Comments
Mighty Joe Update, March 2009
I always love it when I can see that someone has done a search for Mighty Joe and has ended up here.  It's amazing to think that nine months after his hospitilization and near death, people we don't even know are thinking of us and wondering how he is doing. Well, folks, he's doing beautifully!  The little brain that is missing sections is compensating and firing connections that are allowing him to progress just as any ten-month-old with a healthy brain should.  He immitates blowing raspberries, clicking his tongue, and saying "da da" (I'm working on "ma ma", but he just smiles as if he has my number and repeats, "da da").  He is figuring out how to crawl, but currently scoots his way around our house faster than a speeding bullet.  He is, after all, mighty :) My husband recently posted a video of Mighty Joe doing one of his favorite things. Seriously, he'd do this 24/7 if we allowed him to.

Mighty Joe and big brother enjoying jammie time

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Mighty Joe's StoryKendra Comments
A Child's Profession of Faith
I have a daughter who is 5 (almost 6) and she says that she is a Christian, she asked Jesus into her heart when she was four, and she can remember when and where, etc. I rejoice with her, and just continue to confirm her knowledge of God’s grace, but I am a little hesitant in my own heart because she was so young? I suppose time will tell with that. =) Just wondering if you had any thoughts or advice on how you have handled accepting Christ with your children. -Lisa Lisa- I don't recall a time when I didn't want to follow God and serve Him.  I was raised by believing parents and we were taught of God's love and Christ's redemption from as far back as my brothers and I can remember. The truth of the matter is, our salvation begins and ends at the cross.  God has called us from the foundations of the earth, and it is His work, not ours.  So whether or not we remember a specific point in time at which we professed faith (or "asked Jesus into our heart"), our salvation relies upon His grace and not our works. If your daughter professes faith, no matter what her age, then don't do a thing to dissuade her or introduce doubt.  She is sanctified by her believing parents, and her salvation rests at Calvary. As you said, time will tell. In the meantime, nurture her faith and pray for the Holy Spirit's work in her tiny life. ♥

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Life with Preschoolers, Musings and MiscellanyKendra Comments
Getting Back on the Wagon
I would love to know what your advice would be for getting back on the homeschool wagon. I have five children and my oldest two are pretty self sufficient. But I really feel as though I’ve let down my youngest three. Ages six, four, and two. My 10-year-old really could use more direction as well. I’m feeling so bad about my failures that I’m having a hard time figuring out where to start. Thanks! -Rain Dear Rain- What is keeping you from really digging in with your younger kids?  Sometimes if we assess what the main roadblocks are, we can eliminate them from our end before we even set about getting the kids involved. In the past, several things have derailed me: pregnancy/morning sickness, burn-out, over-busyness, unrealistic expectations, and laziness.  You may have entirely different reasons, but as I go through each one of these, perhaps you'll read something that strikes a chord. Pregnancy/Morning Sickness- The most difficult thing for me to remember when I am in the throes of nausea and fatigue is that it will not last the entire nine months.  If we've fallen off the wagon during my morning sickness, well then we can get right back on when I am feeling better. Burn-Out- If you are experiencing burn-out, then you need to take a good, hard look at what you are trying to accomplish in a day.  This topic is a post in itself, but start by making a list of your top three non-negotiable activities and assess whether everything else you're trying to do is really essential. Over-Busyness- Ditto. Unrealistic Expectations- Are your expectations meeting the reality that God has given you?  If I expect a child who really doesn't "get" math to be at a certain level or in a particular book, then my expectations are not the same as my reality.  That's not to say we don't set goals or try to reach higher standards.  But it does mean we keep our eyes on God and our ears open to what He wants for our families, not what the state says is "normal" for a grade level or not what we were doing when we were in school, etc.  Every child and family is unique, and the beauty of homeschooling is that we can grow at a suitable pace rather than making everyone conform to "one size fits all". Laziness- I cannot improve upon what the book of Proverbs has to say about Laziness.  Begin there and ask God to speak to you through His Word. I'm sorry if I haven't touched upon any of the reasons you are struggling to get back at it.  If you have anything else to add, please comment and I'll try to help you troubleshoot some more. Oh.  And like Nike says, Just Do It. Purpose to get back on the wagon.
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Educating at Home, Nurturing Moms, Training Little OnesKendra Comments