Favorite Things around the Blogging World

This month has gone by so quickly! Hopefully, before the end of March we can say goodbye to the piles of snow up here in Canada. I'm looking forward to seeing our spring flowers blooming again and wearing sandals instead of boots. Until then, here are a few ideas to keep me busy:

I love this idea for homemade story starter cubes from Run of the Mill. I'm putting this one in my "to do" file.

I've been looking for a mirror for our entryway for quite awhile now and have yet to find one that I really like that is within our budget. I've found some beautiful ones buy they are so expensive! Thankfully, I found this wonderful idea for framing a plain mirror. It's exactly the type of thing I'm looking for. Now to convince my husband to do the work for me :)

TJ has recently discovered a love of making messes in the kitchen and I've been busily searching for some simple recipes for her to experiment with. This idea for mini candy apples is just the type of thing I think she'll enjoy doing.

My husband loves oatmeal muffins but the recipe I use is less than healthy. I am so happy to have found a recipe at Sherry's blog that uses whole wheat flour and honey instead of the standard white flour and white sugar.

This idea for a weather chart is adorable! I think TJ will have fun keeping track of the weather with this.

And finally, the Easter season is approaching and this post from Holy Experience gives me a moment to ponder my own heart in the light of Christ's sacrifice.

What's on your Nightstand?

Another month of "What's on your Nightstand?" at 5 Minutes for Books. Here is the current pile of books on my coffee table:

I wanted to read Les Miserables for the Classics Bookclub but just haven't found the time. But I've got Around the World in 80 Days in my pile for the next group read.

Mere Christianity is still on the top of the pile. I've been so busy with other things that I haven't had time to finish reading it. I'm making my way through it though, and trying to absorb the deep thoughts :)

Still focusing on ancient history and working my way through The Iliad. My goal is to finish this one by the end of March. I'll be glad when I've finished with it and can move on to The Odyssey.

Other books that I haven't gotten to yet but are in the pile - Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis and Afterwords: Novelists on Their Novels.

So, there's a trip around my coffee table! :)

The Word of Promise Next Generation New Testament

The Word of Promise Next Generation New Testament dramatic audio Bible is a very good quality dramatized version of the New Testament geared to tweens and teens alike. Thomas Nelson Publishers has already produced an audio edition for adults starring Jim Caviezel as the voice of Jesus and now they bring a new offering for the next generation.

The cast of characters include: Corbin Bleu, Cody Linley, Emily Osment, Andrew Lawrence and Sean Astin, along with many more of Hollywood's young stars. The produce quality is first rate and I enjoyed listening to it but to be totally honest I have no idea who most of these people are. I imagine that it would still be appealing to the younger crowd who are familiar with the various cast members. The translation used for this production is the International Children's Bible, which I find is a bit young for the target audience. I think they would have been better served using another translation, perhaps the New International Version or the New Living Translation. The set also includes a bonus DVD with a behind-the-scenes look at the production and interviews with various cast members. I believe that kids who are familiar with the various actors and actresses would find it interesting to hear their testimonies.

On the whole I found this a worthwhile listen and did enjoy it, though I imagine the adult version would have been more to my personal taste. But for the target audience I think this is a fine production and would recommend it to my younger relatives.

As for the technical details, the MP3 CDs are easy to download. Once downloaded you can add it your MP3 player or listen from your computer. The books are divided by chapter and easy to search. I only encountered a few problems and they were from my own lack of technical savvy and no fault of the product.

If you are interested in reading other reviews you can visit the Thomas Nelson Book Review website.

Weekly Report

We didn't get to everything I had planned this week. Raising a puppy is hard work! But we did get quite a bit of the basics completed.

Math: We flew through math lessons this week - all of them were about clocks and telling time to the hour. TJ didn't have any difficulties with it at all. We'll finish up another lesson on clocks on Monday and then we'll have lessons on halves and telling time to the half-hour.

Reading: We're still working our way through section 13 because we only completed two lessons this week. Hopefully we'll finish the last three lessons in this section next week and then we can finally move on to section 14.

MFW: We didn't get to this because of other things so we'll get to it next week.

Geography: See above :) We didn't get to this either. Just the basics this week.

Other stuff: Handwriting went well as usual. French was fine - it's going well. TJ is not interested in reading Betsy-Tacy, so I'm putting it away for a little bit and starting James Herriot's Treasury for Children in its place. We also skipped music and science this week.

Hopefully we'll get more accomplished next week.

Science Experiment: Invisible Ink

This is a really fun project! You'll need a lemon (cut in half), some notebook paper, an iron, a surface to iron on, and an adult to do the ironing. :)

First, have the child "finger paint" with the lemon by rubbing their finger on the surface of the cut lemon and then write a secret message or draw a picture on the paper.



After the drawing has dried and the picture is invisible, have an adult use a hot iron to reveal the secret message. This could take a bit of time so be patient! Eventually the lemon juice will turn brown from the heat. TJ had lots of fun with this experiment.

Wordless Wednesday

Science Experiment: Fizzy Raisins

For this experiment you'll need 7Up or another type of clear soda, a glass and a few raisins. Pour the soda in the glass.



Drop the raisins into the glass.



As the bubbles form on the raisins the gas slowly carries the raisins to the surface of the glass.



Some of our raisins took awhile to float but it was lots of fun to watch the bubbles form and carry them up.

Weekly Report

Last week was a vacation week - I think the feeling of being cooped up is starting to get to me :) and dealing with a new puppy is adding another layer of stress. Thankfully, this week was warmer and we were able to get outside a bit more. Nick offered to do a few of the weekly activities with TJ so I've got time for other things. I'll be covering the basics with her and he'll pitch in and do a weekly science experiment, have her read a book aloud to him 4-5 times a week, and cover our weekly theme with My Father's World.

Math: is going very well. We worked on the teen numbers this week. TJ understood the concept and is transitioning from the "RightStart" way of saying the numbers to the normal way. She is very excited to start learning about clocks next week. I think she'll easily fly through it since she can tell time to the hour.

Reading: We're still working our way through section 13 but the end is in sight :) I've still been slacking off in her reading aloud to me so Nick said that he would gladly take on that responsibility. I've got a wonderful hubby!

MFW: This week our theme is penguins - "I show love to everyone, especially my family." We haven't gotten to it yet but we'll read a book about penguins and have a discussion this evening. I'll put some bags of water in the freezer and tomorrow we'll float them in the sink. I'll use the ideas from this website for discussion. TJ loves to play in a sink full of water so I think this project will be fun for her.

Geography: We started with Canada this week. I read some books about Canada. TJ made a paper canoe (pictured below) after we discussed the native peoples. And we had poutines - technically a Quebec speciality but we love them so it was a good excuse to make them again! :)



Other stuff: French and handwriting are the same as always - going well. We finished reading The Dragons of Blueland. I started reading Betsy-Tacy. So far TJ isn't very enthused with it but I'm hoping that will change. We're still enjoying the God Made Music program - TJ always looks forward to it. Nick covered science this week. They soaked dirty pennies in some cola and floated raisins in 7Up. More on that in another post.

We had a good week here! :)

What I'm Reading: Mere Christianity

I don't have lots of insightful information to share today. I just wanted to share a small section from the book I'm reading:

On the whole, God's love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him. Nobody can always have devout feelings: and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about. Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will. If we are trying to do His will we are obeying the commandment, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.' He will give us feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right. But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.