August 2015 – Living the Adventure

Top 10 Favorite Discipleship Books for Kids

August 28, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

Walking out the journey of loving God and loving people is our ultimate goal with our children. We want to help grow the different talents and dreams that God has given each of our kids. So, part of my homeschooling curriculum to have the kids have a “growth” book. This is usually some kind of discipleship book or inspirational book that helps them grow in their walk with God. Here are a few of my favorites….

Eyes to See and Ears to Hear by Jennifer Toledo

This is a book that teaches kids how to hear and interact with Jesus. Its a great tool for parents to use with their kids. It also has testimonies of other kids and their walk with God. Jennifer Toledo is the founder of Global Children’s Movement. They change kids lives all over the world. If you ever get a chance to hear her or read her materials, its amazing what God is doing through her and her family.

2. Can you Hear Me? by Brad Jersak

This is another favorite book of mine that teaches kids how to interact with Jesus and how he sees them. One of my favorite features of this book is that in the back of the book there is a section for parents how they can teach their kids to hear the voice of God and the different ways God wants to talk to them. Brad Jersak also wrote and adult version that is also excellent.

3. Apologia-What We Believe Series Volume 1-4 by John Hay and David Webb

This is an excellent discipleship series for you to walk through with your kids. It has a lot of depth to the information, so we read just a few pages at a time during our Bible time. We are currently on “Who is my Neighbor?” which is Volume 3. I have enjoyed how in this particular volume they have introduced the main world religions through a biblical perspective. For example they introduced us to a family from India that believes in the Hindu religion. As we get to know the family, the book explains the belief system of the Hindu religion. Then at the end of the chapter, it has the kids discuss the differences between the Hindu religion and Christianity. This has facilitated some thought provoking discussions with my kids.

4. Answers for Kids Volumes 1-4 by Ken Ham

These 4 small hard back books are an amazing resource for all those “Why?” kids that live in our homes. The creative format has each page start with an actual question from a child and then the author proceeds to answer that question according to the Bible. We have loved to include this in our Bible time by reading just one question a day. I believe answering some of the “Why?” questions that our kids have about the Bible helps build their faith.

5. Here Comes Heaven by Bill Johnson

I appreciate the understandable way that this book explains who kids are in Christ and how to walk out their journey with God. It also has a journal feature at back of each chapter which allows kids to think about what the chapter was talking about. Its a phenomenal discipleship book that helps kids go deeper with God.

6. The Day the World Went Wacky by Janine Suter

This is a delightful book about creation and the beginning of the world. The illustrations are hilarious and it uses poetic form in the writing so kids remember the story. This book is written for elementary age kids, but my older kids have really enjoyed it too. Even though its written in a story form, the book explains many answers to kids on how God made the world and how sin entered into the world. There are two other books in the series, “Noah’s Floating Animal Park” and “The Not So Super Skyscraper” which is about the Tower of Babel. I am hoping that this author writes more books because she has a talent of explaining biblical principles through amazing story telling.

7. A is for Adam by Ken Ham and Mally Ham

The is an excellent early elementary introduction to Apologetics. The book takes you through the alphabet and walks you through creation and the provision that Jesus gave with the sacrifice of his life. Some features that I thought were helpful is the commentary for parents in the back of the book for each page and the student activities that they can choose to do with their children. The book also has coloring pages in the back that you can photocopy for the little ones that want to color the different alphabet pages you read.

8. Discover for Yourself- Inductive Bible Studies for Kids by Kay Arthur

If you want your children to go deeper in the Word of God then these books are for you. Kay Arthur does an amazing job of leading kids to go deeper in the word. Each inductive bible study that she has written focuses on a certain passage of scripture, a character in the bible or a biblical concept. They are written for upper elementary and older.

9. Battlefield of the Mind for Kids by Joyce Meyer

We teach our kids that they do not fight against flesh and blood but that their true enemy is Satan. Sometimes the greatest battle our kids have is what they think of themselves and what they think is their part in the world. Battlefield of the mind for kids is a great resource for kids to read and help them to start thinking differently. We have even used it with our teenager and it helped him think about things a little differently.

10. Lamplighter Books- Building Christ-Like Character

This is one of my favorite publishing companies for character building books. The books are older stories that teach certain lessons about life by focusing on a character’s problems and how they solve them with God. Our favorite so far is “Sir Malcom and the Missing Prince” which is an amazing story about a selfish prince who learns how to be unselfish and loving. The prince learns to be a great king, he must learn to serve and love the people around him. I usually do these books as read aloud books because they sometimes have a more challenging vocabulary because of the year that they were written in. Any of the lamplighter books are worth your investment of time spent reading them and money spent buying them.

Lifeskills

August 24, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

One of my goals in homeschooling is to not only educate my children in academics but also in Lifeskills. “Lifeskills for Kids” by Christine M. Field is a great tool to use. This is a excellent resource for parents that goes over the basic skills of life that we need to know as adults. I find these kind of books helpful in making me think about the everyday stuff I do that my kids may not know how to do, like balance a checkbook or the process of learning how to do laundry. Some of the topics that were interesting to me were the chapters on teaching kids about decision making and teaching them about organization of their space. Its a worth checking out.

Another resource that I think is worthy of checking out is the book called, “What every Child Should know Along the Way” by Gail Martin. This is another book that teaches about Lifeskills for children. What I love about this book is the different lists that the author provides of the different life skills that a child should know at each age of their life starting at the age of 2. This book is written from a biblical perspective, so there are also many references to God’s word and what it says about life skills. I also enjoyed the helpful and creative ideas on how to train the little ones.

Teaching life skills to kids can be a lot of fun. For example, I want my kids to know the basics of cooking before they leave our home. The easiest way for me to do this with five kids is to have a cooking assistant for meal times. So each week a different child is assigned to help me with meals and I let them learn how to prepare meals with me. Depending on what we are doing, they can learn anything from how to make tuna fish sandwiches to baking bread from scratch. You can also involve kids in meals by having them plan and shop for a meal and then having them help cook it. Its fun to see what they come up with.

3 Homeschool Blogs You Should Be Following

August 22, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

Some of the most amazing ideas that I have received as a homeschooler is from other homeschoolers who are walking through the journey or have already graduated and are imparting wisdom to those of us still in the middle of the adventure. I love reading homeschool books and listening to different teachings on homeschooling. If I’m not sure how to do it, I research it and find out. I also learn and get a ton of ideas from different homeschool blogs that people are writing. Here are a few of my favorites…

Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers-

I love the author’s sense of humor in her posts. There is all kinds of ideas on homeschooling and its separated by the different age group of kids you are teaching. The author has an emphasis on Hands-on Learning. Its an excellent resource to find hands-on projects to fit your different lessons. She has even written a book called “Hands on Learning”. Worth checking out, especially if you have a child that loves or needs the hands on learning.

The Unlikely Homeschooler-

This blog is excellent resource for new and seasoned homeschoolers. The author has an eclectic selection of creative homeschool ideas for preschool, elementary and middle school. My favorite section that she has is “Homeschooling 101” where she has a section called “100 resources for Newbies”. She also explains how she organizes her schooling and plans out her year.

1+1+1+1-

Last but certainly not least is the “1+1+1+1” blog. If you have little ones and are starting to homeschool at the beginning with your preschooler or early elementary then this blog is for you. The author does an amazing job of giving ideas for early elementary that are very creative. I am definitely using some of her ideas on my 3 year old this school year. She also gives links to connect you to the sites where she gets her different projects.

I enjoy learning from other people’s journeys through homeschooling. I am sure there are even more wonderful homeschool blogs that I have not discovered as my favorites yet, but these are my top three for now. Who would be in your top three blogs for homeschooling?

First Day of School Ideas

August 19, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

As a homeschool family, the first day of school is an opportunity to get creative. We have enjoyed making the first day of school a day to have some fun and celebrate that we are homeschoolers. There are many creative ideas out there that parents have come up with to celebrate the first day of school. Here are a few of our favorites….

Make a special Breakfast
Go to a favorite park
Go to a bookstore and have each of the kids pick out a book
Go swimming
Eat lunch at a special restaurant or pack a picnic for the park
Send kids on a scavenger/treasure hunt for school supplies around the house
Go and buy school supplies ( the school supplies would be cheaper because school started)
Interview sheets for the kids to fill out (this is more for mom and keeping memories) I have seen some awesome interview sheets on pinterest to give kids. They have questions, like asking the kids what they want to be when they grow up.
Taking school pictures (Another thing for mom) I have also seen quite a few creative ways to do this on pinterest. My favorite is writing their grade on a small chalkboard and writing how what they want to be when they grow up. The kids hold the chalkboard as you take the picture. The Unlikely Homeschooler blog has examples of this. She also has an excellent pinterest page for “First Day” of school.
Play Family Games together

These are just a few of my favorites. We don’t do all of them at once, I am quite eclectic with my first day of school just like my homeschooling. Each year is different. Some homeshoolers do the same thing each year to create a tradition and memories for their kids. I love this idea also. Whatever you decide will be amazing for your family. Enjoy the journey and creative opportunity of the “First Day” of homeschool.

9th Grade Curriculum for 2015/2016

August 15, 2015 esther7dancing1 Comment

Here is my choices for my oldest going into 9th grade this year.

History-Sonlight Core 100
Science-Apologia Biology
English-IEW US History Writing Lessons, Vocabulary-Word Up!, IEW Fix It! Grammar, Sonlight Core 100 U.S. History Lit. Books
Latin I-Latin Road to Grammar
Math-BJU Press-Pre-Alegbra, Life with Fred-Pre-Algebra
Spanish 2- Taken at a co-op…Homeschool Connections.
Geography-BJU Northstar Geography
Fine Arts- Piano

I will be blogging some reviews on the different curriculum choices as I use them. I think its going to be a fun start to our high school year.

Speak to the Treasure

August 14, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

Graham Cooke is probably one of my favorite speakers to listen to. His wisdom that he shares is always encouraging to me in my walk with God. He has this saying “Speak to the treasure and people will get rid of their own garbage.” I believe all children have their moments when its more difficult to “speak to the treasure” in them. But I know that God wants me to speak to who my kids are and not just how they are behaving. When my kids choose to do things like lying, there are consequences for their actions, but I also have learned to use that opportunity to speak to who they are. Each child is unique and different in how God made them. You know your child best and can ask God to reveal to you the different talents and gifts that your children have. We have had conversations with some of our children who are struggling with lying and talk about how God has made them to be truth tellers.

Another conversation that we have had with one of our sons was about how God has am amazing destiny for his life and wants to use him in adventurous ways. This causes the enemy to want to mess with him. We talked about the armor of God and how we don’t fight against flesh and blood but against Satan. We can make the enemy grow weary with trying to take our peace. God has made our son a warrior and given him the Holy Spirit to fight the enemy and not let him have any foothold in his life. We are definitely not perfect at always speaking to the treasure in our children but when we remember to speak to who God says they are, we have seen a difference in their decisions and behavior.

Taking the Boredom out of Math

August 13, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

I have children who are not too keen on doing Math. I found Life of Fred to be an enjoyable and refreshing alternative for my kids to do Math in a unique way. Life of Fred Math curriculum is in a book format that follows the life of a character named Fred. The books are filled with humorous nonsensical stories of Fred’s life. Throughout the entire story the author weaves in math concepts for the kids to learn. At the end of each chapter, there is an opportunity for kids to answer math questions and test their knowledge of the concepts that were taught in the story. “Life of Fred” curriculum is not very repetitive, so it may not be enough practice for a student that needs a lot of repetition. I use it along side my normal math as a fun supplement. My kids are eager to finish “normal” math so they can do Life of Fred. “Life of Fred” curriculum has books for all grades. It starts at Kindergarten age and goes all the way through post high school math. I know some parents use “Life of Fred” curriculum alone as their only math. This would be fine for a student who doesn’t need a lot of practice or for a student who gets overwhelmed and needs math in small amounts. You could always find worksheets to reinforce practicing the concepts that they had a harder time with. “Life of Fred” books sell for around $17 dollars per book. Another thought is the books are not written as easy readers. So, if you were starting with a Kindergartener, then you would read the book to the child and do the math with them. I started the first book with my first grader this year and I still read the book to him and then he does the math at the end of each chapter. As a family we have enjoyed following Fred on his adventures through Math. “Life of Fred” curriculum has helped make math enjoyable and fun especially for my kids who drag their feet at the mention of Math. You can find “Life of Fred” books at lifeoffredmath.com

10 Books of Inspiration for Tweens/Teens

August 12, 2015September 11, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

I love using books to inspire my kids in their walk with God. I think if they see other kids being used by God to change the world, it will encourage them to believe that they can too. Here is a list of some of my favorite inspirational books for Tweens and Teens.

You were made to make a Difference by Max Lucado and Jenna Lucado
Be the Change by Zac Hunter
City on our Knees by Toby Mac
Do Hard Things by Alex Harris
Live Like a Jesus Freak by DC Talk
Take your Best Shot: Do Something Bigger Than Yourself by Austin Gutwein
Qualities of a Spiritual Warrior (The Way of the Warrior) Book 1 by Graham Cooke
Children and the Supernatural by Jennifer Toledo
The Supernatural Ways of Royalty by Kris Vallotton
The Risk Factor by Kevin Dedmon and Chad Dedmon

Some of these books were actually written by teens. Teenagers and kids do not have a “Little Jesus” inside their hearts. The same size Jesus that lives in you and I lives in them. I have seen and heard of kids and teens around the world changing history and I sometimes feel like they do even more powerful things because of their faith and belief in the impossible.

In the near future, I will be blogging about each of these books in more detail so you can have a better picture of what they are about. I have already done posts about the first 2 books on the list. I am sure there are many more that are not on this list. What inspirational books for tweens/teens would be on your top 10 list?

Declaration of Intent

August 11, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

In Washington State you must file a Declaration of Intent within the first 2 weeks of each school year, starting the year your child turns 8. You can find this at the Washington Homeschool Organization (WHO) website or at the HSLDA website. Another easy place that I found it was on the local public school district’s website. Fill out the Declaration of Intent and then send it to your local public school district. The Declaration of Intent is a one page paper that states you are homeschooling your children for that school year. I always send it with a self addressed and stamped envelope with a request for a copy of the declaration of intent to be sent back to me. You can use your declaration of intent for discounts at many teacher friendly stores. Barnes and Noble, Apple, and any teacher supply store are a few examples that give discounts to homeschoolers. The sooner you send it in, the sooner you get your copy back. If you wait until the first couple of weeks in September, it may take awhile for them to process it. HSLDA website is a great resource for what specifically should be put on the Declaration of Intent. The different things that can be on the DOI are not always necessary to fulfill the law.

Math for the Visual Learner

August 9, 2015August 9, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

I have blogged before about my son who has APD (Auditory Processing Disorder). If you have APD, it is quite difficult to learn things in an auditory way. My son is amazing at Math but he was not understanding the material when I would use a normal “workbook” math curriculum. I needed to find a Math Curriculum that was mostly visual for him to understand the concepts.

Teaching Textbooks was a great answer for what we were looking for. Its a Math curriculum that is done on the computer. My son went from getting almost every problem wrong to getting almost every problem correct. Teaching Textbooks is a visual curriculum that will appeal to visual learners like my son. The only thing that I caution parents on, is that Teaching Textbooks moves slower than a lot of other curriculum. So, you would want to cover more material in the upper grades to match some of the other math curriculum out there. The curriculum can be very repetitive which works amazing for someone with APD but might not go fast enough for other kids. My older son who loves “workbook” type curriculum would be driven nuts by Teaching Textbooks because of the pace that they set. Each child is different and has different ways that they learn best.

Another resource for the visual learner is Mango Math. Mango Math is a company that puts together crates for each grade of various Math Games that reinforce math concepts that are being taught. They are on the more expensive side because they are designed for a classroom but homeschool families do use them. Each crate has 20-25 math games depending on the grade. The games are well done and its a quality product.

The use of different Math DVD’s have been very helpful in reinforcing what I am teaching. Mathtacular is a wonderful series that goes up to 8th grade. The videos teach math concepts in an understandable and fun way. All my kids loves watching them. Another Math DVD is TimeTales. Two of my kids have struggled to learn their times tables. TimeTales uses the clever way of associating stories with the different times tables to help the child remember their times. I have found the more I can appeal to the different learning styles in my son, the more he remembers. When I use visual, kinesthetic, and auditory to teach a concept, he is more likely to retain the information.

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