Rooster Hill

Planninng for our upcoming year of Unit Study

2009-07-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

Previously I have planned for each unit study as they came along. But this year as we are using both Christian Cottage and the Prairie Primer to study Early America. So I am creating a spreadsheet with the following categories across the top:
Unit Name
Total week
Topic
Literature Read Aloud
Readers
History/ Science Projects
Additional Items

Under Unit name I put the name of the unit and the book in which it is found; As I will complete Christian Cottage Volume 3 and start Volume 4 as well as utilizing the Prairie Primer.

Total Week- I keep track of the total weeks of school covered by each unit until I reach the grand total of 32 weeks. That gives me 4 weeks of lost time, doctors appointments etc...

Lit & Read Aloud - I assign Literature and Read Alouds as suggested by the Christian Cottage & Prairie Primer. I also take a look at Sonlight & Winter Promise to see if there is anything I would like to add.

Readers- I assign the readers for the grade levels first by checking our personal collection and then I go back to Sonlight and Winter Promise to see what sort of twaddle free literature is available on the subject. I then check the library to see if the library has the book if it does I note it on the form if not I have to decide if I want to buy the book.

History/Science Projects- This is where I comb through the unit study and write down all the things I should be collecting like toilet paper rolls to make Indian housing and paper towel rolls for totem poles.

Additional Items - That is where I record any additional things like games, field trip ideas etc... that would correspond with the unit. Once this is complete I will 3 hole punch it and put it in my binder for easy access. I am doing this because last year I was frustrated because I was rarely ready for the beginning of new units. This lack of organization usually resulted in a one week delay to locate books & materials with nearly every unit. So I encourage you to give a little more planning a try whether you plan for day more or a year more! My goal is to have the information at my finger tips before the school year begins and to have books ordered that I need so I can have a fun, smooth and stress free hands on year!

Happy Homeschooling!

Kyle

Homeschooling Rooms...

2009-07-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

Homeschool Hoopla post #5 OF 5

HOMESCHOOL HOOPLA IS SATURDAY AFTERNOON IN THE BRYAN COLLEGE STATION AREA. COMMENT ON THIS POST FOR MORE INFORMATION AND I WILL GET BACK TO ASAP. THIS IS A TITUS 2 EVENT SO IT IS OF COURSE FREE!

Well, I e-mailed some friends and asked them to post pictures of their rooms on their blogs and I received permission to post pictures from some busy summer bees on my blog. I have also linked this post to a couple of blogs so I could have a variety of homeschool rooms, spaces & places for you to explore. I am hoping to reveal that no matter the space you can have a wonderful homeschool room/area. I wish my friend Kim blogged because she has made wonderful use of a tiny corner in her living room in which she has created wonderful educational environment for her son.

Rooster Hill Academy I

So Rooster hill Academy has been housed in two different houses (hopefully this is the last house). So this is how we homeschooled in the very first house we purchased. We schooled in the kitchen at the dining room table. The dresser is full of homeschool stuff and next to the dresser is a bookcase you can only barely see that has loads of books. The stereo which we use for audio learning is on top of the bookcase just below the number chart. I think the box on the table was a deliver from Amazon of more books!

This room was our dining room so every night we cleared off the table and ate and in the morning we got back to schooling! I really did not enjoy clearing the table for meals I am glad that I do not have to do that at Rooster Hill Academy II.

Rooster Hill Academy II

In 2008 we who hate moving, moved to our dream house in the country and thus a new homeschool area was established. This time we had decided to have a dedicated area, the breakfast nook. We have a round table we use for school and we do most of our morning schooling in this room. The afternoon reading is usually spent on the couch. We also have a fireplace in this room which adds warmth and comfort during the winter mornings.

We had a bookcase and storage area built into this room. We keep all of our current books in this book case. I purchase individual plastic baskets for each child at the .99 store and they keep all of their current homeschool books in the baskets.

Above the book case I store art, science. My goal for these is to add 3-5 baskets to the top to provide more attractive storage on top of the book case. It will also enable me to keep all subjects in one box: science, art, etc... On the top shelf is a space for science experiment supplies, art supplies, then 2 shelves for the teacher, a student shelf. Below that we store math manipulatives, preschool activities, paper & puzzles.

Last December I added these two big black bookcases from Wal-Mart (19.99 each) I was tired of walking all over the house looking for books in one of the many book cases around the house. Each shelf has a different subject: Language Arts, Reading, Science, Read Alouds(4 shelves), Christian/Bible, History& Literature I would like to add 3-5 baskets to the top to provide more attractive storage on top of the book case.

This room like my life is a work in progress. I'll try to post more pictures of it today so you can get a better look at our 'countrfied' homeschool room!

Every one's room and budget is different and keeping up with the Jones' is for the birds! :) My budget is small and spending $40 on some bookcases was a big deal! The Nester had a post in which she went around a room and revealed how much she spent on the different items. As a penny pincher that intrigued me and I may post something similar to that.

Inspiring rooms I found on the web....

The Thoughtful Spot - This is a a very large crisp and uncluttered homeschool room.

Grace from Above - This is well organized & neat homeschool area.

The Nesting Place - It's the nester so it's where style meets school of course.

There's no Place Like Home - As with all things Kelli a beautiful & homey homeschool room

Wildflowers - An amazing and large homeschool room

Planted by Streams- Mud room turned into a homeschool room!

Smooth Stones Academy- Another cute and stylish school room.

Call me Cordel - Small room school room

I hope you get loads of inspiration from this page as you design your own homeschool room to fit the needs of your family. The most important thing to me is to keep things organized so I can find things easily and avoid unnecessary delays in our homeschool day.

Please add pictures of your homeschool rooms and areas if you have any on your blog. It doesn't need to be a recent post just a homeschool room.

Happy Schooling,

Rooster Hill Academy

Adding Fun & Games to your homeschool

2009-07-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

Homeschool Hoopla post #4 OF 5
HOMESCHOOL HOOPLA IS SATURDAY AFTERNOON IN THE BRYAN COLLEGE STATION AREA. COMMENT ON THIS POST FOR MORE INFORMATION AND I WILL GET BACK TO ASAP. THIS IS A TITUS 2 EVENT SO IT IS OF COURSE FREE!

If you are like I was then you have loads of fun educational games that you have never used. You envision yourself playing these games with your kids and how much fun all of you will have. Well, in our homeschool this never happened we just had really cool games & CD's that collected dust.

So last year I did something a little different then what I normally did which was plan to play the games when we had time. I did the following 2 things: I Incorporated educational games into our Family Nights. Not every night but about once a month we played a fun educational game as a family.

I put it on my lesson plan. I made Wednesday after lunch game time! Talk about some excited kids they were so excited to play games.

I chose a curriculum that incorporated games into the lessons (Christian Cottage Unit Study). Last year, they had an explorer game and this year there are about 2-3 games in different units.

Something new we are going to do is to play games over the summer as part of our summer school fun! After we finish school and before we hop into the pool we play games and during the mid day heat of the summer we will get educated!

Buying Games...

I have purchased very few games new. Because most of these games cost more then what I spend on our curriculum. My most recent game purchase was Presto Change which I paid a whooping $4.98 instead of the $29.99 retail. Great States was purchased for $5 at a local Homeschool Book sale and it retails for $22.00. Now, I do have lots of little card games that I have purchased new from rainbow resources for %1.50-$5.00.

I familiarize myself with the games that I would like to own. I try to keep a list of these games and their retail prices and I am very rarely willing to spend more then $5 on a game.

Finally, games are not the only fun things that you can do so do not forget about field trips, living history days, co-ops, re-enactments, museums, pajama school. . . . .

Homeschool Fun School

RHA

BTW ....what games does your family like to play?

Homeschooling on the cheap or thrifty homeschooling

2009-07-08T05:56:00.000-07:00

Homeschool Hoopla post #3 OF 5

HOMESCHOOL HOOPLA IS SATURDAY AFTERNOON IN THE BRYAN COLLEGE STATION AREA. COMMENT ON THIS POST FOR MORE INFORMATION AND I WILL GET BACK TO ASAP. THIS IS A TITUS 2 EVENT SO IT IS OF COURSE FREE!

There are many different kinds of homeschoolers. We are just going to mention two right now: Those who do not care (or justify) how much a curriculum costs and those of us that care because we like food, electricity etc... So this homeschool hoopla post will address lowering the cost of homeschooling.

Complete Free Homeschool Lesson Plans /Recommendations

An Old Fashioned Education (Textbook/Charlotte Mason Style) -Maggie (site owner) "... prefer(s) to teach with a balanced combination of textbooks and so-called living-books. " She has both free and low cost recommendations for individual subjects and a full curriculum for us to follow.

Ambleside Online (Charlotte Mason) - This is pure CM site that is run by about 4 or 5 ladies. It also offers recommendations for certain curriculum's as well as full curriculum for us to follow. I have used AO and was very happy with it and I still use their book choices! They have the best list of high quality books that across subject matters.

Used Book Sources:

Homeschool Classifieds
Veg Source
Yahoo groups (find used books for sell by typing in for sale and your needed item)
Well Trained Mind forum
Homeschool Book Store in Houston (they have a huge selection of used HS books)
Garage Sales

I'm sure there are more used sites out there that I am missing please post them in the comments and I will add them to this page as time permits! But for now you get the idea. All you have to do is Google a local or national Homeschool For Sale and your possibilities become limitless. Normally, I check all of these sites before I buy anything new. In an attempt to be a good steward of the Lord's resources. However, some things you cannot help but buy new like math work books but for non -expendables I try to hit the used sources first.

Reduced Price New Book Sellers:

Rainbow Resource
Christian Books Distributors
CurrClick (purchase electronic curriculum from major Homeschool Providers!)

Here is the last resort. When I use this resort I usually use Rainbow Resources because they offer free shipping on orders over $150. So I get together with 1-3 friends and we order together thus avoiding the shipping charge. Additionally, Rainbow's prices are usually 10-50% less then retail so I am getting another discount there.

So there are some options for you and your homeschool as you pursue thrifty homeschooling.

BTW I have set a curriculum spending maximum this year of $350 for 3 children to purchase about $700 worth of curriculum; it looks like I'm going to make it. The largest expense this year is Pearsy's PK curriculum, which is new this year, so there are no used copies available. So I'll have to post later and let you know how I did keeping my budget.

My final note is that another key to saving money on homeschooling products is planning. I plan what I am going to use as my major curriculum and what enhancements I also want. So maybe tomorrow or the next day I will share how I plan!

I hope this is an encouragement for folks, especially folks that maybe felt overwhelmed by the cost of homeschooling. It can be done for much less, much...much less!

Getting it done for less!

RHA

Managing my school year

2009-07-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

NEW TO HOMESCHOOLING COME TO THE HOOPLA ON JULY 11TH in the Brazos Valley. JUST PUT A NOTE IN COMMENTS AND I'LL GET YOU THE INFORMATION SO YOU MAY ATTEND.

Everyone does things a little bit different in the homeschool world. There is no 'one size fits all' for homeschoolers. If there was we probably wouldn't be homeschooling!

So I am going to tell you what I do and then try to give you options and forms from other sites that will enable you to enhance what you are doing or to figure out what you want to do!

In the past I customized and made my own planner each year. I started off using the planner found at Tanglewood education. It is an excellent planner for folks to use especially if you want to pursue a Charlotte Mason or Classical style eduction. Previously each year I customize a planner to our school year. I inlcude the following:

calendar

lesson planner page

curriculum planner

6 week summaries

grade sheets (only a some classes are graded)

field trip log

Here is a list of sites that you can find ideas/useable forms to create your own curriculum planner:

Homeschool Information Zone

Donna Young

The Homeschool Mom

I then go and get it bound at the Office Max. This year we are going to use Homeschool Tracker so it will free up my planning time for preparation and grading. This is a computerized program that provides a detailed lesson plan along with assignment sheets for the students plus a myriad of other reports. You can try out Homeschool Tracker Basic for free. There are loads of ways to get this done my advice is to spend some time and figure out what works best for you and your family!

Happy Schooling!

Rooster Hill

Homeschool Hoopla: My 3 R's

2009-07-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

NEW TO HOMESCHOOLING COME TO THE HOOPLA ON JULY 11TH. JUST PUT A NOTE IN COMMENTS AND I'LL GET YOU THE INFORMATION SO YOU MAY ATTEND.

As we have been homeschooling we are moving away from purely academic standpoint to picking curriculum which glorifies God. We now homeschool for religious reasons first and academic reasons are a distant second! Here are some of the things we will be using with our 1st & 5th grader.

Understanding Writing

This year we are using a formal writing curriculum with the girls.

A very complete, structured, thoroughly Christian writing program for grades 1-12. This program emphasizes all the basic elements of writing: descriptive, narrative, informational, and persuasive. Success or mastery of these skills is insured by the systematic, progressive building of each concept in the daily lesson plans. The plans are also very comprehensive, requiring very little, if any, parent preparation. The lessons at grade levels 1-6 must be presented by the teacher. At higher levels, students can work independently. The 360-page curriculum is divided into three parts. Part I is a discussion of the approach used in the program. Part II addresses the specific elements of content, style, and mechanics to be mastered, with examples of each. Part III contains the actual lesson plans, divided into levels 1-12. It is not necessary to begin at level one or actual grade level - a Diagnostic Check list in the appendix will help you locate the starting point for your child. Even when starting at a higher level, author Susan Braderick explains that “all students, even high schoolers, will need to study writing content and writing style materials from level 2 onward”. This is required to assure complete understanding of these skills. Older students will be able to progress through this material more quickly, however, so they should have no trouble completing the program through level 12, despite a “late” start. Reproducible PET (Planning Evaluation and Testing) sheets are used in the program as tools to help students plan their writing before they begin, functioning as a blueprint for their compositions, and as a parental reference for evaluation of the students’ writing. A 50 page tablet of PET sheets and a durable plastic line template to use in lining unlined paper and stationary are included. Note that Understanding Writing is a writing & grammar program - concentrating on mastering God-honoring written communication. Phonics, handwriting, spelling, and reading are not included. Additionally, the program requires the use of A Beka and Rod and Staff English handbooks, a good dictionary, a thesaurus, a comprehensive grammar course (at levels 7 and above), and the book Elements of Style for levels 9-12.

CHRISTIAN LIGHT & SONLIGHT READING COMBO

My girls will do both Christian Light Reading and read the Sonlight readers. They will both receive the typical textbook instruction with an ample dose of real books!

Here is Rainbow resources review of Christian Light Reading...

This series just might have everything you are looking for in a reading program. With a major goal of teaching children to think clearly and logically, the readers are highly readable and include enjoyable anthologies of stories and other prose selections as well as poetry and a generous dose of Bible selections (KJV). These selections have a strong character building emphasis as well as a foundational biblical and Christian worldview. Vocabulary development is enhanced by boldfaced words that are listed in a glossary in each book along with literary terms. On a practical note, the hardcover books are a nice, just-right-for-small-hands size that lay flat with ease. As you would expect, font size gradually diminishes throughout the grade levels. Colorful covers and inside accent color produce an inviting appearance, but there is a reminder of the program’s Mennonite origins visible in the illustrations depicting their particular mode of women’s apparel.
Just reading through the program would be beneficial, but the support information is well done as well. Light Units accompany each reader. These are magazine-size worktexts that review phonics (lower elementary), competently cover reading comprehension (all levels), emphasize vocabulary development, and introduce literary analysis (middle school). Integrating these studies with practical application of Bible verses, there is also biblical review and an encouragement toward Bible memorization. The Light Units are designed so the student can work somewhat independently, with symbols to indicate when teacher help is needed. Each Light Unit has three sections; each section has four lessons plus a quiz or self-check. To be completed in 17 days, day 16 is a review and day 17 is a Light Unit test and extra reading time. In grades 4-8, answers to Light Unit exercises are found in the Light Unit Answer Keys. Light Unit answers for grades 1-3 are found in the Teacher’s Guidebooks.
Teacher’s Guidebooks (coil-bound) are designed to be used with the Reader and the Light Units to provide a guided reading program. Well-organized and laid out, the lessons are easy to follow. Lessons are complete with an overview, detailed teacher’s instructions, and daily schedules. Helpful appendices include: study words, story verses, an index of character traits, scope and sequence, index of skills taught, alternate reproducible tests with answers (Light Units also contain tests), books for extra reading, and alphabetical lists of all stories and poems

HORIZONS MATH

This is our third year using Horizon's math (K-3rd) and we love it! We started Parker in Kindergarten I and I am very very happy with this program.

Here is what Rainbow resources had to say about Alpha Omega's Horizon....

Admittedly, no math program will work for everyone - but I find few flaws in this motivating and well-laid out program. Although it may be more advanced for grade level than the “average” program, I don’t consider that a negative. Because of the developmental approach to learning in this program, even a non-math type can easily succeed, while the “math whiz” will be challenged by the advanced topics introduced early. Concepts are introduced incrementally, then practiced, developed, and continually reviewed as other concepts are introduced. Pertinent Biblical concepts reinforce the math lessons, also. I found these to be interesting and appropriate to the material, not “forced” as mere add-ons. Horizons lays a solid foundation for numerical literacy with an early emphasis on hands-on, concept learning via manipulatives and one-on-one lessons. The program relies on few separately purchased manipulatives by utilizing common household items and including charts and number lines found in the teacher’s handbooks. A useful table in the handbook shows the integration of manipulatives in lessons so you can tell at a glance just what you’ll need. Analytical reasoning and mental acumen are stressed throughout the series, and memorization and drill are not neglected. The teacher handbook is the heart of the program, containing daily lesson plans that are easy to implement. Reduced student pages are a tremendous aid in planning and supply answers to the worktext exercises. Besides plans, the handbook contains an overview, materials list, activities, and supplemental worksheets (approx. one for each 4 lessons). Designed for homeschoolers, the activities, language, and lessons require no alteration. There are 160 lessons per level, each requiring approximately 20-30 minutes per day. Tests are given after every 10 lessons to assess retention of cumulative skills. While a good part of each lesson is oral (especially at the K level), the enticing, colorful student worksheets lay foundations for lessons and review concepts previously taught. There are two workbooks per grade level. Please note that the actual lesson is to be taught by you - there are only brief instructions on each page of the workbooks, which are not intended to be self- instructional. Boxed set contains teacher book and 2 student workbooks.

Just a peek into our curriculum here at Rooster Hill Academy

Come on by ...

2009-07-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, Ecclesiastes 9:10a

Canning, canning, canning some more...... at this point that is about grape jam, diced tomatoes, and dried cream beans. This is the first year we have canned tomatoes. My goal is to have 12-15 cans of diced tomatoes for the year. Right now we are saving 20# of tomatoes to make spaghetti sauce. I still need to make some more of Heather's Tomato Crack also know as Cilantro Salsa! But I still have to find a use for my medium sized tomatoes perhaps tomato juice?

Homesteading on RH

Children of New Life

2009-07-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

This week at church Elder Alan was preaching from Malachi 2....

At the end of his service a little guy named Jax went to the front to pray on the steps. He was soon joined by his little brother, another little guy, and two of my own girls.

5 "My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.
7 "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction—because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty.

At the end of the service we call for family & individual prayer. A few weeks before we discussed guide, graze & guard in terms of living our lives as Shepard's of the flocks of people in which we are around. Last week we as a church body committed to help parents raise their children in the fear admonition of the Lord. This week little Jax was guiding other little ones through his example to prayer.

Sometimes as a Mama, I think my Pearsy is too little to understand. But of these 5 children that all went unashamedly to the alter 3 of them should have been in the nursery, 3 should be too little to get understand. In fact, in many churches all of them would have either been in a nursery(0-5) or a children's worship type situation until about 6th grade (5-13) when they would first see their family and the body in corporate worship.

It was such an encouragement to me to see someone so young guiding other little ones through his example, the example that he has seen watching his own Daddy worship. Additionally, that the other children will see in their parents worship. I am so grateful for a church that encourages whole families to worship together. To see little hands raised, little knees bowed, little eyes searching, little Bibles open and small voices with big questions.

"so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty,but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isiah 51:11

I have to remember always that God's word does not return void even in the littlest of ears and that ... the "commandments that [God gave us] today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9

Remember always that we are nothing: So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 1 Corinthians 3:7 It's amazing to me that he can use those little ears even when my Mama ears are sometimes hard of hearing. :)

All of this really makes me wonder what did Samuel & Timothy's parent's did to raise them in such a way to produce such a Godly seed for the Lord to grow? I just hope this is an encouragement to those who read it to and are persevering in raising Godly seed.

Busy Bees...

2009-06-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

We are on a school break before we start summer school. We've been doing swimming lessons and that and that always wipes us out! Plus we have been harvesting our garden for the past few weeks. We have jammed mustang grapes, frozen green beans, okra, Swiss chard, turnip greens and we are shelling cream peas. We are getting ready to start canning tomatoes and storing butternut squash!

Preparing to offer homemade jams made on the farm. Starting with the grape jam which is difficult and time consuming to make.

Additionally we are hunting for an egg eating chicken. We are also getting ready to hatch about 40 eggs for new Fall

layers. As we prepare for a visitor this week and then off to a Wedding in Dallas & visit with he Renkes. Our summers are busy in fact I am actually scheduling time to relax at home. It's sad when summer is so busy you long for the organized and schedule days of Fall.

So we are a basically a bunch of busy bees.

Cheap Meat Alert - Stock up now!

2009-06-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

Run do not walk to Village Foods and buy your 2 family packs of Pork Chops for .88! You need to hurry because someone has lost their mind and priced these chops .09 cents less then I have seen time in a while! They also have a "freeze now or cook now" meat selection, nearly day old bread selection (from which I grabbed 2 loaves of sunflower seed bread for about .75 each). Since I can freeze bread I'll just schedule it into the meal rotation. If you cannot make it to Village Foods Wal-Mart will price match! Remember just because you just purchased 15#'s of pork chops does not mean it is time to feed your family pork chops for weeks. Put a pork meal on the menu once a week and look for the next great deal!

Saving Dinero @ RH

Lessons from the summer garden with Parker's Pictures

2009-06-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

a time to plant and a time to uproot, Ecclesiastes 3:2a

This is our garden and it keeps me away from the computer. As I am writing this I am just waiting for the heat to cool down so I can go outside and weed. Our new garden is huge it is

50'x50' . We are learning how to grow all kinds of veggies for our family. Hopefully, we will be

able to grow an organic garden in the future but for now we are using the traditional methods while we learn what we are doing. I really love being in my garden

I knew I enjoyed gardening. I enjoy landscaping throughout our entire yard. Which is probably a good thing when you live on 5 acres of undeveloped land!

When I was waiting for our garden I was waiting for the

vegetables that it was going to provide. I was so

excited about the

long term savings I would

experience in our budget and all the new skills I would pick up in the kitchen. Canning,

pickling, freezing & saving our garden veggies.

Well, our garden has been attacked by rolly polly, centipede, mites and ants. (Yes, I am sure they are ants because they have bitten the stew out of me!). Many of our plants have not yielding the way I had hoped that they would.

Outside of the botany lesson I find the Lord in the garden! The other day when we were still hand picking the rolly pollys out of the garden Parker pulled out an entire bean plant trying to get to the rolly pollys. I came just started to fuss at her and tell her to be careful and that it was foolish etc... My friend Lisa Smith would look at the events in her life through the lives of folks in the Bible. This and those that know me know I love the Old Testament and I dwell often in I&II Samuel with David, Samuel, Saul, Johnathon and all. So right here I knew

"The Spirit of the LORD [did not speak] through me;his word was [not] on my tongue." 2 Samuel 23:2

It's one of those moments that I knew I had sinned that the words of my heart and the meditation of my heart was not pleasing. Then I felt d-_-m-_(I had to spell it like that because it's a no-no word here!) because why had I blown it over a plant. Who am I now Jonah complaining about a plant that I did not grow, that God had graced me with??? I'd rather not...

As I apologized to Parker I was telling her how mommy sinned and she of course forgave me and apologized for pulling out the plant. Which at that point I asked her not to apologize again. That I would have gone outside and pulled up every plant to erase the foolish words I had spoken. She told me "Mommy please don't do that I forgive you!"

Every time I go into my garden I am reminded that God is in control. That HE determines if any veggies come up or not. That HE decided that, that green bean plant had to go. As I am walking with HIM I need to learn to joyfully accept that decision. Because HIS ways and His thoughts are higher then mine. He has already seen the beginning and the end.

I thought my garden was a place to grow vegetables, I should have known that as in all things it is just another place to grow righteousness.

The tongue of the righteous is choice silver Proverbs 10:20a

Micah James

2009-06-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

This year we took care of sweet Micah James aka "Sweet boy, MJ & Mikey J "and my girls and I now miss him. That is why this post is a little late....

We miss strangers in the store who look at the girls and then at Micah and say witty things like:

"Oh, he must take after his father." (He'd have too!) or "He's very fair skinned" (I hope so!)

my favorite thing is complete confusion when they just look at him & me as they desperately search for similarities. After all he does have my brown eyes!

Now who will I grease up with sun block before putting into the pool. In fact , I put so much sunblock on the boy that I had a very difficult time getting him into his floatie. Then once I got him in he proceeded to stick his head under the water again and again. Giving me a heart attack each time.

I have learned how to give a baby the Hymlick maneuver (from Wayne who learned it from Micah's Dad!),as he put everything in his mouth and then choked on it! All of my children are now able to sweep a baby's mouth for foreign objects. I really could have done with out that particular bit of knowledge.

One of my favorite memories is when Parker asked if we could adopt Micah. I said no Micah is not up for adoption he has good and loving parents. She frowned up her face and sat there for a minute and then said in her serious 5 year old voice. "Fine! Then I'm going to marry him." To which I said "Fine, his parents will probably agree to that. However, you will need to wait a few years for your groom."

We will really and truly miss is his big ever constant smile and giggling. His super mellow & happy disposition. I loved how he'd gently play the piano every morning laughing in between measures. The girls ask about him all the time and want to get him stuff for when he comes back. I know when he grows up he is just going to be absolutely in love with light brown curly headed girls and not know why but just feel like she'll take such good care of him!

Micah we miss you and we love you! You just let us know if your MaMa & DaDa aren't spoiling you rotten! Also could you please start walking! You are almost two for goodness sake!

'Micah James, Micah James who could blame all the McVays for loving Micah James!'

Come on by...

2009-06-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.
Psalm 50:11

We saw this Green Heron in a tree by the pond. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera so this is not the actual bird just one of his cousins.

I am not called to regret III

2009-06-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to clarify my thoughts on regret. Regret is not a sin. In fact, regret is more like a red light that tells me to stop and examine why I am regreting something.

23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; Proverbs 27:23

But if you determine the regret is not a sin; for example, perhaps you had a conversation and wish you said this or that and regret that you did not remember something or another. Then you probably need to apply 1 Cor 10:5 and begin to take every thought captive. Recognizing that what you thought was regret may actually be condemnation.

However, if the regret is a sin then you need to repent! Regret is simply an early stop on the route to repentance.

6 I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, "What have I done?" Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle. Jeremiah 8:6

Poor Jeremiah, these folks seem to lack any trace of regret.

To me if I simply regret my actions but I never repent then I'd be like the man from James:

22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James 1:22-24

Instead I want to be like Nehemiah .....

"Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." 4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. ... I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. "Nehemiah 1:3-7

........or Josiah...

" 8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD." He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him:"....Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. " 2 Kings 22:8-11

and my dear Asa ...

"Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God." 2 Chronicles 14:2

I am not called to regret but to repent

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,...'Acts 3:19

New Life Baptist Church

2009-06-07T08:41:00.000-07:00

Our Church Living Hope Baptist Church has a mission to start new healthy churches. This year they planted two churches in the Bryan College Station Area. LHBC Bryan and New Life Baptist Church in College Station. Our family has joined them in this work and we are joining New Life Baptist Church.

I had mentioned to many of you that I thought we would be a Family Integrated Church (Isaiah 55:9), but we are not. The main difference in our structure is that we have a nursery for 0-3. We appear to be a church more closely aligned to 9 Marks . As our Elders are men full of the Holy Spirit I'm sure sure this is where NLBC should be (Hebrews 13:16-18) and where the Lord has happily placed our family!

We are a VERY VERY family friendly church, that utilizes expositional preaching, christian accountability and that is really focusing on the husband role as leader. Here is a much more detailed explanation of what we believe and our church covenant. We are not a programs driven church so families should have time to grow in God as a family and to disciple others through their families.

We meet Sunday night at 5:00 pm
We have a fellowship meal after service
At Living Hope Baptist Church in College Station
Men (12-eternity) meet the first Saturday of each month
We will have Small Groups forming in the Fall

Our teaching Elder is Allen Duty and he presents challenging sermons each week. So, if you are looking for the accountability of a Bible Centered Church that is going to challenge your family to walk in the word this is the place! We'd love to have you visit!

This is a great church! As we say at Rooster Hill "It's the Real Deal Hollifield"!

Come on by ...

2009-06-05T15:28:00.000-07:00

I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.

Psalm 50:11

We saw a pair of Black Bellied Whistling Ducks outside the homeschool window. They visited us 2 days in a row the week of May 24th . According to John Hale (a local birder) these are very rare birds to find here this time of year.

Bell Choir End of Year Concert

2009-06-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

The girls were in the Part of the Greater Multitude (PGM) Choir performance. This is the local award winning homeschool choir. The choir has over 100 participants including some of the parents. We have participated in it for 3 years. This was the director's (Mrs. Lassiter) last year. So there were several special performances just for her.

Most of the children in the choir have had music lessons and many play multiple instruments. We joined this choir because I have no musical knowledge and I really wanted to have music in our homeschool. This year we started piano lessons to help to teach the children learn how to play and read music.

RH Academy

2009-06-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

2 Tim. 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

This year all of us were in Awanas. Wayne was the leader of the Truth &Training boys, I helped with the Truth & Training Girls, Peyton was in Truth & Training, Parker was a Spark & itty bitty was a Cubbies! Due to this fact this was a very challenging year for us! Additionally, Pearson really did not start talking to the Cubbies until about November and we were behind several verse for most of the year. She finally pulled it out in the end and she finished her book.

Barefooted Parker finished her first Sparks book with a few weeks to spare and started working on review verses. It's a big jump from Cubbies to Sparks. In Cubbies you memorize one verse a week in Sparks in order to finish your book you must memorize about 2-3 verses per week and complete a variety of activities. She did a great job in her first year!

Peyton received an Excellence award for completing the 2nd book in Truth & Training. Again, T&T is a jump from Sparks because now you have to memorize at least 3 verse per week to complete your book and do more complicated projects. Peyton does a wonderful job with her verses most of the time....she is my girl with a curl!

Our first Piano Recital

2009-05-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

I will sing to the LORD, I will sing; I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel.

Judges 5:3

Well, as I mentioned in an earlier post the girls have started taking piano lessons. Since our teacher is not a part of the local association at the end of the year I was looking for a recital in which to participate. My friend Allyson's mother is a piano teacher and we were invited to participate in her recital.

Peyton playing Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Parker played Rain, Rain, go away.

I learned several things at this recital taught me is that music is more complicated then I thought it was. That their study of music can be much richer if they understand music theory. We are studying music as a way to glorify God and to prepare the girls for a life of service (as lay women, missionaries or pastors wives often have to play along side their husbands).

And as soon as we finished and thanked everyone for letting us play we rushed off to the Awana's ceremony.

Preparing children for worship .....

2009-05-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

We attend a new church in our community called New Life Baptist. It was started by our previous church (started as in sent out to reach more disciples it was not a contentious split but instead a joyous occasion!) and our children sit in church with us. This is not a family integrated church, as we have a nursery for 0-3, but we keep our kids in church with us. Our church uses expositional preaching which means we read through verses and the elder discusses them.

Anyway, here is how we are preparing our kids for church on Saturday(we meet on Saturday because we are using our starting churches facilities) :

We will cover 1 Peter 5:5-?. In the future when we start a new book or chapter we will just cover the entire chapter then go back and cover smaller bites as we do not receive a list of verses to be covered each week.
We read through and discussed the passage verse by verse that will be covered on Saturday. We will read it to them a couple more times before church on Saturday. The two oldest will be required to read it at least once for themselves.
Vocabulary words: submissive, humility, grace, anxiety, faith, steadfast - we look these up in the dictionary and I read the definition to them. I will probably start having them write down the actual or a simplified version of the definition for some of the new vocabulary words we discuss. We also looked at other verses in John & James to find examples & definitions to get them accustomed to understanding scripture with scripture.

Usage: metaphor ...in regards to the lion as a picture of the devil. roaring lion coloring sheet

Additional Bible pages to color:

http://childrenschapel.org/biblestories/color/1peter57.html

I probably should have been doing this over the last couple of years. But I recently I've been thinking about how much more impactful the sermons have been on my life since I have read through all of the scriptures. What a blessing it has been to be familiar with the passages the pastor is reading and how it has been transformational in my walk and understanding. Well, my kids are too young to read through the whole Bible on their own (though one has started) my prayer is that this preparation will open their hearts to understanding!

Well, my kiddos take notes during the sermon so I am really looking forward to seeing what they write down, we'll see how this goes.

BTW , there was 0 prep time involved in this activity other then looking for coloring sheets. As we read the passage I picked out the vocabulary they did not know and if a verse popped into my head (God was knocking) we explored it.

I'm thinking about making a "Preparation to Worship page" for the kiddos to complete each week prior to service. If I do I'll post it. I'm still looking for ideas as to how to prepare the kiddos. BTW, is not our official Bible study this year we are going through the old testament using a simple & wonderful curriculum outline that I found online.

Many blessings as you shepard the little hearts in your home to worship this weekend!

Inks Lake

2009-05-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

This was a very busy month and I really have not had a lot of time to blog this month and the next several posts will reveal why!

We went camping at Inks Lake from May 4th - May 6th and we had a great time. The lake is beautiful and we really enjoyed the wild life. We saw deer comfortably bedded down in long grass, many lizards, turtles, water moccisan, Candian Geese & Mallards.

We took several long hikes around the park. The kids really enjoyed swimming in the water. Until we noticed a water moccasin (that put a damper on the water play by the camp site!). Our sweet neighbors took the girls on a canoe trip around the lake. I think that may have been the highlight for Peyton.

This particular park has a place called the devils waterhole and folks go out there and jump off or a rock into the water. This is one time I was glad the Maass' were not with us because it would have been on like donkey king between Wayne and Brian to see who can jump off that rock from the highest point! Instead, we got to watch Peyton jump off of a tree about 4 feet above the water!

One of the best things about camping at the state parks is going on the interpretive trail. They are labeled and you learn all about the the God's creativity in that particular area of Texas and you learn some history too. On this trip we learned the early settlers used the yucca plant to make soap. We learned that lichen is really strong and can turn rocks into dirt. Most importantly we got to use some kind of funky solar green toilet.

During one of our hikes the kids learned about obeying their parents immediately. As one of them did not do so and fell into prickly pears. It took Wayne about 20 minutes and the tweezers from the first aid kit to get all of those little thorns out of that little hand. This provided a great opportunity to discuss a couple of verses in depth later that night.

This park is great fun and we wish we would have stayed there for a few more days. We will the next time!

Tea Party with Samira & Paymon

2009-05-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of a recent tea party that we had with our Micah and our neighbors Samaria & Paymon. This tea party was a little more exciting then most of our tea parties. Here is how the tea party started......

and here is how the tea party ended. This is where the Paymon, a teenage boy, agreed to participate. I am not sure we are going to be able to top this one!

Tea anyone?

Ramblings about Phillipians: Grace & Peace

2009-05-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.Philippians 1:2

So many times while reading the Epistles I will read over words without really wondering why these words are used. Well in several of the Epistles Paul sends"Grace & Peace to the members of the churches, this is found in Romans, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians!

It is mentioned 9 times in the New Testament, things are normally repeated for emphasis. So God seems to want us to experience grace & peace.

James 4:3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Peace
HEre is the definition from Dictionary.com
2.(often initial capital letter) an agreement or treaty between warring or antagonistic nations, groups, etc., to end hostilities and abstain from further fighting or antagonism: the Peace of Ryswick.
3.a state of mutual harmony between people or groups, esp. in personal relations: Try to live in peace with your neighbors.
8.a state or condition conducive to, proceeding from, or characterized by tranquillity: the peace of a mountain resort.
I really like the second definition because it indicates a decision was made. That we can "make peace" or decide to be at "peace".

In Romans we see grace & peace reversed in this verse:
Romans 16:20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
So with the peace of God we can crush Satan under our feet.

Everytime I think about peace I am reminded of :Philippians 4:7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I cannot imagine how many times I have prayed this for myself and for others. But at the time I did not realize that peace could crush Satan under my feet. If we are not warring and if we are in harmony with the people around us, that really takes care of a lot of sins: lust, coveting, hate etc...

Often to maintain peace all we have to do is think of other's as more important than ourselves and remember we must be kind and compassionate. Then there would not be a foothold for the devil, its a way to protect our testimonies and to love Christ.

If in the end all we want to do is to bring glory to the King then our constant focus on the things around us is counterproductive. In fact as we pursue our pleasures it leads to sin! Because as it says in James 4:3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Grace
HEre is the definition from Dictionary.com:
5. mercy; clemency; pardon: an act of grace 8. Theology. a. the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. b. the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them. c. a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces. d. Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.

Again grace is something that God gives us. Not something we earn.

Grace & Peace to you!

Summer's approaching...

2009-05-18T07:49:00.001-07:00

I do not fry very many things, and when I say fried I usually mean oven fried. But one of my favorite things in the summer in our garden are the green tomatoes. Because during the end of Spring and start of summer we start eating Fried Greens Tomatoes! I don't really have a recipe for this item although I started out making them with one...but here is what I do...

1-4 Green tomato(es)

1 cup corn meal

1 egg

1 teaspoon house seasoning (a la Paula Deen)

Combine corn meal and house seasoning in small bowl.
Beat egg and put in bowl
Slice the tomatoes
Dip the tomatoes in eggs
Dredge tomatoes in cornmeal mixture
Until golden brown
Eat with anything all the time!

Now that's a proper side dish or breakfast like I had this morning!

Now go get your vittals on!

I am not called to regret II

2009-05-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

Repentance leads to fellowship with God and regret separates us from the Lord.
I know I had beat myself up over things I have done before I was a Christian over 12 years ago, I found myself mulling them over in mind and I was so regretful. In thinking about this pattern I believe regret shifts my focus onto myself and away from my Advocate. I some how displace him and attempt to save myself from the past sin.

Accordingly, Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines regret as “Pain of conscience” simply stated that I am thinking about my sin and I have become like Simon a captive to my sins. You know I have a Mighty and Holy God because I do not have to stay wallowing in the mud of regret I can repent.

19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, (Acts 3)

If I repent I will be refreshed instead of being beat down by my own thoughts. It reminds me that the Lord is faithful.

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines repentance as:" 2)Real penitence; sorrow or deep contrition for sin as an offence and dishonor to God a violation of his holy law and the basest ingratitude towards a Being of infinite benevolence. This is called evangelical repentance and is accompanied and followed by amendment of life. "

To repent is to both the feeling of sorrow and the action of changing the way you live. With repentance God promises you will be refreshed (Acts 3:19) and that He will make His thoughts known (Prov 1:23).