Mary was working on math corrections. She decided for this intense mental task she needed to sit directly in front of the box fan. As you can see in the photo this meant that her pages kept flying back and forth. Hannah was intensely watching Mary reduce, multiply and divide. If she was going to sit there, why not work, right? I told her to hold Mary’s page in place for her. Hannah was thrilled to help. But it might have been a bit too strenuous for her.

Yep, asleep on the job.

No worries. We did not let her rest long. Someone not paying attention ran into her face with a Little People School Bus.

One time dozing off on the job I could understand. But repeat offenses? And in the same week?

(Sam was removed from the sleep cuddle as soon as the pic was taken.)

I guess this shows that when Hannah needs sleep, she needs sleep.

He did share two chapters and then they lent us the book to read at our leisure. My children couldn’t wait to finish it and hated to see it end.

O Ye Jigs & Juleps! A humorous slice of Americana by a turn-of-the-century pixie, aged ten is a collection of essays written in the early 1900s by a young American girl, Virginia Cary Hudson. Her view on life around her is charming and hilarious. You cannot read it without a smile and a chuckle.

She shares her thoughts on the Sacraments to the Library to Church Etiquette.

“Sacraments are what you do in Church. What you do at home is something else. Cooking and sewing and running the Bissels sweeper and eating and sleeping and playing and scrubbing yourself are not sacraments.”

“The library is a memorial. A memorial is something that somebody says or gives or builds after you are dead and can’t hear it or get it or see it. And now may God grant us all a good night’s rest and not let the fire whistle blow. Amen. Hallelujah and so be it as it may.”

“Before I go into the house of the Lord with praise and thanksgiving, I lift up mine eyes unto the town clock from whence cometh the time to see if I am late. It is not etiquette to be late.”

If you have not read this delightful book, you must find it! We will sadly be returning our borrowed copy but it is a must have for our family bookshelf!

Travel Kits: A Simple Way to Bless Others is an e-book from The Old Schoolhouse. It is a wonderful resource to have to help you share the love with your family and others.

Have you ever had a long road trip with a 3 year old? How about one with a 3 year old, a 5 year old, a toddler and a newborn? Oh, yes, you know what I’m talking about! Travel Kits will help make those long road trips a bit more fun for the family.

The idea of Travel Kits is to gather items, from coloring books to card games to funny glasses, wrap or package them in a fun way and give them to a family or your own when beginning a long trip. Or hey, even going to the doctor. Ever been in a waiting room long?

On the road trip every day the family, as a whole or individually, are given something to open and enjoy. If the road trip is shorter, you could have something to open every hour or at each stop. On a doctor’s visit, the “kits” maybe just be one or two things. A little something to help pass the time and keep hands busy and happy.

Travel Kits are not limited to your own family or even to children. You can prepare a travel kit for the college bound student who might need a little something each day as they adjust to being away from family, or maybe your sweet neighbor is going to be in the hospital for a bit. It could be your 6 year old is down with the flu. What a wonderful way to bless them with a “kit” to make these times a bit brighter.

Travel Kits is a thorough resource. Not only does it share the wonderful idea of these kits but it shares how and what to use. The e-book helps you to think about where the travel kit will be small car or big car? A family with older children or younger children? What to put into the kit for a girl or a boy?

It gives suggestion on presentation and packaging. This is one area I always need help in! There are so many ideas given on different items to include; edibles, books, recordings, games etc. Please note that many of the items mention can be pick up inexpensively at your local dollar store. Blessing others does not have to break the bank!

I found Travel Kits from The Old Schoolhouse to be a fabulous resource. I am thinking of so many ways to use this. I know my children would have a great time putting one together for others.

You can purchase the Travel Kits: A Simple Way to Bless Others  e-book from the The Old Schoolhouse Store and download it for only $12.45.

The bigger kiddos have gone with their daddy to prayer meeting. I am stayed behind with the little ones who need a bit of extra sleep. They are sleeping at this very moment.

We are house sitting for friends this week. Since we are in a “strange” house and her room buddies are not here, I grabbed a pillow and blanket so Sarah could snooze on the couch this evening. (I’ll move her to bed later.) She was cuddled up on one end of the couch and I was nursing Sam to sleep on the other end. Every now and then she would look at me and smile, I’d tell her I love you and I watched her eyes getting heavier and heavier.

In a moment she was asleep. I watched her for a bit. Still and quiet. Those two words are not often associated with Sarah.

Before I know it, I hear Sam’s little snores. He has fallen asleep as well. I hold him a bit longer. Yes, I know. I spoil my babies. I’m ok with that. I love to cuddle them to sleep. The time can pass so quickly. I want to savor those sweet baby smells and sounds.

Sam is now in his bed. Sarah is beside me on the couch. I have a kitchen that needs to be cleaned. My clean up crew was running behind and had to dash out before we were done. But I want to enjoy the stillness, the quiet just a bit longer.

Thank you, Father, for this moment. For reminding me to take time to be quiet. To be still and know that You are God. Father, I thank you for this moment to remember how You have blessed me beyond measure. Amen.

Are your suitcases pack? Passport is ready? Let’s travel around the world!!

Sounds too good to be true? Actually you and your children can travel around the world and never have to worry about missing luggage and strange foods.  This wonderful unit study from The Old Schoolhouse will help you Travel the World.  

Travel the World is a e-book module add on to The Schoolhouse Planner but can also be used as a stand alone unit study.  I used it as a stand alone unit study with four of my children and we all enjoyed our travels.

There is so much wonderful information packed into this unit study! We studied our map, visited al the continents and studied God’s Word. My children love to use the computer and Travel the World was full of links to check out online. Here is my trick to handling computer links and several children.

I created a folder on my desktop for each continent and then added the links I wanted them to visit. This way their computer time could be “independent” because I had already screened the links. One of the favorite links was finding Hannah using latitude and longitude coordinates. My Hannah found this extremely entertaining.

Included in the unit study/module are print outs for lapbooking. One of the activities was to pick a country you would like to visit, research it and create a lapbook. There are also print outs for a crossword puzzle, wordsearch, word scramble, and more. (My two girls were quite stumped on the word scramble. Who knew mountain was such a tough word to unscramble?) I love the copywork provided! We use Scripture often for our copywork and I was delighted to see it used in this unit. My only issue with the copywork is we a handwriting program that doesn’t used the dotted line and that threw a couple of my children a bit off. Nothing we couldn’t work around. I will say that I love that almost all the printouts were black and white. I know I live in the dark ages but I don’t have a color printer. I love when black and white printable are available!

All of us have enjoyed this unit study; from the preschooler to the 6th grader. There was something for everyone to do and learn. My older children had a great time helping the younger ones with certain activities. A High School Expansion is included with this unit so it can be utilized for K- High School.

If you want to find out more about Travel the World June 2010 Module, please visit The Schoolhouse Store to buy a copy for your family. This wonderful resourse is only $7.95! So much information that you can use with all your children as a stand alone study or enrichment to whatever you are currently using. They also offer many more modules….Beloved Bible Stories, Insects Galore, Wonders of Flight….all for a great price!

Disclaimer: I was provided a  complimentary copy of Travel the World by The Old Schoolhouse to be reviewed as a part of TOS crew. No financial compensation was made to me.

Suddenly, there was a change in the discussion. A change that I believe needs to be shared with other moms who are sitting back and thinking of their dream home. I think Mary has stumbled upon the perfect dream home.

Hershey’s Kiss House. Mmhmmm. You read that right. A chocolate house. You buy your gigantic Hershey’s Kiss and you eat out your doors and windows. Once that is completed you eat out rooms, hallways, stairs and secret passages, of course.

Won’t we get sick from all this eating, Mary?

Oh, no. We are specially made to be able to eat the chocolate without getting sick.

Sign. Me. Up.

Brilliant, yes?

I did not burst her dream home bubble. I was enjoying it myself. However, in the South, it would be more of a chocolate pool than a house. Sigh. Back to dreaming……

And what delightful goodies will there be:

From Roses and Teacups a charming night light:

From Sensibility Patterns an e-pattern of your choice:

From The Joy of Jewelry, Purity for Life earrings:

And my favorite, Marie Madeline Studios…Summer Shade Jumper Pattern and your choice of fabric!

Didn’t I say it was a fabulous giveaway!!!!! Hurry on over to An Old Fashioned Girl and check it out!

1. Buckaroo Days
2. Our Homeschool Reviews
3. Reed, Party of 6
4. Training Hearts at Home
5. Along The Way
6. I Love Science!
7. Through the Calm and Through the Storm
8. Created for Home
9. Tractors and Tire Swings
10. Guiding Light Homeschool

*Side note: A TOS Review will be coming on July 19^th! Make sure you come back by to check it out.

Lydia and Sam enjoying the shade. Bekah napping?

After a while, we feel a bit tired. Maybe a change of pace or scenery would be good. We stop to get out and stretch our legs. We notice a newer map. Wow, it shows a different way to go. Hmmm, maybe we should go this way. It looks like it will be faster, more scenic or just more fun!

Breaking news….Mr. Cuteness has some fuzz on his head. Guess what color it looks like?!!?!?

Back in the car with our new map and we are on our way. At first it is great. The sky is blue; the grass is green and no bumps in the road. We round the curve and bam! things aren’t looking so great anymore. We suddenly realize that we haven’t gotten as far as we thought. The new map that seemed so wonderful just had us going in circles. Why did we buy the new map? Why didn’t we just stay on the road we were on?

Are you wondering what in the world I’m talking about?

Homeschooling. When we began homeschooling we had a clear direction in site. We knew exactly where we wanted to go and how we were going to get there. For some crazy reason, I couldn’t be content with the road we were on and decided to get a new “map”. Let’s try this method or that curriculum. Now there is nothing wrong with finding that a new method works better or that a certain curriculum is a better fit for one of your children. I am not saying that at all. But when you allow yourself to be pulled away from the foundation, the core, of what you desire for your children, well that is bad. At least it is for us.

So many thoughts run through my head for this picture.

We have been talking about how we have veered off the path we set out no and how to rectify that. In the next few weeks, we are going to be working hard to our focus back. I have a few books that I’m going to read and some long-term planning to do. Since I blog mainly for me, I decided I’d keep a “journal” of sorts on here to help me flesh everything out. You have been warned!

1. King Alfred Academy
2. Confessions of An Organized Homeschool Mom
3. Curriculum Reviews from Oak Creek Farmhouse
4. I Can’t Decide
5. My Life on A Taffy Pull
6. Losing My Tale
7. Made in His Image
8. Serenades and Solace
9. Our Village is a Little Different
10. SisterTipster’s Tell’n It