love to paint

This spring my sister in law emailed me about a curriculum I hadn't heard of before.  It is called A Child's Geography .   The first volume is written by Ann Voskamp.  The second volume is by Ann Voskamp and Tonia Peckover. I have been reading these two books this week.  I finished the first one yesterday, so I'm going to begin by reviewing Volume 1.   This book is titled A Child's Geography .  The title is a bit misleading.  One typically thinks of continents, locations, topography, and maps when you think of geography--or at least I do.  This is not what volume 1 is about.  Instead, Volume 1 is essentially a study of earth science.  Some of the topics covered are the lower and upper atmospheres, the continents and oceans, the structure of the earth, latitude and longitude, and earthquakes and volcanoes.  Typically, all of these fall under the study of earth science.   What makes this curriculum different are two pa...

Recently, I posted my review of Chasing Sunsets on Amazon.  The author, Eva Marie Everson, commented on my review and we began a short dialogue about her book.  I was challenged and encouraged by the dialogue.  So, I asked her if I could repost it here and she acquiesced, so here it is.  I hope you will find it interesting: My review (which I've previously posted on this blog): Ah, Christian romance. I haven't read one in a while. I've been very hesitant to, actually. I decided to read a new one coming out titled Chasing Sunsets by Eva Marie Everson Storyline: Kim has two boys, 10 and 14 years old. She and her husband, Charlie, divorced a year ago. Her dad convinces her to go to Cedar Key for a vacation while her ex-husband has her boys during the summer. There she begins to process her family's past and her present. She meets up with her first love, Steven. The story is about her facing the truth and coming through the fire. Writing: This story is written we...

Every once in a while, I get the chance to read a wonderful novel for children.  This week was one of those weeks.  This morning I finished reading The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson. The Friendship Doll is about a Japanese doll, Miss Kanagawa. This book is a series of interrelated short stories about this doll and several families. When I started reading this book, I was a bit distracted. It didn't draw me in. The doll and the first short story annoyed me and irritated me. The writing was good from the beginning, but I wasn't so sure about how this book would turn out. I'm very thankful I stuck with it. This is a wonderful book! It brought me to tears and even as an adult it made me reflect on life's suffering.  The stories of the young girls begin with the opulence of the roaring 20s. The next story is set in the early years of the great depression. The next stories are set later in the 1930s. The final story is set in the present time. Each of the stories has ...

I think photography is fun.  Even if I am the only one that likes my pictures, I think it's fun.  Sometimes I think I get caught thinking that it's only worth doing something if I'm good at it or if other people like what comes of what I've done.  I know this isn't true.  It's fun to just do something because I enjoy it.  Taking pictures is one of those things for me.   In March when we sold my motorcycle, my husband wanted me to get something that I would enjoy "doing".  I wanted to get a DSLR.  My dad gave me a Canon Eos Elan camera when I graduated from high school with a telephoto lens.  I used it a lot during college and the next few years after that.  But with the arrival of our point and shoot digital camera, I set down my film camera and pushed it to the back of the closet.  It was hard for me to justify using it when I had to pay to develop the film and I didn't know which pictures would be good on the roll of film and w...

I grew up attending public schools.  I read the Bible, but didn't give much thought to whether or not evolution was true.  I had only a little interest in science, so I learned what I needed to know to pass my classes and then I moved on.  I took Biology 101 in college and that was the extent of my science studies in college. When we began homeschooling, I knew I would have to figure out what I think about Old Earth and New Earth theories of Creation, as well as the theory of intelligent design.  I would also have to dig into evolution and understand the flaws in the theory.  I have to admit that I haven't dug into all of these yet, but it is on my radar and I see it coming! Yesterday, I was confronted by my lack of a clear perspective when I picked up a book I received for review.  It is titled Marvels of Creation:  Breathtaking Birds by Buddy and Kay Davis.  This book was written with the help and assistance of the staff of Answers in Genes...

A few years I read a book titled Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt.  I love this quote about what good books do: "Good books have genuine spiritual substance, not just intellectual enjoyment.  Books help children know what to look for in life.  Reading develops the taste buds of the mind as children learn to savor what is seen, heard, and experienced and fit these into some kind of worthwhile framework."  Gladys Hunt, Honey for a Child's Heart, p. 21 There is a saying that goes "You are what you eat".  Essentially, what you put into your body shapes how your body feels and what you are able to do.  In the same way, you might be able to say "You are what you read."  Our minds are stretched or stunted by what we read and put into our minds.  What we read feeds how we interact with others and with the world around us.  It shapes our worldview.  What we read doesn't determine our actions and thoughts, but it does feeds them. ...

Ah, Christian romance.   I haven't read one in a while.   I've been very hesitant to, actually.   I decided to read a new one coming out titled Chasing Sunsets by Eva Marie Everson Storyline:   Kim has two boys, 10 and 14 years old.   She and her husband, Charlie, divorced a year ago.   Her dad convinces her to go to Cedar Key for a vacation while her ex-husband has her boys during the summer.   There she begins to process her family's past and her present.   She meets up with her first love, Steven.   The story is about her facing the truth and coming through the fire. Writing:   This story is written well and Ms. Everson is very descriptive of the setting and characters. Plot:   The plot is developed slowly and well.   It is set in the present, though the main character is surprisingly technology free.   I feel like writing a review like they do on Focus on the Family's website Plugged-in.   I've included the po...

I suppose I've given this entry a strange title.  A few weeks ago when I had my end of year review, I felt quite confident about what we've been doing and our plans for next year.  I worried that pride comes before a fall and my husband reminded me to just enjoy it while it lasted, because it would likely pass. And it did. Last Friday, I started having a reoccurring thoughts about how I've been teaching Autumn about writing.  I added a creative writing program this year to supplement Well Trained Mind's Writing with Ease, Year 2 .  I found that Write About Me and Write about My World , published by EPS, were wonderful additions.  The rote method of Writing With Ease has some gaps.  There is no enjoyment of writing in the course for the student.  I didn't want Autumn to miss out on that enjoyment--especially since she is very creative.  As a side note, many of the passages used in WWE were also above her comprehension level (which interesti...

Last year I read a book that took me quite by surprise.  I did not expect to like it.  I actually expected to dislike it.  But, I found that I loved it! It was a book titled The Sword by Brian Litfin.  It fits into a genre of fiction known as speculative fiction.  Essentially, the world goes into a future dark age when a virus wipes out most of the world's population.  This is deftly described in a very concise few pages at the beginning of The Sword.  God's Word has been lost and so has faith in Him.  It has been replaced by Idolatry and the worship of many Gods.   The Sword is the story of Teo and Ana and their discovery of part of God's Word.  I knew when I began reading The Sword that it was to be the beginning of a new trilogy and that I would have to wait a year for the second installment. That time has come.   The Gift was published in April of this year.  I have looked forward to reading it and I finally got a...

Last night while I was up writing, I watched a movie on Netflix called Nothing But The Truth.  It was unsettling.  The plot has many ramifications, but taking the basic plot out of context, the basics are these:  all choices we make have consequences.  We may think we know what those consequences will be, but often we don't.  We may justify that we are doing the "right" thing because it is based on what we want--not taking others into consideration.   Some people might disagree with me on that interpretation, but I know I'm seeing this movie in light of the circumstances of someone I care about.   (Please note I do give away some of the plot.)  At the beginning of the movie, a reporter chooses to disclose the identity of someone who's identity needs to remain a secret.  Because of the reporter's decision, the woman loses her job, family, and ultimately her life.  Because of the reporter's decision first to pursue the article and th...

The idea of a commentary for children was very interesting to me.  With a Bible commentary, you can read a passage in the Bible and look to the Bible for insight and help with concepts or words that you'd like to have more explanation for. Nancy E. Ganz wrote a 5 book commentary series for children that has been published by Shepherd Press.  Recently, I began reading the first book on Genesis .  The older edition included the teacher's notes.  Shepherd Press has made them accessible here:  www.shepherdpress.com/downloads.php   This book is interesting.  It was not what I expected it to be.  It does not follow the typical form of a commentary.  With most commentaries, you can look up a passage in the Bible, open the commentary and find comments for that passage.  The entries in this commentary overlap and go back and forth in Genesis.  Ms. Ganz explains in the introduction that this commentary is a compilation of the Sunday sch...

On my last post, I mentioned a book by Debi Pearl about marriage. I didn't realize that I had gone on such a tangent in my review until two people mentioned it to me. One gal emailed me and asked me what my concerns about the book are. I thought I would post my concerns here. It was a few years ago when I started reading Created to be his  helpmeet. I wrote this review on Amazon at the time... "I was very discouraged by this book.  To summarize briefly what this  book is about--Ms. Pearl addresses what it means to be a submissive wife and how one would live that out. What I read didn't sit with me,  t hough I do agree with all that I've read in the Bible--that wives are to  submit to their husbands.  When I read Created to be His Helpmeet, I began to get very upset and my husband suggested that I stop reading it and just read the Bible. I  stopped at that point. But, I picked it up recently to try and understand a woman I knew who had been...