But honestly, in the busyness of my day to day life with homeschooling, working, managing my home, etc. I don’t have (or I don’t make) very many opportunities to serve outside the home. I do serve plenty inside the home of course, and that is my primary responsibility in this season of my life.

But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t times where it’s good to have a special emphasis on serving others. Thanksgiving and Christmas are times where I like to make sure we do consider our blessings and do something to help families in need.

This summer Adventures in Odyssey and Tyndale House are sponsoring a Summer of Service A.C.T.S. with a blog tour. This is the first week of the 3 week tour.

Below are the details for the Summer of Service.

Join Adventures in Odyssey this summer to discover how fun it can be to serve others!

Adventures in Odyssey, the beloved audio series from Focus on the Family, has encouraged kids toward a stronger faith for 25 years. Whit, Connie, Eugene, and the other loveable characters from Odyssey have shared countless adventures with kids across the world in the classic audio dramas, books, videos, and devotionals, fulfilling the AIO promise to help kids discover, imagine, and grow.

This summer, Adventures in Odyssey is joining with Christian bookstores across the country, inviting kids to participate in a Summer of Service. They’re promoting the biblical message, “When you serve, everybody wins,” encouraging kids to serve their families, their communities, and their world. Whether it’s baking cookies for an elderly neighbor or putting together a care package for missionaries overseas, kids will discover that serving can be a blast!

How the A.C.T.S. (A Call to Service) challenge and contest works:

Kids who join A.C.T.S. can pick up a service log and collect fun character stickers for hours served at participating bookstores throughout the summer, or download a serving log online at whitsend.org.  At the end of the summer, kids can record and upload a short video telling how they serve and why they’d like to become an Adventures in Odyssey Ambassador.

A hundred winners will get the brand new AIO Album, and after online voting, two grand prize winners (one boy and one girl) will get to travel on an exciting Good-Goers Mission Based Adventure trip to another country with a parent!  The out-of-country destination will be announced on a live podcast May 22—hosted by AIO actors Katie Leigh (Connie) and Chris Anthony (Chris)—which you can watch at whitsend.org/acts. You don’t want to miss it!

There’s also an Adventures in Odyssey episode about called the Business of Busyness to help kick-off the challenge in you home. There’s also a great list of service ideas for your kids. You can download both items on the Tyndale House blog.

So how do you and your family serve others?

Confession time, I’m almost ALWAYS planning next year’s curriculum. Maybe I should spend more time focusing on THIS year’s?

David is in high school now. I worried and fretted about it for years ahead of time. But actually, it’s been a pretty good year.

Maybe I shouldn’t have worried? Or maybe the worry helped?

I love the freedom of homeschooling. I love being able to select curricula for all of my children and their own unique needs. And while I love the general concept of delight-directed learning, there are certain subjects that we have to teach whether my kids like them or not.

David is a math, science, and computer kid. He really is not into history, social studies, or literature at all. But he still has to study them. On deck for next year is Economics and Civics. I’ve done some searching and I’m not finding a lot that is likely to interest David. (i.e. I think he would hate everything I’ve looked at.)

But “lucky” for me (and David), I discovered Compass Classroom. First, David tried Visual Latin. It started out as a review, but he ended up liking it so much that we switched over to it for Latin II this year! Then in the fall, I enrolled him in Filmmaking from the First Directors. That has been an incredible class for him. It is excellent. (But a lot of work!!!)

Needless to say, when I got the chance to review another of their products, Economics for Everyone, I jumped at the chance. I have not been disappointed.

Economics for Everyone consists of 12 video lessons and a pdf study guide. The lessons are taught by R.C. Sproul, Jr. and just like everything else from Compass Classroom, they are engaging and fun. These are not videos of R.C. Sproul standing in a classroom, but instead include fun video clips from a wide variety of old movies.

Economics for Everybody | Trailer from Compass Cinema on Vimeo.

See what I mean? These lessons bring an often “boring” subject to life with simple explanations and excellent illustrations of economic concepts.

I don’t actually think economics is boring. I even minored in it in college. 

Things to mention:

This course is titled Economics for Everybody, but it is from an unapologetically Christian perspective. The whole foundation of the study is on man’s place in this world and how he was put here by God. I think the “everybody” is referring to the fact that R.C. Sproul, Jr. explains everything so well that “everybody” can understand.

I would not consider this course alone to be sufficient for 1/2 high school credit. However, neither do the publishers and they have included a generous list of additional resources and even suggested texts to accompany the study.

You can download 2 full lessons for free from Compass Classroom!

Really big thing to mention!

I get to give away a copy of Economics for Everybody ($45 value)! Just follow the instructions below to enter. Giveaway ends May 3.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: The links to Compass Classroom products are affiliate links. I received a free copy of Economics for Everybody in order to write this review. I was not compensated for this post. Opinions expressed are my own.

I didn’t use the survey last year, but will be using it again for this school year.

I’ve also created a simple, free, printable questionnaire for you!

Click the graphic to download.

Please share!

For a curriculum junkie like me, it’s one of my favorites.

All the new curriculum catalogs arrive!

I can look and think and imagine what our homeschool is going to look like next year.

I can make a giant list of everything I would love to have for each of my children.

And then I have to make DECISIONS.

Because let’s face it. There is no way that I can do all the wonderful things and use all the amazing curriculum that I find. There are only so many hours in a day. There’s only 1 of me and 5 of them. I have to be realistic.

That’s the not so fun part. But it is more fun than seeing an expensive curriculum purchase sitting on the shelf that you failed to use. Then you feel guilty. But please don’t let yourself wallow in guilt! Here are some simple tips to help you avoid unused curriculum guilt in the future.

Here are the 4 steps I used to determine curriculum purchases.

1. Evaulate
2. List
3. Research
4. Choose

Come back for how to complete each of these steps.

First, B is for Books.

My husband and I share a common weakness.

It’s books. We’ve always loved to buy books. Before we even thought about homeschooling, we already had quite a collection. And after 10 years of homeschooling….look out!

To further complicate the my book hoarding problem is the fairly large gap from my oldest to youngest child. So I have a hard time parting with anything because Andrew might use it.

I recently painted the boys’ room and in order to do so I unloaded the two 7 ft tall bookcases that are in their room. (OK, so I had David do it. But I stacked the books downstairs.)

This is what’s left. I still haven’t put all the books away. But I have a pretty good reason.

C is for Capital.

We just returned from a trip to the United States capital city, Washington D.C.

We had a nice visit, though it was a little colder than I would have liked.

Here are my boys with the Capitol in the background.

FYI – It’s spelled capitAl when referring to a city. It’s spelled capitOl when referring to the building. Just thought I’d take the opportunity to correct one of my misspelling pet peeves. This error is slightly less annoying than spelling voila –  wallah or worse – viola.

But when I said A is for Alphabet, I didn’t mean Blogging through the Alphabet. I meant the actual alphabet. I have a 2 year old who absolutely adores the alphabet. Actually his name is Andrew. He finds letters everywhere, because there are letters everywhere! It is so fun seeing the excitement in a child that is learning!

As I was thinking about this, I realized something. I think that one of the reasons he is so excited about learning and finding letters is that we are all excited with him and for him. When he runs to the TV while we’re watching Jeopardy and starts pointing to a B and yelling, “B! B! B!” none of us are angry. We all applaud him and tell him he’s right.

He knows all the letters now, but we’re still quizzing him on them. I have never caught myself thinking, “Shouldn’t he have this down now? Do I really need to review?”

Then I started thinking about my attitude in teaching my 2 year old Andrew compared to my almost 11 year old, William. There’s a big difference. In my defense, William wouldn’t want me to act really excited when he remembers how to borrow correctly in a subtraction problem. But I’m sure he would appreciate a little more praise. And I bet he’d appreciate more patience too.

I never get mad at Andrew if he says an M is a W. But I am often disappointed when William doesn’t remember something that I think he should. Usually I am good about not saying something negative, but he knows when I’m frustrated.

I need to remember that everyone learns differently and at different rates. God has given William to us for many reasons. One of those reasons might just be to teach me a thing or two (or two thousand.)

I’m so thankful that God is a gracious God. He gently corrects me when I make the same mistakes OVER and OVER AGAIN. I’ll bet He’s excited when I get things right, just like I’m excited to see Andrew learn his letters. I pray I can remember the alphabet the next time I’m frustrated about showing William how to do something that he “should” already know how to do.

What do you think? Do you struggle with finding the positive like I do?

“It was tough, but it was good.”

We used to chuckle at his response, but really there’s a lot of truth to be found in his attitude.

I chose a word for this year:

JOY

I am seeking joy in 2013.

But my life lately has been tough.

It’s been busy.

My kids are always fighting don’t always get along.

My middle son makes me want to pull my hair out and scream. Sometimes I do scream.

I sometimes feel like this whole endeavor is completely hopeless.

I haven’t been blogging very much even though there are many days I’ve had ideas for great blog posts, but I’ve been quickly distracted by the next important thing.

I have laundry to do.

Meals to cook.

Diapers to change.

Children to teach.

A hugely cluttered basement and garage to clean.

I don’t want this blog to be a place of discouragement, but of encouragement. So you won’t find a bunch of whining posts (hopefully! )But at the same time, I don’t want to discourage others by sending the false message that this parenting and homeschooling stuff is easy, and I have all the answers. Because I don’t.

And yet I do.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

John 16:33 (KJV)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James 1:2-5 (ESV)

My trials are really not that bad. I should be thankful that I have such easy trials! But they are my trials. They are what the Lord is using to make me more like him. They are for a purpose.

It’s ok that my days are tough. They are still good!

I will never cease to be amazed at how God leads and directs the events of our lives. Our sweet friend Doug is with Jesus. His days are no longer tough, only very, very good. But I still remember and am still learning to say those words of his.

And procrastinate I have with this book. I don’t even know how long ago I received it. I don’t even want to think about it. But I do want to keep my commitments regardless of the late hour.

How Do We Know the Bible is True? is a compilation of treatises on difficult topics by various authors. It was edited by Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge and published by Master Books, a division of New Leaf Publishing Group.

When I ordered the book, I thought it was going to be a whole book that focused on proving the truth of the Bible. It is in a broad sense, but delves into a variety of different subtopics. Some of the chapter titles include:

• Is the Old Testment Reliable?
• Did the Physical Resurrection of Christ Really Happen?
• Did Moses Write Genesis?
• Did Miracles Really Happen?

All of those topics do deal with the broad subject of the authority of Scripture, but explore the arguments for and against the each of the questions.

I found the book interesting, but it wasn’t the type of book I can read straight though. (That’s part of the reason for the LONG delay in this review.) I think it is particularly helpful in pointing out the reasons someone might disagree with the Bible’s authority. I have a rather conservative upcoming and still hold to a literal interpretation of scriptures. (For those that are supposed to be literal anyway. Some of the Bible is obviously figurative language. The question for the ages is which is which.) I do think this book helped me to see some of the arguments for different interpretations and also why I do not agree with them.

I do not think this would be a good book to hand to a non-Christian to prove to them the Bible is true. I’m not sure that actually exists, but this book is definitely written with a believer in mind. It’s meant to strengthen existing faith and provide information to help a Christian to defend his faith.

I would recommend this book to others and plan to have my 9th grade son read it. He is always asking difficult questions and I think this book will help to answer some of them.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from Master Books in order to complete this review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions expressed are my own.

And maybe it was a bit strong, but I’ve learned something.

I’ve always been a big believer in choosing math curricula that focus on understanding rather than rote learning.

Here’s my post from last year’s Virtual Curriculum Fair:

Thinking Mathematically: How I Choose Math Curriculum

And while I don’t have big regrets about teaching my older 2 children in this way, I have gained a greater appreciation for the spiral approach to teaching mathematics.

After banging my head against the wall for several years, I have finally found a math program that is working for William, my middle son.

It’s Christian Light.

Every day there are an oral skip counting exercise, 2 sets of flashcards to review, and a speed drill. These are followed by the introduction of new material. Then the bulk of every lesson is the “We remember” section. So every single day William has to remember how to do addition with carrying and subtraction with borrowing. He frequently is asked to convert between inches and feet or gallons to quarts. There are word problems, and multiplication fact practice. Every single day.

I think he is finally going to remember how to do subtraction.

Is it fun?

No. But it doesn’t have to be. I firmly believe that everyone needs basic math skills. While I’ve heard many preach that making learning fun makes it easier, there comes a point where things have to be done. I need to make sure that he works up to his potential. That is not going to be calculus in his case and that’s fine. And learning to be diligent is a valuable trait.

Is it quick?

No. Due to his extremely distractible nature, it can take an hour or more for William to complete his daily math lesson.

But is my almost 11 year old finally remembering the mechanics of doing math?

YES! (Most of the time anyway.)

Here’s what I’ve learned so far in this journey.

1. Don’t assume that what works for one child will work for another (or that the way you learn is how your children do).

2. Don’t be afraid to try different things.

3. Don’t worry too much about grade level.

Don’t miss the other great math ideas at the Virtual Curriculum Fair!

Delight Directed Middle School Science? by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

The Hardest Part of Math by Kristi @ The Potter’s Hand Academy

A Tour Through Our Math and Science Life by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool

What Works for Us…Math by Piwi Mum @ Learning & Growing the Piwi Way

Math Art – Geometry by Julie @ Highhill Education

It’s Math-magical by Missouri Mama @ Ozark Ramblings

Virtual Curriculum Fair: Fun and Games with Math by Tonia @ The Sunny Patch

Discovering Patterns by Lisa @ The Golden Grasses

Math for the Natural by Erin @ Delighting in His Richness

Virtual Curriculum Fair~ Discovering Patterns by Karyn @ Teach Beside Me

Too Many Math Programs or Not by Linda B @ Homeschooling6

Virtual Curriculum Fair:  Math and More!  by April @ Coffee, Cobwebs, and Curriculum

The post where I admit I was wrong by Kristen H. @ Sunrise to Sunset

High School Math – Beyond the Textbook by TechWife @ A Playground of Words

Discovering a World of Logic and Order by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory

2013 Virtual Curriculum Fair- Discovering Patterns: Mathematics, Logic, and Science by Leah C @ As We Walk Along the Road

The Plans of Mice and Math (My Math in Focus review) by Chelli @ The Planted Trees

Rightstart Math is right for us! by Leann  @ Montessori Tidbits

Our Favorite Homeschool Math Curriculums by Wendy @ Homeschooling Blessings

This is our 10th year of homeschooling and during that time we’ve used a lot of different resources for language arts. Some I’ve used with more than one child, other things have been just what one particular child needed. I’ve linked to reviews of the products that I’ve written. Other links are to ChristianBook.com where you can see the price. (Those are affiliate links, so I will make a small amount of money if you make a purchase.)

Let’s start with Phonics!

With my oldest son David, we used  Alpha Phonics. He was ready to learn to read and this simple book was all he needed.

When my daughter Anna was ready to learn to read, I bought Phonics Pathways. Honestly there was no reason to switch from Alpha Phonics except that I like curriculum and Phonics Pathways was recommended (at that time) in The Well Trained Mind.

Both of these books are very similar with one major difference. Alpha Phonics teaches with word families cat, bat, fat, rat while Phonics Pathways starts at the beginning of the word and teaches starting syllables – ba, be, bi, bo, bu and then adds letter to the end making bat, bet, bit, and but.

Then came William. He has had a very difficult time learning to read. I tried both of the above resources with him with no success. I had some limited success with Happy Phonics, but what has been by far the single most helpful resource for his reading was All About Spelling. Yes,  I know it’s a spelling program, but it seemed like it was just the thing to help him to understand decoding words in reading.

With Lizzie I have been blessed. She has learned to read without me teaching her! Some of it was her older brother and sister working with her and some of it was working on various on-line programs like Starfall, Reading Kingdom, and Reading Eggs. But I think a lot of it was that she was ready to learn.

It’s still too early to predict anything about my just turned 2 year old. But if interest in letters and liking to be read to are any indications of ease in learning to read, he will be a cinch!

What about Grammar?

With my 2 older children I have used identical resources for grammar study. They both started out with First Language Lessons and followed that by several years worth of Rod & Staff English. They’re both finishing off their English grammar studies with Analytical Grammar. It’s a rigorous program, but I love the philosophy of the author. She contends that grammar is a content subject with a body of knowledge to learn. So rather than learning and relearning the same things every year, why not learn all the grammar and be done with it? It is very heavy on diagramming of sentences. I won’t lie and say that my children love this program. BUT they do love the fact that they don’t have to do daily grammar lessons all year long. They do their intensive lessons, occasional review, and they’re done.

With William I have been very slowly working through Rod & Staff. I can’t see him doing well with Analytical Grammar, so we will probably continue with Rod & Staff the whole way through. The repetition and review that made my older children long for Analytical Grammar will probably be a great help for him.

I have been working through First Language Lessons some with Lizzie this year, but I’m finding it a bit more repetitive than I remembered. We’re often going over 3 or 4 lessons in one sitting. One new resource that I’m really enjoying is StoryTime Treasures from Memoria Press. It is covering some grammar along with reading comprehension questions.

Don’t forget Latin!

We have been studying Latin for a long time in our homeschool. Maybe too long.

Do I regret starting early with my oldest?

No.

Could he have learned as much starting later?

Probably.

David used Classical Academic Press curriculum for Latin. He started with Latin for Children and completed A, B, and most of C. Then he moved on to Latin Alive. That didn’t go as well. He made it through book 1 and about half of book 2, but he really was struggling with the material. Part of it was my fault and not being more strict about drill. Part of it is his personality. He really is just not that interested in Latin. But this year I have found a course that he is enjoying much more: Visual Latin. We didn’t start all the way at the beginning, but we did back up a bit to insure that he got a good review.

With Anna, it has been completely different. She started in Latin for Children, but when I receive Latina Christiana to review, I switched her to that. It turns out that she thrives in the drill-heavy Memoria Press programs. If you’re trying to decide on a Latin program, you might find this comparison helpful.

If you’ve made it through my lengthy post, congratulations! Don’t miss reading other tips for teaching language arts. Here’s a list!

Nurturing Novelists = Building Strong Writers by Susan Anadale @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

Building Blocks of Education–Learning to Read  by Kristi Kerr @ The Potter’s Hand Academy

Finding Our Way Through Language Arts by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool

How Does a Unit Study Teach Language Arts? by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun

Our Language Arts Adventure by Linda @ Homeschooling6

2013 Virtual Curriculum Fair-Playing with Words: The Language Arts by Leah Courtney @ As We Walk Along the Road

Virtual Curriculum Fair-Playing with Words by Karyn @ Teach Beside Me

Virtual Curriculum Fair ~ Language Arts by Dawn @ Guiding Light Homeschool

Writing Help in a Critical Thinking book? by Missouri Mama @ Ozark Ramblings

Virtual Curriculum Fair: Foreign Language Immersion in the Homeschool by Tonia @ The Sunny Patch

Formula for Reading by Erin @ Delighting in His Richness

Words and Learning by Annette @ A Net In Time

A Custom Designed High School English Credit by Tech Wife @ A Playground of Words

Virtual Curriculum Fair 2013: Still Loving Language Arts by Pam @ Everyday Snapshots

Word Play by Lisa @ Golden Grasses

Learning Language Arts ~ 2012-2013 School Year by Laura O in AK @ Day by Day in Our World

Virtual Curriculum Fair – The Language Arts Department by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory

Playing with Words:  The Language Arts by Christa Darr @ Fairfield Corner Academy: The Story of Our Life

Playing with Words:  Language Arts by April @ Coffee, Cobwebs and Curriculum

What Language Arts looks like in our house – Are we doing it right? by Hillary M @ Our Homeschool Studio

Getting lost and finding our way in Language Artsby Piwi Mum @ Learning and growing the Piwi Way