One of my favorite gift-giving strategies is to focus on family gifts rather than individual gifts. This approach is an effective means of saving both time and money, two very important resources, especially this time of year!  Deciding on one large present is much quicker than choosing several individual gifts. In fact, I can often find an appropriate family gift to fit several families on my gift list. One large gift is often less expensive and of better quality than several smaller, individual gifts. The fact that a family-oriented gift encourages families to take time to have some fun together and enjoy one another is a wonderful added bonus!

A little creativity in presentation can make all the difference between an average gift and one that feels special, so make the effort to be creative. For example, rather than just hand my college-student nephew a fast food gift card for his birthday, I asked for an empty fry container from the restaurant when I bought the card. Then I made sugar cookies, cut them to look like french fries, and put them in the fry box along with the gift card. A little extra effort gave a rather plain gift some pizzazz! Since my family ate (and enjoyed) most of the batch of cookies, the cost of the few “fries” in the gift presentation was very minimal.

Over the years, I’ve built up a repertoire of gifts that families love to receive. Take a look at some of the following ideas and see if one isn’t just what you’re looking for. Present it with some creative packaging and I’ll almost guarantee you some happy gift recipients!

Super Sundaes

Who doesn’t love ice cream—especially when you get to make it just the way you like it? This gift looks extra special when presented in a big basket (from the thrift or dollar store, of course). Include a bunch of bananas, various toppings, sauces, nuts, and a $10 grocery store certificate for the purchase of ice cream and whipped topping. Search your dollar or thrift store for inexpensive sundae glasses or banana split dishes to give the gift some extra punch. You could also include long dessert spoons and/or napkins. Don’t forget a jar of Maraschino cherries! Create a gift card that looks like a banana or tub of ice cream.

Fun and Games

A family game night package is sure to be enjoyed. Depending on your budget, you can include inexpensive card games or a more expensive board game. Visit a game store and you’ll find a surprisingly large selection of both types. Snacks could range from popcorn and candy to cheese, sausage, and crackers, to a batch of your favorite brownies or cookies.

Movie Night

One of my favorite, not to mention easiest and least expensive family gifts is the Family Movie Night package. I take a white cardboard paint tub from the hardware store and fill it with a 2-liter pop, several bags of microwave popcorn, some large boxes of candy from the dollar store and a movie rental coupon. I create a gift card to look like a filmstrip or ticket stub. A tub like this can be made for well under $10 and is easy to mass produce if you have several families you’d like to remember. You can also bump it up a notch by using a large glass, plastic, or metal bowl and including DVD(s) rather than a rental certificate.

Get Corny

I don’t know anyone that doesn’t love popcorn. Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to put together a gourmet popcorn gift basket. Make up some caramel corn or popcorn balls, but don’t stop there. Search the Internet for “flavored popcorn recipes” and find everything from Jello® flavored, to pizza, to ranch, to cinnamon popcorn. I even found a recipe for cranberry popcorn balls! Package each flavor in its own tin, box or basket and label appropriately. You can even go the extra mile and include recipes so the family can recreate their favorites.

Winter Warm-Up

Buy a great puzzle that the family can work together, include a cute or comfy pair of socks for everyone and some fancy hot chocolate, and you’ve got the makings for a cozy winter evening. Include a wonderful apple pie or vanilla scented candle to help set the mood. You could even bake them a real apple pie, for that matter!

Sports Fan Fun

Sports fans will appreciate a gift based around their favorite team or sport. Set the tone with a homemade Sports Fan Hand and, just for fun, include a mini football, basketball, or homemade pom poms. Depending on the sport being highlighted, you might include seat cushions, hand warmers, sun visors or knit caps, all in appropriate colors, of course. Be sure to include water bottles, trail mix, and peanuts.

Christmas Morning

We had a friend who gave us the same gift every year and I always looked forward to it with eager anticipation. On Christmas Eve day, she would deliver her homemade version of Cinnabons® along with a Mason jar of homemade hot chocolate mix. These yummy treats were intended for us to enjoy on Christmas morning. This gift was inexpensive and simple, but was always a favorite to receive.

Book Lover Basket

Are you giving to homeschoolers or a family of book lovers? What about putting together a package with personalized bookmarks and book plates? These elastic bookmarks are unique and easy to make. An Internet search for “printable book plates” will provide you with lots of options. You could even make your own from scrapbooking papers or buy some at your local bookstore.  Include a great family read-aloud or even a favorite book on CD.

So, can you save time and money this year by gifting families instead of individuals?  I hope these few suggestions have given you some inspiration. Bless a family with a gift they can enjoy together, and boost your budget at the same time!

Molly Green is passionate about cheerful, creative homemaking on a down-to-earth budget. Visit her online home, www.Econobusters.com for tips on frugal and tasty cooking, fresh decorating ideas, affordable family fun, simple but effective organizing, and much more! Sign up for her free weekly E-Newsletter, and get a bonus menu-planning  E-Book too!

Molly’s favorite project is her monthly Money-Saving Digest. In each issue she features columns on decorating, hospitality, parenting, and more, as well as one featured topic, like working from home, education, frugal vacations, family organization, or gardening.

Molly is learning that frugality means freedom, not drudgery, and it can be fun, too!

Tags: Book Basket, Christmas Gifts, Creative Gifts, Family Gift Giving, Family Movie Night, Flavored Popcorn, Frugal living, games, Hot Chocolate, Molly Green, Sports Fan Fun, Super Sundaes

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Late summer we were blessed to receive a gardening gift from a neighbor who has a farming business where his main home is located. He handed me a container filled with large bulbs of garlic and explained how they would need to be planted in the fall in order to produce a wonderful crop a year later. Having never planted garlic before, I was very excited! This treasure – yes, we LOVE garlic! – was placed in a cool dry place as we enjoyed an unusually warm and sunny September which extended our gardening season. Finally October arrived with snow to remind us the fall was quickly shortening, so the carrots were canned and the rest of the garden was cleaned out leaving us the perfect gardening spot for planting our garlic.

My youngest and I took our hoes and shovels out to the garden to prepare the soil as we marked out our first row about four to six inches deep for planting. Carefully I took apart several bulbs of garlic with their large cloves and showed her exactly how to place them into the dirt using her little hand to mark the distance between each clove. We covered the row halfway, tossed a little fertilizer on, covered the row the rest of the way gently patting down the soil. Around the little garlic patch went an old wire border fence that would protect this area from my husband the tiller.

When we were all done, my little girl looked up at me and asked when the garlic would be ready to eat. She had such a puzzled look on her face when I told her that we’d be pulling the garlic next fall at the end of the gardening season. Next fall? She thought they’d be ready yet this fall as the “seeds” were so big compared to those tiny seeds we planted in the spring for our vegetables. I opened up one of the unused bulbs of garlic and showed her the thick stem in the center that needed to be formed over the year to give the plant strength and allow it healthy growth. A gardening lesson in patience, perhaps.

A gardening lesson in parenting, indeed!

Parenting isn’t something that happens quickly. When God carefully plants children into our life, as parents we carefully tend them through all their growing years. We water, feed, and cloth them as we take care of their daily needs. Our prayers are for God’s hedge of protection around them as harmful things abound. Regular weeding out of questionable character traits and bad habits is a necessity. God’s “Son”shine is given in regular doses to firmly establish the foundation and center of their lives as God’s Word is not only read and talked about, but encouraged to be applied in their lives as their paths begin taking them further from our gardens. And in God’s perfect timing as they mature into young adults, they are harvested from our gardens to serve God’s purposes wherever He may take them.

Ahhhhh, I remember the early days of parenting thinking that someday all the little shoots about me would be all grown up, leave my garden in the timing God has chosen, and my job would be done. God must have chuckled at my foolishness for He knows parenting never ends. Once a parent, always a parent as adult children continue to seek encouragement, guidance, and prayer support over the years. Oh, and recipes! They are always calling home seeking mom’s recipes!

Parenting isn’t something that happens quickly, therefore to become a hearty gardener for a lifetime it is important to apply many of the same care giving basics into your own life as you have into your child’s life. Make healthy food choices, exercise regularly even if all you can squeeze in is a daily walk a few times up and down the driveway, drink adequate water to stay well hydrated, get sufficient sleep with a power nap when necessary, and above all spend time soaking in God’s Word as well as worshiping Him both as a parent and as a family, Following these essential basics will help your endurance and reduce your stress when going through the sacrificial times of parenting of which there are many. And above all, remember that the ultimate parent, your Heavenly Father, is only a whispered prayer away no matter what is happening in your garden and for me that really is the heart of the matter!

Married in 1980 and still living in the same house in a woodsy rural setting, Tammy’s homeschooling journey began in the fall of 1987 when her oldest turned six years old. As rather new believers professing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, homeschooling was a way to live out the principles found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Through all the challenges of life Tammy has stayed the course growing to a family with nine children who presently range from preschool age to college graduates married with children. Her role has transitioned from learning everything she could about homeschooling to becoming an encourager to others coming along the way. Please visit Tammy at Garden Glimpses.

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Thank Goodness it is Friday. It has been a busy week in my household and the busyness has stretched its way to the Forum. I am sure I am not the only one who has benefited from the questions and advice that has been posted. We would like to extend an invitation to you if you have not been to the forum yet. Come on by and register. And check these discussions out while you are there:

• Do you use Netflix? Have you viewed these great videos for schooling? Do you have your own list you would like to add too?
• Do you have some fun ways to keep school going when the focus is not there? We can’t always take a break when things aren’t going well, but at those times, it seems like we need fun to keep going on. Here is what we do. How about you?
• With so many subjects and studies to do in November, share with us your notebooking and lapbooking activities you are doing this month.
• Is your teaching style Charlotte Mason? What areas do you strive to be more CM?
• Are you a frugal guru? Do you have a unique way of saving and would love to share your brilliant ways with us? Come post your ideas at Fabulously Frugal.
• Speaking of Frugal ways, I must repeat this thread this week. Have you seen or heard of any great holiday deals?
• And last, but not least I would like to focus on one of my favorite sections and invite you to post some questions, advice or your experience in this area. If Adoption has been a part of your life or is in your future, stop by here and share your stories or post a question too. It is a great place to give support to each other as you go this journey.

As I think of the past weeks and all that has happened on the forum, I can’t help but mention that we are only eight away from 200 members! What a great support group for all of us. Come join us and maybe your question will be highlighted in next week’s At the Forum. Until next week, you can catch me posting there!

Amy Fleeker is a part of a great family that includes a husband of 12 years, 3 children, a dog and a cat. Her homeschooling style is eclectic with a emphasis on classical teaching. When with her family, you can find her watching movies, playing board games, and living life with a great sense of humor and knowing that God is all around. In her spare time she enjoys scrapbooking, tatting, crocheting and doing a little family history. You can visit Amy at her blog, Counting Change Again, or at the HOTM forum, where she is the Lead Moderator.

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I have been asked many times to compare what it was like being a homeschool student to what it is like now being a homeschool mother – what I do the same, what I do differently, and how my experiences as a child have helped me now that I am homeschooling my own children.

When I first sat down to write about it, the first thought I had looking back to my years as a homeschool child, was of all the wonderful memories I have of our times together as a family.

My parents began to homeschool me when I was beginning 3rd grade, back in the 80’s, along with my next oldest brother who was in 8th grade. We had so much fun that year! Probably my fondest memory is of our read-aloud times on the couch. Each day after lunch, we would all sit on the couch together and my mother would read to us. We read a lot of missionary biographies, Walk Across America, Christy, and many others. As long ago as that was, I still remember vividly many of the books we read together. We also would read my brother’s 8th grade Abeka literature book together, and they are really fabulous, even for a 3rd grader to listen to!

The following year we moved to another state, and my oldest brother joined our homeschool, as a junior in high school. That next year was probably one of the major highlights of my homeschool experience. We did a year-long unit study on the countries and cultures of the world. We tried to get together with people we had made acquaintance with from other countries in some cases, and in other cases we wrote to missionaries in other countries, who all kindly responded to our questions. Some of them even sent us items from the country, like postcards or currency! We tried to learn some words and phrases in each language, a bit about the geography and the culture, how to cook some ethnic food, the currency, etc.

It was so much fun! I remember tracing country maps out of the encyclopedia and drawing replicas of the country’s flag. At the end of the year we had the ultimate culmination of this study: we hosted “International Night” at our house! We invited everyone we knew from another country, including China, Japan, Mexico and maybe others, as well as a few other homeschool families. We decorated our house with items from many countries, displayed the projects we had worked on throughout the year, and ate many different kinds of ethnic foods. We even dressed in ethnic garb!

It seems to me looking back that most of the “highlights” that I remember most vividly were the “extra” things we did. Besides the “textbook academics” that were required of me, homeschooling gave me the opportunity along the way to pursue other interests that I likely would not have had time for had I been in school all day. Many of these “extra-curricular” studies, such as starting a business of breeding and selling tropical fish at 10 years old, beginning to study Japanese when I was 11 years old, many of our read-alouds and even this international unit study I described turned out to be preparation for life, as I would later live in Japan and be involved in missions.

Another thing that greatly enhanced our journey was being a part of a homeschool support group. We often enjoyed activities together with other homeschoolers, and those are also fond memories. For example, every Thanksgiving we would meet at the forest preserve and each family would bring a Ziploc baggie of meat and vegetables to add to a big pot of stew, which we would cook in the pavilion in a big iron kettle over an open fire, and enjoy old-fashioned fellowship together. As a high schooler, I was able to participate each Friday in co-op classes with our support group, such as government, world views, and leadership classes, which included public speaking and debates – something that is sometimes difficult to accomplish as a homeschooler, especially since I was the only one left at home by then! Our teacher (a homeschool mom with much experience in politics) was fabulous, and the classes were always a highlight of each week. Now I know a lot of “lone ranger homeschoolers”, and I am sure they can have a wonderful experience too, but if there is a Christian support group in your area, I would encourage you to join.

However, as much fun as these studies and events were, I think that the main thing that made my homeschool experience such a positive one was my mother’s good attitude and my relationship with her. She kept things upbeat and was usually cheerful, and we always had such a good time together! That time together is so precious. Just think of all the wonderful memories with her I would have missed out on if I had spent most of my growing-up years in school!

Now, is there anything I would do differently with my children as I homeschool them?

Well, back in the 80’s, there were not a lot of curriculum choices for homeschoolers, as opposed to today when there are SO many that it is completely overwhelming!! Anyway, we used mostly Rod and Staff in the early grades, and then switched to mainly Abeka for the higher grades. I am a “textbook” kind of person, so I did well with that and always enjoyed school, so that was not a problem. However, I think I might have retained more if the studies were more “integrated”, or enhanced. Notice how much I remembered from our countries unit study? THAT was great! However, we did all that ON TOP OF our usual textbook requirements!

Take history, for example. I liked our history textbook and always found it interesting, but since our approach was “read it, answer the questions (orally), and put it away”, I don’t know how much I actually retained! Something simple like a history timeline adds a lot to the study of history, I’m convinced, as well as adding historical novels to your studies, or an occasional hands-on project, especially in the younger grades. Projects don’t have to be daily or complicated to add a lot to your studies.

Another area I feel somewhat deficient in is science, and I think that is also a textbook problem. I actually really liked the textbook we had, with full color pictures, etc., but we did not supplement it with any experiments or anything hands-on, so I don’t think I really was committing anything to long-term memory, or really even getting a full grasp on the concept. I think most science textbooks take a “mile-wide, inch-deep” approach to most subjects, which doesn’t make it overly interesting for the students. I prefer to take three months to really explore a topic, including personal observation, recording data in a notebook, taking pictures, making sketches, adding in “living” books – to the point of not even always needing a textbook at all, for the younger grades. Studying this way, at 3-4 topics per year, a student will still study all areas of science at least twice during his school years, but the difference is that he will likely retain most of what he has studied! If you would rather not put your own science studies together in this manner, Apologia is another great option. Their books explore ONE science topic per year, so you get to really learn it! The writing style is far more interesting than most science textbooks, the pictures are great, and the projects are not too complicated.

However, I will not keep rambling on about each school subject, because I truly don’t believe that academics are the main issue for homeschoolers to consider. Much more importantly, I believe that my parents did a wonderful job of using the resources they had to equip us with a godly foundation for life. Scripture reading and memory was a vital aspect of our homeschool, and they led us by example as we walked through life together.

We spent time together and made the most of the opportunities that life afforded us to learn, study and grow. This combination of equipping for life with a godly foundation, and building of strong family relationships is so far superior to any academic style or textbook choice, and I will be forever grateful to my parents for practicing this discipleship-style home education. I truly believe that is where our focus should be – off academics and onto discipleship, character-shaping, training in godliness and building strong relationships.

That, above all, is what I hope to emulate as I walk this journey with my own children.

Elizabeth Tsukayama is a homeschool graduate homeschooling the next generation! She and her husband, Fabio (yes, that is his real name!), have four beautiful children ages 7 down to 1. Elizabeth enjoys many hobbies, but her favorite one is teaching her children and learning with them, especially using hands-on projects, lapbooks, notebooking and nature exploration. The Tsukayama family is currently packing up to travel to Brazil for missions. Life never ceases to be an adventure! You can check out her site at: www.mamaknowsbest.net.

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Have you enjoyed a fun filled summer with lots of swimming, fun in the sun and pulling your hair into a pony tail from the heat? Well, winter is almost upon us…or already here for some of you! Now is the time to give your tresses a relief from the stresses.

Here are a few easy recipes for helping your hair to look it’s best in the coming months.

Normal Hair

Wash every other day. You are the only hair type that doesn’t need conditioner, but it will help protect your hair from the harsh sun and heat damage of over use of hair appliances.

Magic Mayo

• 2 Tbsp Mayo
• plastic wrap
• old towel

Directions – Smooth mayo through damp hair, wrap in plastic, then wrap towel around to hold in heat. Relax for 10 mins. and rinse. Dry as usual.

Dry Hair

Only wash your hair when it’s needed, no more than every other day. Over washing stripes the natural oils away. Use thick conditioner as it will help replace the oils.

Banana-Honey Mask

• 1 ripe banana
• 2 tsp. honey
• bowl and wooden spoon
• plastic wrap
• old towel

Directions – Shampoo and condition as usual, then mash banana up in the bowl and add honey, stir. Smooth the gooey mixture onto your damp hair. Wrap your hair in plastic to trap heat. Relax for 10 mins, then rinse and dry as usual.

Oily Hair

Choose a shampoo for oily hair, it will help dissolve that extra oil and let your hair shine. Also go light on the conditioner and stay towards the ends.

Lemon Rinse

• The juice from 2 medium lemons
• large bowl
• 4 cups of warm water
• an old towel

Directions – After shampooing and conditioning as normal, pour juice in to the bowl and then the 4 cups of warm water. Lean over sink and pour lemon rinse over your hair. Wrap towel around your head and relax for 10 mins. Dry as usual.

** If you have light colored hair, this will give you “natural highlights” too.

Combination Hair

Try adding Lavender Essential Oil to a warm water rinse. And for all hair types, instead of buying those Hot Oil Treatments, just use Olive oil!

Lastly, to really help your hair from damage always use a product on your hair before using hot appliances on your hair. {Mousse, Styling Gel, Spray-in Conditioner}

Now, teach your daughter these tips and it will save her money and split-ends in the long run. You can also count it as Science or Home Ec!

Tracy is first and foremost a Christian, a military wife and mother. She grew up as a military brat all over the USA and is married to her Air Force, pastor husband of 15 years. They have 2 beautiful teenage children that they home school. She is photographer, and owns Shots From the Heart Photography and loves to do what she calls “Capturing the Fingerprints of God!” in her images. Tracy also created a workshop called Mommytography, where she teaches Mom’s how to take better pictures. You can visit her at her blog: Lighthouse Academy Home & School

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Hello all you awesome HOTM readers! I am in the process of packing and getting ready for a move this week, but I wanted to be sure to give you all your weekly dose of link madness! Most of these blog posts are from the past few weeks, as I haven’t had much time to read through my most recent feeds. But they are great reads nonetheless, enjoy!

• Speaking of moving, here are some great hints and tips for those of you with small children who may be facing a move in the near future.

• Here is a great idea for practicing word families with your beginning reader by Lynn from Learning by Living.

• Here’s another wonderful suggestion for all you workboxers out there: making “Work with Mom” cards work for you!

• Looking for a healthy dose of mom encouragement? Read this post by Lora Lynn from Blissfully Domestic about finding beauty in the messes our children leave behind.

• And last but not least, here is a great idea on how to make those multiplication tables stick for your kids!

I hope you enjoy reading from these blogs, I just wish I had the downtime to read some more myself. Soon my moving adventure will be over and it will be back to life as usual. Have a blessed week friends!

Cassandra Simpson is a homeschooling wife and mother of four children, ages 1, 8, 9, and 12. She is starting her 6th year of home educating in Indiana and uses a “Classically Eclectic” teaching approach. Cassandra is the Assistant Lead Moderator for HOTM’s forum and loves talking homeschool with anyone who will listen! Her hobbies are reading, blogging, sewing, and cooking. You can check out her family’s blog at In His Image.

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Don’t you just love all the pieces that we find put together for lapbooks? How about all those wonderful pages for notebooking? Oh and then there are mini-offices! There are so many different types of worksheets out there. But unless you have an unprecedented amount of time to search the web, you may decide that these items are not worth your time. So how about taking a few minutes to create them yourself?

First is to decide what exactly you want to do.

• Lapbooks require mini-books. They require a bit of creativity, and not just a little computer know-how. The perk with lapbooks is that you really don’t have to have the finished product in mind—just that immediate piece.

• Notebook pages require a decisive plan. You need to know what you are creating and how you want to lay it out.

• Mini-offices are not a fill in the blank type item, but they are a study tool just as the other two are. These don’t ask the questions though—they help your child answer them.

This three part series of articles will help walk you through creating these fun and helpful study aids.

So let’s start with Lapbooks. Creating these nifty little slips of paper is a very fun and a “MOST OF THE TIME” easy thing to do. You just need to know your basic ending shape. Do you want it square, round, rectangle, or triangle? (You can really have it any shape, it’s up to you!) Then you need to decide how many questions you want it.

So let’s start with a basic matchbook shape. First open up your word program. Click insert, and then click on shapes. Choose the rectangle shape. Then click and drag to your chosen size. Don’t worry; you can always edit it later if you make the wrong size.

Now click on the rectangle until you see small boxes around the outside edge. Now you want to be able to move it around so you need to right click it and choose “Format”. Click on the layout tab and then choose “In front of text” and then OK. Press your CTRL button and the letter C. This will copy the rectangle that you have just drawn and formatted. Now press CTRL and the letter V. This will now paste your image so you will have 2 to work with. Press CTRL and the letter V again! We now have 3 of the same size rectangles.

At this point, it doesn’t look like much, but we will play with it a bit more and then we may have just what you need!Now we are going to move things around. We have formatted this already so it’s ready to move. Just click and drag them into a straight line.

Well that looks a bit like an accordion fold now doesn’t it? But that’s not what we wanted. So we need to adjust them just a bit. A matchbook has two rectangles (or squares!) that are the same size, and then a smaller section that is just there to fold up to keep the mini-book closed. So this time click on the bottom rectangle. Then HOVER over the middle blue dot in the center of the rectangle. You should get a double headed arrow. Click on it and then move your rectangle up so that it shrinks down to the right size.

At this point, you can print it out and let your kids fill it in however they want. OR you can add graphics and text to make this fit your current unit. To add a graphic, click on Insert one more time. Then click on clip art. Enter a search topic (such as turkeys!) and see what clip art comes up. You can surf the web and look for the perfect picture to add to your mini-book.

Pick your graphics to go along with your theme or topic. You will want to right click on each graphic and change your text wrap (or click on format, and then the layout tab) to “in front of text.” At this point you will need to flip them upside down so that when you fold your matchbook, it is right-side up. To do this, you click on the graphic. if you look at the top of the graphic in the center, you will see a green dot just slightly above the graphic. Click and hold on it while you move your mouse. This should start to swing it around. Just turn it until it is “right.” You may need to readjust your positioning as turning it will sometimes throw it out of place.

Now you will want to add some text to your matchbook. This is going to be a question, phrase, or main topic so that your child will know what to write inside the matchbook. This time right click on the small rectangle on the bottom. You will then choose “add text”. This shape is now a text box. You can add any text you desire. Adjust your text, font, etc. so that it fits onto your rectangle. Remember you CAN adjust the size of this box as well.

This one is a simple match book. But you can do this just by playing around with the shapes and graphics. You can come up with numerous variations of the same matchbook, just by changing the direction of the shapes and graphics. Play with it and don’t worry if you mess it up, you can always delete it and start over!

Patty has been married to the love of her life for 14 years and has 4 kiddos she lovingly refers to as her monkeys. She is constantly threatening to run away to the Circus–unfortunately, she keeps being informed she’s already there! She loves throwing together this and that to create a unique learning experience that encourages a love of learning. Come feed their school mascot Shiver and check out her blog at Shiver Academy.

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Starting December 1^st Heart of the Matter will be presenting you with “The 25 Days of Christmas Cookies” recipes. This year we would like our readers to take part in making this feature a great success. If you would like to submit a recipe to be published please include:

• Clear, concise directions.
• A few high-quality photographs of the recipe-making process.
• The approximate amount of people this recipe will feed.
• A short statement of why this recipe is special to your family.

Optional:

• A family photo.
• A Christmas greeting.

Please email your submission to angela@heartofthemattermagazine.com with ‘HOTM Recipes’ in the title.

Happy Baking!

Angela DeRossett is military wife, homeschooling mother, and an advocate for autism research. She also serves as the Heart of the Matter Review Coordinator. Angela can be found blogging at Homeschooling the Chaotic Family and Memoirs of a Chaotic Mommy.

Tags: Christmas Cookies, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Recipes, Christmas Recipes a Day, Food, Food Ideas, Heart of the Matter, recipes

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Before our school year began in August, we searched for a science curriculum at our local homeschool supply store. I asked for advice from the teacher at a private school connected with the store, and she recommended R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey Life (level one), Life Science Curriculum for grades 1-4. Though the book is geared toward grades 1-4, she is using it with her grades 5-7 students. I asked if it would work with both my 4th and 7th grade boys, and she said that it would. We could supplement with Usborne/library books if we wanted.

After using it with both our boys for a couple months, I find that we really like it. Everything is contained in one book and the experiments are easy, fun, and educational, even for Mom!

In completing a circulatory system lab, we made our own blood model. We used Karo syrup for plasma, Red Hots for red blood cells, lima beans for white blood cells, and lentils for platelets. The boys and I enjoyed a few Red Hots while the kids colored in their models.

Other labs included putting together a simple skeleton model, learning the parts of a chicken egg, pairing fictitious animals together, making sea jellies from Styrofoam cups and yarn, and testing our senses by using vinegar, garlic, and paper clips. I like how the labs incorporate arts and crafts, since this had been lacking in our homeschool for some time.

If you’re looking for a fun, easy way to teach science, I highly recommend the R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey Life book!

Lisa (aka Morning Rose) has been teaching her two elementary-aged sons for four years and incorporating study, work, service, and play into their homeschooling days. She enjoys reading, writing, and photography and blogs publicly at Pockets of Time and privately at Scooter and B.

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After reading the first chapter of this book here I was drawn in by the way the book was written. I knew instantly that this version of Eve’s life was not going to be presented in the flowery way most Christian books are written. For a lack of a better term, this story of Eve was, well, dark.

Tosca Lee has taken a story that generations have heard time and again and researched and reflected deeply on the topic. Do not be fooled by the beautifully written prose in this book. The preciseness and intensity of man’s first sin and the repercussions of that sin will undoubtedly knock the wind out of you. Consider this: It is meant to have exactly that effect!

Never again will you look upon the story in Genesis with innocent eyes, from God’s command to Eve to “Wake!” to the beautifully cunning serpent to the grief that followed Adam and Eve for generations—this book is a must-read.

You know the story, I encourage you to buy it and have your eyes opened.

Heart of the Matter is giving away one autographed copy of Havah – The Story of Eve.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post before 10pm EST on Friday, November 6th. The winner will be notified via email.

Angela DeRossett is military wife, homeschooling mother, and an advocate for autism research. She also serves as the Heart of the Matter Review Coordinator. Angela can be found blogging at Homeschooling the Chaotic Family and Memoirs of a Chaotic Mommy.

Tags: Adam and Eve, Bible studies, book review, Christian Fiction, Genesis, Havah, original sin, Tosca Lee, Tosca Moon Lee

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