12 Goals for 2012

I have never in my life been much of a goal-setter or goal-achiever for that matter.  Sadly, I've always been the type of person who just kind of let life happen.  Recently, I have been reading many of Dave Ramsey's books and have been encouraged to set goals and work hard to achieve them.  So, I decided to set 12 goals for 2012.  And, when I told my husband, he told me that would be too hard and I couldn't do it...So, I came up with a list of 12 goals for 2012 just to prove him wrong!

Now, I had a few requirements for the goals on my list.  First of all, I could not include things that I was planning to do anyways.  So, plan curriculum for next 2012-13 does not appear on my list although it is something I definitely plan on accomplishing in 2012.  Also, success needed to be quantifiable for each goal.  I could not include love God more.  How can I objectively quantify whether I loved God more in 2012?

And a drum roll, please!

1.  Craft a mission statement for the Mobley Homeschool.
2.  Make homemade bath salts and/or soap.
3.  Read a book to Matthew and Jonathan every day.
4.  Lose enough weight to fit into my non-maternity jeans.
5.  Teach Maggie to read.
6.  Read Romans: The Gospel Freedom by P.G. Mathew.
7.  Help Mary and Maggie finish memorizing the 25 Scripture passages from our Advent Jesse Tree devotions.
8.  Read The Valley of Vision by Arthur Bennett.
9.  Guide Mary in her first big savings goal: getting her ears pierced.
10.  Teach Mary and Maggie to sign the alphabet.
11.  Plan some meaningful Easter activities to teach the children about Jesus' death and resurrection.  (I'll welcome any suggestions any of you have!)
12.  Put all of David's summer salary (after tithing 10%) towards paying down the principal on our house.

Picture Books We Love: Grandfather's Wrinkles

Nana and Papa gave Grandfahter's Wrinkles to Mary for Christmas several years ago.  It came to my mind given that we just celebrated Christmas.  This wonderful book brings tears to my eyes just about every time I read it.  A little girl, Lucy, wonders why her granddad's skin doesn't fit him any more.  Granddad explains that he has wrinkles from smiling especially big smiles and recounts different memories that resulted in the many wrinkles on his face.  Among the memories included are when he married grandma, when Lucy's mommy was born, when Lucy's mommy fell into a toy box, when a goat nibbled Lucy's mommy's shorts, when Lucy's parents were married, and the day Lucy was born.  Not only is this story touching, but the illustrations are absolutely beautiful, with the illustrator himself starring as Granddad.

10 Ways We Save on Groceries Without Coupons!

Recently, I was talking with a friend while feeding Matthew and Jonathan, who, incidentally, eat a TON!  I mentioned that I was going to increase our grocery budget for 2012 to accommodate these growing boys.  Honestly, I knew the time was coming, but I didn't expect it to come so soon!  My friend was really surprised at how little we spend to feed our family.  I feel like I am constantly striving for the perfect balance between keeping costs down and feeding my family wholesome and healthy foods.  Here are some cost-cutting strategies that I have picked up from wiser and more economical folks out there:

1. Develop a love for oatmeal!  I'm not talking about the stuff that comes in the premeasured packages but either bulk or in big containers.  I very rarely buy cold cereal anymore.  Instead, we have oatmeal most mornings and homemade pancakes or waffles other mornings. 

2. Drink water!  I used to buy soda for David and me and apple juice for the kids.  Now, I only buy soda or juice on very rare occasions when I have a coupon that will make it nearly free or I want to make popsicles with the juice for a special treat.  (We have twins, who still do not sleep through the night, so coffee and tea are considered essentials!)

3. Try powdered milk!  By the gallon, powdered milk is $1 or more cheaper than fresh depending on where you shop.  I use powdered milk for all my cooking and baking, in my coffee, etc.  I even give the girls half powdered and half fresh when serving a glass of milk.  From my research,  fresh and powdered milk are nutritionally the same.

4. Use less meat!  Unless I see a great, I mean great, sale, I buy less than 2 pounds of meat a month.  I buy 2 14 oz. packages of turkey sausage on my monthly Wal-Mart trip to use in split pea and lentil soup.  I also splurge for a turkey at Thanksgiving and a ham at Christmas.

5. Use dry beans and legumes!  I have always made a lot of dishes with beans and legumes, but I used to buy them in cans.  It's so much cheaper to buy them dry and cook them yourself, so that's what I do now.  They are an excellent source of protein.

6.  Make yogurt!  I used some gift money to purchase a yogurt maker and started making my own yogurt.  It's so much cheaper than buying all natural or Greek yogurt.  And it's way cheaper than buying that baby yogurt!

7.  Skip the ice cream!  I am a huge fan of ice cream.  It can be below 0 outside and I will still want ice cream.  I used to consider it a main staple.  Now, I realize it is expensive and, sadly, nonessential.  Sometimes, we do splurge and buy ice cream, but more often, I make a dessert at home.

8. Check out the drug store!  Believe it or not, I frequently buy some major staples at Walgreen's: peanuts (to make homemade peanut butter), eggs and butter!  Usually, there is a limit on the quantity that you can purchase and they tend to sell out quickly, so I go at the beginning of the sale and get as many as I can per the ad.  Then, on Saturday when I am doing my regular grocery shopping, I drop by again and they will of course be out, but I can get a rain check and get the item the following Saturday at the previous week's price.

9.  Stock up!  I keep a price list, a list of grocery items and their cost at various stores.  When I see a good price on something, I buy enough to last until the next sale.  Now, this is an area where you do need to be considerate of others and not clear the shelves entirely!

10.  Get creative!  I have certain spices in my spice drawer that I use all the time.  I have others that I use only very rarely.  Recently, I used the last of my sage.  Instead of buying more right away, I'm experimenting with some of those other spices that I use less frequently, like savory.  Of course, this doesn't work with some spices, like what can you substitute for chili powder in chili?

And when all else fails, put everyone on a diet:)

Christmas at the Mobleys!

We had a wonderful Christmas Day! After the kids went to bed on Christmas Eve, I put Baby Jesus in the nativity scene so that when they woke up on Christmas, they would see that Baby Jesus was born. Maggie was our early riser and was really excited to see Baby Jesus!

David showing Maggie Baby Jesus!

For breakfast, I made not-so-sticky buns a.k.a. cinnamon rolls without the icing!  I have fond memories of always having sticky buns at my grandma's house every time we visited.  I knew we would have enough sweets later on, so I just made cinnamon rolls (we always called them sticky buns) but left out the sticky part!  

Jonathan was a huge fan!

Matthew isn't really a finger foods kind of guy yet, but he bangs everything including not-so-sticky buns!

I read the last of our Jesse Tree devotions with the children and we velcroed the last ornament on our tree. Here is a picture of this year's completed tree.

our completed Jesse Tree!

David read the last devotion to go with our Advent candle wreath and we lit all five candles! After a while, the girls huffed and puffed and blew every single candle out! This was a good start to Matthew and Jonathan's training for blowing out candles for their first birthday!

our advent candles all lit!

 Of course, there were a few presents to open!  This year, we pooled together gift money from many relatives and bought a digital piano.  We sold our piano before moving to New Orleans three and a half years ago with the intention of purchasing another one here.  We opted for a digital piano for many reasons, one of which is it will be easy to move!  An added bonus is that we can plug headphones in so that anyone can play anytime even during naptime! I am really excited about beginning to teach Mary to play piano and playing hymns for Bible time!

Mary and Maggie playing our new piano

Our church held its service at 11:00 am, so we were all able to go to church together and I was able to listen to the entire sermon!  That was a first since Matthew and Jonathan were born!  What a blessing.  We are so appreciative of our loving church family at Edgewater Baptist Church.

After church, we were able to talk to friends and family who live far away!  We also used the webcam to "exchange" presents with Nana and Papa who live in California.  Matthew and Jonathan played tug of war with one of their presents.  Jonathan, our powerhouse, won!

Matthew and Jonathan playing tug of war with a present from Nana and Papa!

Every year, we like to make a birthday cake for Baby Jesus!  Mary, Maggie and I made this chocolate chip bundt cake on Christmas Eve to eat on Christmas Day.  This is part of the reason that I left the sticky out of the sticky buns!

Mary summed up our day quite well, "Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful Christmas!"

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!  I hope you have a joyous celebration of Jesus' birth!

Photo credits: 
Picture of Maggie and Mary by David Mobley
Picture of Matthew and Jonathan by Maura Mobley
Picture of Maura and David by Mary Mobley

Cheesy Cornbread

Recently, I created a bit of a stir when I commented on Facebook about my culinary failure when I forgot to put the sugar in the cornbread.  Apparently, the thought of sugar in cornbread is borderline offensive to the southern cook!  A friend of mine, who has lived in the South all her life, told me that in these parts such a dish is considered CAKE not BREAD!  The time I forgot the sugar, my five year old, who loves cornbread, looked at me and said, "Mama, this cornbread kind of doesn't taste so good."  There you have it, you can call it what you like, but don't forget the sugar!!

Ingredients:
3/4 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c white flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1/2 c sugar
1 c grated cheese (or more if you prefer up to 2 c)
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 c milk
1/2 c oil

Stir together dry ingredients (whole wheat flour through salt).
Beat together liquid ingredients (eggs through oil).
Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until everything is moist.
Bake in a greased 8x8 pan at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Mary's First Newspaper Article

Mary wrote this newspaper article today all of her own accord!  This made my day!

Mobley Research Group Christmas Party

David's research group came over to our house for dessert last night.  It was a wonderful evening of sweets and games!  Although we planned to take the day off of school and just bake the day away, my helpers were so efficient that we still managed to squeeze some schoolwork into the afternoon.  We did, however, sacrifice our read-aloud time for the cause! 

Mary was an eager helper!

We made three desserts.  First, we made the cranberry apple crumble that I made for Thanksgiving.  We made fudge ecstasies for the first time.  They turned out really good, too, and I'll definitely be making them again.  Since our neighbor has a lemon tree and has given us freedom to come pick lemons any time, I also made a lemon cake roll.    

One of David's graduate students, Pavel, requested that we play table games.  First, we played Clue.  Then, there was an intense game of Blokus!  Our mischievous Jonathan brought an exciting conclusion to the evening by knocking a glass off the end table.  Nonetheless, it was really nice spending time with David's research group!  Not only does he have bright and talented people working for him, but they are also really friendly and personable not to mention wonderful with our children!  The highlight for me was when Pavel took a turn holding Jonathan!

An intense game of Clue per Pavel's request!

 

Christmas Traditions: Advent Candle Wreath

Another celebrated Christmas tradition in our home is the lighting of advent candles.   Last year, we bought this advent candle wreath from Christian Book Distributors.  It features the different characters in the nativity scene: an angel and a shepherd; the three wise men; and Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.  There are holders for four candles around the outside and one in the middle.  Each week, my husband reads a portion of Scripture and we light one of the outer candles (plus the candles lit on previous weeks).  Then, we usually sing a Christmas carol.  These are the passages that he reads:

Week 1: Isaiah 9:2-7
Week 2: Micah 5:2-4
Week 3: Luke 2
Week 4: Revelation 22

On Christmas Day, we will read something about the birth of Jesus from Matthew or Mark, since we already read Luke 2, (we still have some time to figure this out, right?) and light all five candles. 

After a while, we sit back and enjoy watching the girls blow out the candles one by one and hope that nothing catches on fire in the process!

Paper Plate Wreaths

This Fall, our church formed Life Groups, which are each focused on a particular ministry area.  Our Life Group ministers to the elderly and widows.  We gather on Sunday evenings to share prayer requests with one another, discuss the sermon, and plan how we can minister in our church and city.  Today we went to a local nursing home to sing Christmas carols and hand out some wreaths that we made at last week's meeting.  Inspired by the idea, the girls and I made these wreaths to give as Christmas gifts to the senior adults in our church.

These are just made of tissue paper.  Cut or tear the paper, scrunch it up and glue.

These are made of ribbon and lots of glue!  We also used glittery red felt for the berries and bow.

The commonality in this group is the foam leaf shapes.  For the top wreath, I painted the plate circle green, then attached some foam leaves with rubber cement.  Then, I added the berries with school glue.  For the bottom left wreath, I painted the paper plate circle green and attached the leaf shapes with double stick adhesive and added the berries with school glue.  Then, I cut around the leaf shapes.  For the bottom right wreath, I attached the leaves with double stick adhesive and glued tissue paper to cover up the exposed paper plate.  Then, I cut around the leaf shapes.

My Husband is a Super Hero!

I like lizards.  Really, I do.  Outside or in a cage.  I found this little guy when I was vacuuming the living room floor.  At first, I thought it was pretty neat.  I called Mary over to take a look.  (Poor Maggie missed all the excitement because she was sleeping.)  Then, my mind went racing and I started thinking about the fact that this guy can crawl on walls and climb into cribs with my precious little boys!  Insert very, very, very loud shriek!  Super Hero David left work to come to my rescue.  He nabbed the little guy with his bare hands, posed for a quick picture and transported him back outside WHERE HE BELONGS!

If that's not enough to convince you of David's Super Hero status, let me tell you, he let me sleep until 7:00 am this morning.

Okay,  I know you really are convinced now, but it does not end there.  He took apart my laptop.  I mean really apart, like he unscrewed things, removed the hard drive and the CD drive and opened the whole thing up.  He closed the connection with a piece of metal and some glue and now it works again! 

What would I do without him???

Split Pea Soup Recipe

I love making soups.  I know I have said that before, but I really love making soups.  This is another Mobley favorite, a revised version from the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook that my husband brought to our marriage!


Ingredients:
4 cups broth
4 cups water
1 lb. dry split peas
1/2 t marjoram
1 bay leaf
1/2 c chopped onion
2 c chopped vegetables (carrots, celery, green pepper)
14 oz. turkey sausage, cut however you want.

1. Combine all ingredients except sausage in a big pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
2. Stir in sausage and heat through.
3. Serve with brown rice and Tony's!

Sashtiabdhapurthi

Maggie, Matthew, Jonathan, and Mary dressed in Indian attire!

David has many international students working for him.  One of his students, Anu, is from India.  Anu has a daughter a little bit older than Mary, and they always enjoy playing together.  Anu's parents are also living with her while she completes her graduate studies.  

Recently, Anu's mother celebrated her 60th birthday, which is a very special celebration for Hindus.  The Sanskrit name is Sashtiabdhapurthi. The Hindu calendar follows a 60-year cycle.  Therefore, the celestial bodies are said to align in exactly the same way that they were during the honoree's birth. According to Anu, this celebration would have been a day-long celebration in India.  Instead she hosted a group of close friends for dinner.  And what a dinner it was!  She served a full-course Indian meal!  It was absolutely delicious, but I cannot recall the name of anything that I ate!  Anu confessed to me that she actually enjoys cooking more than chemistry!  I think she should open up an Indian restaurant.  I really don't enjoy going out to eat very much, but I would pay good money for her food!

Typically, in India, the husband and wife would renew their marital vows during the celebration.  Anu's parents fed one another black forest cherry cake, my favorite:)  They also had pictures taken with each family in attendance.  Anu also gave me a gift as we were leaving and explained that it is customary for the hostess to give every married woman who came to the celebration a gift. 

Not only was it a wonderful party with delicious food and friendly conversation, but I was blessed to be free from holding babies for the entire evening!  There were so many grandparents around who wanted to hold Matthew and Jonathan!  No arguments here!  Thank you!  Of course, the evening was not without the usual chaos.  We got a flat tire upon arriving.  We forgot Maggie's bib and my nursing wrap and had to return for them.  We got all the way home and realized we also forgot David's jacket. 

This is our family picture with Anu and her parents.

Christmas Traditions: The Nativity Scene

Every year, we set up a nativity scene, which I have learned is called a "creche" here.  Since we have little ones, who could easily damage some of these pieces, we set it up on the bar, out of reach.  Here's a picture of our nativity scene:

As you can see, the only thing there are the animals and the angel.  Mary and Joseph are still on their way.  Baby Jesus has not yet been born.  The wise men are still in the East.

Every day, the girls take turns moving Mary and Joseph one step closer to Bethlehem.  They will arrive on Christmas Eve.  After everyone goes to bed, I will put the baby Jesus in the scene, too.   Then, when the girls wake up on Christmas morning, they will see that Jesus was born!  And, then, the wise men will begin their trek to bring gifts to King Jesus.  This activity is something that our children look forward to each and every day leading up to Christmas!

Mary Takes the Gold!

A man from our church, who himself is fourth-degree black belt, graciously gives of his time every week and teaches children judo at the church.  In this class are kids ranging in age from five to sixteen!  Now I have to say that Larry is a remarkable person.  Not only does he teach the kids judo, but he also teaches them to conduct themselves in a manner pleasing to the Lord.  He continually reminds them of 1 Corinthians 10:31, which says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."  And did I mention that this class is free???

Mary participated in her first-ever judo tournament yesterday.  Honestly, I was not 100 percent behind her participating in this tournament.  She's five.  She hasn't been taking judo for very long.  I thought she would lose and be devastated and never ever want to go to judo class again!  Well, the girl has spunk and came home with the gold for her division! 



 

Sweet Potato and Vegetable Stew

This is a really yummy stew perfect for a breezy day like today.  My husband brought this recipe to our marriage, but, of course, I revised it slightly:)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
4 cups turkey/chicken broth
4 cups water
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
2 t dried parsley
1 1/2 t salt
dash of cayenne pepper
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach

1.  Saute onion, garlic, and green pepper in a large stockpot over medium heat.
2.  Add all remaining ingredients, except spinach.
3.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
4.  Puree it all. 
5.  Add spinach and cook through.
6.  Serve with Tony's!

What I've Been Reading--December

Well, it was a busy month for us with Christmas. Some of our reading time was sacrificed to making crafts, baking, and wrapping presents, but we still managed to squeeze some books in. This is what I read in December:
I read The Tightwad Gazette II by Amy Dacyczyn in bits and pieces over the course of probably two months.  This is a compilation of newsletter articles and letters from readers concerning everything frugality.  I have really been inspired by reading this book to first consider what I have on hand before purchasing something.  For example, I needed more bibs for my super-messy eaters, a.k.a. Matthew and Jonathan.  So, I repurposed some old, worn-out cloth diapers into bibs.  I have also picked up some helpful tips from this book and its predecessor.  One is to hang your clothes on hangers before hanging them on the clothesline to dry to maximize space.  Ingenious.  I especially enjoyed the final article of the book, "Wealth, Poverty, and Frugality."  It is really worth checking thsi book out of the library just for that article.  Since the author has twins, I also feel that I have a special bond although we have never met!

  Justin Morgan Had a Horse is another wonderful book by Marguerite Henry that we enjoyed during read-aloud time.  This is a fictionalized account of the Morgan horse breed.  In this story, a schoolmaster, Justin Morgan, and one of his pupils, Joel Goss, take a long journey to reclaim a debt from Farmer Beane.  Although Farmer Beane does not have the money to repay the debt, he gives schoolmaster Justin Morgan two horses.  Joel falls in love with the little horse at first sight and gentles "Little Bub" who turns out to be a strong and fast workhorse.  Joel never stops loving Little Bub.  Eventually, he is able to purchase Little Bub whose name has been changed to Justin Morgan upon the schoolmaster's passing.  In the end, this spirited horse even served as a mount for President Monroe!  We really enjoyed this book, especially reading the accents!

My friend, Michele, loaned me The Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli.  This story is set in medieval times.  Robin is the son of a nobleman, who has gone off to fight the Scottish wars.  His mother has gone to serve the queen.  The servants have all fallen ill with the plague and have left poor Robin alone, who himself is taken ill and loses the use of his legs.  A monk rescues him and takes him to the monastery where he cares for him physically, spiritually, and emotionally.  Robin fears that, with his lameness, he will never be able to please his father, who expected him to be a knight.  Brother Luke encourages him to find the door in the wall.  In the end, Robin does indeed find the door and, in spite of his inabilities, is able to serve his country and please his father!

One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham is a book that I enjoy reading to the children each Christmas.  What I really like about this book is that it tells the Christmas Story, the story of Jesus' birth, beginning with creation.  The author explains that we needed a Savior because Adam and Eve sinned against God.  The author recounts the history of the Old Testament and God's promise to send His Son to rescue the Israelites.  Moreover, this Christmas story does not end with Jesus' birth but much later with his death and resurrection.  That said, the author does take quite a bit of liberty with details not provided in Scripture.  For example. she describes people pounding on the ark and wailing.  That may really bother some people.  I just explain to my children that she is imagining what things may have been like, but the Bible does not give those details, so we don't really know if it's true or not.

My husband thought I was off my rocker when I borrowed Entreleadership from the library. After all, I do not own a business nor do I have plans to start one.  But, I really enjoy reading Dave Ramsey's books.  I found that this book is more than just a business book.  He actually discusses leadership principles, so I think everyone can glean something from this book.  Inspired by this book, I plan to develop a mission statement for our homeschool and make sure that what I am currently doing with the children fits in with that mission statement.  I also found myself reading portions of this book and thinking, "Yes, that's the kind of work ethic I want to instill in my children!"  I didn't exactly find the chapter on compensation packages terribly useful in this season of life, but I thought it was interesting to think about.  I also found myself telling David about some of Dave's ideas thinking he may find some of it useful for his research group. You may want to check your library's policies, though, before checking this one out.  Since it's in the pop section at our local library, I could only have it for two weeks!  It reminded me of my college days:)

I read the children's portions of The Advent Jesse Tree by Dean Lambert to the children during our morning devotional time for the first 25 days of December.  This book begins with the creation of the world and goes through Old Testament history showing the need for a Savior, God's promise of a Savior and the fulfillment of this promise in Jesus Christ.  For each day, there is a short reading designed for children, Scripture passages that can be read, a memory verse, a selection of songs that correspond with the day's teaching, review questions and a prayer.  I was really happy with this devotional book and that I was able to obtain the Kindle version for FREE.  There were a few instances that I changed the wording as I read it to the children, but all in all I was pleased with this as a devotional book for the children.  I plan to use this again next year!

Christmas Traditions: A Jesse Tree

Our Christmas traditions center on celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.  Last year, we asked our 4th - 6th grade Sunday School class about their special family traditions.  One of the boys told us about the Jesse tree, and we quickly adopted this tradition as our own.  Basically, a Jesse tree calendars the coming of Christ, from the beginning of creation to his birth!  There are lots of ways to implement the Jesse Tree, but this is the Mobley version!

First I made this tree out of felt.  I'm sure many of you could whip this out in no time, but I am neither crafty nor very good at sewing, so this took me quite a bit of time and determination.  Plus, it always takes me a good bit of time to remember how to thread my machine!  I found some devotional materials online.  Each day in December leading up to Christmas, we read a portion of Scripture and made a corresponding felt ornament.  I used velcro to attach the ornaments to the tree.  I wasn't entirely happy with the particular devotional material we used last year, so I am "branching out" this year.  I was able to obtain the Kindle-version of The Advent Jesse Tree by Dean Lambert for free. This book includes both children's and adult's devotions, memory verses, suggested ornaments, review questions and a prayer.

The girls really love this family tradition and look forward to attaching an ornament to the tree every day.  I'll post a picture of this year's completed Jesse Tree sometime after Christmas.  Next year, I have big plans to go one step further and wrap the ornaments for the kids to open each day. 

Random Baking Tip

I know some of you out there are probably gearing up for some serious holiday baking!  Not me.  I'm just trying to keep on top of feeding my crew three meals a day, plus elevensies...and onesies...and threesies...and sevensies.  Have I mentioned that I am going to be increasing our grocery budget soon to keep up with these boys??? 

OK, now on to the baking tip.  Maybe this is something that every other baker on this planet already knows about, but here goes.  One day, when I was making bread, I almost forgot to add the honey.  I added the oil first.  Then, I remembered the honey.  So, I added the honey.  Yep, I used the same tablespoon to measure the honey.  The honey didn't stick to the spoon at all!  So, now I always measure the oil before the honey!  Or if I am not using oil, I spray the measuring implement with cooking spray!  No ooey gooey sticky mess! 

Homeschool Resources: Zaner-Bloser Handwriting

Handwriting is actually the source of much tension in my life right now.  That also makes it my least favorite subject to teach, but, alas, we continue to muddle through!  Not until I was confronted with Mary wanting to learn to write did I realize that there were many opinions about teaching handwriting!  While I am really green in the area of handwriting instruction and homeschooling in general, my personal opinion is that success relies more upon consistency and repetition than it does the particular method.  That said, we currently use Zaner-Bloser.  I chose this curriculum for a few reasons:

• It was recommended in The Well-Trained Mind.
• It is manuscript rather than cursive.  I personally thought it would be easier to teach my children to write in the style that they read in books.  While some advocate teaching cursive first because the strokes may be easier for young children, I wanted to teach manuscript first.
• I personally prefer the look of vertical manuscript to other manuscript styes.  This is just my personal preference.
• I learned to write using vertical manuscript, so I figured it would be easier for me to teach this style also.

Each year, I buy a handwriting practice book from Zaner-Bloser as well as the appropriate ream of lined paper.  I have never bought the teacher's guide, nor do I think it is necessary.  Here are some of the key aspects of this handwriting curriculum:

• Teaches appropriate positioning including the proper posture, positioning of the paper, way to hold the pencil, etc.  
• Demonstrates the correct formation of each letter, uppercase and lowercase.  
• Teaches children to pay attention to four keys of legibility: shape, size, spacing and slant.  
• Uses continuous stroke, which some believe to be easier for young children to master than the more traditional ball and stick method.  
• Emphasizes personal evaluation.  For example, after writing the letter "a" repeatedly on the same line, the student will circle her best "a" on the line.

Completing these practice workbooks clearly illustrates how much handwriting can improve with daily practice!  Sometimes, I find it necessary to go back and look at what Mary's handwriting looked like at the beginning of the year.  I always see the imperfections in her work.  When I look back, though, I am encouraged at how much her handwriting has improved over the course of the year!  Again, I do not think that this is because she is so great or I am so great or Zaner-Bloser is so great, but rather it is the reward of consistent practice.  

Apple Cranberry Crumble

My mom has been begging me to post the recipe for apple cranberry crumble that I made for Thanksgiving.  I doubled the recipe and used a 9x13 pan. I used quick oats and did not use the pecans.  I am definitely making this again:)

Picture Books We Love: Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs

This book has been on my mind this week because of the recent death of my Aunt Mary Jo.  Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs is a true story about a four-year old boy who goes to visit his grandmother and his great grandmother on Sunday afternoons.  Because his great grandmother was always in bed upstairs, he called her Nana Upstairs and because his grandmother was always in the kitchen downstairs, he called her Nana Downstairs.  The little boy loved to spend time with Nana Upstairs until one day she died.  His family went to visit even though it was not Sunday and Nana Upstairs' bed was empty.  Then, Nana Downstairs became just Nana.

I love the simple explanation of death in this book.  "Died means that Nana Upstairs won't be here anymore."  I also love when the little boy runs up to see Nana Upstairs and finds her bed empty and sits down and cries.  That's such a clear picture of how we feel when loved ones die: sad.  I think this is a great book for introducing young children to the reality of death and all the emotions that go along with the loss of a loved one.

What I've Been Reading--November

Sad to say, we didn't read as much as we would have liked in November, but this is what we read: I read The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White aloud to the girls.  I had never read it before, but we really enjoyed Charlotte's Web and this book came with the humungous bag of books that we bought at the Symphony Book Fair several months ago.  (Actually, it was already on our list of read-alouds for the year anyways!)  This is a wonderful story about a very unusual trumpeter swan, Louis. Louis was born with a defect: no voice!  E.B. White details a wonderful account of how this mute swan overcomes his defect in some very extraordinary ways.  This was truly a delightful read!

Sea Star Orphan of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry is a sequel to Misty of Chincoteague, which we read last month.  In this story, Paul and Maureen decide to sell Misty to some movie producers from New York so that their uncle can go to college.  Amidst their sadness, they find a feisty colt whose mother died in this year's Pony Penning.  Sea Star finds a home in Misty's empty stall.  There is both difficulty and disagreement over how to get the spindly colt to eat, but all comes to a beautiful conclusion!  This was a very enjoyable book to read!


Continuing with my Dave Ramsey streak, I read More Than Enough: Proven Keys to Strengthening Your Family and Building Financial Peace.  I think the keys outlined in this book can be applied not only to financial freedom but also to other areas of life as well.  Ramsey encourages you to have a vision, set goals, break them down into bite-size pieces, and work hard to achieve them.  We can't achieve our goals by being lazy!  We must work...hard!  Two aspects of this book that I really liked were (1) true contentment can be found in God alone, not in wealth or health or achieving a goal or anything else and (2) we find joy in giving and serving others!

Born to Trot is another wonderful book written by Marguerite Henry.  Gibson White is the son of a horse trainer and driver and wants more than anything to race trotters.  However, he is hospitalized because his body has been overtaxed between his duties with the horses and the many sports that he plays.  Gibson's recovery is slow until his father gives him the new filly, whom he names Rosalind.  Intertwined with the story of Gibson's recovery and overseeing of Rosalind's training is another story, a book about the first Hambletonian, which Ben's doctor gave him to read.  Not only does Rosalind go on to win the Hambletonian, she wins seven world championships and becomes known as the Queen of Trotters!  This was a very exciting and interesting story (stories, actually) to read!

 Victory in Jesus by P.G. Mathew is a commentary on the book of Joshua.  The sermons contained in this book were preached at Grace Valley Christian Center between January and May 2005.  What I love about P.G. Mathew's preaching is that he preaches the text.  Then, he shows how the text points us to Christ.  This book is filled with practical application, too.  We don't want to read and study the Bible just to gain head knowledge, but we want to learn from it how God wants us to live.

I love this quote from the conclusion: "Victory is in Jesus, and God's people today have battles to fight, just like Joshua of old.  Our enemies are not flesh and blood, but spiritual enemies, including sin and Satan, who daily tempt and try to deceive us.  This warfare will continue until Christ's climactic return. We must know and obey God's word, seek his will in every situation, and exhort and help one another.  We can take great encouragement in the fact that we will win because our triune God wins!"