love to paint

When I started teaching, there was a book that was recommended to all new teachers-- The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease.  The beginning of the book is really a treatise on why reading aloud matters.  But, most homeschooling parents don't need to be convinced.  The ones I know and have met have all believe reading aloud is a good and important thing to do.  But, if you're looking for a book on why one should read aloud, The Read Aloud Handbook will explain why it is important and "how" to do it. Most parents, like my husband and I, want to read aloud books to our children, but struggle at times coming up with books we want to read aloud--especially at the younger ages.  So, we search.  We look for lists of books for independent reading and we look for lists of books for read alouds.  I live in a house of very avid readers so I am always on the lookout for new book lists! One friend suggested that I check out a popular blog titled the Read Alou...

Warning:  Indirect, implied spoilers included in this post. Last week, I watched Me Before You .  It was interesting.  The acting and filming were well done and drew me into the movie.  Afterwards, I looked up the sequel to the book that was turned into this movie and read a review with spoilers.   Sometimes I watch movies to help me understand what our culture believes about right and wrong, what our culture values.   Me Before You is one of those movies.   God cares about life.  He cares about our lives.   Psalm 139:13  ESV For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. Exodus 20:13   ESV You shall not murder. Me Before You is a movie ultimately about euthanasia and God is absent.   Well, not really.  God is always there--even when people think He isn't.  But, the characters in this movie never mention God.  One character only says that life isn't what h...

"Much as we don't see a clogged drain before it backs up, we often don't recognize the initial signs of anxiety, depression, cancer, heart disease, and many other conditions for what they are.  Until enough signs and symptoms add up to a situation warranting concern, we don't recognize a problem exists." pg. 42 from Hope Prevails by Dr. Michelle Bengston Depression is the subject that Dr. Bengston tackles in Hope Prevails .  She has both lived with depression and walked others through the struggles of living with depression.  I have read several books on depression over the years and I'm always curious about how authors deal with this subject.  I've seen it handled well and handled poorly.   In my own life, I have seen some Christians make black and white statements about depression--one person told me that it's just sin and anyone struggling with depression just needs to fight it.  Another Christian told me "that's just the way he/she ...

Yesterday at soccer, I was discussing social media and email with another teacher at a local school.  She said that their school used a poster to help teach kids about what to say--and not say via email and social media. I found a similar poster to the one she described HERE .  I'm definitely printing this up and laminating it for my classroom today!

With all our activities this year, I realized that some of the groups we're now involved in communicate via Facebook.  I've been off Facebook for five years because they deleted something on my page (non-offensive) without my permission.  I decided to return to Facebook this week.  But, it's interesting. My husband made this stipulation to me when I opened a new account:  "Don't put anything on Facebook that you wouldn't want in the newspaper."  I think this is wise guidance and it is what I am using to make decisions about what I post and what I don't post. I realize that I have walked back into the world of deciding who to be friends with and not friends with on Facebook--what to say and what not to say.  When I got off Facebook years ago, I realized that people wanted to be facebook friends with me who hadn't been nice to me when I was a kid.  When people say that people will do and say things they wouldn't in person, they usually are re...

My kids are no longer toddlers.  They're growing up heading towards their teenager years with lots of things they love to do.  There are so many opportunities we can pursue with them.  But, what is wise?  How much is enough?  How much is too much? This fall has been a busy one.  We have more activities going on than we have in past school years. Sports--Soccer 4-H Mini co-op for art Flute, Piano Watercolor lessons Homeschool PE 1x/week (this is an organized large group) Youth Group Mini co-op for French and Writing We've been busy for the past eight weeks.  But, what now?  My middle daughter loves soccer. Should we become a year round sports family?  Can we say no?  yes? Yesterday, I sat watching my daughter's soccer game and talked with a mom sitting next to me who had come to cheer on her friend's daughter.  This woman's two sons play sports year round and she was surprised when I said we only did socc...

Last spring, I found a book series on Hoopla Digital that I really enjoyed it.  It was a series about the Christiansen Family by Susan May Warren.  So, I was curious about her new series that begins with Wild Montana Skies .  This book is about a pilot, Kacey Fairing, who is returning home from a deployment to Afghanistan--trying to recover and cope with PTSD.  Enter her daughter, Audrey, and Kacey's high school boyfriend, Ben King. The book follows these three as they cope with a weather tragedy and as Ben and Kacey try to help others in need.  This is a story of the truth coming out.  It is a contemporary romance, but it isn't as bad as a Harlequin--or as bad as the second book I'm reviewing in this post. I like some romance in a novel.  There's plenty in Wild Montana Skies for me.  It isn't too physically descriptive, though, and I'm grateful for that.  This is the funny part of romance novels to me.  Where is the line that both...