1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God.”
This is what is good about “Good Friday”.
betty jo
“Good” Friday?
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Teaching Hope
(Click on the image to enlarge)
Our homeschool is finishing up our Holy Week studies and getting ready for Easter Celebrations. But in the midst of our studies we are reminded of that sweet baby’s birth we celebrated just a few months ago. And we are reminded of the “whys” He came down from Heaven. “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the earth”, John 1:29
We made our own Resurrection Eggs from these free printables from http://www.lapbooklessons.com/ResurrectionLapbook.html.
And we are ready to put the final touches on our Life of Jesus timeline. The last days and hours of our LORD’s life are difficult for me to teach. And I think that these lessons are difficult for the kids to learn about, too, especially for my older kids. I’m not going to “sugar coat” or skip over anything with them.
Of course Jesus’ timeline doesn’t end on the cross, or even in the sealed tomb. In fact, His timeline doesn’t end at all.
This Holy Week, I’m teaching HOPE!
Here’s a video of a song we’ve been listening to.
betty jo
Blogging On Sunshine
I had a “comment” notification on my blog dashboard. It was from Especially Made. She wanted to tell me that she has nominated Still Learning Something New for this:
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The Sunshine Award is an award given by bloggers to other bloggers. The recipients of the Sunshine Award are: “Bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogsphere”. The way the award works is this: Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them. Answer questions about yourself. Select 10 of your favorite bloggers, link their blogs to your post and let them know they have been awarded the Sunshine Award!
Cue the music while you read the rest:
“The way the award works is this: Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them. Answer questions about yourself. Select 10 of your favorite bloggers, link their blogs to your post and let them know they have been awarded the Sunshine Award!”
THANK YOU, Especially Made, you have no idea how much your nomination encouraged me. Hebrews 10:24 says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds”. I’m still feeling nervous and insecure about this new “bloggy thingy”, and I struggle with my recovery from a rather bad case of computerphobia. You strengthened me.
Here are the questions and my answers:
1. What inspired you to start blogging? I blog in a response to sermon challenges of getting out of my “comfort zone”, “casting nets in deeper waters”, “not forsaking the teachings of my youth”. The list is long.
2. How did you come up with the name to your blog? I really am learning something new every day.
3. What is your favorite blog to read? I’ve thought about this, and I honestly cannot choose a favorite.
4. Tell about your dream job. My dream job is exactly what I do now. However, I would add another baby or two, and it would pay a 6 figure yearly income!
5. Is your glass half empty or half full? My glass is empty. I drank it to avoid any debate.
6. If you could go anywhere for a week’s vacation, where would you go? I would love to see the Amazon Rain Forest!
7. What food can you absolutely not eat? Ramen noodles. My boys like them but I can’t stand them.
8. Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? Milk chocolate.
9. How much time do you spend blogging? I’d have to guess 2 – 3 hours. I work on my blogs a little here and there all day.
10, Do you watch TV and if so, what are some of your favorite shows? I like Psych, Swamp People, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, and Blue’s Clues.
And here’s 10 of my favorite blogs which I am nominating for their own Sunshine Award.
http://especiallymade.wordpress.com/about/
http://parentingandstuff.wordpress.com/
http://seven2heaven.wordpress.com/about/
http://beccascottage.wordpress.com/about/
And now, my acceptance speech. I would like to thank the little people, J9 and Z7, and thanks also to the not so little people A22, A21, E17, and B14 for giving me things to blog about.
betty jo
Passover
“And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall deep it a feast to the Lord thoughout your generations, ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.” Exodus 12:14
Today in our homeschool, we did a one day unit study of Passover. I found some excellent links for us and am sharing them with you.
The Passover of the Death Angel from the prince of Egypt
We baked unleavened bread (this is not the traditional Passover bread, but communion bread). It was very good, and we will be baking this again.
Make Your Own Unleavened Bread with your Children!
Author: Blessedbeyondadoubt.com
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 40 mins
Serves: a lot
This makes a lot. Plenty for approx 150 members.
Ingredients
- 3 c Wheat Flour
- 1 t Salt
- ½ c Honey
- 1 c Crisco Shortening
- ½ -3/4 t Water
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients.
- Mix in shortening with fork.
- Add Honey and water and knead for five (5) minutes.
- Divide in half and roll out onto greased 5” pan (approximately ½” thick).
- Bake for 30 minutes at 350o F.
Passover information and printables from a Christian perspective for our notebooking: http://homeschoolgiveaways.com/2013/03/free-passover-printables-deals/
And the Maccabeats:
So long ago the Israelites in Egypt held this feast to be saved from death and to look forward to when they would be delivered out of bondage. Today, we celebrate Passover knowing that Jesus was our “Passover Lamb”. He is the one that has delivered us from our bondage to sin. He has saved us from death and given us eternal life.
betty jo
It’s Going to Be a Good Week
One of my favorite things about homeschooling is that we do not have to stick to a preset schedule. If we want to veer off the “common core” path, we can. That’s exactly what I have planned for this week.
As I looked at all the different special days to possibly acknowledge, I decided it best if we just have a special kind of week of learning and put our middle ages studies on hold.
This is Holy Week so everyday we will follow what Jesus did these days so long ago. And,
March 25 – Passover (Exodus chapter 12 and we’ll be making unleavened bread and boiling eggs to dye then eat), and Tolkien Reading Day (everyone is already reading other selections, but we haven’t seen the Hobbit yet)
March 26 – “Make Up Your Own Holiday Day” (I wonder what the kids will come up with? I’m thinking, “Kids Doing Mom’s Chores Day”!)
March 27 – Robert Frost’s birthday, 1874 (poetry and biography notebooking)
March 28 – (Don’t laugh, even though I did) “Weed Appreciation Day” (the younger boys can go through our collection of herbal remedy books, but I think I’ll have the older two debate legalization of marijuana). And it’s “National Black Forest Cake Day” (I’m trying not to laugh again, but for someone else this might go hand in hand with the side effects of appreciating weed) – we have never made a Black Forest Cake, so maybe we’ll give it a try. And even more special than weeds and Black Forest Cake, it’s B14’s birthday! (he may not want Black Forest Cake)
March 28 – Good Friday – We’ll have to decide on a movie (Passion of the Christ, The Jesus Film, Story Behind the Cross) and we’ll try making Hot Cross buns.
It’s going to be a good week! I hope you will have one too.
betty jo
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Visiting Solitary
Do you read what your kids are reading? I do. Not just the books that I assign them for homeschooling, but also I read the books they select for themselves.
When I was a teen I read a lot of books I had no business reading. I got immoral ideas from some of them. I developed an unhealthy fascination with the occult from others. No matter what I read, I absorbed it and somehow fit it into my life. My parents did not have a clue what was between those paper back covers. I think they were just pleased that I was such an avid reader.
E17 is an avid reader, too. I trust her, (she sticks to Christian authors most of the time), but still I always try to know what she is reading. And sometimes, I find myself “caught up” in her library selections as much as she is. That is the case with The Solitary Tales by Travis Thrasher. We just finished Hurt, the fourth and final book in the series.
If I were having to categorize the Solitary Tales, I would have to say “Christian/Suspense/Horror/Supernatural Fiction”. Does that even make any sense? If not now, it will after you read them.
These stories are about a 16 year old boy , Chris Buckley, who moves with his mom to Solitary, North Carolina. Solitary, North Carolina is no place to raise a kid. It’s an evil place, with a heritage of evil, with evil people in charge. And most of the characters that are not evil , to say the least, are quite strange, like Aunt Alice. Chris is special, though, maybe even a hero.
Thrasher must be a fan of obscure rock music from the 80’s, for he includes lyrics and suggested playlists from bands I listened to back then. I won’t say anything more as I wouldn’t want to ruin it for you. But, you should know there are awesome Bible themes and Scripture references mixed with the horror throughout the series. I’m a little sorry that it’s over.
E17 and I have had many long talks about Solitary and Chris. And having long talks with my daughter is always good. I wonder what she’s going to bring home from the library next?
betty jo
The Old Has Gone
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
It was supposed to inspire me to meditate on things “spring”, like budding trees and flowers, then make a comparison with my new self since giving my life to Christ. However, when I read it, this is what I saw, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the NEW CREATION has come: THE OLD HAS GONE…”. I glance away from my study for just a second, and see our chalkboard wall.
“NEW CREATION”? The “Castle Wall” has been the featured chalk art since the end of January. We are finished with the knights and castle part of our middle ages unit study. It’s time for something “NEW”. So I had B14 erase it.
“THE OLD HAS GONE”!
The next study will be about the plague. I do not want anything plague related in my kitchen. So, I’m thinking something “spring”. Something butterflies and flowers. I glance through an art book we got from the library . And, sure enough there’s step by step instructions for drawing a butterfly.
It usually takes a couple of days to finish a mural, but when it’s done, I’ll show you.
For earlier posts about our chalkboard wall click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/one-of-our-favorite-things-the-wall/ and here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/03/01/oops-i-forgot/
Happy Spring and Happy New Creation,
betty jo
The Leprechaun Hunt
This is a very silly Z7. He and I teamed up for our local parks&rec Leprechaun Hunt. Very clever. They gave us a map and a list of clues to follow. “Mr. Leprechaun loves to eat fish. He has been known to catch them from all ‘ACROSS’ the pond” was our first clue to solve. Z7 knew right away what it meant – the bridge across the lake that people fish from. When we got there they gave us washable markers to draw “rainbow mustaches” on each other.
There were eight clues in all. Each had a silly activity to go with. B14, E17, and A22 worked at the different clue stations with other volunteers from our church (I’m not sure how our church got involved in this community service project, but I was happy that they took this opportunity). Everyone said they had a good time, and I know A7 and I did too.
It’s such a blessing to be able to spend the afternoon at the park with those I love on a beautiful (almost) spring day. I think we received those Irish blessings we worked on during our homeschool week.
An Irish Blessing:
“May god give you…
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial,
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.”
For another post about St. Patrick’s Day click here
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! And Happy Leprechaun Hunting!
For another post about St. Patrick’s Day click here: https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/03/14/absolutely-no-pinching/
betty jo
Silver Lining
Acts 2:44 says, “All the believers were together. They shared everything they had.” This is an excellent example for homeschooling support groups and co-ops. We try to work ours this way. If we have a skill or a talent, we share it to benefit the others.
Check this out…Isn’t this cool?
This is a picture of “Silver Lining”, a color guard group for homeschooling teen girls, practicing their tosses at the park. Two of our new members used to do the band and color guard thing back in high school. Now they are teaching it to my daughter.
They have plans for performances and to march in parades. They work their routines to popular Christian music. See, I told you this was cool.
Here are some photos of the first public appearance of Silver Lining!
This is Silver Lining performing at our homeschooling support groups Graduation/Achievement night.
betty jo
Springing
It’s springing here in Western KY. With the time change springing ahead, the extra daylight hours have aided the trees in producing their blooms. Flowers are opening up and the grass has lost it’s dead color and found new green. The temperatures are a bit warmer. The birds that stayed around through the winter are singing a happier song than they were just last week.
Spring is a wonderful time for outdoor nature lessons. We have some flowerpots to decorate and a variety of flower seeds soaking to germinate before planting. We will be making a fairy garden around a tree stump in the back yard. We will be studying the spring nighttime skies, and making a weather center.
Spring is the time to get out the sports equipment, bikes, and kites. Hiking and picnics are on our spring agenda along with some outdoor field trips with our homeschooling support group.
Our middle ages history studies will move on into the Renaissance.
Spring is also a good time for poetry studies (picture my kids rolling their eyes and sighing).
Song of Songs (Solomon) 2:11-12
Don’t you see? The winter is done.
The rains and clouds have come and gone.
The flowers are unfolding in the fields;
the birds are warming up their songs,
Poetry can be in the form of music, too (picture my kids no longer rolling their eyes or sighing).
betty jo
Still Learning Something New 