Tuesday, October 29, 2013

HOW TO TEACH WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW

homeschooling high school



Even if you have only home educated for a short time, you have most likely encountered the skeptic who asks, "How are you going to teach (fill in a difficult subject)?” Or, you may even question your own ability to teach a particular subject.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

All Things Work Together For Good



I received the call from the doctor's office after having been in the office earlier that day.

"You have to take your baby to the hospital right now," the doctor told me over the phone that Friday afternoon.

Right now? Today?

Friday, October 25, 2013

Family Favorites Friday: Mae Holloway's Chicken and Dumplings

I received this recipe from my friend Cindy's mom during BEST Robotics 'season' one year.  It quickly turned into a family favorite.


Here is the original recipe with notes on how I sometimes modify the recipe to make it quicker.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Landry Academy Mom's Retreat Review

Last week, my friend Nikki and I attended a Landry Academy Homeschool Mom Retreat in southern Missouri. We had registered for the retreat last spring because it sounded like such a good deal - $25 for an all-inclusive 2-night retreat.


We didn't really know what to expect as no schedule was available. Mr. Landry said this was by design to give the retreat a relaxed feel since so many homeschool moms live by a schedule. There was a schedule when we arrived but it mostly consisted of meals are at this time, sessions are at this time.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

How to Encourage Reading

While we were out of town for my oldest child’s first birthday, burglars came into our house and helped themselves to our TV, stereo, microwave, jewelry, and my new tennis shoes!  While not an experience I would want to re-live, I think it contributed to my children becoming avid readers.

We became a TV-free family. 

Friday, October 18, 2013

Family Favorites Friday: More Favorite Read Alouds

When I started my blog, I asked all my children to be thinking about favorite books from childhood.  This provoked the questions, " What qualifies as a children's book?  Do chapter books count? Do series count?"

I let them decide the books to include since we did read some chapter books aloud and they did read some chapter books when they were fairly young.

The only stipulation I put on their choices was I wouldn't include the same book twice.  If they all choose the same book as a favorite, I will only include it once, but I might mention at some point that it was everybody's favorite.

Last month I posted a review of favorite books from my oldest child.  This week, I interviewed my youngest, Christina, to share her favorite book memories.  Even though she is 15 years old, she has fond memories of these books.   

Her favorite toys and favorite books included animals.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Brandy Apple Bars


 The Creative Cookie Exchange theme this month is apples.  I don't usually think about apples and cookies together.  Apple pie- yes.  Apple bread- yes.  Apple cake- yes.  Apple cookies -no. 

So, I had to think about this a bit and do some experimenting.  My first experiment was an apple caramel cookie.  I didn't really like it very much.  It was a little bland and the caramel in the middle didn't really work as I had envisioned.

Apple Bars seemed like a do-able project so I experimented with that and came up with this recipe. 

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Friday, October 11, 2013

Family Favorites Friday: Cheater Enchiladas

Call me lazy or call me efficient, but any recipe with repetitive steps needs to be stream-lined.  Getting rid of the rolling up of tortillas was the impetus for creating 'cheater' enchiladas.  You get the same flavor and look without the time consuming task of filling and rolling 18 - 24 tortillas.  Anybody agree this is more efficient?

My family loves the enchilada sauce that goes with this recipe. 

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

5 Children's Books You Should Read

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 I read many, many books to my children.  Some of the books we owned, some we checked out from the church library or the public library, and some were from my husband’s childhood.  While we read many of the classic favorites, there are some that are not as well known that I 
 think you and your children would enjoy.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

The Secret to Winning the BEST Award

The Only Way to Win the BEST Award

The year our BEST Robotics team (Texoma Home Educators- T.H.E. BEST - the acronym worked out nicely!) placed 4th in the BEST Award on the hub level, and the 1st-3rd place teams advanced to Texas BEST, we decided to study what it takes to win the BEST Award.  

Our family, along with another team family, attended Texas BEST in College Station.  We studied the displays and notebooks and talked to the winning teams.  My husband, the engineer, made some very good observations.  We put his observations into practice and won the BEST Award at the hub level for the next 4 (or more) years.  We also placed in the top 3 at Texas BEST during those years.


Friday, October 4, 2013

Family Favorites Friday: Perfect Microwave Coconut Pie


Perfect Microwave Coconut Pie

Fundraiser Recipe

I mentioned earlier this week that our robotics team held a fundraiser to be able to purchase motors, remote control, and electronics to enable our robot to run year round, since at the end of the competition all those items are returned to the sponsoring hub.  

A friend gave me this (secret) recipe that she had used to raise funds for her children's activities. 
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