Under the Sky

Reading Eggs - What's that?

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 07:12:00 +0000

When I first heard the name, Reading Eggs, I thought, What in the world? I had no idea what to expect or even what it was. As the Director of Product Reviews for The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine's Homeschool Crew, sometimes I review what we receive and I decided to do that with this program. I am so glad I did!

My youngest daughter has had a very difficult time learning to read and our reading sessions have almost always been greeted with less than joyful enthusiasm. I have never considered an online interactive program, but I figured that Reading Eggs couldn't hurt, right? She took the reading evaluation test:

If this was for a younger child, her test would have been much simpler. She was placed in a certain level and began on the correct "map" of the program. This is what these maps look like:

She follows her character, a cute little just-hatching chick, around the path and does the lessons. She earns golden eggs that translate into surprise characters that hatch for her. Here is a lesson on the "ch" sound. First she clicks the three "ch" sounds:

Then she finds the sound amid other sound blends all the while listening to the "ch" sound.

Then she finds the sound amid foods that begin with "ch" as indicated by their name. She hovers over the food if she does not recognize it right away and it states what it is.

After that she blends two sounds that are repeated to say the word into one word by clicking first on the monkey and second on the chain.

She does this three times and then the word comes together so she can read it completely.

The lesson goes on from there, and there are many different types of lessons (this is but one example) but I appreciate the way it builds from simple to more complex. She is always rewarded in some way. Here she is receiving stars that build towards some other reward. The program is very encouraging to the learner and I love this!

Reading Eggs is for beginning to early readers and is complete with 120 learn-to-read lessons and 96 spelling lessons. The side bar on the map looks like this:

As you can see, they have quite a few other areas for them to explore, learn, and play in. Each time she does her lessons, I receive a Reading Eggs Progress Report email that gives me information on how she is doing and what she has accomplished. I can tell you that she is accomplishing much more in her lessons with Reading Eggs than she was doing with our sit-on-the-couch stress time. This isn't to say that we will stop doing that, but we have taken a break to see how she progresses with this. Change can be good! This is what the progress report looks like for Emma:

So the nice thing is that she really does have to do the work, or I find out about it! However, that has not been a problem because she ASKS to play Reading Eggs. She ASKS to read!

There is another section of the website called Reading Express. This is for older children.

Reading Express is for readers who are capable of reading chapter books and beyond. It has 200 comprehension lessons and a "library full of more than 600 E-books." This part of the site has its own "Floating Island." It looks like this and swivels so your child can access each part.

Here is the Library interface:

Here is the Gym interface:

Here is the Stadium interface:

This is something Emma did not do too much of, but I wanted to share it with you in case you have an older child that might be interested.

The website also has free printable activity sheets for all 120 lessons. The parent dashboard is friendly to use and easy to navigate. There is nothing to download as the program is housed on the Reading Eggs servers.

Reading Eggs offers a variety of pricing choices from $75.00 for twelve months or $49.95 for six months or for $9.95 for a monthly subscription. They also sell book sets listed on the same pricing page. There is a free trial to be had for those of you that want to try it out and you can find that right on the front page.

We are very pleased with this program and will continue to use it for at least another few months to see how she progresses. I plan to continue the subscription beyond our allotted time period and am excited to see my daughter motivated to learn!

Give Reading Eggs a look! You might be as surprised as I was at how well it works for you!

See what the other Crew members thought about it here.

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.

All Around the Mulberry Bush...

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 05:51:00 +0000

Who doesn't know the rest of that song? The monkey chased the weasel...

It makes me think of the ABCs and that's what I am gettin' to. I am blogging through the ABCs with Ben and Me. I just love that homeschool mama!

Since most of you are homeschoolers, you will be familiar with the teaching the first letter of the alphabet...A. :)

A is for AMAZING. That is what my husband is. Not only is he a wonderful provider, but he supports and loves me and our children. He is gifted in a thousand different ways, but he is really gifted in woodworking.

He built these beautiful B is for Bookshelves for a friend's home:

Here is a close-up shot of his work. Isn't it lovely?

And of course B is for Books. How can a homeschooler leave that out? We often read the best books when we study history, but I don't limit myself to just school hours when it comes to historical fiction. Have you ever read the Cadfael mysteries? It makes you feel as if you are right in the middle of the 12th century. That kind of book really makes reading enjoyable.

C is for Creative. My youngest girl is artistically inclined and I love to see what comes through her mind and out via her pencil.

We studied the John Singleton Copley painting of Paul Revere from this very resource on Tuesday and this was her interpretation of the painting:

Don't you just love what your children come up with? I feel so blessed to be able to witness it. :)

D is for Dragon! See the results of our dragon co-op day. These are from my youngest two. I love the differences!

E is for Eggs because we have a lot. Our chickens keep makin' em! I love the variations in color. Who needs Easter eggs when you have chickens at home! :)

F is for Fine Arts we study here at home. The desert was our topic and landscape our goal. Gorgeous colors, don't you think? Art Lessons for Children is our DVD art teacher.

G is for Great Things like birthdays of note. 13 is one such year and we celebrate our John this month! (He now surpasses his eldest sister in height by a mere 4 millimeters, but those are highly prized millimeters! He has waited a LONG time for that. :D)

H is for Home. I'm so thankful to have one. I can't imagine life without this beautiful place we get to rest our heads, school together, and share our lives with one another. We are grateful for the blessing from the Lord. This, however, is what makes my home a home:

And Annie helps too...

A-H. That's all for me today! Join with us and blog your ABCs! :)

My Monday Musings

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:25:00 +0000

What I'm thinking: That it is nice to be blogging. I don't have a lot of time to do this, but to be making the time again is well... nice. :)

What I'm reading: I just finished reading Kindle's free download of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself. We recently finished studying the Civil War and I had downloaded several things to read that I never got to. This one was so powerful and ultimately so triumphant that I recommend it heartily. I cannot say that there are not very hard things to read in it, but sometimes we need to remember the hard things.

What I'm listening to: The tapping of my typing fingers and the occasional email notification. It is quiet tonight. :)

What we're learning: We are learning about going west. Not quiet sure how I am pulling that one off and co-op is tomorrow and what am I doing? Blogging. :) Late night, here I come.

What I'm watching: We just finished watching the Downton Abbey series plus the Christmas special. There are some skipable moments in the show, but overall it is a beautifully crafted and well-acted program. I love period movies so a period show is wonderful to me. Dame Maggie Smith is my favorite saucy character. She is simply adorable.

What's cooking: I am trying out very low fat and no sugar recipes so I am being creative. Tonight I sauteed zucchini and onions with marinated lean beef strips. I marinated them in Bragg's Liquid Aminos (that tastes much like soy sauce) and garlic chili sauce, and sauteed it in its own juice (no oil or fats). It wasn't half bad, but truth be told, I really like sauteing in an oil base better!

What I'm buying: My daughter wanted to order two books from Amazon and needed someone to come up with an extra $5.00 to make it to free shipping. I happily obliged her and bought, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz CD. We are a big books-on-CD family and I am always looking for good ones. We frequently get good ones at the library. Right now the girls are listening to the unabridged Heidi that is almost eight hours long. That makes me a happy homeschool mama.

What I'm thankful for: New excitement in our lives that may be coming soon. I can't really say yet and no, I am not pregnant. :D

What I'm creating: The last few days I have been making comfrey poultices for my son's sprained wrist. I had forgotten this amazing herb until my dear friend, Charlotte, mentioned it to me. She had given me some a few years ago to treat a bee sting that had swollen up my son's foot. She has a lovely big bush of this in her backyard in the right season of the year of which I received a clipping some time back. It is dead in my backyard at the moment so I headed off to our local natural food store and bought some dried comfrey in the bulk section. I made the poultice and have wrapped it around his wrist once a day for the last three days for two solid hours each time. It has been nothing short of astonishing. Comfrey is also known as knitbone and works in a most marvelous way.

Comfrey roots and leaves contain allantoin, a substance that helps new skin cells grow, along with other substances that reduce inflammation and keep skin healthy. Comfrey ointments were often applied to the skin to heal bruises as well as pulled muscles and ligaments, fractures, sprains, strains, and osteoarthritis. (Source.)

It has been simply amazing. We have been praying for his full recovery and to see such a remarkable change in just a few days is a gift of mercy.

Genesis 1:29
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food."

What I'm praying: Two friends with sons that are struggling and two friends with husbands in need of jobs. Pray with me if you like! God knows who we are praying for even without names.

What I'm planning: A trip to the California State Railroad Museum next week. Can't wait!

What we did this last weekend: Worked and played and enjoyed great fellowship at church. God is ever faithful.

What I'm looking forward to: Time to finish building our raised beds higher so we can grow deep-rooted plants. I am impatient to get to spring planting! Winter is long gone here and I had best get moving!

A picture to share:

Comfrey

Light of Freedom

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:14:00 +0000

Over the course of my life I have spent a great deal of time reading. I love to read. I love the places it takes me and the people I meet. I especially value historical fiction. I have always preferred it to nonfiction probably because most nonfiction is a little flat in the "story" part of things. This isn't always true of historical nonfiction though, and that holds my attention and touches my heart in an entirely different way. It is someone else's real story--their life in words.

I just finished reading The Emancipation of Robert Sadler on my Kindle App. This was one of the most powerful and difficult books I have ever read. He was sold into slavery--by his father--at the age of five. In 1916. Yes, 1916. It was his account of his life, very honestly told. I was deeply troubled by the book, but troubled in a way that made me think. How did this kind of thing go on when the Civil War ended slavery in 1865? It was such a blatant display of the totally depraved heart of man that it was hard to process. So many people lived this way! He wasn't the only one.

Mr. Sadler's story is a powerful one of the work of the Savior--how Christ changes lives. His life began in such poverty and fear--living in terror of his own father. The suffering he endured and witnessed should never have been. It was extremely difficult to read in places. His witness for His Savior is powerful. What Christ did in his life was nothing short of miraculous. I serve a living and active God!

"..so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light."
Colossians 1:10-12

Robert Sadler is walking with the Lord in his inheritance and in His light even now. His witness to me through the book--of the power of God to transform lives in every day events as well as giant grief--was beautiful and compelling. I know His Lord. He is rich in mercy to me every day. I hope you know Him too.

How ALEKS Changed Our Homeschool

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:58:00 +0000

This is a blog post written by one of my dearest friends. This is her real story and experience with ALEKS, the online math program.

Homeschooling has been a real struggle for us since I have had to go back to work. For seven years now I have been schooling five days a week, while answering phone calls for my pony ride/petting zoo business, and training horses all afternoon. On the weekends I have spent all Saturday at events where I have to maintain a high energy combination of Barney and Mary Poppins, all while making sure everyone stays safe with the horses. On Sunday, we rush to church only to top the day off at events in the afternoon. Monday starts the schedule all over again. Not to mention all of the regular chores involved on a working ranch; milking, mucking, and feeding.

Several times we contemplated selling the ranch, but we would have come out worse, with no way to make money to pay the bills. Several times we looked into "help" only to find the "help" expensive and not particularly helpful. Meanwhile, several of my children were dropping further and further behind, and by this I mean by several years. After a trip to the doctor and the discovery that my endocrine system was in a meltdown, I knew something had to change. The only option I thought I had was to send the kids to public school.

One morning, I was sorting through emails, completely defeated. I was sick of hearing all of the homeschool "success" stories; and sick of the people around me wanting "this" or "that" from me. I was sick of people offering me "advice" when they had no clue as to what I was going through, sick of the complaints from other people that felt that I "should" be more that I was. I was sick of life. I felt I had failed miserably, as a homeschooler, and as a mother. The only option was public school, at least then I could get the rest I needed to heal, and get on top of the mess. I came across an email from ALEKS offering a free trial for EACH of my kids. I enrolled them all.

With all of my children enrolled and working on tests, I found out that the situation was worse than I expected. My best student was four years behind their public school counterparts. Since it was September and I had to have the kids at home for our extremely busy season of October, I decided to just let them use the free month and then I would cross the bridge of enrolling them when October’s busy face was gone.

The most amazing thing happened. Within two weeks of ALEKS, and the artificial intelligence and the unique way of assessing and explaining, three of my kids were 80% done with their course work. ALEKS was able to quickly figure out what the kids knew and what they did not know. Then it worked them hard on the things that they needed to master, while cycling the information that they did know just enough to keep it fresh. ALEKS also goes back over any prerequisites to a new topic before teaching something to make sure they are properly prepared.

(The student's "pie" chart showing their progress.)

Another one of the aspects that has helped with my younger kids is called Quick Tables. This has no "drill and kill" aspect but instead, in a fun way, makes sure the child knows the basic math facts. I have my kids do it at least ten minutes a day until they are done with them all.

The best things about ALEKS is that when a child does not understand something, they explain it again... and again.... and again. No one gets upset or frustrated, because the explanation is there.

With all of the things I have going on in my life, follow up is very difficult if not impossible and I was afraid ALEKS was going to end up being one of those things that just gets lost in the shuffle, rendering me, once again, unable to know what is going on and thus fail. Not so here. ALEKS sends me a progress report weekly, and even that can be adjusted to different amounts to help keep the parent apprised of their child's progress. ALEKS even determines what the child needs more work on and makes worksheets appropriate for that child, and then emails you the correction sheet.

ALEKS offers all this, at a fraction of the cost of a tutor, and all without the drama of another human being in your house. Needless to say I have enrolled all of my school age children in ALEKS and benefited enormously from their family discount and their pre-paid discounts.

Four months in to ALEKS, three of my children have already worked through two full years of math and are well on their way to being "caught up".

She is a paying customer of ALEKS and wrote this review for me because the program has changed their lives so much. She received no compensation for it and her thoughts are her own.

Read what the TOS Homeschool Crew had to say about it HERE.

Goodbye to a hero.

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:12:00 +0000

My Great Uncle died this weekend. He was a real war hero. He was one of those kinds of people we read stories about and can't believe they really existed. He was one of the kindest men I have ever known even though we were not close and saw each other infrequently. This is his obituary. It made me cry.

Donald F. Kirk was born October 3, 1920 in Pottsville, PA and died Sunday, February 5, 2012 in Toledo, Ohio after a short illness.

Don was awarded a YMCA membership by a local judge in elementary school and that forged a lifelong interest in health and fitness. While attending Pottsville High School, he became a Pennsylvania State Champion in gymnastics and that created an opportunity for him to attend Westchester State Teachers College. At West Chester, he met Dorothy Brennan, whom he married in 1946, after returning from WWII. They were married for 62 years until Dorothy’s death in 2008.

Don was very proud of his service the U.S. Navy in WWII. After being commissioned as an Ensign by Gene Tunney, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, he chose amphibious landing craft and was assigned to the USS Tyrrell in the Pacific. The night before the Battle of Okinawa, the landing commander was injured. The Tyrrell’s commander ordered 24-year old Lt J.G. Donald Kirk to lead the command of the 24 landing craft carrying tanks and troops to the beach. During the assault and while he was on the beach, his ship was hit by a Kamikaze, but not sunk. Later in the war, he visited Nagasaki two weeks after the atomic bomb was dropped.

After the war, Don and Dorothy moved to Toledo while he worked for Red Cross. Later, he joined Blue Cross and worked as an insurance salesman for 29 years. A lifelong Catholic, he was an active member of Christ the King, where he and Dorothy also sang in the choir. He volunteered at Red Cross and regularly attended American Legion meetings. He and Dorothy travelled extensively, including 25 Elder Hostels around the world. Always an adventurer, he rode a camel at the Egyptian Pyramids at 88 and visited the Holy Land at age 89.

He is survived by an elder sister (my grandmother), three children, six grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. He was 91.

HistoryDocumented.com interviewed him some time ago. This is part of his story.

Don Kirk from Chris Wulf on Vimeo.

Goodbye Uncle Don. You will be missed.

Looking Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:32:00 +0000

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

And they do! Not just the night sky, but the day sky too. As I shared on the TOS Homeschool Crew blog, it was not too long ago that I had a lovely conversation with the author of Classical Astronomy's monthly Celestial Almanack, Jay Ryan. He mentioned something I found really powerful--something I too easily forget.

The Moon that is referred to in 62 verses of Scripture and the Sun that is mentioned 183 times are the SAME Sun and Moon that we see everyday. The Bible also mentions trees and animals and people, but the original ones made in the creation week are long dead. Meanwhile, the SAME Sun, Moon and stars are STILL THERE, pristine artifacts of God's original creative work.

How often do I really consider the work of God in the sky? Jay Ryan's monthly Celestial Almanack can now help our family consider it every day of the year!

Sometimes people go silent when a person starts talking astronomy. The crickets start chirping and we feel uncomfortable with our lack of knowledge. We don't have to! How often have you been out on a clear starlit night and thought to yourself, I wish I understood what is up there. I wish I could identify what I see and that it wasn't just a jumbled mess of tiny lights to me.

This monthly Almanack opens up the doors and shares the great mystery with you. February's Almanack is a 21-page e-book downloadable from CurrClick so it is instant knowledge of the northern sky available for you. On page four we find the whole monthly moon cycle and inside it he sprinkles tidbits of knowledge of significant events that happened over time. He even gives you a link to find your local rise and set times for the Sun and Moon.

On the next page, he shows you the whole sun cycle through the month of February and explains what we are seeing during the days of winter. Next we learn about constellations. This is the one thing that I have really yearned to understand and he really makes it so easy! Will your family take the Orion Challenge?

Probably the most exciting thing in the night sky is what is happening to the planets Venus and Jupiter. They are coming together in the sky in what is called a conjunction that will culminate in March, but we get to watch it happen all February.

Through his beautifully drawn yet simple to grasp artwork in the Almanack, we get to see things from a "God's eye" perspective. This is so helpful to really understand what we see in the sky. "When we look up and seen Venus and Jupiter in the sky, we are actually looking out into space, onto the plane of the solar system." This was demonstrated so we could "see" in the drawings.

Last week we were able to visit a local planetarium at a junior college near us. The lecturer was an astronomy professor and he really knew his stuff. What impressed me was that due to studying through Jay Ryan's book, Signs and Seasons, from Fourth Day Press, and now as we begin using these monthly Almanacks, my children not only understood what was being presented, but they could also answer the questions he asked them! What is more, they were genuinely interested and we spoke at length afterwards about it. Then, that very night, we went to my aunt's home on the river where hardly any ambient light is, and they could see the whole of the sky! It was astonishing and exciting.

There is nothing like it! I can now look into the sky and understand some of what I see, see the hand of God in all of it, and marvel at His glorious achievement.

I know as homeschoolers, we sometimes feel we must stick to the regimen of the science topics per grade level that we think are somehow "assigned" to those grades. Studying Classical Astronomy, the astronomy that the ancients knew so well, hearkens back to a simpler time where people used the sky every day to tell the time, to tell direction, to understand the signs in the heavens as they lived and worked their land. There is something very powerful about looking at the moon and understanding that it is the same moon that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob saw; it was the same moon Jesus saw as He walked this earth for us. It links us all together through time.

The upcoming months of the Almanack will focus on the Jupiter-Venus conjunction on March 15 (this happens only once every 24 years); the annular solar eclipse on May 20 (this happens only once every 18 years); and the transit of Venus on June 5 (this is the last one until 2117).

I cannot encourage you enough to take a look at this wonderful work. Jay Ryan has made something unequaled in the homeschooling world and our family is the better for having had the privilege of using it.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
Psalm 8:3-4

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

There be Dragons!

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:35:00 +0000

I woke up today feeling a distinct sensation of panic. Tomorrow is co-op, Fine Art co-op, and I am teaching the "art" in that title yet I had nothing to go with. Usually I am pretty prepped--at least in my head. Recently though, my head has been a giant swirl of vendor lists, ship dates, and memos to myself in what I like to term my mental ticker tape. The ticker never stops and the feed keeps going and I have to keep up!

So today I thought, Can I even pull this together?! I wasn't sure what I wanted to teach let alone what I wanted the children to learn, but this is often when I get my best work done--when I have a due date I Must. Meet. (At least that is what I tell myself!) I began flipping through my art instruction DVDs from Coyote Creek that I reviewed, Art Lessons for Children, and decided to go with More Fun With Watercolors. One of the lessons had a Chinese dragon that looked like fun for the kids and not too difficult for this art leader to pull off. ;)

Not only do I lead the art instruction, but I also lead the art history lesson. I LOVE this part of it. Art instruction is something I do because we need it and I have the DVDs and I can do it, but art history is something else altogether for me. I LOVE it. It is my thing that charges up my synapses and gets me excited about learning. This is probably because it is so closely tied with history and I adore history. :)

So. I thought, dragons...HEY! I can teach them about Chinese dragons! And then they can draw them! How extraordinary is that? (I know, just humor me. We all need these happy moments. LOL) So, I started with my trusty Google and I found so many cool things! Did you know that dragons have been in the Chinese culture for thousands and thousands of years? I mean I knew they were old, and I knew ancient cultures had their legends and even Draco the dragon is in the night sky, but still - some of the ancient jade finds have been dated to close to 6,200 BC!

I thought I would share some of it with you. I hope you find it interesting because I sure did. :)

Chinese Dragons from the Nine-Dragon Wall.

(If you click on the links, they should enlarge for you. Some of the detail is just fantastic.)

From Wiki:

In yin and yang terminology, a dragon is yang and complements a yin fenghuang ("Chinese phoenix").

The next picture is an ancient artifact. I wonder what it was used for. What do you think?

From Wiki:

The origin of the Chinese dragon is not certain. The presence of dragons within Chinese culture dates back several thousands of years with the discovery of a dragon statue dating back to the fifth millennium BC from the Yangshao culture in Henan in 1987, and jade badges of rank in coiled form have been excavated from theHongshan culture circa 4700-2900 BC.

The coiled snake or dragon form played an important role in early Chinese culture. The character for "dragon" in the earliest Chinese writing has a similar coiled form, as do later jade dragon amulets from the Shang period.

Ancient Chinese referred to unearthed dinosaur bones as dragon bones and documented them as such. For example, Chang Qu in 300 BC documents the discovery of "dragon bones" in Sichuan. The modern Chinese word for dinosaur is konglong (恐龍, meaning "terrible dragon"), and villagers in central China have long unearthed fossilized "dragon bones" for use in traditional medicines, a practice that continues today.

From this site:

The dragon is a very revered creature in China that has many symbolic meanings in Chinese culture. Unlike the European dragon, the Chinese dragon is a creature that symbolizes auspicious omens and is a symbol of good luck, fortune, and power. The Chinese dragon also, according to legend, symbolizes control over water and bodies of water, such as rain, floods, waterfalls, rivers, and typhoons.

The following is just lovely and in an entirely different style from the other things we are studying.

From Wiki: Detail of an embroidered silk gauze ritual garment from a 4th century BC, Zhou era tomb at Mashan, Hubei province, China. The flowing, curvilinear design incorporates dragons, phoenixes, and tigers.

Below is a neat dragon from the 13th century.I love his expression!

From Wiki: One of the dragons from The Nine Dragons handscroll (九龙图／九龍圖), painted by the Song-Dynasty Chinese artist Chen Rong (陈容／陳容) in 1,244 CE. Ink and some red on paper. The entire scroll is 46.3 x 1096.4 cm. Located in the Museum of Fine Art - Boston, USA.

Chinese culture isn't the only one with a score of interesting dragons. Bhutan has its own dragon stories. The country's flag is below. The dragon is holding gems as a symbol of wealth.

Japanese dragon art is one of the most familiar in the world due to two artists; Hokusai (the first right below) and Utagawa Kunisada (the artist that created the dragon below with people on it). These are some of my favorites. I love the detail and the expression on the faces.

Below is a Korean Dragon. I think his face looks like a lion's face.

The last is a Vietnamese dragon. I like the swirls in the metalwork here.

I think it might be neat to consider that dragons are not entirely fictional. There are certainly fossilized creatures we have found today that look an awful lot like some of these dragons. This video is a 3+ minute video of a compilation of several ancient creatures that we can only see in fossil format today, but this video brings them to life. As I watched this, I remembered that these are swimming creatures and would have been made by God on the fifth day of Creation. They are swimming reptiles and are really quite magnificent. I can't say the music is what I would have chosen, but the video had some interesting shots.

Do you think they are similar to the dragons here? It is something to think about! :)

$275 Worth of Homeschooling Products for Only $20!

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:37:00 +0000

It is a Homeschool Fire Sale! I wanted to share this with you. What an exciting deal! I highly suggest you check it out. :)

Anger and Mercy

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 22:29:00 +0000

In Ephesians 6:4, we parents are given quite the instruction: "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." It is really easy to read over this verse quickly because it follows verses two and three that we parents like a lot. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Now I don't usually toss that out to my children, but I do know it is there and am grateful that the Bible gives our children this instruction. It is a bit of cold water in the face (if I am to be honest) that what follows is a correction for me.

Our pastor preached a sermon on this verse a few weeks back and I have been mulling it over ever since. It is a good thing my children love me and forgive me because I am quite guilty of committing this sin. I do exasperate or provoke them sometimes. If we are not to exasperate our children, what ought we to be doing? My pastor shared some meaty things with us that made me take an entirely different view of this verse, and I hope something here helps you.

We are to come back, day by day and week by week to evaluate how our children should best be brought up. Are we doing what we need to do (within our human ability) to be what they need? Are we bringing them up in the way of the Lord or are we scooting by? Are we doing spastic parenting or being impulsive in our relationships? Raising up our children is a special sacred duty given to us by God. What does it mean to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord?

We are to correct, discipline, instruct, warn, teach, admonish, chastise, nourish, shape, and model for them in the Lord. It is Christ who changes hearts. We are not the heart changers - the Holy Spirit does that. However, scripture tells us that we are to walk with Christ as an example for them. This is a hard calling, isn't it? It is so much easier to sin, to want our own way, to be a poor example, or to let the crazy busy aspects of our life influence our behavior. I know that I struggle with this all the time.

Before we go to our children to admonish and chastise, to correct, discipline, and to shape them, we should be sure we have the planks out of our own eyes. This is such a powerful piece of scripture. I love the frankness of the Word of God. Luke 6:42, "How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye?" Are we struggling with the same sins we are going to our children about? Probably! Maybe not in the same ways, but we do.

I think our children should see our humanness. (Not that we could keep it from them, really, but they should understand that we know what it is to struggle with temptation or abiding sin, and that our Savior has paid for it all.) How many times have I just finished having our Bible time together in the morning and then not ten minutes later, I have gotten upset over something absurd? How many times have you seen your children arguing over some nonsense right after you were teaching about loving your brother? :) We humans are a messy lot, aren't we? We are to shepherd our children, to invest in them.

How comforting is it when you know someone with deep faith? I know some of these people in my life and when I ask them to pray for me, I know they will and somehow I feel they will really get the message to God. :) I know that sounds silly because I know that God hears His people when they pray, but sometimes I feel that some people have a direct line or something. :) Our children need to see us before the face of God. They need to see that we need our Savior. They need to see that our lives flow from our sense of love for and from Him. They need to hear us talk about and really live our faith.

Lamentations 3:22-24 states some extremely powerful words that we often forget when we are burdened by our own sin. "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."" His love for us never ceases. His is unwavering and always faithful to us--even in our deepest times of need and when we feel lost in our failures. He knows our weakness and forgives our sins when we turn to Him!

It is by the always present, every day mercies of God, that we live and breathe and have our being. We can't do anything without Him. We don't and can't do God's will without the saving work of Christ in our lives. Jesus washes our sins away. We cannot do any of it for ourselves and something important to remember, we can't do it for our children. But our great hope, and the hope we have for our children is found in Ephesians 2:4-5: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved..." He is rich in mercy--to us and to our children. This is such a beautiful gift!

While I want to be a shepherd to my children on behalf of Christ, to be the person Christ calls me to be, I know that I will often fail them. But even in my failures, Christ displays His perfect patience and forgiveness towards me as He did with Timothy:

1 Timothy 1:15-17
"The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."

Amen.

Exploring America - A Review

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:52:00 +0000

I was thrilled when Mr. Notgrass agreed to send in his Exploring America for review. It is a most excellent program and I am thrilled to be using it in our family and our history co-op.

Exploring America
Notgrass Company

http://www.notgrass.com

370 S. Lowe Ave., Ste. A

PMB 211

Cookeville, TN 38501

1-800-211-8793

Exploring America, from the Notgrass Company, is a thorough and engaging high school American history, American literature, and Bible course. The complete course comes with two softcover student textbooks, (Exploring America: Volume 1 – Columbus through Reconstruction, Exploring America: Volume 2 – Late 1800s through the Present), another softcover book, American Voices: A Collection of Documents, Speeches, Essays, Hymns, Poems, and Short Stories from American History, a spiral-bound softcover Quiz and Exam Book and the answer key for the same. Volumes 1 and 2 have a combined total of 150 lessons that are divided into thirty separate units of five lessons per unit.

Exploring America fulfills three high school credits. From the website: Completing the full course provides your child with a year's high school credit in American History, English (literature and composition), and Bible. The History credit involves reading the lessons and the original documents and speeches (and answering the questions in the optional Quiz & Exam Pack if desired). The English credit involves completing the weekly writing assignments and one research paper; and reading the assigned literature, poems, and short stories in American Voices. The Bible credit involves reading the Bible lessons, completing the Bible assignments at the end of many lessons, and reading the hymns and other religious literature assigned.

The American literature portion of the curriculum is located within the Exploring America lessons. The titles to be read and studied are as follows:

The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne)

Narrative of the Life of David Crockett (Crockett)

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Douglass)

Uncle Tom's Cabin (Stowe)

Co. Aytch (Watkins)

Little Women (Alcott)

Humorous Stories and Sketches (Twain)

In His Steps (Sheldon)

Up From Slavery (Washington)

Mama's Bank Account (Forbes)

Christy (Marshall)

To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)

The Giver (Lowry)

A week (or unit) of study encompassing five lessons from Exploring America begins with the Unit Introduction. The Unit Introduction gives the student a concise write-up of what will be covered in the unit over the five lessons in the week. You will be given a memory verse to learn, a list of other books used (literature selection and American Voices when needed) in addition to the Volumes of Exploring America, and then a choice of writing assignments. For every lesson, the student will read the material in the textbook and then complete the assignments. Sometimes this involves answering questions given and sometimes it involves multiple days of writing for the same assignment. For example, Unit 8 has two writing assignments offered and the student chooses one.

· Write a two to three page report on the contributions of the Adams family to America, especially John and Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams, Charles Francis Adams Sr., Charles Francis Adams Jr., and Henry Adams.

· Write a two to three page paper in which you compare the religious experience in the Massachusetts Bay colony and that on the frontier during the Second Great Awakening.

As you can see, these assignments will take more than one day to complete so the other days they will do reading of the literature selection or American Voices, memorize Scripture, or answer the lesson questions found in the Quiz and Exam Book.

Throughout the books, you will find many appealing side notes, graphics, photographs, maps, and sections that were especially interesting, What Was Happening In the World? This section gave world history events of significance and facts about individuals living at the same time to help with context. For example, did you know that Napoleon crowned himself Emperor or that Beethoven’s third symphony premiered one year after the landmark Supreme Court case of Marbury vs. Madison? It is helpful to see American history in the proper framework of the rest of the world.

The fifth lesson of every unit is a Bible study. Your child will study such interesting and applicable subjects as: How You See the World Makes a Difference; God is Sovereign; The Bible as Spiritual Constitution; Faith on the Front Lines; God and Freud; The Dilemma of Suffering; Were They Really the Golden Days?; Public Leaders, Private Lives, and many more. Obviously there is some author opinion in these sections, but that is what makes it great for thinking and reasoning out. You can use these as opportunities for great family discussion too. There are questions to ponder and answer and Scripture to discover here.

The American literature selections are solid well-respected choices worth the time your student will take to read them. In the Quiz and Exam Book, there are questions for the student on the book. Each lesson has questions to ask and answer on the subject in that lesson. The quizzes and tests also found in this resource are multiple choice as well as paragraph format.

Probably the single neatest aspect to this complete curriculum is the book, American Voices. There is just nothing like reading an historical figure’s own words to get to know them and why they cared so deeply about whatever they were involved in. Their stories, poems, essays, hymns, speeches, and of course, the most important historical documents they created make the study of history come alive. You will find such treasures as excerpts of the New England Primer, saying from Poor Richard’s Almanack, George Washington’s Farwell Address, the response of W.E.B. Du Bois to Booker T. Washington and Others “…on the best path to take for black equality and opportunity” and his essay is shared here. The reason I love history so much is because it is a great compilation of peoples’ lives and thoughts. Many people view history as a bunch of dates and wars. While there are many important dates and too many wars, it is the people behind these events that lived during these dates that make it worth our time. We are living in our own historical time period, but we ought never to forget those that went before us. We have much to learn from them if we only give them the time. Notgrass History has been an exceptional way to do this. I highly recommend it!

-Product review by Kate Kessler, Product Reviews Director, The Old Schoolhouse®Magazine, LLC, January, 2012

Beautiful Hymn

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:53:00 +0000

A beautiful hymn was sung today at our church. It touched my heart. I wanted to share it here with you. I hope you find it as lovely and truth-filled as I.

O Father, You are Soverign

O Father, You are sovereign

In all the worlds You made;

Your mighty Word was spoken,

And light and life obeyed.

Your voice commands the seasons

And bounds the ocean’s shore,

Sets stars within their courses

And stills the tempests’ roar.

O Father, You are sovereign

In all affairs of man;

No powers of death or darkness

Can thwart Your perfect plan.

All chance and change transcending,

Supreme in time and space,

You hold your trusting children

Secure in Your embrace.

O Father, You are sovereign

The Lord of human pain,

Transmuting earthly sorrows

To gold of heavenly gain,

All evil overruling,

As none but Conqueror could,

Your love pursues its purpose—

Our souls’ eternal good.

O Father, You are sovereign!

We see You dimly now,

But soon before Your triumph

Earth’s every knee shall bow.

With this glad hope before us

Our faith springs forth anew:

Our Sovereign Lord and Savior,

We trust and worship You!

Tuesday Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:09:00 +0000

Well. It has been quite a week. Many of you know that I have run the dynamic review team at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for over eight years. The team is merging with the TOS Homeschool Crew and I am taking the helm of the ship. It is exciting and daunting and thrilling and terrifying all at once. :) There are about 200 crew members that blog their reviews and link up to the TOS Crew site. How cool is that? I am feverishly learning all I can and there is much to learn. Whew!

If you are interested in checking out these fine families, just click the HERE. I have a LOT to read! :D

Our new year was a lovely mix of frenzy, friendships, and good food. We had *two* celebrations. One was on the Friday night before the eve of the new year and one was the actual eve. Both events were terribly delightful, but wow, I think I am too old to do that again next year! I was quite exhausted come Sunday morning and listening to the excellent sermon was hard for me even though it was aimed right at me (proverbially speaking) as he discussed not provoking one's children to anger. I really do appreciate such sermons. It is so important to keep learning as a parent, to love the children God gives us, isn't it? I am so blessed by them. :)

In our science/history co-op, we are wrapping up our study of the Civil War. We have been using a variety of resources (Notgrass History, Time Travelers, History Pockets, and important literature resources like Narrative Life of Fredrick Douglas, The Last Brother: A Civil War Tale, Across Five Aprils, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Rifles for Watie) but probably the most moving and the one that has left its mark is Ken Burns: The Civil War. It was such a tragic war in so many ways, but the loss of life takes my breath away. May we never know such loss.

We are also studying Jay Ryan's, Classical Astronomy. What an excellent excellent book! I remember posts by Jay on a board I used to frequent that discussed the making of this book and now we have it. We also own his book, Moonfinder, and it explains the phases of the moon so that someone as dull as I can understand it. :D I love the night sky. I love the moon. I love that the moon we see is the same one that Abraham looked upon in the desert and that Jesus saw from his home. There is something powerful to me about that--that sameness of light in the sky that speaks to the glory of God. Jay brings much of that to life. I can't recommend his books enough.

I must be off. I have had a good homeschool day even though we didn't get everything done. Some days are like that, aren't they? However, it was a really good day.

Non-Monday Musings

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:44:00 +0000

I have been thinking of blogging again. I cannot believe it has been almost six months since I posted! Time does fly when you are busy living, doesn't it? :)

Non-Monday Musings...

What I'm thinking: I am very grateful for the kindness and love of friends. This life wouldn't be half of what it is without them. To those friends that read this - you are loved. Thanks for being who you are in my life! I am grateful to God for you--each and every one.

What I'm reading: Le Mort d'Arthur, Volume 2 on my Kindle App. It is a very odd book. LOL I am also reading my beautiful hardback 50th anniversary edition of The Lord of the Rings to the children. I can't tell you how fun it is to share this book with them. :)

What I'm listening to: My children playing a computer game. :)

What we're learning: We are studying the Civil War at the moment and watching the Ken Burns documentary about it. What a heartbreaking terrible war. There is nothing to compare with the losses felt in that generation.

What I'm watching: We are watching a new-to-us series, Merlin, as well as a show that is brand new to us, Person of Interest.

What's cooking: Cranberry and orange bread today. I also need to make some whole wheat bread too.

What I'm buying: I can't say or it will spoil Christmas! :D

What I'm thankful for: I am thankful for many things, but today I am especially thankful for my children. They are a great blessing from the Lord and I am so very grateful.

What I'm creating: Hmmmm...do I have to be creative today? ;) Does cranberry bread count?

What I'm praying: That God would be glorified in all I do; that He would direct, guide, and bless some friends of mine in their business; and for the healing and peace of another friend struggling with cancer.

What I'm planning: To visit my mother, aunt, and grandmother this weekend, baring illness. :)

What I'm looking forward to: Christmas!

A picture to share:

I am posting an updated picture of our lionhead bunny that I affectionately call Non-Rosie. He is not a she, but since we discovered that later rather than sooner, I have a hard time calling him by his new name, Cottontail. Poor Non-Rosie. He will always have trouble with who he is. ;)

Seasonal Updating

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 05:50:00 +0000

Such a pretty flower! We have a section of gladiolus in the corner that bloom every summer and bring the hummingbirds and sometimes swallowtail butterflies. I just love the way they look in all forms, but up close is particularly pretty. :) All of these pictures will enlarge if you click on them.

This is new to our EarthBox this year, butternut squash. I just love the rich color of the foliage and how large and lush these plants are getting. It will be delightful to eat the squash when the weather is cold and grey.

This is one of our chamomile flowers. I love the simplicity of the colors yet the tiny complex center is full of detail!

I am amazed at the shot my girl took here. There is a hummingbird pair that are frequenting our yard and they are such fun to watch. This one, I think it is the male, allowed my Elizabeth to get close enough to get this shot. So neat!

Our chicklettes are growing well. After losing one baby, we replaced it with two new ones for a total of seven. You can really start to see the green feet on the Ameraucana!

These looks just kill me. Don't they look irritated? LOL

And just to keep things from seeming too normal, here is one of our snakes, Hermione. :)

Chicken Run

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 20:07:00 +0000

So we are the proud owners of a tiny backyard flock of chickens. There is great excitement here! Here they are:

They could not be any cuter if they tried. (Unless perhaps, they were baby ducks. I think baby ducks take the record for cutest tiny animal ever.) :D

We got these five different kinds: Wellsummer, Ameraucana (tw0 of these), Barred Rock, Gold Laced Wyandotte, and a Speckled Sussex. What great names! They will have varied shades of brown and the Ameraucanas will lay blueish green eggs. It will be quite some time before we expect to see them, but still, it is fun to think about. We are going to use the under-area of our raised beds as their run. Double use of one space!

Can you tell we are excited? Yeah, I thought so. :+)

Cooking Bliss

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:16:00 +0000

I have been having great fun trying new things here and I have been pouring over recipes to find new and different (read that - healthier) ways of eating and feeding the children. The soaking flour to make bread has been a wild success. The bread loaves are solid (after a little tweaking of the water/acid content) and the bread is sweet and yeasty. They smell just like professional loaves! I have never been able to create that and now I know why - the bread was being made too quickly and the ingredients didn't have time to really mesh all those flavors together. I am very happy to have all the flavors, but even better, the nutritional value of the bread is higher too. :)

I have been using coconut oil for some time, but I use two different kinds. The first is the one I use for frying or sauteing when I am not using olive oil or butter, because it does not have a coconut flavor. This is the best price I have found for such a high quality oil:

1-gallon Expeller-Pressed Coconut Oil, Non-Certified

It lasts for a long time and doesn't go bad! I scoop out some of the oil and put it in a smaller container for easy use. In the winter it is a solid, but with the summer heat, it turns to an oil. So, if you want it to be hard to use in place of shortening, keep some in the fridge. I watch the website for free shipping coupons. (There is one going on right now! The number is 61113.)

32-oz. - 2-Jar Pack - Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil - 2 quarts Total

This is the *top* of the line virgin coconut oil is a truly unrefined coconut oil. It has the most wonderful coconut flavor and is rich in antioxidants. This is what we use in our baked goods, especially our whole wheat bread. It is SO GOOD. :)

Since I have been reading up on how dangerous white sugar really is for our bodies, I wanted to find something that we could use now and then for sweets. No "sugar" is going to be perfect, and I have found that we have to be careful how much we ingest of anything, but this is about is good as it gets!

Organic Whole Cane Sugar - 1.5 lbs.

It is sweet enough when you want something sweet in your hot cereal, but the sugar retains the original natural vitamins and minerals it had to help with digestion.

So these are just a few of the things we have been using. It is exciting to make these changes and I am grateful for the information I am reading. :)

The yogurt I made last week has been a huge hit! I used about 2 cups of it in a smoothie for the children and mixed it with frozen strawberries, a ripe banana, and added some milk. They said it was one of the best smoothies they had ever had. This mama loves to hear those words. :)

I managed to mess up my last sourdough starter by using a too-tight lid on the crock I have, so last night I started another one from here. I used 100% whole wheat flour so we shall see if it works for me. Making sourdough cannot be *that* hard, right? :)

What is new in your kitchen? How does your garden grow? Here are a few pictures of mine.

If you click on them, they will enlarge. That last one is just so pretty. Bachelor's Buttons - one of my favorites. Happy summer!

I can see clearly now...

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 07:13:00 +0000

The rain is gone! June is finally looking like June in California. :) Yeah!

So much has been happening here. Our gardens are growing well and we are already harvesting summer squash. I have been sauteing it with onions, garlic, red bell pepper, sausage and mixing that into scrambled eggs. We top it off with cheese. Yum! Our "pig experiment" worked fantastically and I can tell you from first-hand experience that fresh pork is The. Best. pork you have ever had. Even the sausage is superb. We will cook our last ham tomorrow.

I have been like a whirlwind in the kitchen this last month. I have been reading all sorts of books on nutrition and health and wanted to share a bit of that here. The first book is actually the second on the subject that I read, by Gary Taubes, Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It.

These books are semi-radical if you have only been fed the food pyramid information from the USDA. This book, and Protein Power: The High-Protein/Low-Carbohydrate Way to Lose Weight, Feel Fit, and Boost Your Health, by Michael R. Eades have given me the *why* we need to change. I cannot recommend these resources enough for solid science about the body.

Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats is helping me flesh out some of the things I learned by reading the first two!

Not only is it FULL of fantastic recipes, but the author, Sally Fallon, also explains the "why" behind the food choices we should make. I have been a busy mama trying recipes in Nourishing Traditions and visiting my old favorite resources online searching out how to make sourdough starter, ferment my bread, (and here is why), sprout my wheat, and ferment oatmeal! I am also trying to make yogurt in the crockpot (Update! It worked!!) It is very exciting to me to see that we can make changes that are worthwhile to all of us even if we are being careful with the amount of carbohydrates and sugars we ingest. The children have gotten on board and have been excited to see what we should and what we shouldn't do. I love the conversations about what is going on inside our bodies. They are really listening. :)

If you are interested, but want a "primer" on the subject, this article might help to flesh out the information. I found it fascinating reading.

And lastly, I wanted to let you know of an online homeschool supply resource that I literally found by accident one day while searching for Omnibus. It is a wonderful homeschool family company that has a LOT to offer--even used books at reduced prices! Check them out!

Exodus Books - Educational Materials, New and Used Books, Family-Friendly Literature, and More!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:54:00 +0000

This is one of my very favorite holidays. We are Irish and even though the "traditional Saint Patrick's Day meal" isn't particularly Irish (save for the potatoes!) I grew up on it. It has become a tradition in our family.

And just in case you would like to know a little more about the real Saint Patrick, the man Maewyn Succat, you can read here.

The Book of Kells is one of the great treasures of Ireland. I have an special affinity for hand-written manuscripts, but especially so for ones with a great story. It is understood that Irish Columban monks living on the remote Scottish island Iona, created this manuscript around the year 750. Iona was the center of St. Columba’s influence, and was where his church was located. The Book of Kells contains the four gospels, a section of Hebrew names, and the Eusebian canons, and it is also known as the “Book of Columba.” In 878 “The Annals of Ulster record that following another Viking attack, the shrine of Colm Cille and 'other relics' are taken to Ireland.” How can it get worse than to be plundered by Vikings? (It can!) In 1066 "The Book is stolen for its cover of gold, inset with precious stones. Months later it is found buried under sods of earth in a bog, without its cover." After this point it was evidently kept fairly together, but the final restoration and binding did not happen until 1953!

Here are a few of the pages of this beautiful treasure. If you click on them, they will enlarge so that you can see what they really look like. Just gorgeous!

And here is part of a prayer penned by Saint Patrick.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

Amen! Have a beautiful day.

Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:19:00 +0000

Spring comes early here so we just go with it--and add allergy meds. :) Here are some shots of God's beauty in creation.

Camelia

Pink Breath of Heaven

Apricot blossoms

Baby lemons

This is our newest garden experiment--salad tables!

The best carpenters! :+)

The finished product. We will have two of these (8' x 3') and they will house a great many things. :+)

Have a great week!

A lovely bit of life.

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:56:00 +0000

It was a gorgeous, fresh, baby green, sunny, blue sky day here today. The tiny sprouts of spring are springing all over the place and the hideouts between the trees on the road to co-op were lush and barefoot-worthy. And then on the drive home, I just wanted to stop at the top of the freeway and take in the puffy clouds and great big sky. Tonight and for the rest of the week, we will have rain! :) I don't mind rain and don't mind the wet, but there is something tremendous about a wide blue open sky.

On Monday, my husband received word that he was chosen for a new job. It is something I have been wishing for since early December. I praise God. He is our Sovereign Provider, and He has never failed us. Amen and amen! It is the kind of job in which he excels, and I can't wait to see where he will go. God is so faithful. All the time. We live, as always, before the face of God. It is a beautiful place to be.

So last week was a little insane in the school department, but we did manage to learn about Jupiter, Bunker Hill and the cannons from Fort Ticonderoga, predicate nominatives, solving for N, The Bondage of the Will, logical fallacies, and somebody learned some biology and Spanish, but it wasn't me, obviously. I am really enjoying teaching history. How was history ever boring to me?

I searched hither and yon for a do-able-at-home craft for Jupiter. I could not find one that was not idiotic or way too babyish for my two youngest children. So I made one up. I figured, paper art and swirly stormy color striations make for interesting ideas so we did this with construction paper and glue. Tearing the colors into Jupiter "stripes"--my word, no science involved there.

Gluing on the stripes...

She wanted to stay in the Jupiter border. Very neat and tidy planet here. No excitable stripes for her. :)

She wanted even the four moons as well as the cloudy surface of Jupiter.

And just in case you forgot that Jupiter has a red spot, here it is:

I know this isn't wildly creative on my part or anything, but we enjoyed it. I like seeing the differences that come out in the children when they create something. They are so different!

These were some verses that have meant much to me over the past few months. Glory to God for His goodness.

Psalm 95:3-7

For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Fragile

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 06:37:00 +0000

Life feels ever fragile to me. The loss of a friend from church and the loss of a dear friend's mother. The loss of a job. The loss of health for some of my children, and fears for my tiny nephew. Life is fragile, isn't it? We live with the false belief that we have it all together; that we are capable and in control. It is a myth that *I* believe more often than I should. It is a humbling thing to see that we are so little involved in our own affairs.

But.

We serve a living Savior. We serve a God capable of all things, all the time, in every place, at every moment. In this alone I can rest.

I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:19-34

In this alone, I will rest.

The Shadow

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 01:48:00 +0000

"The land seemed full of creaking and cracking and sly noises, but there was no sound of voice or of foot. Far above the Ephel Duath in the West the night-sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
Return of the King

"The shadow really is a small and passing thing."

Thanks, friend.

Garden Itch

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 00:39:00 +0000

I know it is too early to begin gardening, but I am thinking about it! My order from Cherry Gal is on its way and this is what I bought:

Butternut Squash, Cabbage, Pickling Cucumber, English Cucumber, Radish, Zucchini, Rutabaga, Radicchio, Sweet Basil, Snow Peas, Lettuce Mix, Spearmint, and one flower just for fun, Bread Seed Poppy.

All are heirloom seeds so all should be able to be harvested for seeds at the end of the growing season. We will see how diligent I am on that! I will be buying some starter melon plants and heirloom tomato plants from a local nursery that has an astounding selection of veggies each year (Capital Nursery for you local friends). I always get the itch around this time and that is good for without it, I am not sure I would be so dedicated. :)

This is what I am hoping to recreate this year sans the corn:

I love my EarthBoxes! :)

I am going to try to use some of my ground this year too. This is very difficult because the ground is hard as a rock come summer and not much grows well there. If we do it, we will have to put some better soil in the places and weed like crazy since we have the worst Bermuda grass problem and there is no hope of removing it. We shall see how it all goes. The wishes I want in winter are not always realized in the spring and summer! :)

Too deep for words.

noreply@blogger.com (Under the Sky) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:11:00 +0000

There are days when my prayers feel like such fluff. Today is a day like that for me. I want so much to communicate all that is in my heart to the Lord and find the words are just not there. I don't think they are yet written in the language we call our own. Di has a quote like that up on her blog. It is a quote from C.S. Lewis.

"Take not, oh Lord, our literal sense. Lord, in Thy great,
Unbroken speech our limping metaphor translate."

It makes me think of the scripture in Romans 8:26 that tells us that "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." I am so grateful for that knowledge! I am so relieved that the Creator of all that we see and of all that is unseen to mere human eyes prays for us. That is such a powerful beautiful promise!

Thank you, Lord, for loving your children. Thank you for being ever faithful to me.