Weekly Wrap Up - Another Week Of Snow and Ice!

 

God pressed pause on our schedules for one more week and I for one have to say that I have enjoyed this time to just be at home!  Does that mean our schedules are too full?  It just may.

Another great Word from my God.

We finally moved into our State and President study.  Oh, how excited I was to see how much I remember from our Classical Conversations days.  

The cuteness you find on your phone when you have teenagers.  I can't believe how fast they are growing up....sniff, sniff!

Another week and snowman gone!

On to a brand new week with the strength of my Savior!  This week's Scripture Art Journals.

Linking up with Weekly Wrap Up, The Homeschool Mother's Journal, Collage Friday, and My Week In Review.

Review of In Freedom's Cause Single Package

Heirloom Audio Productions has once again produced an exciting and thrilling audio drama titled In Freedom's Cause.

We received In Freedom's Cause Single Package which includes the following products:

• 2 CD Set with over 2 1/2 hours of adventure
• Digital download of a full color study guide
• MP3 download of the soundtrack
• Digital Download of The Prayer Of William Wallace in full color

In Freedom's Cause was recorded in London with a cast of well known voices that you just may recognize. It captivates audiences as the true tales of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce of Scotland unfold.  It is based on G.A. Henty's novel, In Freedom's Cause.

With lively sound affects and a passionate cast, In Freedom's Cause sheds light on how the world can be changed through leaders with remarkable faith in God.  The audio drama took our emotions on a full roller coaster ride as it felt like we were standing right beside these courageous heroes as they fought and battled for their freedom.  

Let the battle begin!

William Wallace was well known for his courage and sword skills, but his true strength is clearly shown to come from his faith in God.  He carried his psalter which contained the Psalms of David with him everywhere he went even to his death.

This is the kind of hero I want my children to learn about and 

Heirloom Audio Productions truly brings the Christian heroes of our history to life.  

Use In Our Homeschool

Don't miss the one on the floor!

We listened to the CD's as a family just before starting our regular school day as that seems to be the best time for us to accomplish family studies before everyone goes their own way.  So, that would include a 11th grade boy, 8th grade boy, 6th grade girl, and me.  Having both genders listen to the story, I can tell you that in our instance both loved it equally. Everyone would find their favorite spot and listen as the adventures unfolded.  Sometimes, we all would get a little confused as to what was going on while listening so we would need to listen closely.  

At the end of our listening time, we would review the questions on the study guide which would usually answer any confusion that we may have had.  The study guide includes questions on comprehension and how well we listened.  Usually someone could fill in the blanks for the one who may have been confused.  Using the study guide really helped me to assess what was retained and what was not. The study guide contained vocabulary words to discuss and often included ones that we were unfamiliar with.  Our favorite part was the thinking further section that helped to stir up conversation and allowed my children to express their own thoughts because they could not simply answer with yes or no.

At the end of the study guide were 3 Bible studies on fear, vengeance and forgiveness, and freedom.

You can find out more about In Freedom's Cause at these places as well:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InFreedomsCause
Twitter: https://twitter.com/InFreedomsCause
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/112701427096792421838/112701427096792421838/posts
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jointhecause

Review of IndoctriNation

IndoctriNation is an award winning documentary on public schools and the decline of Christianity in America by Great Commission Films.  We were given the chance to review the DVD which is approximately 102 minutes long.

In this film you follow along with homeschool dad, Colin Gunn, and his family as they set out across America to examine our country's public school system.  You will travel along with them in a big yellow school bus as they visit states including Texas, North Carolina, Indiana, New York, Colorado, and many more.

When watching the trailer for this documentary, I knew that it would contain very controversial subject matter and they warned that it was not suited for small children. So, I decided to watch the DVD by myself.  

My Thoughts

Normally, I am not a huge fan of documentaries.  Quite frankly, I often find them boring.  However, I did not find that with IndoctriNation.  It is mixed with historical clips, fun animations, as well as interviews from many different well known people such as Ken Ham, Erwin Lutzer, R.C. Sproul Jr and more.  Mr. Gunn also interviews a former public school student, teachers, and administrators as well.  Several of them coming pretty close to my home town.  

I would highly recommend this documentary to any Christian parent who is currently sending their child to public school.  I have been that parent. As parents, we always want to do what is right for our children and try the best we can.  This film clearly points out that government run schools are constantly defying what Christian parents are teaching their children all across America.  They are beginning at younger, more impressionable ages as well.  This warning on the film from a 34 year veteran teacher of the public school system was extremely profound for me - "I was in the buckle of the Bible belt. You need to get your children out.  They are in danger. If not physical, serious spiritual danger."  

The DVD tackles some of the controversial topics being shared with children in the public school setting such as suicide, feminism, homosexuality, alcohol, drugs, atheism, violence, rape, and so many more.  It really hit home for me as I found some of my own words being spoken from several of those that were interviewed.  As parents we all want to believe that our school is a good school and those things aren't happening in our schools but the truth is you do not know what is happening behind those doors when you are not there.  The video shows many true instances where these things are happening in public schools all over.

The main question tackled on the DVD is what do Christian parents want for their kids.  It is our responsibility to raise our children and teach them the ways of the Lord.  When the Lord is constantly being taken out of what is being taught to them, do we still sit idly by and send them to schools run by the government?  The truth is even Christian teachers and Christian administrators can only do so much or risk their losing jobs.

Here a just a few of the emotions I experienced as I watched this documentary:

• disgust - as lollipop condoms were being passed out
• anger - as a dad shares a book that his daughter was forced to read
• tears - as a dad relives the terrible tragedy of his son at Columbine
• disbelief - as teachers are fired for sharing their beliefs yet must teach the beliefs of others 

My one fault with the film was during some of the interviews, the camera would zoom in and out sporadically which I found to be really distracting from the interview.  I did not notice this happening as much in the second half of the video.

Overall, I loved this documentary and will require my children to watch it as a senior project.  We still have a few years left before that will happen but I would love to hear their thoughts on this matter in the form of an essay.  

You can also find out more about IndoctriNation at these places:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndoctriNationMovie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/indocmovie
Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/indoctrination
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IndoctriNationMovie

Weekly Wrap Up - The one with sickness!

 

This week pretty much didn't happen as far as normal "school" goes.  We had an ice storm most of the week so our schedules were set to pause.  We had our own ice skating rink on our porch.

Started our week with a little study on the tongue...

After the ice left, we had sickness to share with one another so the schedule continued to stay paused!

Doc's Office

 Rest!

But it's all good and for His glory!

  

Linking up with The Homeschool Mother's Journal, Collage Friday, and My Week In Review.

Swagbuck - Share The Love!

 

Swagbucks is helping you Share the Love! When you invite your friends and family to join Swagbucks through your referral link, you could win one of 27 different prizes:

• 1 grand prize of 20,000 SB
• 10 prizes of 2,200 SB
• 16 prizes of 500 SB

To enter, just share your love for Swagbucks by inviting your friends here. If they earn 1700 SB by March 16th, you'll get an entry into the prize drawing. But that's not all: once your referrals earn 1700 SB, they'll get a special SB bonus of their own. What's not to love?

If you haven't joined Swagbucks yet, it's a great way to turn the things you do online (searching, shopping, watching videos, etc.) into gift cards! Sign up here to get started.

Let's Wrap Up Another Week

 

Another one bites the dust!  Week 20 down and I cannot tell you how excited I am to be heading into our state and president study coming up in the final weeks of this school year!  I love American History!  I really cannot believe that I'm typing those words out right now but it is true.  Homeschooling has given me a love for a subject that I have always hated!

I really don't have any pictures to share this week because I totally forgot to take any!   That happens sometimes around here but the lessons continue.  

We had a great Valentine's Day and hope you did too!

Here's a few of the ABC Collab playlists for you since my pictures and week details are limited.  

 

If you are a newsletter subscriber, I haven't forgotten but have decided to update monthly for now. I just cannot keep up with a weekly newsletter!

Linking up with The Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap Up, and My Week In Review.

Weekly Wrap Up - Late :)

 

Okay, so it's been a while and I'm actually 2 weeks behind! We are now finished with weeks 18 and 19!

We also did a little room makeover.  Here are some before and after pictures.

It was a fun family affair and I couldn't believe what great painters my children were!

While shopping for a new bed for Stephen, Sarah and I found us a couple of goodies to take our picture with for later.  Not that I really want a red couch but I am that big of an NC State fan!

And Sarah really likes this vanity!

On our trip to Wal-mart for new curtains and bedding for the new bed, we got licked, lol!  Amy and Ronnie were signing autographs - very down to earth and we enjoyed our little chat.

We had a little invasion of the black birds!

And we did get in a little flower dissection as well!